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Everyone should know some essential computer basics in order to keep their information safe, be able to quickly fix problems as well as to keep their systems running fast and smooth. The basics are not limited to just understanding where the power button is on your system, there are many other important features that should be understood before operating a computer for work, or for play.

Keeping Your Information Safe

When it comes to computers, most of us are using the internet and with that comes some risk. It is very easy for someone to steal your identity, bank information or other valuable data if you do not understand how to protect yourself. One of the first lessons for keeping your system and its information safe is to install an anti-virus program on your computer and keep it updated. Anti-virus software is designed to spot and eliminate malicious software from entering your system. While most of the adware and spyware is harmless it can be a privacy annoyance, but some can be very malicious and actually steal your information. It is imperative that you update your anti-virus software regularly since so many new viruses are being created daily. The updates will add the newly found viruses to the database and enable it to better protect you.
The other issue with keeping your information safe is to be very careful of mock sites when on the internet. The websites that are secure will have a https:// at the front of the URL and not an ordinary http:// as you normally see. The https lets you know that the site is secure and it is safe to enter your information such as bank card numbers, address or other personal data. You should notice this on bank sites, shopping sites and anywhere that offers you the ability to enter your personal information.
Passwords are another problem when it comes to internet safety and security. Many people will use passwords that are personal to them, a child's name, their pets name or some variation of their birth date and name. If you make your passwords too personal or to simple then anyone who knows just a little about you, could steal your information. Think about it this way; say your dog's name is buck and you were born in 1970, if you have a Facebook page it shows the year you were born and there is a good possibility you have left status updates about your best pal buck. So, if you do what many people do and create a password such as buck1970 or buck70 it would be very simple to decode and any information you were trying to keep secure is open to the thief. So, create passwords that are harder to decode, ones that are not personal and do not include your birth date, pets name, child's name or anything else that is easily known about you. Most sites will show you your password strength when you create them, always go for a strong password that contains bother alpha and numeric characters, is longer than 6 characters and if possible use both upper case and lower case lettering.
Registry Cleaners
You may have seen ads for registry cleaners and was unsure what they are or why you would need one, well hopefully this helps to explain it. Your registry is the central brain of your computer; everything that you do will create a line in the registry and store it. Over time your registry can become corrupt or bloated and cause your system to freeze or bog down. If you have been swarmed with malicious software such as adware or spyware or viruses it can corrupt your registry, even if you use the anti-virus to remove them. Uninstalling software programs incorrectly will corrupt your registry, so always be sure to use the uninstall feature that came with the program or go to your control panel add/remove programs to ensure it is completely and correctly removed. When you do not uninstall a program correctly it will leave lines in the registry that point to a program that does not exist any longer and this can create a problem throughout your system.

Article was written by Jeff Frasco. For more information about computers you can visit Computer Knowledge Online. This website provides information about basic computer knowledge, help and hardware tips. The information is aimed to help the everyday person become more familiar with his or her computer.