The Help Desk
I recently read an article in the Technology section of The Virginian-Pilot and found some very helpful information that I wanted to share on my blog. These are a couple of excerpts from the article “The Help Desk Problems Solved Here. The Most Asked Questions of the Year” by Bill Husted.
Should I turn off my PC at night, or just let it sleep?
It’s OK to leave your PC on all the time; it’s OK to turn it off when you go to sleep at night. No big deal either way. Turning off the PC at night or for an extended period cuts electricity use, even if only slightly, and it means the computer isn’t online waiting to be hijacked.
There’s another benefit. While desktop PCs are capable of running 24/7 with no harm, that’s based on everything working correctly. If the fan goes out, or if the cooling vent is clogged, a PC can overheat.
How do I stop e-mail spam?
It’s almost impossible to stop every bit of spam. Even with the anti-spam software, you are likely to get some amount of spam every day. The major spammers are well-run businesses, often located in other countries. Professional-level computer experts work at ways to avoid spam filters.
A method that the author suggests is called Challenge and Response. When someone who isn’t in your address book sends you an e-mail, the Challenge and Response software sends back a challenge in the form of an e-mail that asks the sender to copy down some letters he sees on the screen. Spammers won’t go to that trouble for millions of pieces of spam.
To find out more about this technology, visit tinyurl.com/265loj.
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