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Don’t Toss that Old Computer: Finding Creative Uses for Obsolete PCs PDF Print E-mail
Written by Administrator   
Wednesday, 11 January 2012 23:04

 

Don’t Toss that Old Computer: Finding Creative Uses for Obsolete PCs

Do you have an old desktop sitting there taking up space?  A laptop that is collecting dust?  Don’t toss it.  You might be surprised what you can do with it.

Over the years I’ve owned many PCs and several Apples/Macs.  I still have most of them.  Some are just door stops -- like my collection of old laptops that I’ve ravaged for parts. My old Apple IIe is even a collectors item (I think), and it still boots with its 5 ¼” floppies.  Most of the rest of them are still in use in one capacity or another.

When I left my old regular IT day job over a decade ago, I was using a really nice Toshiba laptop for the time. I bought it from the university because it was such a great little machine.  It had a whopping 4 GB hard drive (don’t laugh, that was awesome back then for a laptop), 128 MB of RAM, and an amazing 1024 x 768 screen.  It came with Windows 98, which I upgraded to XP Professional.  I upped the RAM to the maximum supported amount of 384 MB and added a old wireless card to the PC card slot on the side.  It was useful for several years and served me well, but eventually became dated.

Being the early adopting geek that I am, I bought many newer faster machines over the years and kinda left that one as an auxiliary machine -- rarely used. One day I tried to upgrade everything on it and found I couldn’t even install a Windows Service Pack -- not enough disk space.  I deleted a bunch of stuff, removed software, but still no go.  I thought to myself, “I can still upgrade the browser and at least we could surf on it,” but no. Internet Explorer in particular didn’t like my in-secure antiquated Windows version either. I didn’t want to spend money on another hard drive, so now it’s time to toss it, right? No. I just set it aside and just forgot about it for a while, until one day I had an idea.

At my regular day job I have a host of various computers on my desk and many displays, keyboards, mice, etc.  It got to the point where I needed to still run all that equipment but keep my desk somewhat uncluttered so it was usable. Enter Remote Desktop. I used this handy piece of Windows software at work to remote control many computers from a couple of machines. That gave me the inspiration to resurrect that old laptop.  Here’s how.

Windows Professional and Ultimate versions (XP, Vista, & 7) come with an application called Remote Desktop Connection.  This nifty piece of software allows you to remote control another Windows machine on your local network or across the Internet.  Home and Home Premium versions don’t include it, but there are workable hacks out there which allow you to install it (recommended for advanced users only, and definitely not Microsoft approved).

How does it work? The host machine (the one you are remote controlling) first needs to be configured to accept incoming connections.  To turn this feature on you must right-click on your “Computer” icon (Win 7 & Vista) or your “My Computer” icon (Win XP) found in your Start Menu, then select “Properties”.  Click on “Advanced System Settings” (7 & Vista only). Then click on the tab up top named “Remote.”  Select the option to allow incoming connections (the less secure version is fine unless you are really paranoid and/or need to connect to/with an XP machine), click OK.  On some machines you may need to open up port 3389 in your firewall software -- modern versions of Windows will typically do this automatically. And better firewalls will have a pre-configured setting for this. Now the host is set to receive.

Your client computer, in my case the antiquated Toshiba laptop (stripped down to just an operating system and outdated install of Firefox), is now ready to be useful again.  To launch Remote Desktop go to Start > Programs > Accessories > Remote Desktop Connection.  You will need to know the IP address of the host machine.  This can be obtained on the host computer itself in the Network and Sharing Center, or via your router’s configuration page.  Enter the IP address in the Remote Desktop dialog (Tip: you can also enter the machine’s Windows network name if you know it).  Before you click “connect” take time to configure the options to best suit your needs. Full screen is recommended, sound too, and select “LAN” from the connection speed options.  Press “Connect.” You might be prompted for a login if you have one setup (after a standard security warning).  You are now connected and able to control the machine as if you were sitting right there.

Now my old laptop clunker is being used to remote control our more modern Windows 7 powered desktop in the kitchen at home.  Since we are just receiving an image of the screen and sound, and are sending simple keystrokes and mouse commands back to the host, the user experience is quite acceptable.  In essence the old machine has become a dumb terminal and can do all the things a modern machine can. Very cool indeed.

