Computer Freezing and Tips for Computer Safety
Sometimes it doesn't pay to go on vacation.
I took about a week off work for the first time in about a year and a half and I'm still trying to play catch-up with my backlog of emails and other work.
Here's a computer question I got from a subscriber in the UK named Paul who wrote me a couple of days before I went on vacation. Paul wrote:
"Dear sir...lately my computer has started to lock and the top third of the screen..( 22inch) has changed to a pinky colour..It seems to lock after i open up a ...click here....to read something or enter a small competion...I have to restart my computer...an inspiron 530 3 memory and 640 hard drive..I am not too good with computers..I left it late in life if you know what i mean but i enjoy having a go..."
First off, Paul, let me say congratulations on having a go at learning computers -- a lot of people get discouraged by not having grown up using them, but in my experience, anyone can learn to confidently use computers if they believe in themselves and get the right help.
So there's a couple of things I want to respond to in your email. The first being the locking up and the pink color -- first off, since I'm obviously not able to look at your computer directly, it's not possible for me to make a 100% definite diagnosis of the problem.
The way you're describing what happens makes it sound like it *may* be something wrong with your "video card", which is the part of the computer that actually "draws" the picture on the computer's screen.
The fact that it seems to happen after you click to certain websites, on the other hand, makes it sound more like it may be something fishy about the website you're going to.
It's really hard for me to say without a little more specifics. If you lived here on the island, you could have me take a look at it directly and I could figure out exactly what's going on, but obviously that's not possible with you living many thousands of miles away.
Here are a few tips that can help you avoid problems, assuming it's not an actual hardware problem -- i.e. a physical problem with a part in the computer, like the video card.
Tip #1) Do not use Internet Explorer (the blue "E" icon) to browse the Web. It is generally a *lot* less safe than other options. In some cases, just visiting a website with malicious software in it can infect your computer. Windows users should go to Mozilla.com to download the free Mozilla Firefox. It is a huge mistake to use Internet Explorer, yet unfortunately most Windows users are still using it.
While Apple's Mac computers have pretty much *none* of the many many threats out there for Windows computers (i.e. they have no viruses, worms, adware, spyware, etc.), Mac users reading this can use Mozilla Firefox too, but the program Safari that comes on all modern Macs is perfectly fine, too. Internet Explorer should be avoided on Macs too, but mainly because it hasn't been updated in so long, many websites just won't work with it anymore.
A new version of Mozilla Firefox came out pretty recently, so I will be recording video lessons showing step-by-step exactly how to download, install, and use it for this month's Gold Club lessons. If you're not a Gold Club member, you can sign up for a free trial at:
Tip #2) Be careful about what websites you go to, especially if they're asking for personal information -- there are some "bad neighborhoods" on the Internet, so to speak, where the website owners are less than honest. Two of the most common types of risky sites are adult sites and gambling or competition sites.
While what you do on your own time is your business, just be aware that when you go to *some* of those sites, they tend to be in a "bad neighborhood" and they tend to me more likely to try to infect your computer, or collect information for identity theft, etc.
Again, if you avoid using Internet Explorer on a PC, and use Mozilla Firefox instead, you lower the risk of being attacked by a malicious program like a virus, but try to stick to known-legit sites if you're entering a competition, and don't go to one you see advertised in a pop-up ad, etc.
until later, take care and stay safe,
Worth Godwin
P.S. Again, if you really want to skyrocket your computer confidence and skill, take advantage of your free trial to my Easy Computer Lessons Gold Club -- you get instant access to easy online lessons in a special password protected area of my website, filled with video lessons, audio lessons, an archive of my past Computer Q&A events, my special reports on avoiding common and costly computer mistakes, and more, plus 2 easy lesson CDs sent each month.
I took about a week off work for the first time in about a year and a half and I'm still trying to play catch-up with my backlog of emails and other work.
Here's a computer question I got from a subscriber in the UK named Paul who wrote me a couple of days before I went on vacation. Paul wrote:
"Dear sir...lately my computer has started to lock and the top third of the screen..( 22inch) has changed to a pinky colour..It seems to lock after i open up a ...click here....to read something or enter a small competion...I have to restart my computer...an inspiron 530 3 memory and 640 hard drive..I am not too good with computers..I left it late in life if you know what i mean but i enjoy having a go..."
First off, Paul, let me say congratulations on having a go at learning computers -- a lot of people get discouraged by not having grown up using them, but in my experience, anyone can learn to confidently use computers if they believe in themselves and get the right help.
So there's a couple of things I want to respond to in your email. The first being the locking up and the pink color -- first off, since I'm obviously not able to look at your computer directly, it's not possible for me to make a 100% definite diagnosis of the problem.
The way you're describing what happens makes it sound like it *may* be something wrong with your "video card", which is the part of the computer that actually "draws" the picture on the computer's screen.
The fact that it seems to happen after you click to certain websites, on the other hand, makes it sound more like it may be something fishy about the website you're going to.
It's really hard for me to say without a little more specifics. If you lived here on the island, you could have me take a look at it directly and I could figure out exactly what's going on, but obviously that's not possible with you living many thousands of miles away.
Here are a few tips that can help you avoid problems, assuming it's not an actual hardware problem -- i.e. a physical problem with a part in the computer, like the video card.
Tip #1) Do not use Internet Explorer (the blue "E" icon) to browse the Web. It is generally a *lot* less safe than other options. In some cases, just visiting a website with malicious software in it can infect your computer. Windows users should go to Mozilla.com to download the free Mozilla Firefox. It is a huge mistake to use Internet Explorer, yet unfortunately most Windows users are still using it.
While Apple's Mac computers have pretty much *none* of the many many threats out there for Windows computers (i.e. they have no viruses, worms, adware, spyware, etc.), Mac users reading this can use Mozilla Firefox too, but the program Safari that comes on all modern Macs is perfectly fine, too. Internet Explorer should be avoided on Macs too, but mainly because it hasn't been updated in so long, many websites just won't work with it anymore.
A new version of Mozilla Firefox came out pretty recently, so I will be recording video lessons showing step-by-step exactly how to download, install, and use it for this month's Gold Club lessons. If you're not a Gold Club member, you can sign up for a free trial at:
Tip #2) Be careful about what websites you go to, especially if they're asking for personal information -- there are some "bad neighborhoods" on the Internet, so to speak, where the website owners are less than honest. Two of the most common types of risky sites are adult sites and gambling or competition sites.
While what you do on your own time is your business, just be aware that when you go to *some* of those sites, they tend to be in a "bad neighborhood" and they tend to me more likely to try to infect your computer, or collect information for identity theft, etc.
Again, if you avoid using Internet Explorer on a PC, and use Mozilla Firefox instead, you lower the risk of being attacked by a malicious program like a virus, but try to stick to known-legit sites if you're entering a competition, and don't go to one you see advertised in a pop-up ad, etc.
until later, take care and stay safe,
Worth Godwin
P.S. Again, if you really want to skyrocket your computer confidence and skill, take advantage of your free trial to my Easy Computer Lessons Gold Club -- you get instant access to easy online lessons in a special password protected area of my website, filled with video lessons, audio lessons, an archive of my past Computer Q&A events, my special reports on avoiding common and costly computer mistakes, and more, plus 2 easy lesson CDs sent each month.
You can sign up for the free trial by visiting the following link:
Labels: computer freezing, computer hardware tips, tips for computer safety
posted by Worth Godwin at
1:12 AM
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