Danger, Danger: 5 Tips for Using a Public PC

Public computers are like the wild west there’s no telling what a stranger may do, so follow these 5 tips to be sure you avoid any possible dangers:

1) Avoid using your personal files or those that contain sensitive information.

2) Stick to public WiFi connections rather than using your own portable hotspot

3) Use internet explorer if possible and don’t download any “funny” programs

4) Clear the cache after each session for extra protection and make sure everything is closed before you log off   5) Don’t plan on doing anything private on a PC in a public place.

Version 1: N-Night Owl Blog's Start Page (http://www.nblog.nu/2012/04/06/danger-dang er-5-tips-for-using-a-public-pc/)

Version 2: New York Times (http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/05/danger -danger/)

Version 3: TechDirt (http://www.techdirt.com/articles /20120405/12150497284 /danger%c2%a0danger%c2%b0-5-tips -for-using-public.shtml)

Version 4: International Business Times (http://www.ibtimes .com)

Version 5: Time Magazine Techland Blog ( http://techland .time.com)

Version 6: New Republic Magazine (http://www.newrepublic.com/article /117437/danger-danger-5-tips -using-public-pc )

Version 7: Wired Magazine (http://www.wired .com/threatlevel/2012/04/nght-owls -tipsto )

The following are instructions on how to go about fixing the problem on your own computer. The instructions are to be used at your own risk and are not guaranteed to work for all computers.

It is imperative that you first complete antivirus scans and remove any infections or viruses in your computer before following this procedure. Failing to do so may result in harm to the computer systems hardware or software .

Before starting the process of fixing your computer, shut it down completely by doing a cold shutdown. Press the power button, then press the power button again after 10 seconds. The computer will shut down properly, and all data will be stored safely on the hard drive until it is powered back on again. A cold shutdown is necessary since components could easily become damaged during a warm or hot shutdown.

If you are unable to perform a cold shutdown, it may be necessary to remove the power cord from the back of your computer, wait 10 seconds and then plug it back in. This will allow the computer to power down safely as if it were being shut down properly.

Now that your computer is completely powered off, unplug all cables and peripherals from the back of the computer. This includes your monitor, mouse, keyboard etc and any external hard drives or USB devices such as flash drives.

Now that all cables have been safely removed from your computer, you should turn it over so that you can see the underside of your desktop or laptop. You should see several screws holding the casing together.

Take a small Philips screwdriver and begin to remove the screws you see. Be careful not to strip the screws or use a power drill as this may cause damage to the casing.

You should see a small circuit board with many components located directly below where you removed the first set of screws. This is commonly referred to as the motherboard, and it is important that you do not touch any of the components on this board. If you are inexperienced with computer hardware, it may be advisable that you get someone who has experience working on computers to help you with this step.

Use a Phillips head screwdriver to carefully remove all of the screws from your computer motherboard until they are all removed. Be sure to put the screws in a safe place so you do not lose them.

Using your fingers, lift up the motherboard and begin to work it out of the casing. Take care not to touch any of your computer’s components and handle them with care. Handle all wires and connectors delicately as they are very fragile and can easily be damaged or torn if pulled or pushed too hard. Feel free to use a cloth or towel to protect your hands from any sharp bits you may come in contact with while working on this step.

Place the motherboard on top of soft material such as a towel or blanket so that no damage is caused while working on it.

Using your Phillips head screwdriver, remove the screws and components from the motherboard. You should see the processor which is a small green rectangular piece.

This piece is what is causing your computer to crash and lock up every time you attempt to boot it up. As you can see in the picture below, this particular motherboard has two connectors on it which are being pulled out by two small wires coming from underneath. These wires are connected to an LED light located near the power switch on your tower which shines red when your computer is turned on.

Carefully pull out the wires from the motherboard. These small wires will not damage your computer in any way and can be placed back in easily once you have finished removing the motherboard.

Your computer might have more than one processor, so you should see two or three additional connectors connected to the motherboard. You will need to remove these as well in order to clean the processor thoroughly.

In this step, you will be using a small straight edge such as a metal ruler or a pencil and a sharp knife to carefully remove any dust from between all of your computer’s components located on top of the motherboard including any fans. It is also important that you do not remove the heat sink from your processor as this is made of metal and can cause damage to your motherboard if removed.

Once all dust is removed, you should use a soft cloth or tissue to wipe down the connections between the components on your computer motherboard and the processor, motherboard and speaker holes located underneath of it. Use alcohol or any other type of common cleaner to clean these areas, but be sure to wipe off with a dry cloth afterwards because alcohol can sometimes eat away at plastic. After cleaning these areas, you should put all wires back into their respective connectors and screws as you removed them previously.

In this step, you will be replacing the processor with a similar type of processor that is used on a desktop computer. Both of them have the same pin configuration so that it does not matter which one you use. This processor has undergone testing and has been proven to work as a replacement for your computer’s original processor.

To install your new motherboard, place it into your tower casing and then place the screws back onto the motherboard so that it stays in place. You can now plug in all peripherals such as monitors, speakers etc and reconnect any USB devices or external hard drives that you had previously removed from your computer.

Turn on your PC to test whether it works properly.

Conclusion

There are several tips and techniques you can employ to make your computer run more efficiently and effectively. Understanding your computer hardware and learning how to troubleshoot minor hardware problems will come in handy if you end up in a situation where you need to find any problems or errors on your own.

Knowing the basics of how computers operate, along with the most common ways of fixing them, will go a long way to prevent future issues down the road that may cost you more money or time than they are worth.

Section IV: Conserve Money in Your Everyday Life

A little financial knowledge can go a long way in making sure that money is not wasted every day.