Computer Hints

I’m computer literate, although I’d hardly call myself an expert. Still, I’m the most tech savvy person in my family, meaning I’m the one everyone calls when something screws up. My life would be much, much simpler if they used some common sense rules.

1. Shut it down and restart it. It doesn’t matter what it is. Laptop, iPad, modem, whatever, it isn’t working right, just shut it down and restart it before calling me.

2. Whatever you download, make sure that you don’t agree to install anymore toolbars. They only make things slower. And you certainly don’t need fifty of them. Seriously, uncheck the box!

3. You don’t need that stupid Weatherbug app. There are a million pages online that tell you what the weather is like outside. Having the app does nothing but spawn popups and eat CPU.

4. If you’re wondering why your browser is so slow, it’s because you’re using Explorer. Chrome, Firefox, Safari, literally anything is better than Explorer. Jumping into the internet Tron-style and battling digital monsters to find the information yourself is faster than Explorer. Not to mention safer.

5. Any program that claims it will make your computer run faster is lying. Ditto anything that claims it’s a free antivirus software. If you want to avoid a virus, don’t click on links that are shortened or unrecognizable.

6. And don’t click on any links in emails, ever, even if it looks real (this one is a special shoutout to my sister, as my mom knows better).

7. It’s not full memory that makes your computer run slow, it’s the crap you download that’s full of malware.

8. Seriously. Just shut it off and turn it back on.

Now, if I could only get my family to pay attention to this list…