CPU? RAM? Do you think they are just letters of the alphabet or something to do with computers? If you guessed they have something to do with a computer, you are correct. Not understanding these basic computer terms can prevent you from making educated decisions on choosing a notebook or computer. Before you even think about shopping for a notebook or computer, you should understand the basic terms and lingo.

The CPU

A CPU stands for central processing unit, which acts as the brain of the computer. It is important when you look at computers that you purchase one with a name brand CPU with high speed. When you look at CPU brands, you want one with a well known reputation that has been in the market for quite sometime like AMD or Intel. As for the speed of the CPU, CPU speed is measured in GHz. The higher the GHz the faster your computer will run in most cases.

RAM

RAM is the acronym for random access memory, which keeps computers running fast. The more RAM you have the faster your computer will seem to run. RAM only works and functions when your computer is on because it stores temporary files and runs your programs, operating system, etc. In other words, RAM is similar to a person’s short term memory because it remembers every task you perform until it is turned off. If RAM did not clear itself when you turned off the computer, it would store so much useless data that it would eventually overload and crash. This is why is it important to shut down or restart your computer occasionally, since you will clear the RAM and your computer will run faster.

The Hard Drive

A Hard Drive stores data, which allows you to access important files. The hard drive is the computer’s long term memory. Unlike the RAM, which stores un-important temporary files, a hard drive stores files that really matter to you, the user. Every time you save a word document, pictures, movies, etc, they are stored on your hard drive. The amount of storage the hard drive has is measured in GB, which means gigabytes. The higher the GBs the more information you can store.

Now that you know the basics of computer jargon you need to know which mistakes are common so as to avoid them.

Some of the Most Common Mistakes When Buying a Computer

Before you start looking around for a computer, read the most common mistakes people have made when purchasing a computer.

The Waiting Game

Technology is always upgrading and improving. Some people are hesitant on purchasing a computer because they think it will be outdated in six months. Wrong! This statement is completely false. The best advice is not to wait if you really need a computer. As fast as technology is advancing, you could be waiting forever, if you keep putting the purchase off until the next advancement. Plus if you wait for the newest technology, you could end up paying a lot more money for technology that is uneccassary for your situation.

Not Considering Other Expenses

When you purchase a computer or laptop, there are other hidden costs that you may not think about such as mouse, printers, cables, software, etc. For example, your computer may come with a 90 day free virus scanner. However if you want to keep this virus scanner, which is very important, you must purchase the updated software. What may prove to be a better solution is to download a free program such as AVG Free. Before buying a computer, set a few dollars aside for other items you might need.

Paying For an Extended Warranty

Most companies only make a small profit for computers and laptops because of all of the costs associated with manufacturing and customizing them. This is why these companies offer an extended warranty for a high fee so they can increase profit margins. When you purchase an extended warranty, you are gambling that your computer will fail before the warranty expires. This rarely happens. In fact, most computers will fail after the warranty expires. It is better to put that extra money towards items you will need for your computer such as mouse, scanner, printer, software, etc. However if something does happen to your computer, it may cost less to get it fixed than to purchase the warranty.

If you are experiencing a slow starting, sluggish, problem-prone computer, please give me a call at CompRevive. Local 423-613-5590 or toll free 1-800-935-7220 or visit my website at www.comprevive.com to schedule an appointment. To read all of my past articles visit my blog at www.plaintechtalk.com/blog . Thank you for reading Nathan’s Plain Tech Talk.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Welcome back to Nathan’s Plain Tech Talk. Last week I gave you a list of some Window’s shortcuts that should prove to be very valuable in saving you lots of time and making you more productive. This week I am going to discuss with you the internet  terminology used by computer geeks everywhere. With an understanding of the terminology used in computer books and articles such as mine, you will be better equipped in your quest for education and better prepared to use the internet for more then just surfing the web.

Browser- A browser is the software (see below) that visitors to your site use to view it. The most popular browser is Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, which comes with Windows.

Bandwidth.- Bandwidth is the amount of data that your website can send each second, as well as the amount of data that the visitor to your website can receive. If either one doesn’t have enough bandwidth, then the website will be slow to load. For this reason, you should choose a host with plenty of bandwidth, as well as testing that your site doesn’t take too long to download on slow connections.

Cookie.-Cookies are data files that your site can save on the computer of someone who visits that site, to allow it to remember who they are if they return. You will find that problems people have in ordering from you will almost inevitably be related to cookies — they will need to have them turned on.

Favorite- A favorite is a website that a user has stored to look at again. On some browsers this is also called a “Bookmark”. These are created by choosing ‘Add to Favorites’  or ‘Bookmark Site’ in their browser’s menu.

Download- Transferring data from a website to a computer.

FTP- File Transfer Protocol. This is a common method of uploading (see below) files to your website.