This technique is also useful in the opposite direction -- using a modern machine to connect to an old one.  I have an older desktop at the shop which is the central repository of our business files, runs the central database for our UPS software, and stores transaction data.  It’s an old Pentium 4 with 2 GB RAM running XP Pro.  Definitely not a speed demon, but fine for its intended purpose.  It’s keyboard, mouse, and monitor at one time hogged quite a bit of desk space, but not anymore.  In fact I don’t even have a monitor connected, the keyboard and mouse are somewhere . . .  When needed (which is rare), I just remote connect to the machine while sitting near the same desk (just a few inches away) using one of my other PCs, or from across the shop on my laptop, from home, or anywhere with an Internet connection. It is very handy. You can even cut and paste between the remote connection and the local machine.  You can also run concurrent multiple remote sessions to different machines on the client machine.  If you are connecting over the Internet, your router will need to be configured to allow the connection on port 3389 and have the connection forwarded to the right machine (sometimes called a “static route”).

Mac tip:  If you own a Mac and have Microsoft Office 2011 installed, it includes the Mac version of Remote Desktop Connection.  So you can control your PC with your Mac.  It works quite well. I use it all the time. I connect a second monitor to my Mac and run a Windows remote session full screen on the second display.  You’d never know it was running on a Mac from the looks of it. It is very convenient and has a very low impact on the Mac’s system resources. Of course most Mac users wonder why you’d ever want to do that in the first place.

What other uses are there for old computers?  Here are a few other possibilities.

Old machines are great for storing files on your local network.  You can make backups of critical files. Store your photo/home video archives. You can even map those shared locations as a drive on your modern machine and pick your own drive letter.

Create a media server.  I like using one of our old machines for storing media -- music and movies -- and then stream the content to other devices as needed -- even the PlayStation.

Use the machine as a print server.  Connect your old parallel port printers and USB printers to the old computer and share them on the network. No need to connect your printer to your laptop every time you want to print. Just send your print jobs to the shared printer on the old doorstop over the network, and tuck the computer and printers out of the way.

Let the kids use them for playing games, surfing the Internet, or doing homework.  Anything older than a Pentium 4 or a Celeron, may be too cumbersome for surfing and online media. But it will still work great for older video games (picked up at a thrift shop or ones you still may have). It will certainly be fine for document creation and most basic email needs.

Another option is getting rid of Windows altogether and loading one of the various Linux distributions.  My favorite is Ubuntu.  It runs great on old machines and offers everything you will need in an OS - browser, office suite, email, graphics, media player, games, etc.  If you are squeamish about wiping Windows and loading a foreign operating system, Ubuntu offers their Wubi installer.  This installer installs and uninstalls just like any piece of Windows software.  Once installed, you will see an option on boot up to run Ubuntu.  Try it.  It really works well on old machines. Hate it?  Then just go to control panel and uninstall. Easy. Who knows, you might even like it on a new machine, even without Windows.  Ubuntu can be downloaded at ubuntu.com.  Did I mention it is FREE?  My favorite price.

Some last thoughts -- if you haven’t already, upgrade what you have:

Are you tossing an old desktop mostly due to its huge clunky CRT monitor?  Flat screen monitors are now cheap.  You can find them at the second hand store, on craigslist, even new for not a lot of money.

Max out your RAM.  Find out the maximum amount RAM your machine will support and immediately buy it.  There is no other single upgrade that will impact system performance as much as more RAM.  Ebay is a great place to get a good deal.  Installing it is usually very simple, even if you aren’t tech savvy.  I suggest installing the maximum amount of RAM right away when you buy your computer new.  You can sell the chips you are replacing for the best price when they are new.

Other things that might help:  Add an additional hard drive for more storage or replace the one you have if things are too cramp for even the basics (like my old Toshiba).  Replace your video card for better video performance. Install a wireless network interface if it didn’t come with one..

Finally, delete all the excess software and files from your machine you don’t use. Defrag the hard drive. Make sure you are virus/spyware/malware free. If you are somewhat knowing, clean your registry. Turn off Windows Indexing Service - this can really make XP slow on old machines. All these will help you get more speed and therefore more life out of your computer.

If you do finally resolve to get rid of that old computer, keep in mind that there are people out there who might buy it as is for parts or for one of the uses described above.  Craigslist is worth a try, but probably not worth the hassle.  One of my favorites is to put it on the curb with a “FREE” sign and watch it disappear.  Or finally, take it to a thrift shop or a place that recycles old electronics.  Turns out it is against the law to put them in a landfill.  So don’t toss it.
 
Updates and Security for a More Hassle Free Computing Experience PDF Print E-mail
Written by Administrator   
Wednesday, 11 January 2012 22:54

 

Updates and Security for a More Hassle Free Computing Experience

As one of my sidelines, I teach Management Information Systems to adult students in an accelerated evening bachelors program at a local university.  Our discussions invariably end up talking about computer security, viruses, spyware, and the like.  I explain to the students that to keep a computer secure and running smoothly, it requires some software, partially, a good firewall (built into Windows these days), and keeping your operating system and other key software up to date.  And all of that requires a little self-education.  Thank God for the Internet.

