PC Maintenance and Security

Since the start of this class, I have learned so many new skills and I've found Atomic Learning to be very helpful and informative. I watched several tutorials under the PC Maintenance and Security section, but these are the three that I found to be helpful to me, personally.

Tips for Safer Web Browsing: Explaining Cookies
I have heard the term used many times, but I never really understood what cookies were. I learned that cookies are small information files placed on your hard drive and later read by a website. They let the website recognize you and keep track of you/what you do while you are at the website. There are different types of cookies, and what surprised me is that they are meant to provide better service, but they can also create security risks.
1. Persistent cookies: popular with large or commercial sites, like Amazon.com, stay on your hard drive when you leave the site, and is read again when you revisit the site
2. Session cookies: exist only for as long as you are on the site, and are then erased
3. Tracking cookies: keep track of where you go and what you buy. They report information to advertisement agencies and provide details about a user’s lifestyle, web habits, & spending habits. This allows companies to customize the browsing experience and provide better service, but they also create security risks.

Good Safety and Security Habits: Running Disk Defragmenter
I learned that over time, computer files can become fragmented. What a disk defragmenter does is puts clusters back in sequence, which helps your computer to not have to work so hard to find them. You should run it once a month to help your hard drive run longer and more effectively. A disk defragmenter is built right into Windows, and is simple and easy to use. I learned how to create shortcut on my desktop, so hopefully I will remember to do this now that I can see the icon on my desktop. It can take a long time…even hours to defragment your hard drive!

Good Safety and Security Habits:System Restore
I learned that this feature is for Windows. It can help fix problems that might be making your computer run slowly or stop responding. If you ever encounter a strange problem with your computer, you can go back in time to a date when you know everything was working fine on your computer. I was surprised to learn that using System Restore does not affect any of your documents, pictures, or other personal data AND, if you don’t like the restoration, it is completely reversible! You can even create a restore point, for example-- before installing new software--in case something goes wrong.