Javascript- A common language for writing ’scripts’ on websites, which are small programs that make the site more interactive. Another common cause of problems for visitors.

JPEG- Joint Photographic Experts Group. This is the name of the most popular format for pictures on the web, named after the group that came up with it. If you want to put pictures on your website, you should save them as JPEGs.

Hardware- Hardware is computer equipment that physically exists. It is the opposite of software.

Hosting- If you’ve got a website out there on the Internet, then you’ll be paying someone for hosting. It is the service of making your site available for people to see. For an example of a hosting service please visit http://www.hostcc.com .

HTML-HyperText Markup Language. A kind of code used to indicate how web pages should be displayed, using a system of small ‘tags’. The ‘b’ tag, for example, causes text to appear in bold, and the ‘img’ tag displays a picture.

Hyperlink- A hyperlink is when a piece of text on a website can be clicked to take you to another site, or another page on the same site. For example, if clicking your email address on your website allows someone to email you, then your email address is a hyperlink.

Programming- This is when the computer is given instructions to tell it what to do, using one of many ‘programming languages’. A couple of common programming languages for the web include PHP and Perl.

Server- The server is where your website is stored, and it is the server that people are connecting to when they visit the site. If someone tells you, for example, that your server is ‘down’, it means that your website is inaccessible. Note that server refers both to the hardware and software of this system.

Software- Programs that run on the computer, or that make your website work. Microsoft Word is software, for example, as is Apache (the most popular web server software). Opposite of hardware.

Spider- Don’t be scared if a spider visits your website! Spiders are simply programs used by search engines to scan your site and help them decide where it should appear when people search. It is good to be visited by spiders, as it means you should start appearing in search engines soon.

Upload- Uploading is when you transfer data from your own computer to your website. For example, you might upload your logo, or an article you’ve written. Opposite of download.

URL- Uniform Resource Locator. This is just a short way of saying ‘web address’, meaning what you have to type in to get to your website. Sometimes pronounced as ‘Earl’.

This listing was provided by James Calvin, who will show you how to market your product to the world using the only real techniques that make the internet pay off. Go to http://www.MillionaireMarketingManual.com to learn more about his techniques if you are interested.

I really hope that this little glossary will help you in your quest for a better understanding of internet terminology. Join me next week as we delve deeper into the world of computers and the internet.

If you are experiencing frustrations with your slow starting, sluggish, problem-prone computer, check out my services at http://www.comprevive.com  or give me a call at 423-613-5590 or toll free at 1-800-935-7220. I offer in-home service and computer pick-up and drop-off services. I look forward to easing your computer frustrations for good.

This week I would like to do things a little different and offer you a list of some shortcuts that should make you a little more productive while on your computer. Since Windows is still the most popular operating system by far and Internet Explorer the most popular web browser (though Firefox is catching up) I will focus on shortcuts for these two only.

Lets start out with shortcuts for your Windows operating system and most Windows based programs…

Open a new document

Ctrl-O

Undo your last command

Ctrl-Z or Alt-Backspace

Undo your last undo

Ctrl-Y

Save the current document

Ctrl-S

Select the whole current document

Ctrl-A

Delete selection and move it to clipboard

Ctrl-X

Copy selection to the clipboard

Ctrl-C

Paste clipboards contents into current document

Ctrl-V

Start programs search or find

Ctrl-F or F3

Move cursor to document’s beginning

Ctrl-Home

Move cursor to document’s end

Ctrl-End

Open a shortcut (right-click) menu

Shift-F10

Open print dialog

Ctrl-P

Turn on/off italics

Ctrl-I

Turn on/off bold

Ctrl-B

Turn on/off underlining

Ctrl-U

Ok now that we have our Windows based programs and our operating system working for us a little harder and faster, lets move on to Internet Explorer…

Go to address bar

Alt-D

Open dialog box to go to new website

Ctrl-O or Ctrl-L

Go to Home Page

Alt-Home

Open a new browser window

Ctrl-N

Toggle full-screen on/off

F11

Show/hide Favorites bar

Ctrl-I

Show/hide History bar

Ctrl-H

Open Find box

Ctrl-F

Show/hide Search bar

Ctrl-E or F3

Stop downloading web page

Esc

Refresh current web page

F5 or Ctrl-R

Refresh page regardless of time stamp

Ctrl-F5

Automatically add www. Before and .com after, what you are typing in the address bar and go to site

Ctrl-Enter

You now have the shortcuts that will increase your productivity, if you take the time to practice and learn them. Once you get into the habit of employing these techniques you will be so much faster, you will wonder how you lived without using shortcuts for so long. You can find a list of shortcuts plus many other powerful computer tips at www.pcworld.com . You should always take the time to increase your knowledge of  computers. A little time spent learning can increase your productivity 100 fold.

