Wouldn’t it be nice if your car gave itself a tune-up in the driveway, the dishwasher emptied automatically or the vacuum ran whenever it sensed dust- and furballs?

So far, there is only one commonly found machine that can maintain itself and even let you help repair it: a computer with an Internet connection.

Most advisors have both office and home computers, perhaps a laptop as well. At smaller companies and at home, computer users are often on their own, without tech support. The Internet can help you keep everything working properly. Here’s a look at some Web sites that offer computer tips, tricks and advice.



How Stuff Works

www.howstuffworks.com

Many people know, through trial and error or sheer desperation, how to get some machines back up and running when there’s a problem. Computers, however, can be very intimidating. This Web site explains how each part of your computer works, step by step and in basic English. In fact, it explains how almost everything around you works.

It doesn’t hurt to understand the basic workings of computers. The heart and brain of a computer is the central processing unit (CPU), the big box that’s probably down by your legs if you have a desktop computer. The wizard in the box is the single computer chip, which began for consumers in 1974 with the Intel 8080. Five years later, Intel unveiled the much faster 8088 chip. Today, the recent Pentium 4 chip can process data about 5,000 times faster than the 8088.

The chip is located on the motherboard, which is the main hub in the CPU for all the software programs. The operating system, which loads when you turn on the machine and holds all the basic software that runs your computer, is often where your headaches begin.

Most problems occur when the operating system is hit by improper software programs or invaders that enter through your Internet connection. After all, a computer that’s not connected to the Web is, in essence, a very fancy typewriter. Work computers generally are connected to a network, so problems that may arise are in-house. But home and laptop units usually stand alone and hence are open to attacks via the Internet.



Spyware Blaster

www.javacoolsoftware.com

While many advisors tend to think that computer viruses cause most of their problems, the fact is that such hacker-created nuisances are quite rare. Instead, the continuous threat to your system comes from spyware and adware, which are virtually invisible tiny software pests that enter your computer while you’re surfing the Internet.

The invaders are created by companies either to track your Internet usage or to fire salvos of ads at you as you visit Web sites or do searches. Some are ornery little beasts and will cause total havoc with your system, often leading to outright computer crashes.

Spyware Blaster, which can be downloaded for free from the Web site www.javacoolsoftware.com, is a unique and effective program. Rather than going into your system to search for culprits that have already invaded, it sets up a wall on your computer that stops them as they enter.

I’ve been using it for a few months and there has been a noticeable drop in the number of computer glitches I have experienced. Download it onto your computer and click on “check for updates” every few weeks; that way it will protect against new invaders.



Computer Hope

www.computerhope.com

Employees at a Utah-based high-tech firm got so tired of computer glitches and dead ends that in 1998 they created Computer Hope to provide — on a single Web site — answers to a lot of common computer problems. The site has more than 800 “question and answer” documents about computer problems. It has become very popular with computer owners, averaging more than 510 million page “hits” each year.

This Web site is very straightforward. The home page lists a variety of categories, such as general computer help, hardware, software, an online help forum, listings of the major computer makers and a high-tech dictionary. Click on the area that is causing you problems, or use the search function in the upper left-hand corner.

A leading cause of problems, the site says, is conflict between the hardware that comes with your computer — such as the CPU, drivers, CD-ROM or keyboard — and the multitude of software programs that try to communicate with it. The main issue is that most software is designed to work with scores of different hardware, and work with some better than others. Imagine trying to travel the world speaking only English or French in every country and you’ll understand the kinds of problems software can have when it tries to communicate with some computers — possibly yours.

@page_break@One solution provided in many of the Q&A help files is to remove and replace a badly behaving software program, or, at least, make sure it is not running at the same time as a program that it has trouble understanding. That way you will prevent programs from clashing with one another.

Other problems that occur, such as a computer “freezing” or getting stuck on one page, can be the result of any of a half-dozen causes. If it’s a rare occurrence, simply reboot the computer. If it happens often, however, it may be caused by anything from outdated software to a dusty CPU fan that is running slowly and causing the computer to overheat.

The bottom line: if you take the time to see how your computer works, stop invaders from entering and then troubleshoot the remaining predicaments, your computer will run smoothly and let you get your work done. IE



If you have Web sites to share with IE readers, e-mail Glenn Flanagan at gflanagan@sympatico.ca.