News Laptop Computer

FAQ | Avoiding harm to laptop battery

by John J. Fried

Question: I have a laptop that I increasingly use in place of my PC.

I have read that using the computer connected to a power outlet while the battery is fully charged can damage the battery and shorten its life. Is that true?

- H.S., Sicklerville
A: That question - or, rather, the answer - is hotly debated.

There are laptop users who swear up and down that they have run laptops for years with no ill effect to the battery while the computers where connected to an AC outlet.

And then there are those who swear just as vehemently that running the laptop that way overheats the battery or subjects it to other indignities and shortens its life to as little as nine months.

To be conservative, do one of two things.

Run the laptop on its battery until you get the warning that you are about to run out of power, then plug it in and work while the battery is recharging.

That should give you several hours of use without risking damage to the battery.

Or just take out the battery while you are working on conventional electricity.

The one disadvantage to this approach is that the tip connecting the power cord to the laptop can easily slip out and shut down the laptop in an instant.

So, if you go this route, back up often while you are working.

Keeping printer as your default

Q: I use two different printers with my computer and move my parallel cable between them.

Even though I have my Epson set as the default printer, when I go to print the computer picks the HP printer and also makes it the default printer in the Control Panel. Why doesn't the Epson stay as the default?

- Steve Darlak, Quakertown
A: Check the File/Print options menu in all the programs with which you print.

One or more may have the HP set as the default printer and may be forcing Windows to accept that designation.

Another possibility is that Windows is confused by the constant plugging and unplugging of your parallel cable at the printer end.

I'm confused by that as well.

There is a better option for alternating which printer you want you use: a switch box, either one you set manually to determine which printer gets the action, or one that senses, according to the setting you choose in File/Print, where data should be sent for printing.

How do intruders get PC's address?

Q: Occasionally I look at the log that lists the attempted intrusions stopped by my computer's firewall.

Many can be traced to Europe and Asia, as well as across the United States. Why do these people try to connect with my computer and how do they get my address? Is there any danger from these attempted intrusions?

- Ken Gruen, Philadelphia
A: Every time you connect to the Internet, your computer is assigned a specific numeric address.

The criminals trying to get access to your computer use software programs that can look up thousands of Internet addresses a minute.

When the program finds an address that is being used by a computer, the program can also probe to determine if that PC is vulnerable.

Vulnerable, among other things, means that the PC runs software that can be manipulated to allow entry into the computer, that the PC is not protected by a good firewall or that it is protected by a firewall that has not been updated.

When the criminal finds such a PC, the door is wide open for him to search your PC for private data, such as your Social Security and bank account numbers; to use your PC as part of a concerted attack on corporate or government computers; or to send spam when you are away from the PC.

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