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Ask the Master Newsletter Archives
Welcome to the previous editions of the Ask the Master newsletter.
On your left you will find links to tips and the how to’s of
running a Virtual Assistant practice. We hope you enjoy your stay
and if you have a question you’d like answered send it to submission@vatp.ca.
Ask
The Master
May 2005 Volume 4/Issue 5 |
Computer Maintenance
We change the oil in our cars, filters in our furnance and batteries
in our smoke detectors to maintain peak performance. What are you
doing to maintain peak performance of your computer?
Because your computer is the key to running your business you want
to make sure it is always operating at maximum speed. This ensures
you are being as efficient as possible when performing tasks and translates
to being able to over deliver resulting in happy clients. In this
edition of Ask the Master we will explore the maintenance schedule
required to keep our computers and our business running efficiently.
Warmly,
Mary-Lou Ashton
Master Virtual Assistant
Questions In This Edition
(Click on the links to go to that question.) What can I do
to improve communication with a client?
What things do I need
to maintain on my computer? There are basically two sections
to maintaining your computer. There is the cleaning and removing
of unnecessary files and data which slow down the speed of your
computer and the updated of major software programs to ensure protection
against vulnerabilities and improved operation. These include cleaning
files, browser cache, cookies and temp files. Updating virus definitions,
Windows and Office applications. Defragmenting your computer.
What What do I need
to do weekly?
Update virus definitions at least weekly. Find out when and how
often your virus software posts and updates their definitions. For
instance if they only update them once a week on Wednesdays then
you would want to make sure you run your updates every Thursday
morning so you have maximum protection. This may be something you
need to do daily as well so it’s important to know how your
virus software company operates their updates.
Also consider running more than one antivirus software for maximum
protection!
What do I need to do
monthly? This is the largest piece of the computer maintenance
I do. I clear my browser cache (including history), cookies, temp
and prefetch files (these are files Windows XP uses to start the
program and applications and should be cleaned out regularly to
avoid build-up), and empty my recycle bin using a free tool called
Clean Up! (http://cleanup.stevengould.org/). You can do this manually
through your browser under Tools then Internet Options and simply
emptying your recycle bin.
Check for and update security and critical updates to your Windows
program by going to your browser and clicking Tools and Windows
Update. XP users can set it to automatically check and update these.
Be wary of adding any and all updates to your computer focusing
on just the critical and security issues for programs you use.
From the Windows Update page on your browser you can go to the
Office Family page and run any required updates to your MS Office
program.
Defragging your computer is an important task to your computer’s
performance. As files are used, deleted and created, free space
on your hard drive become split into smaller non-contiguous blocks
or sectors. Eventually new files being created, or old files being
extended, cannot be stored in a single contiguous block but become
scattered. This degrades your computer’s performance as your
computer must perform multiple seek operations to access a single
fragmented file.
Defragmenting consolidates existing files and free space into a
continuous group of sectors. Access speed is improved due to the
reduced number of seek operations. To defragment your computer go
to Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools and Disk Defragmenter.
What do I need to do
yearly? At least once a year clean out your data files and
emails. Go in and look at old documents you have stored on your
computer. Do you or your client still need or use them? Are they
obsolete or outdated? Files I have for client’s I worked with
5 years ago could definitely be deleted to make more room and improve
the speed of my computer. Do you have old jokes or pictures you
have saved? An old version of a form or marketing item? Get rid
of them! Clean your computer the same way you would clean a filing
cabinet.
If you do not use or have the Auto Archive feature on your email
program go in and clean out your emails as well from folders and
sent files.
What else do I need
to consider? If you have ever gotten a virus that has slowed
your computer down to a crawl you will recognize the importance
of installing a firewall to further protect yourself from these
situations. Trying to work on a limping computer is stressful in
addition to inefficient.
Schedule regular back ups of your data files. If you encounter
computer problems, viruses, system crashes, floods or anything that
incapacitates your computer you don’t want to be spending
time and energy recreating these files.
Brought to you by
Virtual Strategies
and the Virtual Assistant Training Program
Making dreams reality!
www.vatp.ca
info@vatp.ca
1-604-483-3740 |
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