If you are trying to work on a sluggish, slow starting computer, or are having error problems or start-up problems please visit my new site at http://www.comprevive.com for the simplest solution available. Or you can give me a call at 423-613-5590 or toll free at 1-800-935-7220 . We can also get rid of all your viruses and Mal-ware, fast, easy and guaranteed.

To some people, the words Trojan Horse, brings up thoughts of a recent movie…Troy, I believe it was. We have all heard the term Trojan Horse, but what exactly is it? A Trojan Horse is a destructive program that masquerades as a harmless application just like in our history books, when they invaded through what appeared to be a gift. Unlike viruses, Trojan Horses do not replicate themselves, but they can be just as destructive. One of the most dangerous examples of a Trojan is a program that promises to rid your computer of viruses but instead introduces viruses into your computer.

The Trojan can be tricky. Who hasn’t been online and had an advertisement pop up claiming to be able to rid your computer of some nasty virus? Even more frightening, you receive an email that claims to be alerting you to a new virus that can threaten your computer. The sender promises to quickly eradicate, or protect, your computer from viruses if you simply download their “free”, attached software into your computer. You may be skeptical but the software looks legitimate and the company sounds reputable. You proceed to take them up on their offer and download the software. In doing so, you have just potentially exposed yourself to a massive headache and your computer, to a laundry list of ailments.

When a Trojan is activated, numerous things can happen. Some Trojans are more annoying than malicious. Some of the less annoying Trojans may choose to change your desktop settings or add silly desktop icons. The more serious Trojans can erase or overwrite data on your computer, corrupt files, spread other malware such as viruses, spy on the user of a computer and secretly report data like browsing habits to other people, log keystrokes to steal information such as passwords and credit card numbers, phish for bank account details (which can be used for criminal activities), and even install a backdoor into your computer system so that the perpetrator can come and go as they please.

To increase your odds of not encountering a Trojan, follow these guidelines.

1. Remain diligent
Trojans can infect your computer through rogue websites, instant messaging, and emails with attachments. Do not download anything into your computer unless you are 100 percent sure of its sender or source.

2. Ensure that your operating system is always up-to-date. If you are running a Microsoft Windows operating system, this is essential.

3. Install reliable anti-virus software. It is also important that you frequently download any updates to catch all new Trojan Horses, viruses, and worms. Be sure that the anti-virus program that you choose can also scan e-mails and files downloaded through the internet.

4. Consider installing a firewall. A firewall is a system that prevents unauthorized use and access to your computer. A firewall is not going to eliminate your computer virus problems, but when used in conjunction with regular operating system updates and reliable anti-virus software, it can provide additional security and protection for your computer.

Nothing can guarantee the security of your computer 100 percent. However, you can continue to improve your computer’s security and decrease the possibility of infection by consistently following these guidelines. Now let’s talk about the most popular firewall on the market.

So we don’t get too categorized and start to think that Trojans are the only threat, let’s call all these threats Malware. An odd sounding word created to lump all malicious software programs, including viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, adware, and other malevolent codes into one “cause-your-computer-serious-hurt” category.

It’s not an easy task keeping malware out of your computer system. In order to accomplish this, you need a strong antivirus and firewall program. One such program that can deliver the goods is ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite from Zone Labs. Zone Labs is one of the most trusted brands in Internet Security and for good reason. Their product, simply put, kicks serious malware gluteus maximus.

ZoneAlarm has received more review recommendations that any other Internet-security software suite because of its superb firewall and antivirus protection. It blocks pop-up ads, protects against identify theft and provides adequate spam filters that are flexible. It even beats the market leader, Norton Internet Security, which is often criticized for excessive system drag.

Its newer versions includes these additional features:

· Triple Defense Firewall to prevent spyware from sending your information across the Internet. It also makes your computer invisible to anyone on the Net.

· Smart Defense Advisor which can automatically adjust your security settings for maximum protection against the latest virus and spyware outbreaks.

· Advanced Identify and Privacy Protection to prevent your personal data from leaving your computer without your approval.

The bonus for the average user who cringes at the idea of setting-up one of these systems is that the interface is easier to understand and use in comparison to most if its competitors. If you choose to venture beyond the out-of-the-box default settings, and install a more elaborate filtering, know that this will require some additional time to set up on your part.

Overall, ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite is a user-friendly, comprehensive security solution that will keep your computer safe from Internet hazards and cyber criminals within minutes of installation.

If you have a slow, sluggish, stubborn computer that takes forever to start up, check out the services we offer at http://www.comprevive.com . Rid your computer of malware and fix any drive and registry problems with our packaged Complete Restoration Service. If you would like to read past articles on computers and technology read Nathan’s Plain Tech Talk online at http://www.plaintechtalk.com/blog .