I field the question: “Did you ever see this little notification down here in the system tray, saying ‘updates are available?’”  Then I get the “I always ignore that” response from at least a few of them. “You never do the updates?” “Nope.”  Wow. That is just asking for trouble.

When Wiindows Update wants to upgrade your system, your browser, and Office, can you think of a reason not to do just that?  Why would Microsoft put out updates and call them important or urgent?  Simple, they are either fixing something that is wrong (an error or mistake in the code), or plugging some hole that a hacker or malicious software can get through with ease.  Where users get caught is that they are not sure if the notifications and the updates are real.  Microsoft tries to fix that dangerous misconception by forcing the updates during shut down (if that is enabled - it is default, but only for things not marked optional - like updating to Internet Explorer 9).

Couple that lack of regular updates with a pre-installed anti-virus software package whose free trial period has expired and therefore not up to date, and you have a recipe for some serious hassles.  Taking it to the Geek Squad for help is going to cost you an easy couple of Benjamins -- 2 hours minimum labor charge and then the hard sell of some off the shelf security software for 80 bucks.  Why not just buy another laptop at that point?  And some people do.

Alright, so how do you know the updates are real?  Stupid answer: Google it -- no really.  Just type in “How do I know that windows update is real?” and presto, some geek out there has a website dedicated to it.  (Well?  How did you end up reading this?)

More practically, go to your Start menu and type “windows update” (Win 7 & Vista), and press Enter.  That will bring up the Windows Update program (above).  It will allow you to do several things: check for updates, download and install updates, view of list of updates installed, and change your update settings.  Let’s start there.

Click on “Change Settings”.  This will take you to a screen like this (Win 7 shown here):

Notice the settings:  It will install updates automatically (important ones - not optional ones).  When?  3:00 AM and do an auto restart when done (if needed) - don’t leave your unsaved work open if your data is irreplaceable.  And there’s the problem.  How many of you leave your computer on all night?  Very unlikely if it is a laptop. If it’s a desktop, you might think it is still on. Or does it just go to sleep?   So given those scenarios, when do the updates happen?  When you allow them to, meaning when you see that little nagging icon down in the corner when you’re trying to do something else.  Which you cannot be hassled with, not right now.

So you can change that time to a time you know the updates will happen, preferably when you aren’t intensively using the machine.  You can work while the updates are being installed if you’re just doing basic things.  Or, you can manually force them using that little icon, which I prefer, since that also lets you see what optional things are available like hardware drivers, Internet Explorer updates, etc.   You could also just leave you machine running all night, right? Right!

Leaving it on all night is actually a smart thing to do.  Maybe not for your electric bill, but it saves on productivity time.  Updates are done. Scheduled defrags and virus scans are great when done at night.  That way when you get back to your computer in the morning and want to get right to it, you can.  No waiting for everything to load up, no need to keep saying “no I don’t want to update now”, or “why the heck isn’t my mouse click responding to anything I do”.  Boot up software loading can take a long time even on new fast machines.  So why wait?  Let it run all night and take care of its business so you can take care of yours.

Warning: Make sure you update your power settings to not go to sleep if left unattended.  The monitor turning off is fine, just not the whole machine. And while you’re in there, set the power setting to “high performance”, then go into “change plan settings” and make sure the “put the computer to sleep” setting is set to “never.”

On to other things.  How about this one?  Have you ever seen this screen and canceled? Or the equivalent for the Adobe Reader?

This is another one people feel is a hassle or don’t believe is real.  The fact is, since both of these technologies are key to delivering online content and heavily used, they have become targets, or better said, deployment mechanisms for malicious software.  So when an update is made by Adobe, it is also trying to plug the holes that they know hackers can get through.  The one downside to the adobe update notices, is that they happen almost always only during boot up.  If you are in the habit of either sleeping or hibernating and rarely reboot (like me), then you might not see this at all.  In which case, you must consciously reboot if only for this reason.  Well, it’s good to do on occasion anyhow.

How about this upgrade notice:

This one is real too and important for all the same reasons.  There’s one little catch with this one which I’ve fallen victim to myself in haste.  Don’t just go quickly clicking Next or Install. On one of the screens, there is a little check box asking to install the Bing Toolbar, or the McAffee Security Scanner.  Which later you wonder, where did this come from?  So uncheck the checkboxes prior to proceeding.

