I have just gone through 2 weeks of computer and tax hell. The short story line is that I have had to replace both my desktop and laptop over the past 2 weeks (neither due to a virus). In the meantime due to both of these computers and previously been on dial up vs. high speed cable the tax program wouldn't cooperate. Be that as it may, we now have a brandy new desktop with brandy new high speed cable modem. The people that hooked us up to high speed cable advised us not to turn the computer on/off all the time - just to leave it on? Is that really what we should do? I leave the computer on at work all the time, but when I leave the new one on at home the power on button blinks on/off all the time and I am not sure that is good for it? All opinions accepted! <img border="0" alt="[Drinking]" title="" src="graemlins/062802drink_prv.gif" />

Not that I'm ANY sort of expert, but I have cable with WI/FI and I leave my computer on all the time.
Oh, except when I'm out of town for long periods of time (like a cruise :D )

Like Suzanne's house, the desktop computers in our house stay on all the time, except while we're gone crusing. The blinking lights and such aren't really a danger for the computer and, in fact, turning it on and off frequently makes it more likely (not a lot, but a bit) that a hard disk or power supply will fail. They "work hardest" while powering up.

george

I am the queen of power supplys, I just installed the fourth one yesterday. (my pc chews them up and spits them out)
I too have heard that turning off your PC is harder on it than leaving it on.

Thanks for bringing this up.

I shut my laptop down and unplug it everyday. SHould I leave a laptop on all the time?
It does get warm, so it seems to be that it should Not be left on?

Don't take your laptop on cruise ship and let them mess with it. I'm about to bury mine at sea. To bad they don't have skeet shooting anymore. That would be even better.

Gil, Laptops are a different matter, and I would not leave them on longer than absolutely necessary. Even when you do have laptops on, I recommend using a docking station in order to ensure that the laptop is elevated slightly to prevent overheating. Yes, laptops have a tendency to overheat - even the ones using Pentium M chips which draw significantly less power. Windows XP/2000 also require shut down to fix the many errors that creep up during use.

Desktops have the heat sinks and fans necessary for keeping them on; like the others who've posted on this thread, I keep my desktop on all the time. Each time you turn a device that uses solid-state circuitry on and off, you slightly damage it because the act of turning on a device is in itself a mini power-surge.

If you leave your computer on all the time and you are connected to a cable modem, make sure you have a very good router with a very good hardware (not softwaare) firewall. You may also want to consider using a McAfee software firewall as a backup.

I was amazed at how many times someonw tried to access my computer before I protected it. I was averaging hundreds of hits per HOUR!

When your PC is on all the time and connected to the internet, people can access it. I found files installed on my machine I never put there. It was very scary.

So, always practice safe computing by using the proper protection.

Mike

Oh yes - this is an excellent point. I use a Linksys router that has a hardware firewall. It's my understanding that the hardware-based firewalls are pretty much impregnable because the necessary protection mechanisms are hard-coded & read-only. Mike, is this really the case or is that just propoganda from Linksys?

Any firewall is only as good as its programmer - and that goes for both software firewalls as well as hardware firewalls. Any system can be cracked - it just requires persistence and dedication on the part of the cracker. The best solution would be, as mike mentioned, to have both firewalls running but the only way to have a risk-free system is to disconnect all outside connections.

In spite of all of this doom-and-gloom, I have a standard router with DHCP/NAT addressing without a hardware firewall, using Zonelabs only as a software firewall, and have had no problems (but very interesting to review the intrusion logs every now and then).

Masaki

Thanks everyone for your replies. OK I will leave the computer on. Now you are all talking to me about firewalls and intrusion logs. The cable company tells me they have a very good firewall - how would I know? And where is an intrusion log????? I think I need to start drinking again. <img border="0" alt="[Drinking]" title="" src="graemlins/062802drink_prv.gif" />

Forget the cable company firewall. Whatever they have (or don't have) is a joke at best. You need to get something for yourself.

An intrusion log is something you will get with your firewall. It is a log that captures every attempt made to access your computer. You will see more activity than you would have believed possible. It seems that people write programs to have their computers continuously check IP addresses and the various ports available on PCs. If they find something that answers, they then mount an active attempt to gain access.

I have sat and watched the log file and seen another computer try to access every port available on my computer. It is scary to realize how vulnerable you were before you protected your machine.

Mike

If you don't have a fire wall, I suggest that you download the free edition of ZoneAlarm. If you have further problems you can always upgrade to the ZoneAlarm Plus or Pro. I have been using the free edition since it first came out with no problems.

If you are not sure that you need a firewall (you really do need one!) you can test your computers security here. Follow the easy directions for first time users. These two tests will only take a minute or two!

I leave mine on for the most part; however, I do use the "standby" feature in Windows which puts it into some hiberbation type mode.

We leave ours on unless we go out of town.
Local computer whiz recommended it.
Sure wish I knew how to put pictures on a post like some of you do. Just don't understand the terminology.

Norwegian Dream 02/22/04
Paul Gauguin 02/15/03
Commodore MS Caribe 03/22/80

thank you all, when I get home I will follow the directions for the computer impaired! I have no problems with software - it's just those dang computers that get me!

Joanne

OK all - I used Karen's link and followed the user friendly directions. Apparently due to dumb luck, my computer is protected! Thank you all for your advice and I now feel better leaving the computer on. Hopefully this one will last a few years. Back to really important cruise subjects. Thanks again.