CompuClever Blog

Speed up your computer by removing “temp” files

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If you run a Windows machine, there are likely a lot of “temporary” files on your hard drive. Temporary files are usually backup files created, for example, by Microsoft Word, Excel or other other Office applications, usually to help save your work in situations where the computer crashes suddenly. However, some temp files are left behind even when a program is quit correctly. This may be due to programming errors that cause temporary files to not be correctly disposed of when an application is quit. These files can accumulate on your hard drive without you even noticing.

Internet Explorer and other internet browsers also create these “temp” files. Web browsers, such as Internet Explorer, create “Temporary Internet Files” to store user data, including cookies, images from visited Web pages, and the user’s browsing history.

So, temp files can be very useful, and can make using your computer more enjoyable.

However, these temporary can take up a lot of space on your hard drive. This can be inconvenient – in this era of digital downloads space is always at a premium on most PCs – and these temporary files can also slow down your computer. So, sometimes it’s a good idea to get rid of them. Continue reading...

How to protect your PC from viruses

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We’ve all been there at some point: our computer has suddenly become slow, or perhaps unwanted popups are appearing even if you haven’t navigated to a new page. There’s a million-and-one symptoms that point to one awful cause: you’ve downloaded a computer virus.

While there are plenty of tools out there that can help clean your PC if you’ve downloaded a virus or some malware, it’s a cumbersome process that can be by turns annoying and even annoying. Once your computer starts acting funny, it makes you wonder if the hardware itself has been damaged, or if you have somehow leaked information onto the internet. Contracting a computer virus can be a traumatic experience that’s best avoided in the first place?

But what’s the best way to avoid computer viruses?

Just like in real-life, computers contract viruses via “vectors” or by common pathways, much like human being contract colds. Here’s a couple of common vectors and how to protect against them:

Clicking on malicious links

One of the most common “vectors” is by clicking a link on a website that activates malicious code in your web browser, which then (speaking in very general terms) infects your computer. You may see an an ad prompting you to download a security patch for Windows, or it may be a “warning” that  you’ve got a security threat (possibly a virus) on your computer, but if you click on the button you can get “help” immediately. Continue reading...

How to fix wireless internet problems

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It’s a common issue: you’ve paid $75 for a new wireless router, you’ve set up a home wireless network, but you have problmes connecting your laptop or home PC to the network.

The most basic (and most time-consuming) way to fix wireless internet connectivity problems is to restart everything:

  1. Unplug (power down) your modem
  2. Unplug (power down) your router
  3. Turn off your computer

As a rule of thumb, when trying to fix wireless router connectivity issues, you should wait at least 10 seconds before turning your modem back on, and then powering up your router. This is because the modem itself will save in its memory network information (such as IP addresses), and sometimes this network information may be causing the wireless router problem in the first place.

After 10 seconds or so, the modem has completely powered down and information should be fully removed. Some modems routers also actually physically reset various switches.

After everything has been powered down:

  1. Restart (power up) your modem.
  2. Wait for about 20 seconds (or until your modem is fully powered up), and then power up your wireless router.
  3. Restart your computer.

This usually is enough to fix wireless connectivity problems. If you’re still having problems, use an ethernet cable and try connecting your computer directly to the modem. Continue reading...

Core i3, Core i5, Core i7: what’s the difference? And which is right for you?

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We’ve come a long since an Intel 386 processor chip was considered the defacto standard for home computer CPUs (you’ll recall that the CPU is a “processor” or “chip” that acts as your computer’s engine).

Since the 386 days, PCs have moved on to be powered by Pentiums, Atoms, Celerons and everything in between.
However, if you go computer shopping these days, you’ll most likely encounter 3 different names: Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7. What’s the difference, and which one is right for you?

Generally speaking, Intel’s Core series of CPU microprocessors are faster, more powerful variations of the earlier Celeron and Pentium chips. They actually started out as “Core 2” “Core Duo” and other confusing names, but the Core i3, i5, and i7 are yet another generation of this chip.
As you might expect, the higher the number of the chip, the more powerful it is. So, the Core i3 is an entry-level chip, while the Core i7 is considered to be quite powerful.

But which one is right for you?

The answer, of course, depends on what you want to use your computer for. If you do any kind of video processing at all, you’ll probably want a more powerful chip. Continue reading...