Advice from Top10Tips.co.uk
Yorkshire PC have personally spoke to the guys at on Top10Tips and fully engage with their project. The project sponsor gave Yorkshire PC some useful insight into small business and how business acceleration models work. Following a 20 minute discussion with them Yorkshire PC is now off to implement a very effective customer satifsfaction model for all future customers. Thanks guys, your project is great. Visit www.top10tips.co.uk for solid qualified small business advice.
Yorkshire PC - World of Computer Repairs in Bradford. We provide Business IT Support & Computer Repairs to Bradford, Leeds, Halifax and surrounding areas in West Yorkshire. Please visit our main website: Yorkshire PC - World of Bradford Computer Repairs for our vast list of computer services.
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September 17, 2009
Posted in: IT Support & Advice 
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Quick Computer Cleaning Guide
Yorkshire PC has some basic advice on the importance of maintaining and cleaning your computer equipment. Yorkshire PC provides general information on how best to protect your computer equipment and data from the harms of dust and debris.
Yorkshire PC has provided this information to help everyone understand the need for cleaning and maintaining their computer equipment. This is so that you are less likely to have heat issues and you reduce the likelihood of future breakdowns of your PC equipment. However if you have any problems including overheating, or computer switching off, or maybe you simply need advice, then please don’t hesitate to contact us! We can help you by giving you the right advice with regards to your PC health or any other computer problems. You can contact us by clicking here or please telephone on 01274 900111 to avoid the breach or loss of any data.
An example of a dirty keyboard
Computer Cleaning Guide – The Basics
You hear many people say that we MUST check and clean our computer for virus, spyware and temporary files, but very few actually mention cleaning the exterior of your computer, such as your computer monitor, keyboard, mouse, printer and any other peripherals.
Just like you need to regularly check your computer for virus problems, you also need to control the dirt your computer components tend to attract. Dust is a major cause of computer overheat and performance problems. The fact the dust can be detrimental for your health and is a big cause of dust allergies should be enough to make you run a mile from your precious Personal Computer. But with our simple guide, you can not just be dust-free, but dust-less for definite, reducing the likelihood of you or your computer from having problems.
Before you begin, please check your manufacturers instructions for special information regarding the cleaning of their product. Switch OFF and disconnect ALL power to your pc and peripherals from the socket!
Monitor
It might not sound like a big issue, but the monitor is what we will spend most of our time staring at. Therefore its important to keep this clean as dirt can obscure and smudge an image and this puts a strain on our eyes as we try to concentrate harder.
1. Using a Vacuum on lowest possible settings,clean the plastic area around the monitor, avoiding the screen. You need to especially remove the dust from the area where the cooling grooves or slots are located (the holes where the excess heat is released from).
2. Wiping the whole monitor with a clean soft dry cloth should usually be enough. But if you have a very dirty screen, then you need to use a slightly damp cloth and depending on your type of monitor, also get hold of a CRT/LCD/TFT monitor cleaner. When cleaning your screen, do not put the cleaner directly onto the screen’s surface, but instead you need to apply it to a lint-free damp cloth and simple wipe down the screen.
Computer Case (Exterior Only!)
Most of the exterior case of a computer is commonly made out of metal. This isn’t a big issue when it comes trying to clean it, but there are smaller external parts such as the fans with take in the air and the exhaust fan which blows out the air from the rear.
1. Use the Vacuum, once again on lowest possible settings and remove the dust from the the front fan/air Intake (if accessible ) and rear fans.
2. Using a slightly damp cloth, with a mild soap solution, wipe the outside of the PC case, removing any dust in sight.
Computer Case (Interior Only!)
The interior of the computer case usually has big issues when it comes to dust and grime as the internal parts are the control centre of your computer and therefore any collecting dust is a ticking time-bomb for future computer problems as it clogs up onto the CPU heat sink, fans and almost every other component, causing overheating and slow down issues as well as component failure.
Even though people do carry out interior cleaning, Yorkshire PC are highly against this, unless you are an expert. We prefer that you DO NOT CLEAN the interior cleaning yourself as the computer base has many static sensitive components that could be damaged. We have had a number of cases where people have tried cleaning the internal components and ended up damaging their computer. We highly recommend you call an computer expert to carry out such work. Yorkshire PC can provide such service. Please click HERE for further information.
Keyboard
Which one do you think is cleaner? Your PC keyboard or your toilet? You say “Keyboard”? WRONG! The keyboard is a big offender when it comes to collection of dust, dirt and bacteria. Recent scientific studies have found that there is FIVE TIMES more bacteria on our humble computer keyboard than the bathroom toilet. We use the keyboard daily, so dirt, food crumbs, dust drink and bacteria from our fingers, all end up stuck on the keyboard. This will not only give you PC problems, such as sticky keys, but will also put your health at risk as the germs spread from your hands to your mouth.
