9 Essential Steps to Disaster-Proof Your PC

A little preparation goes a long way. We show you how to avoid the most common tragedies to befall a PC user—guaranteed!

Stop whatever it is you’re doing. We know your time is valuable, and what you’re about to read could save you hours, if not days, of damage control. What could be so important? Your work documents, for one thing. And then there’s your entire digital collection of family photos cataloguing every birthday, vacation, and other special occasion over the past several years. Common PC pitfalls don’t just affect your digital files, either. Should disaster strike—say a power surge or a hacker attack— you could be looking at hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars of damaged hardware—or even worse, damage to your good name and credit if someone manages to steal your identity.

Are you thoroughly spooked yet? You needn’t be, not if you follow our nine-step guide to disaster-proofing your PC. On the following pages, we show you how to prepare for everything from acts of God to hacker attacks, and every other mishap you’re likely to encounter as a power user. And if you’re an old pro who already knows how to disaster-proof your PC, then treat this as a checklist of things you know you should be doing, but probably aren’t.

1. Back up Your Data
With a modicum of effort you can save yourself a whole lot of heartache

2. Take Your Data Off-Site
A backup plan for your backup plan

3. Keep Malware at Bay
Trojans and dialers and worms, oh my!

4. Your Power Supply Matters
Trying to save a few pennies on a PSU could cost you dearly

5. Practice Safe Computing
Without constant vigilance, the Internet can be a dangerous place

6. Set up a Virtual Machine
Experiment all you want without putting your rig at risk

7. Configure Your Router, the Right Way!
A vulnerable router is an invitation to all sorts of abuse

8. Get in Tune with Your System
More often than not, there are signs of impending disaster, if you know where to look

9. Keep a PC First-Aid Kit
In case of emergency, you should keep handy a repository of spare parts that can address a PC's most common points of failure

Read the full article (how-to) here: maximumpc.com