Maintaining your PC-DVR
From EZWatch Wiki
Just as important as protecting your PC is performing routine maintenance. Here are some recommended maintainance steps for both the hardware and software of the PC.
Hardware Maintenance
Maintaining the hardware of your computer is essential to the life and performance of the PC as well as preventing catastrophic data loss and down time of your surveillance system. Below are some easy maintenance steps that you can do to keep you PC performing its best.
- Routine Interior Cleaning. While the PC is turned off, use a can of compressed air to clean out the inside of the PC. It is recommended to do this outside or in an open area as PC's can collect quite a bit of dust and debris. Do this at least once every few months. If the PC is in a dusty or dirty environment, clean the PC out every 2 weeks or so.
- Routine Exterior Cleaning. Using Electronics Wipes and compressed air clean off the outside of the PC and the keyboard/mouse once every few months to ensure that buttons and keys don't become sticky or unresponsive.
Software Maintenance
Maintaining the Operating System, file structure, and programs on your PC is necessary to keep the PC performing the way it should. This also helps to prevent catastrophic data loss due to file corruption or virus/spyware activity. Below are some great maintenance steps that you can easily perform on your PC.
- Defrag the hard drive(s). For complete instructions on how to do this EZWatch Support WIKI has a great article on Defragging a Hard Drive.
- Windows Updates. Making sure your PC always has the most current Windows updates ensures optimum performance and security for your Operating System. For more information on turning on and configuring updates see How to Turn On Windows Automatic Updates
- Virus Protection. Having a Virus Protection program is absolutely necessary for any PC that is connected to the internet. Virus' are a constant threat to your data and your PC can be infected without your knowledge. Having virus protection running will help protect your PC from catastrophic data loss and performance problems. Running routine virus scans once or twice a month will ensure that your PC stays free from infections. A good free solution for virus protection is the Avast Antivirus suite. Please see Avast for more information on this program.
- Spyware, Adware, and Malware Protection. Spyware, Adware, and Malware are fast becoming the biggest threat to online PC's. Protecting the PC from these threats is vital to PC performance and Data Security. These malicious programs: can severely affect the performance of the pc; track and report everything you do while using the pc; cause constant and continuous pop-up's when online; steal account names, numbers, and passwords; damage data; etc. Some great free spyware removal and protection programs are Ad-Aware and Spybot S&D, please contact Ad-Aware and Spybot for more information on these programs. Running a spyware removal program every couple of weeks will ensure the integrity of your data and the performance of your pc.
- EZWatchPro Software Updates. We are constantly finding new ways to improve the stability, performance, and features of our software. Check our EZWatchPro website and the EZWatchPro Support WIKI for available software updates and release notes.
