PCs For Dummies® Windows®, 7 Edition

Chapter 30. Ten PC Commandments

In This Chapter

• Don't fear your computer

• Always save your work

• Back up your stuff

• Don't open or delete unknown files

• Don't fall prey to online predators

• Use antivirus and update software

• Be smart about upgrades

• Use the PC with proper posture

• Keep windows up-to-date

• Always properly quit Windows

Take it from me: I've been there, I've done that. I've survived the worst of using a computer and have lived to write about it. Let me share my experiences with you by passing along a chunk of digital wisdom. I may not have descended from Mt. Sinai, and I certainly look nothing like Charlton Heston, but here are my Ten PC Commandments.

I. Thou Shalt Not Fear Thy PC

The computer isn't out to get you. It won't explode suddenly. It harbors no sinister intelligence. Honestly, it's really rather dumb.

Note

Knowledge is the key to overcoming fear.

II. Thou Shalt Save Thy Work

Whenever you're creating something blazingly original, use the Save command at once! In fact, use the Save command even when you make something stupid that you don't even want to save. You're not going to run out of room on the PC's storage system by saving stuff you don't need, so why not save for the sake of it?

You never know when your computer will meander off to watch NASCAR or chat with the wireless router across the street while you're hoping to finish the last few paragraphs of that report. Save your work as often as possible. Save when you get up from your computer. Save when you answer the phone.

Save! ...