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 😊

Office Upgrade

I have seen time and time again business both small and large struggling with old tech.

Though being sensibly frugal in business is arguably beneficial, the reason this methodology doesn’t work with technology is because technology moves too quickly. Where this issue really comes into play is the fact that the world moves with these advances in technology.

Just recently a client contacted me saying they were having a lot of trouble with their mail systems, receiving bounce backs among other issues. Upon calling their exchange host, the rep immediately said “Are they using Outlook 2007 or older?” I said yes, but I was a little surprised that this was the issue. Now my client is going to have to upgrade everyone to the latest version of Office.

Another client had backend systems that were so old that it would cost over $15,000,000 to get the office up to code and at least two weeks of down time until the system was up and running again. Past technicians notified the higher ups over the years, back when the amount to fix the problems was reasonable. But being that the CEO and other powers never wanted to spend the money in the past, these other technicians over the years were forced to kept the system running through jerry rigging with batch scripts and third party programs with no support. This only made things worse and eventually resulted in the system coming to a grinding halt before the company was forced to file for bankruptcy.  

A Global Engagement Study collected data from nearly 5,000 full-time employees across 20 countries, working at companies with 250 or more personnel. Only 44% of employees said their company uses the latest technology to enable them to effectively perform in their role. That means that more than half of employees don't have the tech that they need to be successful at work. And just 38% said their company supports causes that are important to them.

To me, this is the Achilles heel for all corporations, especially in America. Cutting costs and not listening to employees who are dealing directly with clients must seem economically beneficial to the myopic suits, but the problem is that this only works in the short run.

Back when I was in high school, I worked at Staples as a technician. I don’t remember specifics, but I do remember the store being locked into ridiculous practices that benefited no one but were the demands of the seemingly blind higher ups. We had weekly meetings where the employees unanimously suggested must haves which were never granted. Today, it seems as though nothing has changed. The Easy Tech position is filled similarly to the way Home Depot moves employees around – when it is needed, regardless of the qualifications. I have met Easy Techs who admitted to me that they started at Staples as furniture associates and knew nothing about technology at all.  They admitted that a program which resides on a corporate flash drive does everything for them, and the rest is actually done remotely by someone they don’t even know. The associates in question told me that they didn’t even know what company was remoting into these computers – they assumed it was Staples Corporate. Further, prices on simple tech parts have skyrocketed. I recently purchased a DVI cable, an item which is usually around $9 for ~$40 in store. Though they had cheaper ones online, this was the only cable available in the store. I returned it as soon as the one from Amazon came in the mail.

If you feel that your office isn’t running as it should, give me a call at 617-693-7044 or shoot me an email at Help@MooreITHelp.com. I can give you a free consultation and tell you what you need and what you don’t need.