PC Maintenance Misconceptions

Through aggressive marketing, scare tactics and misinformation, many programs and practices have found their way into self proclaimed, mandatory parts of routine PC maintenance. Most of the time, however, they are just a waste of time and money. Further, they distract from what is actually important, which in my opinion, makes them harmful to your tech world.

I addressed Registry Cleaners a few years back in http://mooreithelp.blogspot.com/2011/12/registry-cleaners-good-or-bad.html But they are so popular and so bad that I’d like to touch upon them once again real quick;

The Windows registry is basically a huge database of settings, both for Windows itself and for programs. When you uninstall a program, there’s a good chance that all its registry entries are left behind. A Registry Cleaner will usually simply look for Registry entries that appear unnecessary and remove them. Registry cleaner companies want you to believe that this would result in big performance improvements so you’ll buy their software.

Though many users swear by the difference in system performance before and after running a registry cleaner, you will not find any reputable benchmarks or testing which irrefutably show the advantages to registry cleaning. You will, however, find reputable sources recommending against the use of these softwares, even going on to say that they are more likely to cause damage to your system than help in any way. One source being Microsoft themselves – the people who made your registry hive. (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2563254/microsoft-support-policy-for-the-use-of-registry-cleaning-utilities)

Then there’s paid maintenance programs such as Iolo’s System Mechanic. These programs use graphics and wording to give the user a warm fuzzy feeling, delaying inspection by licensed technicians. This means that the real problems with your computer will pile up, creating a larger bill in the end. I cant count how many computers I have encountered with programs like Webroot and System Mechanic installed that end up needing a ton of work done. These programs are heavily lobbied and aggressively advertised as essential pieces of owning a computer. If you attempt to research the software through unbiased articles, you will find that the first few pages of Google results are from the manufacturer of said software, showing aggressive SEO strategies. I was, however, able to find this one. The truth is, most of the features of these paid programs are already a part of Windows and/or can be done better by free programs.  Further, many reputable programs designed for technicians will actually register the aforementioned maintenance tools as PUPs – Potentially Unwanted Programs (non-malware). This basically means that they advise the use of these softwares only at your own risk. These facts in themselves should make anyone skeptical of using said softwares.

Maintenance programs should be used by professionals, anyway. Reputable PC maintenance or anti-malware programs can misconstrue parts of valid programs as malicious. The program will usually present the user with the scan results, giving them the opportunity to check which items should not be deleted. However, a user is far more likely to simply click through all the dialogue boxes until the program is finished, let alone be familiar with the registry keys and files the program is claiming are malicious. Further, a good deal of the program’s potential goes unused due to the user’s unfamiliarity with how to properly use the program, or what the program is even doing.

Driver updaters are another thing I have come across quite often, to my surprise.
These programs are amazingly unnecessary and can definitely cause harm to the system, mostly for the aforementioned reasons. These programs will quite often incorrectly replace critical drivers, causing Blue Screens as well as general odd behavior. And once again, Windows already does this for you through Windows Updates!

Many people also seem to be under the impression that any Antivirus or Internet Security program is fine, and are nonplussed to find that they have become infected regardless. No Antivirus or Internet Security program is completely infallible.  However, it is a step in the right direction to go with what is statistically rated the best, not necessarily the cheapest. Further, these programs change all the time, going from best to worst in only a few years. 

Basically, this all boils down to – if you want to maintain your PC, bring it to a technician every 3 – 6 months. They are trained and have the experience to look for the right things and how to fix them properly. Also, you can blame them if something goes wrong 😊

Hard Drive Recovery, Click of Death

So, remember that time your hard drive was making noises and wouldnt work and instead of bringing it to a pro, you thought you would try a few things yourself? This is the result.

Whenever you hear odd noises coming from the drive, it more than likely means the heads are stuck and/or grinding against the platters (where all your data is stored).

This drive was used as it began to fail. When it finally failed, the user continued to try to plug it in and get it started in different ways. Unwilling to spend the money for recovery, they opted to dispose of the drive so I decided to open it up and see how bad it was. 

Aside from the obvious physical damage to the platters seen in the picture, the drive was also filled with black dust - Grinded down platter powder. This drive cannot be recovered. 

The next time your drive makes noises or begins to act strangely - turn it off and call a pro.

You can check out my latest reviews HERE!

Help@MooreITHelp.com

MooreITHelp.com

617-396-7044

Verizon Users - DO NOT switch to AOL

Along with Yahoo, AOL has also been on my list of domains to avoid and it too has been the victim of several data breaches. Its interface is more loaded than a Chinese newspaper, with so many windows, marketing ads and clickbate, just trying to check your email becomes an attack on the senses. Aside from that, its users have been on the unfortunate receiving end of such a hackneyed stereotype of being aged troglodytes for so long that it seems even AOL itself has begun to pray upon this potential vulnerability;

Upon using the website or the AOL Desktop program, the user will find several mycleanpc-esque ads that are actually from AOL. Aside from this blatant use of scare-tactics pertaining to issues which have been debunked again and again, a class action lawsuit was filed against AOL in 2012 regarding Support.com and AOL's Computer Checkup software, which used software developed by Support.com. The software was reported to often claim illegitimate problems with users' computers and would then offer to sell them software to fix the plethora of non-existent problems —for which AOL allegedly charged $4.99 a month and Support.com $29. Both AOL, Inc. and Support.com, Inc. settled on May 30, 2013 for $8.5 million.

Being that Google's top related search suggestions when researching AOL is "Does anyone still use AOL", "Do AOL email addresses still work" and "Does AOL still exist", it would become apparent pretty quickly that AOL is not exactly the top choice of email service providers. Knowing of how god-awful their service is as a whole, AOL has been known to ignore clients’ demands to cancel service and have also been known to send out reoccurring bills which clients never needed to pay before. The New York Attorney General's office began an inquiry of AOL's customer service policies, revealing that the company would actually reward employees who purported to retain subscribers. I have actually had several clients who would receive monthly small bills from AOL and never knew why. Due to the small amount and the client assuming it was something they needed in order to use their computer, they would often just pay these bills and never question it. That is, until I would come along and find that they were pretty much paying for nothing or that they didn't even use any of AOL's services anymore. 

I wanted to provide a concise source of information for those who are still using these services and could never get a straight answer as to why they shouldn't. It seems like a lot of people have been told that they shouldn't use these services, but not by those armed with any useful, compelling information. "Because, I mean, just look at it!" isn't a good reason for someone to uproot from something they feel is tried and true. Further, most of these users, if not all, are under the impression that they are so invested in the service that they could never leave - that all of their contacts, emails, and future emails would be lost. Though AOL and Yahoo would really like you to continue believing that, even taking steps to make it a rather needlessly irritating process to move on - I can tell you from experience that it is not only possible, but relatively painless. For you, anyway. For me, well....That's what I get paid for.