1. Using a can of compressed air, blow out any dirt or debris. If you don’t have or can’t obtain a can of compressed air, then either use a vacuum to or simply turn the keyboard upside down and tap the back side gently to force any dirt or crumbs to drop out.
2. Wipe down the rest of the keyboard and keys with a damp cloth with mild-soap solution. For unreachable areas (usually between the keys), we recommend you use dampened ear swabs, but make sure you change the swabs if they become too dirty.
Mouse -
The computer mouse needs to be cleaned regularly, especially if you have the old roller ball type mouse. If you still have one of these, then we highly recommend that you purchase the optical/laser mouse as these are very cheap to buy and will last a lot longer. The new optical/laser mice don’t have a roller ball and uses led or laser to move the pointer around. Although you still need to give new optical/laser mice a quick wipe with a damp cloth on the outside, this almost eliminates your need to constantly clean the inside of the mouse and is much more accurate than the old roller ball mice too. However if you do still own the roller ball mouse, then please follow the instructions below.
1. For the outside of the mouse, you simply need a damp-cloth with some mild soap solution and a quick wipe down should be fine to remove dirt and dust.
2. Clean the mouse pad and make sure you remove any stuck dirt or debris.
3. Remove the bottom cover (holding the ball) of the mouse by pressing your fingers firmly and turning the cover in the directional arrows. The cover will come off and the mouse ball will drop into your hands.
4. Wipe the ball with a lint-free damp cloth.
5. Now look inside your mouse. Here is the irritating bit which is cleaning the 3 internal rollers that your mouse ball rubs along. Use a ear swab and the top, between and around the 3 internal rollers.
6. Drop the mouse ball back into its slot and close the cover.
Cables and Other Peripherals (Printer, Scanner etc) -
Every peripheral is different, therefore we can’t cover each type. But most printers and scanners simply need the odd wipe down with a damp lint-free cloth and your job is done.
All Computer Cables – For all the computer cables and wiring to its peripherals – clean the power cords and cables by slowly pulling them through the cloth, whilst maintaining a firm grip. Make sure you don’t grip too harshly as this could damage the cables.
Dusting of the remaining peripherals – Use a clean soft dry cloth to go over all the surfaces of your computer peripheral.
Yorkshire PC - World of Computer Repairs in Bradford. We provide Business IT Support & Computer Repairs to Bradford, Leeds, Halifax and surrounding areas in West Yorkshire. Please visit our main website: Yorkshire PC - World of Bradford Computer Repairs for our vast list of computer services.
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September 3, 2009
Tags: cable, clean, computer, cpu, debris, dust, fan, maintain, maintenance, monitor, overheat, pc, printer, scanner Posted in: Hardware, IT Support & Advice 2 Comments
NewsFlash! – New Service being Added!
Web Design Bradford SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
Looking for an expert to design you a website or maybe update your old one?
Are you looking for cheap, but quality web design work?
Need your website ranking high in Google, Yahoo or MSN?
Well look no further, as Yorkshire PC can provide you with a cheap web solution.
We cater for clients who require Static Web Design or Content Management System. This allows us to setup a website for a client, letting them update and maintain it without occuring huge costs for web site maintenance. In the long term, your support costs are kept low as you can upload text, pictures and videos to your hearts content.
We can provide you with some of the lowest web hosting prices with several of our partners ISPs, specially to allow you, our client to keep your running costs down.
Worried about the Technical Jargon? Well worry not, as Yorkshire PC in Bradford will explain everything and can even provide special Content Management Training if necessary.
Yorkshire PC - World of Computer Repairs in Bradford. We provide Business IT Support & Computer Repairs to Bradford, Leeds, Halifax and surrounding areas in West Yorkshire. Please visit our main website: Yorkshire PC - World of Bradford Computer Repairs for our vast list of computer services.
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August 28, 2009
Tags: bradford, design, joomla, latest, Latest News!, search engine optimisation, seo, web, website, wordpress, yorkshire Posted in: Latest News! No Comments
NewsFlash! – Site & Service Updates!
Yorkshire PC has decided to update our website and as you can see, we have added this brand-new blog page to help our clients as well as anyone else to the latest information and advice relating to computers.
Please take a look around and please do let us know if you find any issues with this or any of our sites or if you have any other problems with our services. We are here to help, but we can’t do this without your feedback. We know our services are good, but we want to do even better!
Yorkshire PC - World of Computer Repairs in Bradford. We provide Business IT Support & Computer Repairs to Bradford, Leeds, Halifax and surrounding areas in West Yorkshire. Please visit our main website: Yorkshire PC - World of Bradford Computer Repairs for our vast list of computer services.