Firewalls, what to say about firewalls?  Well in the past, I might go into a whole retort on which one to choose, how to set it, etc.  Frankly, the Windows Firewall works great.  It automatically adjusts to the software you install, unless it is some oddball or questionable thing like a bit torrent app.  Many security suites include firewalls that are just as simplistic to operate and are for the most part hands off for most users.  Are they necessary? Yes.  Where do problems occur?  When you share stuff on your network connection and don’t protect it -- like at the coffee shop using public wi-fi (thus that screen when you connect, “what kind of connection is this?” to which you choose ‘public’ to protect yourself).  This is not much of an issue for modern OS’s like Vista and Windows 7, where most people don’t even share files. XP users, a different story -- turn off sharing if you’re not using it.  Enough said on that.

Anti-virus, spyware, malware software is a very important area of concern too. Some people would consider this far more of a concern than the above updating and firewall stuff.  Truth is, if your updates are up to date, there are less ways for bad things to happen, so always start there.

Where anti-virus software becomes an issue, is when scanning signatures are not up to date -- the biggest culprit being expired trial versions that come pre-installed on many consumer-targeted machines from major manufacturers and big box retailers.

Some people being paranoid, go ahead and pay for the expensive subscriptions for Norton, McAfee and the like.  I generally recommend they not do that, unless they have money to burn or can use it as a tax write-off. They are good protection.  Often, they do not realize that there are many free options available, or don’t trust the free stuff.

One of the most overlooked options is software available from your ISP.  Most major Internet Service Providers offer free security software that you can download from them directly.  Okay, it’s not really free, because you are paying it indirectly, but you don’t have to buy anything else.  Many people I share this information with are often surprised by this fact.  Check it out.

What about other free options?  The current favorite anti-virus product amongst many geek types I know seems to be AVG’s free edition.  For malware, Trend Micro’s MalwareBytes is popular, and SpyBot Search and Destroy for spyware/adware.  There are many, many others, which you can research for yourself.  Many of these overlap in detection areas, which is fine.  Better safe than sorry.  And the protection is as good if not better than software for which you might plop down hard cold plastic (or cash).

Software packages like these are only good if they are constantly updated and run active in memory to scan for threats as they occur.  AVG does that, so does Malwarebytes, however SpyBot requires manual updates, and you want to do one right away after download.  One criticism on AVG and other free anti-virus products:  They will tag your outgoing emails with a “This email was scanned by ____ and is certified virus free” message at the bottom of each outgoing email, basically advertising for themselves.  There is no free lunch.  And for that reason alone, I choose to avoid AVG.

Keep in mind free is not always free.  Some are ad-supported - ten foot pole. Most free software is limited to personal use and is not legal for commercial or institutional organizations.  Pay software often allows for installation on several machines in your household or business (3 installs is common), and at least you can turn off the email tagging if it is forced.

Here’s a solution that I’ve been recommending lately for people, especially those that are either technology challenged or don’t want to be bothered with trying to absorb the relevance of everything I’ve talked about above:  Microsoft Security Essentials.  What?  A Microsoft Product?  Yes.  I’ve installed it on several peoples’ machines and found it works great.  It is free.  Truly free - no nagging, no ads, nothing.  It self updates and scans intelligently in the background.  It has a small memory footprint, impacting performance less than many other programs. It covers all security areas - virus/malware/spyware.  And it integrates seamlessly with Windows of course.  It is very hands off once installed, which people like a lot.  Not one of the installs I’ve done so far (crossing fingers), has had any infection issues.  Download it.  Try it. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/products/security-essentials .

So far Microsoft isn’t forcing it as a part of the Windows operating system, but I can imagine a day that eventually it will. I smell a change coming. For you old timers, think of defrag, zip files, firewalls, and partitioning software, when they weren’t part of Windows.  All were seen as necessary, but they were not offered by Microsoft.  That of course changed. This will too. Third party options will always be available, and often better in detection and removal, that is if you want the hassle and expense.  Microsoft knows that people want something that just works without the hassle.  That is the reason Macs have become more and more popular again. They just work (you do have to do updates though).  So it is worth the extra expense for many when they learn, no viruses on Macs? (Not entirely the case, but basically true.)  Of course the more popular machines (PCs with Windows) are more often targets, because they are more popular, the king of the hill. Microsoft has taken heed of the need for things to be simple, and I think we’ll see that exemplified with Windows 8, coming soon.

Ultimately, for Windows-based PC users to stay on top of this stuff, it takes educating yourself. I do see a time when things will just work.  Until then, update Windows and key software, and secure your system for a more hassle free computing experience.