Get a UPS

No, not one of the guys (or gals) in brown.  I’m talking about Uninterruptible Power Supplies.

UPSes are battery backup systems for electronics.  In this case, computers specifically.  I know you’re thinking, “Why would I want a battery backup for my computer?”  The reasons might not be obvious, but there are many. 

Having a UPS keeps the computer from shutting off abruptly

One of the worst enemies of your computer and its data is an abrupt loss of power to your computer.  If you’re working on a document or composing an email, for example, and the power goes out, you’ll probably lose your work.

In addition to that, in order to make computers perform as well as they do, modern operating systems like Windows, OS X, and Linux don’t necessarily save your data to your hard disk drive immediately.  They’ll hold that data in memory (in a cache) until it is convenient to save it to the hard drive.  Just because the computer says it has saved your file doesn’t mean it has actually done it.  It’s going to wait until it’s good and ready.

Having a UPS prevents both of these problems from occurring.  If the power goes out you and your computer will have a few minutes to save your work before the battery is exhausted. 

Having a UPS can prevent damage to your computer

This includes both physical damage due to power surges, brownouts, etc. as well as damage to the data on your computer. 

UPSes usually have surge protectors built in, and they also monitor the AC power in your home for problem conditions as well.  If there is any sort of problem with your power the UPS will kick in and switch the power going to your computer from the wall outlet to its built-in battery, preventing physical damage from occurring.  Many computers and other electronics have been saved from destruction because of the protection provided by a UPS.

Perhaps a more frustrating problem is what can happen when a computer is shut off abruptly rather than being shut down gracefully.  Computers don’t like to be turned off without a proper shutdown procedure; data on your drive, including your operating system and the programs you use regularly, can easily be damaged by an abrupt loss of power.  Files are very often damaged when this occurs, and it can result in a computer that won’t start, generates error messages, or crashes.  It’s an easy thing to avoid by just adding a UPS.

Having a UPS will make your computer more stable

Many of the crashes and lockups that we experience with our computers are due to problems with the power coming into them.  For example, if your air conditioner or refrigerator’s compressor turns on to cool your home or food, that generates some huge spikes and drops in the power on your wiring.  Likewise with washers, dryers, even hair dryers.  Those spikes and drops get passed on to the electronics in your computer, and can easily generate anomalies in the way your data is processed and stored.  You’ve probably seen it in its extreme before… the lights go dim momentarily, and your computer locks up or resets.  But that is an extreme example.  Even the smaller spikes, surges, and drops in power can modify the way your computer behaves.  And it may not show up as a problem on the computer right away.  The data that has been modified might not be accessed until later, at which point the computer may lockup or crash minutes, hours, or days after the problem really occurred, and you’ll never know why. 

In my own experience, many times computers that misbehave without a UPS suddenly start working perfectly after a UPS has been added.  I’ve seen it time and time again.  This is especially true of budget computers, where they have cut corners on the internal power supply in order to keep costs down. 

If your computer seems to randomly misbehave, there’s a chance it is because it is running on bad power.  A UPS will fix that.

Having a UPS will make your computer last longer

Without having to deal with problematic power, the electronic components that make up our computers will last a lot longer.  And I’m not just talking about preventing immediate damage from power surges; the everyday noise that is present on our power lines does damage over a long period of time.  Running your computer on a UPS will increase its life noticeably.

What about laptop owners?

The very nature of laptops makes UPSes less necessary than they are for desktop computers.  Since they have their own battery they’re automatically immune to power outages. 

But that doesn’t mean that laptop owners won’t benefit from a UPS at all.  The other issues mentioned above can still apply, like instability and damage due to dirty power; laptops are affected too.  And it isn’t a bad idea to put your DSL or cable modem and network router on a UPS to prevent damage and improve reliability there either. 

I’m convinced… now what?

It’s important when buying a UPS to get one that is properly sized for the amount of equipment that will be plugged into it.  And you need to decide how long you want the computer to be able to run on battery power for those time when the the power goes out completely.  Don’t expect a lot; 10-15 minutes would be considered generous without spending a fortune.  To save a little cash you can get one that will last you somewhere between 7 and 10 minutes.

Personally I have been using UPSes by APC for about 15 years, and I love them.  They aren’t the only game in town, that’s for sure, but I do trust their products.  And they have a tool on their web site that makes it easy to find the right UPS for your situation. 

Most office supply stores carry UPSes.  If you buy one there, expect to spend $50-150 depending on the size you need.

If you’re just going to run your modem or router on a UPS, buy the cheapest brand-name UPS you can find; even the smallest capacity will run these devices for quite some time on battery backup power.  Laptops are more power efficient than desktops, so they can run on small-capacity UPSes as well.