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August 27, 2009
Tags: bradford, design, joomla, latest, Latest News!, search engine optimisation, seo, web, website, wordpress, yorkshire Posted in: Latest News! One Comment
IT Security & Data Security
Yorkshire PC gives some basic advice on IT Security & Data Security. Yorkshire PC provides general information on how best to protect your computer equipment and data. Note that this is the very basic information to help people understand about the importance of IT Security & Data Security, and does not go into full details. This is so that we avoid confusing those of us with less understanding about computers and data.
Yorkshire PC has provided this information to help everyone grasp the basics of IT Security and Data Security issues. However if you have a concern about your IT equipment or Data Security issues or maybe you simply need advice, then please don’t hesitate to contact us! We can help you by giving you the right advice with regards to your IT concerns or any other computer problems. You can contact us by clicking here or please telephone on 01274 900111 to avoid the breach or loss of any data.
Importance of IT Security and Data Security
IT Security or Data Security – The Basics
Whether your a residential or a business user, it is important that you carry out your computer data backup and security audit of your computer equipment, as you may have collected important data over many years. Just to give you an idea of the sort of important information you can lose, we have compiled a small list for your eyes:-
Residential Users tend to have:-
1. Years of precious collected/scanned family photos & videos
2. Bank and other Personal details
3. CVs, Spreadsheets and other documents
4. Your kids may have their school work
Business Users tend to have a lot more to lose due to the nature of their what they do:-
1. Many types of accounting data / spreadsheets / documents
2. Bank and employee details
3. Company strategies
4. Sales Figures
5. Tax information
6. Client Data & Details
Now imagine if you lost any of the above. Not only is the security of this data precious for a home user, but from a business user’s point of view, the loss of such data could spell disaster for their business.
What threats are there exactly to my computer equipment or data?
In order to explain in more simple terms, we divide the threats to your computer security into three main risk categories and then give examples of those risks:-
1. An Event
a. Fire – Computer equipment and data being burnt
b. Theft – Computer equipment being stolen and data being used for criminal purposes
c. Water - Computer equipment and data being water damaged
d. Vandalism – Deliberate damage being caused to your computer equipment and data
2. Computer Programs
a. Virus or Trojan HackTools – A program deliberately created to access and damage your data
b. Spyware or Malware – Malicious Software that steals your details
3. A Person or People
a. Unintentional deletion of your data or damage to computer equipment
b. Deliberate deleting of your data and damage to your computer equipment
c. Hackers/Phishing - Tools, Websites or Emails used to obtain access to your PC or obtain your details
What can I do to protect myself from such IT security issues?
Due to the different types of data security issues, we have to break this down even further as a different action is required for each risk:-
1. An Event
a. Fire -
i) Fire-Proof Secure Room or Vault
ii) Heat and Smoke detectors
iii) Fire suppression system
iv) Remote Data Backup System
b. Theft -
i) Security Alarm/Survelliance/Alert System
ii) Limited Access Control Cards
iii) Limited Entry/Exit Points
iv) Encrypt Data
v) Secure Network system with User Access Control
vi) ID Mark all computer equipment
vii) Remote Data Backup System
viii) Use of User Access Control to limit access to unauthorised files
x) Use of strong passwords
c. Water -
i) Spot Detectors
ii) Remote Data Backup System
2. Computer Programs
a. Virus or Trojan HackTools -
i) Use of a good Firewall
ii) Use of a good Anti-virus & Trojan scanner
iii) Strong policy on Regular health-check and scan of computers for viruses and spyware
iv) Local & Remote Data Backup System
v) Use of strong passwords
vi) Secure Computer/Network system with User Access Control
b. Malicious Software, such as Spyware or Malware -
i) Use of good Anti-Spyware / Anti-Malware Programs
ii) Local & Remote Data Backup System
iii) Use of strong passwords
iv) Strong policy on Regular health-check and scan of computers for viruses and spyware
v) Secure Computer/Network system with User Access Control
3. A Person or People
a. Unintentional deletion of your data or damage to computer equipment -
i) Education about IT for staff and home users, to avoid accidental damage
ii) Secure Network system with User Access Control
b. Deliberate deleting of your data and damage to your computer equipment -
i) Secure Computer/Network system with User Access Control
ii) Security Alarm/Survelliance/Alert System
c. Hackers/Phishing -
i) Use of a good firewall
ii) Use of strong passwords
iii) Use of a good Anti-virus/Trojan/Spyware Scanner
iv) Avoid emails/websites which ask you to enter your personal details, especially if you don’t recognise them
Yorkshire PC - World of Computer Repairs in Bradford. We provide Business IT Support & Computer Repairs to Bradford, Leeds, Halifax and surrounding areas in West Yorkshire. Please visit our main website: Yorkshire PC - World of Bradford Computer Repairs for our vast list of computer services.
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August 25, 2009
Tags: backup, data, encryption, fire, Hardware, identity, it, secure, Security, Software, spyware, theft, virus Posted in: Hardware, Internet, Security, Software No Comments