HELP DESK
Q: I have a large (about 6 feet long) TV antenna installed in my attic. I do not have the antenna grounded. The quality of the reception is very good. Do you think I would improve my reception if I grounded the antenna? Should I ground the antenna to prevent a lightning strike? — Howard Stacy
A: Since your antenna is inside your home it is no more likely to attract a lightning strike than, say, your oven. So there’s no need to ground it. And there would be no improvement in reception from grounding that antenna. I will add this: it can make great sense to investigate whole house surge protection. Not only will it protect you against electrical surges, some systems can greatly reduce (but not eliminate) the likelihood of damage from a lightning strike.
Q: My desktop computer, nicknamed (“Hoover” in honor of the vacuum cleaner) was a dust collector and had to be cleaned every 2 weeks. I decided to purchase an all-in-one – no tower on the floor any more, it sits up on the desk. Good thing for regular back-ups, the desktop blew out as if hit by a grenade. I will not miss these regular cleanings. — Dave Simmons
A: You found out the hard way that putting a computer on the floor is a strong invitation to trouble. Since dust is heavier than air it settles toward the floor and then is sucked in by the computer’s cooling system. Eventually a blanket of dust settles over the circuit board of the computer. That blanket – just like the one on your bed – holds in heat. And that heat will eventually kill a computer. Putting a computer on the desk slows (but sure doesn’t stop) the accumulation of dust. Even a computer like that needs a good cleaning every six month to a year.
Please send questions to Bill Husted at tecbud@bellsouth.net.
When you travel with a laptop you pack more than your underwear and toothbrush. You pack the ability to get real work done – stuff that would be painfully slow if you had to click at the onscreen keyboard of a tablet or smart phone.
That’s the good news. There’s bad news too. It’s almost certain that your laptop contains data that you wouldn’t want a stranger to see. And yet it’s easy to lose your data since laptops often get lost when traveling. It’s sure happened in my own family. Think what would happen if the person who finds your laptop has evil on his mind. The information on that laptop might provide all the help he needs to steal your identity and your money.
There are several things you can do to mitigate the dangers if your machine ever joins the legion of lost laptops.
Close the blinds
The very first thing to do is encrypt the data on your laptop. Even a smart hacker would have real problems trying to read it. No encryption system is 100 percent hacker-proof. But there is a system good enough to foil just about any attempt unless the gurus at the National Security Agency or CIA decide to bypass the security so they can read your Aunt Vera’s spaghetti recipe that’s stored on the hard disk.
The encryption program that I recommend (and that recommendation is seconded by a friend who works as a security consultant for the federal government in Washington) is called TrueCrypt. Not only is it a really secure system, the program is free. You can download it here: www.truecrypt.org/.
Back-up the data
Sure the encryption program will protect your data. But it won’t give it back to you. So it’s important to make regular back-up copies of the data on your hard disk. Luckily the back-up program that comes with recent versions of Windows will do just fine. If you don’t know how to use it, the Windows help menu will walk you through the process. Regular readers will know that I’m a fan of online back-up systems, so that’s another option. I think using either the online Carbonite service (that’s what I use) or Mozy is easier and less cumbersome that using an external hard disk to do the backups. And since the backup is stored online, you can retrieve the information if you’re travelling away from home. That’s great. However, the real deal is to backup the data – use any system that works for you.
There’s more that you can do
There are various programs that help track phones and laptops. One I like is called Prey (preyproject.com/). If your laptop is stolen you’ll be able to log on to the Internet and find out where you stolen laptop is. The basic software is free but there are other plans that are available for a charge that offer additional features. You can read about all that on the Prey homepage.
No software is required for my next tip. It’s smart – encryption or not – to limit the personal information contained on a laptop that often serves as a travel companion. So avoid storing lists of passwords and personal information. Make sure you delete emails that might contain any of this information. And make sure that you use a strong password for any email accounts that are shown on the laptop.
But hey, I want the thing back
Most people are honest. That means that there’s a good chance that the person who finds your laptop isn’t a criminal, isn’t eager to invade your privacy. Why not make it easy for them to return it to you. Have a jeweler engrave your name and phone number on your laptop. I think mentioning a reward as part of that engraving makes sense. Like I said, most folks are honest, but it doesn’t hurt to add a small incentive that might make the difference and get your laptop returned. In my family’s case we just engrave a telephone number and name – no address. For some reason including our address bothered me, but you can make your own decisions about what to include.
I hope you never need these tips
When traveling I keep the laptop slung over my shoulder and never place it under a waiting room seat, or on a table. While I think my tips are good ways to protect yourself if the machine is stolen, it’s a heck of a lot better not to need them.
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