Chapter 9
No more trauma from hackers and viruses. Yes its possible and heres the easy steps to this Nirvana.

Here is my favourite computer tip.
Never and I mean ever save your important or personal files on your hard drive.

I would clarify this by saying never save any file on your hard drive.
And here is where you scream at me again “What to f%$#@@ are you talking about?”
Computer hard drives should store and run applications like word processors or database software and of course sometimes hold your operating system like Linux or WinXP. Because these need to be resident and always available. However hard drives should not store files. There is no need and they are too vulnerable. It makes your system far too dependent and unreliable as well.
Most people are not using their computers correctly or at least not in the most efficient, fastest or safest way.
First there are now lots of different media for saving files from your computer. Portable or transferable media like floppy disks which were one of the very first. Which were created for the main reason of holding, storing and transferring your files.
However now there are media that exceeds and improves upon storing your files than most hard drives do. For instance dvd writable and rewritable disks can store 8 gigabytes or more and USB thumb drives are easily transportable and come in 4 gigabyte sizes today.

OK if you must ask.
“ Yeah all right hump, so where do I save my files, if not on my hard drive?”

It is very simple you make sure you have a CD writable or rewritable disk or USB thumb drives installed then simply click save as and save it to that disk or device. I recommend you first save it to rewritable CD disks and later burn to DVD rewritable or writable. Select what you definitely want to keep and burn onto DVD write once only otherwise known by the acronym DVD -R disks for safe keeping.

Lets start again. Really you need to unlearn so much crap just forget it and start again. First, when I save a document I save it to a portable media device or disk first and only. I never save it to my hard drive ever.


DVD rewritable disks hold 8 gigabytes or 4 gigabytes and cost less than a dollar and in some cases a quarter. I will always have a working backup if I always put the CD rw in the drive and save everything there until its full then burn to the DVD RW or -R and then put a new CD RW disk in. I leave my CD rw disk in my drive all the time I usually only pull it out when its full. I would be careful if you use the new large 2 GB and 4 gb thumb drives as your storage , you must remember to pull your thumb drive out of the USB port after saving and replace when your ready to save again. The main reason for this caution is, if there is a spike or surge in your computer, your thumb drive is likely to get wiped clean, thats why it is safer to use a CD-R disk, it is highly unlikely to get spiked.

Nobody writes to my hard drive I will give them their own CD RW disk if they use my computer. Then they can take it with them when there done. If I don't want to keep or want to remove some files from my CD RW or DVD rw disk is is very simple to do.

You can reuse the same CD RW over and over so therefore you only need one to use as a transfer disk.

If anything happens to my hard drive then I already have working backups of my files . I can simply have my hard drive replaced now because I have no files or personal data on it. If I sell it or recycle it it is void of any personal info and I can avoid the hell I previously outlined. I don't have to worry about my personal or important data even being seen, never mind confiscated because simply there is none on my hard drive. My computer will run more efficiently and it is much easier to safely store a dvd and destroy a dvd if I need to.
I partition my hard drive into three sections c d and e. So i had my operating system like WinXP files on C and data files on D and Applications on E. This way I would simply reinstall windows on C if I had problems and leave my applications and data files in tact untouched. Meaning I don't have to reload them after I reinstall WinXP.
However now there is no point most applications are set up to use the save as command and then pick your cd drive as the location you have no need to go to a separate burner program like Nero to burn to cd. Now you don't even need a D partition for data files the only thing you might lose is your applications but you have the original cd of those when you bought them.

OK this is my fifteenth most important point or tip I know, oh well.
If you do these steps even if someone hacks into your computer from the Internet or wireless access points they wont find anything personal or wreck anything you cant replace.

The point is don't save it to your hard drive. If you follow and learn these procedures you can send, sell, repair, upgrade, lend or recycle you computer without concern of any of the usual crap most “users”have to deal with. This chapter really should be its own book after all if you learn this your practically free.
The Internet poses several security and hazardous risks to your personal information and important files. Only if you are reckless enough to save them to your hard drive. Save your files to removable media and encrypt them too. Most burners come with encryption at the very least they have password options for the disk. I encrypt and zip(compress) and it is automatic. There are several easy steps to learn how to do this. Here is a link to one such program and its free
http://www.chilkatsoft.com/ChilkatSfx.asp.

If you follow this procedure you can forget the hackers and viruses that are so predominant and cause so much trauma to computers and users. Even if they get to your computer they don't get to your files and you simply reinstall WinXP.
And the huge bonus is if you install Goback you don't even have to reinstall WinXP you just click the Goback button and ten minutes later your up again brand new clean as a whistle.

The proof is in the pudding and I do this every day and I am on the Internet 12 to 14 hours a day. I have only had to use Goback a couple of times and it only cost me 10 minutes. And I did in the past use Goback to completely remove viruses but now even that doesn't occur to me.

Okay this is my 700th important tip. This really is the most important tip. Did you know that you don't have to install all the software that comes with your computer or software that you buy in the store. Really, it's true. Let's take Microsoft PowerPoint as an example. A lot people like to just view the PowerPoint presentations that people give them or they find on the Internet. Well, you don't have to install Microsoft PowerPoint, in order to view the file. All you do is put the disk in, when it asked for it and you can view the file and run the slideshow and use any other feature that you want that comes with Microsoft PowerPoint. You're saying to yourself. "So what, what the hell is the point of this." Well, let me explain.

First of all, you don't have the burden your hard drive or a computer system with installation, and you don't have to take the time to do the installation but really the most important point is that if anything ever goes wrong with your computer, and there is a better than average chance that something will go wrong with your computer. You don't even have to reinstall the software. I only have about two or three pieces of software actually installed on my computer and that is because these are essential that they are installed on your computer in order to function properly. Yes, some software will function better, if it's installed that's true. But what is the trade-off. You have to decide for yourself. I suggest you experiment with the software that you have and find out which ones really do need to be installed.

So, I think you're starting to get the concept. The idea that your computer is not a storage Center and is definitely not an e-mail provider nor is it a software center is an idea that you must embrace. Almost everything should be put in and out of your computer, and very little should be left permanently on your computer. This really is the best way to use your computer, the safest way to use your computer and the most efficient way to use your computer.