My Computer Runs Slow

This week at Computer Solutions has been a "help my computer is running slow week." This has become a very common occurrence as more and more types of malware, spyware, popups, and viruses penetrate the defenses of your computer while it is on the Internet.

One of the main ways these pests get on the computer is when people respond to a warning that their computer has been infected with a virus and they need to click on the appropriate box to get rid it.

Or it might say, "Speed up your computer by clicking here."

These types of messages are nearly always hoaxes. When you click on the box the code downloads on your computer and bad things happen.

Also, those who download free music are candidates for attacks because they are connecting to a vast unregulated network of computers with who knows what on them.

Beware anytime you are asked to download something. Make sure you know exactly where it is coming from. That includes e-mail attachments.

After the code downloads, it hides in your computer and is difficult if not virtually impossible to search out and eradicate.

It often runs in RAM (temporary memory) and waits for some event, such as visiting a particular website, to activate.

Thus, it takes up the resources needed to run programs you actually want to use and as more and more of the offending code accumulates your computer runs slower and slower until it is almost useless.

We can try to eliminate the offenders, but many time they are so imbedded in the operating system that the only solution is a complete restore back to the way the computer was when you bought it.

This is not too big a deal if you have the restore disks, but you will need to backup all valuable data and will have to reinstall any programs that were not on your computer to begin with.

Also, you will have to reinstall printer, Internet, etc.

However, after all this is done your computer will run like new.

At least for awhile.

What is "Wireless Internet?"

This will be a blog which discusses some of what is going on in the computer world as seen through the eyes of us at Computer Solutions.

Often we will see a trend developing based on what customers are asking about or what is happening to their computers and then a short time later there will be an article in a national publication proclaiming they have spotted this same emerging development in the computer world.

We are getting a significant number of people wanting to get Internet anywhere anytime, whether driving down the road or out in the oil patch, and they inquire if we offer such a service.

They have heard about wireless Internet and the term makes it seem that there is now instant Internet on demand through a wireless card in a laptop from any location.

Some of the confusion comes from the term “wireless Internet”. It means different things in different contexts.

But a basic fact remains: the Internet does not materialize out of thin air. Somehow somewhere it has to connect to the wired world often going through thousands of miles of physical line to its final destination at a physical server.

At its most basic, wireless Internet means setting up a device in one’s home that lets a laptop or desktop computer connect to one’s cable or DSL connection through a wireless router. In other words one goes from the wireless card in the laptop to a wireless device called a wireless router which is wired into the cable or phone line and then out into the Internet.

On a larger scale, one can go to Starbucks or a motel which has wireless Internet access and connect to their system with a wireless notebook. However, it is the same principle as your home network. After you connect to their wireless equipment, you still go out through their wired connection into the Internet.

These are called “hot spots.” They offer free wireless Internet connectivity over a small area. If you are traveling and can find a hot spot at a coffee shop or motel or wherever, you can pull over and use your laptop with its wireless card to access the Internet free of charge.

There are also wireless systems which have access points set up on towers and through the use of a small antenna, you can get on the Internet These are generally used in rural areas where cable and DSL are not available. However, you have to have line of sight to these towers and will need a password to access them. These also eventually go out a wired connection at the wireless provider’s central location.

Then there is satellite Internet. Just like satellite TV, you use a dish to access a satellite way up in the sky which beams a signal to your computer. You ride this signal to the Internet but, as in all wireless Internet connections, the satellite connection eventually interfaces with the wired world.

To use the satellite on the road, you would have to carry your satellite dish with you and tune it into the satellite each time you wanted to use it. This is impractical to use while traveling unless you were staying in one place for a decent amount of time and have an instrument to enable you to tune in the satellite.

Finally we come to your only real solution for getting Internet if you are just traveling down the highway or out in the boon docks.

You will have to go through your cell phone provider. Just as you use their system of towers to get cell phone reception, they will provide you with a wireless card for your laptop so that you can access their towers to get the Internet anywhere you can get cell phone reception.

They, of course, have an extensive network of towers in place and thus allow you to receive Internet over a large area.

Sometimes it is slow compared to cable but it is a wireless Internet connection and more and more people in the oil field and those on the road a lot are putting this form of wireless Internet to good use.

Of course just like all the wireless connections discussed here, your cell phone Internet connection eventually goes into the wired world at some point.

If you have any questions or if you can add anything to my explanations, please use the comment feature of this blog.