Ron would like to install multiple security programs on his computer and asks, “Can I run two pieces of virus software at the same time for added protection?” Ron, this seems to be a common misconception, or mistake, people make. Installing multiple pieces of virus software can be negative to your computer’s performance and security.
With a few exceptions, multiple installations of virus software should be avoided. Several installations of virus software will have detrimental effects to your system – causing poor performance and limited security. If both pieces of software are active on the system at the same time they will sometimes pick up each other’s virus definitions as threats and give false positives; effectively working against each other.
If you would like to have multiple titles installed on your machine you can install one as the active (or real time) scanner and the other as an on-demand utility. In this regard, the two will not work against each other and you can control scanning. On my own system I run Antivir as the real-time virus scanner and BitDefender as the on-demand scanner. In my case, Antivir will actively protect my system and BitDefender can be run manually at any point.
Most people only need one good piece of virus software installed on their system. You should pick a title that has the ability to scan malware and spyware in addition to viruses. My personal recommendation is to have virus software, a firewall and two good anti-malware programs installed. Firewalls protect inbound attacks and anti-malware utilities scan your computer for threats that virus software sometimes misses.
Jan has been wondering how often she should replace her surge suppressor. Jan, surge suppressors serve as a way of stopping electrical spikes from getting to your computer. As a rule of thumb, inexpensive surge suppressors should be replaced after each severe electrical storm or major electrical spike that effects your house.
We have come up with a few tell-tale signs of bad surge suppressor strips and a couple ways of testing the strip in your house. Computers require a significant amount of current when they are initially powered on. Bad power strips may not allow the computer to fully start. Alternatively, the computer may start and other devices (such as the monitor) may not run correctly.
Faulty surge suppressors may emit heat when they are plugged in. The test for this is pretty easy. With equipment connected and powered on, gently touch the strip. If it’s warm to the touch then generally it’s bad and should be replaced. Inexpensive suppressors have some electronics inside which wear out with time. Basically, the electricity has to ‘force’ it’s way past this device causing excessive heat.
The ultimate test for a bad strip is to see how well it absorbs electrical spikes. Most of us probably don’t have a way of testing for this (at least I hope not) so that’s not a reasonable test. For the rest of us – including me – the test is to bypass the suppressor and plug directly into a wall outlet. If the computer and peripherals run correctly then chances are you have a bad strip. If you are still experiencing symptoms then you may need to service the equipment and/or replace the strip.
Keep in mind that diagnosing electrical issues can be dangerous. You should make safety your priority whenever you are working with electricity. If you do have a bad power strip consider that it could be very hot and could burn you or cause electrocution. When in doubt, call a licensed electrician.
Tip of the week: Change your online passwords frequently to prevent personal data from being hacked.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can e-mail him at Jeromy@LocalComputerWiz.com or call him directly at (978) 919-8059.)