Firstly, why are some files hidden? The answer is pretty straight forward. Hidden files and folders constitute those that, if altered, could have a major effect on the way your system performs. Hence, when Windows is first installed, it hides these elements to keep anyone from accidentally deleting, renaming or moving files that the operating system relies on.

All in all it’s a good policy, but occasionally, computer repair calls for making the exact types of changes they want to guard against. To accommodate actual IT repair, Windows makes it easy to view the hidden files and folders if you want. You just have to adjust the Folder Options in Windows Explorer.

Not to be confused with the web browser called Internet Explorer, Windows Explorer is a program installed on every Windows system. It constitutes the folder hierarchy you see whenever you click (My) Computer. We’ve all used it; it allows us to navigate down the hierarchy from disk to folder to folder, etc.

To show hidden files, just start by opening up Windows explorer. You can just go to My Documents if you want.

Online safety is like the elephant in the room. We all know it’s a huge issue – and we know we should do something about it, but often we just pretend it doesn’t affect us. But being safe online is a tremendous concern, but it is – at least – one that is pretty easy to address.

The more you practice “safe surfing” the easier it gets to spot the problems. Soon, all of the checklists and points here become second nature and you’re able to surf, chat and send emails with just your wisdom and instinct to keep you safe. This is ideal, of course, since it’s impossible to beat or prevent every single possibility of danger online.

Use Site Checkers

There are several varieties of website checkers available; often they come with a full security suite. McAfee’s SiteAdvisor, for example, is available with the McAfee’s anti-virus software, but there are many options available that don’t require buying a full suite of software. Our recommended product to help keep you safe online is Wheel of Trust – you can learn more about it at www.mywot.com.

With a site checker, your search results will come back with some special flags or icons. A green check, for example, will mean that a site is safe to use and has been inspected by the checker. A red X might mean that there is a big problem with a site or that it’s been reported for something nasty. Green means go, and red means stop – it’s pretty mindless since the software is doing the checking for you here.

A clean computer is a working computer – an important distinction for those who are plagued with frozen screens and unexplained problems with their machines. Spending time cleaning out files and running anti-virus programs isn’t enough to keep your computer truly spotless – for that it must be as clean on the outside as it is on the inside.

Housecleaning for Computers

Nobody likes a dusty house, and computers are certainly not an exception. While dusty conditions may make us sneeze, dusty conditions can actually harm or even kill your computer. This is why you have to regularly clean the computer's actual components: the tower and what's inside.

Inside the hard case of your computer there are many components that run very hot as they work. To keep things in check, a fan runs to help cool everything down. That’s one of the noisiest things you hear when your computer is running, incidentally. When regular household dust settles onto your CPU, it lands on the outside and on the inside as well.  At some point, the normally inert dust starts to take a tole.  It's not that it actually interferes with the electronics; it's that it prevents them from shedding heat, acting as a blanket that can ruin everything.

Additionally, the hot hair blown around by the fan inside your computer comes out special vent holes designed for this purpose. Dust can settle into these vent holes sealing them up. When dust is blocking the vent holes, the hot air can’t escape and the computer ultimately overheats. If the dust makes it inside the computer, it can also land on the circuit board, insulating it and causing short circuits.

Getting Started

Cleaning your computer requires special tools as you’ll need to work carefully to avoid damaging your machine. To properly clean your computer, you’ll need:

1. A can of compressed air - You can get these at any office supply store.  The idea here is to touch the internal components of a computer as little as possible.
2. A clean, dry cloth - Preferably this would be a cotton or microfiber cloth specially designed for cleaning computers, hence it would have anti-static properties.  These can be bought at any office supply or computer supply store and they aren't expensive.  You can even buy wipes that are pre-coated with anti-static cleaning fluid.  If you can't find those, then get . . .
3. Some non-static computer cleaner - again, you can get this at an office supply store.
4. The right environment - This is more important than it seems.  Remember that static is your primary enemy so you want to take precautions.  Also remember that you're going to make whatever surface you're working on very dusty.  Protect the surroundings as well as the machine.
5. A dust mask - A rag or t-shirt may do the job. This one is you're call, but if you're computer has gathered a lot of dust and grit, it's a good idea to take some precautions for yourself.  A face cloth and protective eyeware can help ease the normal assault of allergens and other irritants a good cleaning can stir up.

STATIC in MIND - the most surefire way to protect against static shocks is to buy (or make yourself) a static wristband.  This makes a ground:  it's a wristband that puts a piece of metal in contact with your skin and then connects via a wire to something else made of metal.  It works by taking that hair-standing, wool-sock-charging, doorknob-shocking charge and continually dispersing it through the metal thing you're tethered to, not the computer.

Start by picking your computer up off the floor. Computers sitting on the floor are in a prime location to collect dust, dog hair and pet dander that settles there. After you've unplugged everything, put the tower on a good work surface.

STATIC in MIND - avoid a plastic table-top for a work surface.  Plastic is renown for generating static, especially outdoor plastic chairs and those latex balloons that you can rub against your hair and then stick to the wall with static charge.  This is why there's no need to use latex gloves when working on a PC, in fact it's discouraged.  Wood and laminate surfaces are great.  If you really want to go all out, you can buy professional insulating pads to set your computer on.

Then take your (anti-static) dry cloth and your computer cleaner. Wipe down the computer casing using the cloth (or wipe) you sprayed with computer cleaner. Don't spray the cleaner onto the computer casing itself, and focus only on lightly removing dust from the major housing. Once the visible dust is removed, turn your attention to the air vents. Use your compressed air to gently blow away any dust you see on or just inside the air vents. The goal here is to get dust away, not blow it inside the case, so it's a good idea to come at it from an angle, paying special attention to any vent holes and to the ports where wires plug in.

STATIC in MIND - cleaning one or two PCs shouldn't be a major investment, but that being said, don't skimp on the anti-static precautions.  Using special sprays and cloths may sound unnecessary, but it's not.  Remember the components of computers aren't so delicate that they can't be touched, but an errant static spark (just like the ones that you get in the winter) can damage a circuit.  Of course water is a bad idea, and so are any normal household cleaners.  For the protection of your PC, it's not too much to spend a few bucks on some essential precautions.

What is AVI?

AVI stands for Audio Video Interleave and is probably the most common file format for multimedia files. Microsoft is the developer of AVI. It was created to be part of the Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF), which divides a file’s data into separate pieces. AVI carries, or contains, one of the file parts. AVI is called a “container format” because it stores data instead of codes it. The data is held there until a codec can come along and put the whole file back together.

What is a codec?

Codecs are programs that work to shrink down large files like movies and music so you can download them and then play them on your PC. Because music and movie files are so large, it’s almost impossible to upload or download them quickly. So codecs step in to encode or shrink the original, raw file and then decode it as a high-quality file version.