PC Support
Please note:
Computer Services does not provide assistance for issues with personal computer equipment.
- Find local Computer Support businesses
- Check out the GetNetWise initiative web page for useful information on how to safely use your computer and the Internet.
Protecting Your Computer:
Although we do not support personal computing equipment, we can offer some advice. To fully protect your personal computer there are four things that should be in place:
- Automatic Software Updates, where available, should be enabled. This ensures you are protected against know security flaws that have already been fixed. This is available for Microsoft operating systems.
- Virus protection with automatic updates and real time file protection. There are many products available on the market like Symantec/Norton and McAfee. Free virus protection is also available and we have links to two of these products on our Computer Services web site, under the Software menu.
- Spyware protection and removal. SpyBot and Adaware are two products that have had good reviews. We know some of these are supplied at no cost. A Google search for "SPYWARE" is the best place to start. Finding a product that protects your "Registry" is highly recommended. Some of the newer antivirus products will also include all of these features.
- Personal Firewall. Windows XP comes with a firewall at no extra cost which only has to be enabled.
When selecting products, we would look for comparison articles in reputable PC trade magazine websites along the lines of http://www.pcmag.com/. The PC section of your local magazine rack can be a good place to identify web sites that can be trusted.
We suggest that you scan your computer for viruses with a virus scanner that has up to date virus definitions as a first step. Second step would be to go to the Microsoft Update web site and make sure your Microsoft software is up to date. Be leery of downloading files for Microsoft products that do not come directly from Microsoft.
PLEASE NOTE - It is possible that updating or adding software to your system could have unforeseen adverse effects….