Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Why We Defragment

Defragmenting is an essential part of regular computer maintenence. It can help speed up your computer by placing files back in order. Whenever you delete or move a file, gaps occur. Then, when you install a new file onto your computer, if the file is larger than the old gaps,  part of this new file will fill in the these gaps. This is the "fragmenting", a file that has been split into multiple parts.
A fragmented hard drive slows down because it has to work harder to find all the pieces of one particular file before it can use the file. It is a lot faster to look at a completed puzzle, than to put the puzzle together!
Now, if you use your PC mainly for the internet and a few documents, you don't need to worry about defragmenting your hard drive more than once a month. However, if you play games, music, movies, etc. on your PC, it might be helpful to defragment about twice a month. Basically, the more often you take away from and add things to your PC, the more often you will need to defragment.
Using the Windows defragmenter is very simple. I reccomend defragmenting at night, as it can take quite a bit of time depending on the amount of fragmentation on your hard drive and other variables. I would also reccomend deleting any unnecassary files before hand. CCleaner, which I reviewed here,  is a great program for doing that. To defragment either Windows XP or Windows Vista, go to Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Defragmenter. With Windows XP, to schedule a regular time for your PC to defragment itself, go to Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Scheduled Tasks>Add Scheduled Task. With Windows Vista, follow the path Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Task Scheduler.
If you have any questions, about this or any other of my posts, feel free to ask in the comments or click on the "Contact" button at the very top of this page.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Binary Fun!

Binary is a code made up of 1's and 0's. These values are used either by themselves or in combination to represent negatives (0), positives (1), entire numbers, and even alphabets. Computers use the binary system because it is more natural for them, since computers read information as either the presence or lack of an electrical charge. The 1 would stand for a charge and the 0 would stand for the lack of a charge. 

The binary system is based on the power of two. Binary is divided into columns:

Binary can be translated by using these columns:

To translate the binary number (01101010) into a decimal number (which is what we humans use), you would add
64+32+8+2. The ones represent a number and the zeros do not. So the binary number 01101010 would be the decimal number 106!

This form of binary code is known as 8-bit since it contains 8 numbers. Bit is short for binary digit. An 8 bit binary is also known as a byte. There are other bits including 4, 16, 32, and 64.
It is also quite simple to convert a decimal value into binary. You simply divide your decimal number by 2, and write down the remainder, repeating the process until you can longer divide by 2.
Lets use the random number 321 as an example:

321\2=160 with a remainder of 1
  160\2=80 with a remainder of 0
    80\2=40 with a remainder of 0
    40\2=20 with a remainder of 0
    20\2=10 with a remainder of 0
      10\2=5 with a remainder of 0
        5\2=2 with a remainder of 1
        2\2=1 with a remainder of 0

So, the number 321 is represented in binary form by 10000010.  Binary is actually very simple and fun once you get the hang of it.  It's also a great way to impress folks ;).
For a binary alphabet chart, follow this link:
For a binary to text and vice- versa converter, visit this link:

CCleaner: Your PC Wants It

CCleaner is an amazing little program (about 2.7 Mbs installed) that helps keep your computer fresh and clean. It is simple to use, and Piriform (the company that makes it) works hard to keep CCleaner up to date.  I have personally been using CCleaner for well over a year. It has helped keep my PC running like new.
CCleaner cleans out your browsers cookies, history, temporary files and more. You are able to customize what you would like cleaned and what you would like left alone by placing checkmarks in boxes next to the cleaning options.

CCleaner also has a registry cleaning feature. You are able to scan for issues and then fix selected issues. You can save a backup of your registry before fixing, as well. CCleaner has many other useful features, such as add/remove programs, and the ability to view and delete old restore points.
Piriform supports CCleaner and its other applications through donations and the inclusions of the Yahoo toolbar in its installers. If you do not need the Yahoo toolbar, be sure to uncheck the option when installing CCleaner.

All in all, I highly recommend CCleaner. It is a versatile, highly customizable, and easy to use program with many helpful features. Plus you can't beat the free price tag!

CCleaner - Freeware Windows Optimization

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

What is Malware?

Malware is a broad term used to describe any number of different types of infections your computer can get. Malware is any kind of malicious software, including viruses, trojans, spyware, adware, and worms.  While some malware can simply be an annoyance, other forms of malware can severely damage your computer causing programs to crash or even stopping them from running. There are also forms of malware intended to steal personal information or to prevent an internet site from providing its services to customers and members (Distributed Denial of Service attack or DDoS).
Trojans (aka Trojan Horses) are some of the most prevalent forms of malware in my experience. Trojans are so named because they often come disguised as a legitimate program such as a game hack or even an antivirus software!
Spyware is a form of malware that can track and collect a users personal information. Often spyware can be hidden in something legitimate such a music download. Adware is quite a bit like spyware, except that its main purpose is to present various advertisements to a PC user.
A worm is a self-replicating program that can send copies of itself to other computer users over a network. Most worms were designed to simply spread themselves and their payloads(i.e. the worm's "cargo").
A virus is a malicious program that can infect computers when its "host" program is run. It can infect other programs and spread to other computers by being passed on in an infected program. Computer viruses are very much similar to a human virus.
These are broad definitions of a few types of common malware. There are other types of malware in existence, which I will go over at a later date.
Remember, one of the first steps to prevention is with knowledge

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Contact Me

If you have any questions that you feel I might be able to answer, please feel free to drop me an email. I will reply as quickly as I can.
Click to email me.


Hello! I am a stay at home mom and a little bit of a computer geek. I enjoy helping people with their computer problems and started this blog to do just that, only for a larger audience. I've successfully removed malware from many computers and have kept my own computer in mint condition.  I hope that I can help visitors to this blog and make your computer time more enjoyable and less stressful.