If you do get a UPS, please make sure you set it up according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  If you don’t install their software, for example, the computer won’t know when the power goes out, and it will be shut off abruptly when the battery dies, exactly like what would happen if you didn’t have a UPS at all.  Connecting the UPS to your computer and installing the proper software will allow your computer to know when the battery is about to die, and give it a chance to shut down properly.

The cost of a UPS is easily offset by the replacement cost of any equipment that they might save over its life.  And that doesn’t include time and frustration saved on your part due to lost files, crashes, or repair of any damage to your operating system and software. 

I, of course, have UPSes on all of my critical computers, and it has saved me a great deal of frustration over the years.  So I highly recommend them for anyone.

Viruses are NOT a technological problem

There is a myth that has been going around for YEARS that if you run Windows on a computer that it is automatically going to become infested with viruses. It is perpetuated by many, particularly in the “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” ads, but also by the companies that create anti-virus software in hopes that you’ll buy their product to protect yourselves from the inevitable technological intrusion into your virtual computer space. And most of us buy into it. The truth is, that it is NOT true that running Windows will guarantee that you’ll become infested with viruses. (I’ll prove it later in this post.) Windows in and of itself is not the problem. The problem isn’t even technological at all. It’s social.

The term used to describe the techniques used by viruses writers to get their software onto your computer is actually called “social engineering.” Basically it means they trick you into installing the viruses on your computer. They’ll do things like disguise their software as something else that you’re likely to want or want to see. They use methods to make you believe that these things are coming from trusted sources, like friends or family. Combined, those are pretty effective methods. (And truthfully, these same methods work on ANY operating system; they aren’t specific to Windows.)

This might be a blow to the ego of some, but if your computer has become infested with a virus, it is because you let it install itself. You opened a file you shouldn’t have. You installed some software you shouldn’t have. You are the one to blame that it is there. Please don’t blame your computer. Don’t blame your operating system. You did something that let the bad stuff in. The wolf knocked at your door, and instead of replying with a “not by the hair of my chinny-chin chin” you said “come on in.”

Personally I don’t run anti-virus software. I never have. I do install it, because that’s what you’re “supposed” to do, but I don’t let it run scanning and watching my computer all of the time. After I install it the very first thing I do is disable it. I don’t like the slowdown that comes with having everything I do be monitored by bloated software that isn’t going to find anything anyway. And despite the fact that I do not run antivirus software, I have NEVER had a single virus on ANY of my computers. Ever! I’ve been running Windows for nearly 15 years and I haven’t had a virus yet. I’ll run anti-virus scans every once a while just to make sure that I’m still clean, but NONE of those scans have EVER found even a single virus.

If susceptibility to viruses was a technological problem with Windows, my computers would be massive infestations of virus muck. They wouldn’t be usable. And they’d be out there trying to find ways to infect others. How have I been able to remain clean? Just by being careful about what I install and keeping my computer up to date with security patches. That’s it. No more. No magical hardware firewall watching my Internet activity. No magic fairy that shows up in the middle of the night to clean off anything that may have arrived that day.

But the situation gets even worse for the theory that Windows inherently becomes infested with viruses when I tell you that I also don’t run any firewalls. Yep, I turn those off too. And here’s another kicker… I break the cardinal rule of data security: three of my computers have public IP addresses (meaning they are totally exposed to, accessible from, and visible to the Internet). Gasp! That’s an absolute security no-no! Nobody should EVER run Windows with a public IP address, right? Well, I wouldn’t recommend it for most people, but the truth is that Windows, despite its many flaws, is not the primary cause of viruses becoming installed on our computers, so I really don’t worry about it. Viruses are installed by people, not their operating system. It’s people tricking other people into installing their ill-intended garbage that gets computers infected.

I’m not the only one that doesn’t run anti-virus software. In a recent episode of the Security Now podcast, noted security expert Steve Gibson also admitted that he doesn’t run it either. If a security expert doesn’t run it, then the computer he’s using isn’t the main cause of the problem, is it!?

So why do Windows PCs so often have viruses? Mostly because they’re so popular. If you’re someone conjuring up evil plans to take over the world by creating virus software, who are you going to target? The 90% of computers running Windows? Or the 7% running a Mac, or 1% running Linux? Which offers a better return on your time investment?

Windows XP also made an easy target because it makes it so easy to install software. No password or validation required to do an installation; installers can just run and do whatever they please whenever someone starts them. (That has changed with Vista; passwords and validation are required there, just like OS X and Linux.) Not requiring a password to install has never been a good idea, but it isn’t the cause of viruses on computers. It just made it easier for the bad guys. Big difference. And viruses are software; they just have a different intent than something like Firefox.

With all of this said, I will not recommend that most people run without anti-virus software or a firewall. Most people should take those steps to protect their machines. But these tools are just extras layer of protection; they should not be the only form of protection used. Neither will ever be able to make up for all of the shortcomings of someone using a computer. Even with both installed, it’s still up to you to avoid the bad stuff. And that, my friends, is a social problem, not a problem with technology.