Page 9 - MAR 2019 proof 7 - The Castle Pines Connection

What’s in your
Business Brief9s
The Connection welcomes Elizabeth “Biz” Hansen
computer?
By Terri Wiebold; photo courtesy of Biz Hansen
By Michelle Post
Terms of Use: With any advice about
your computer, software, hardware, and/
or network, please use caution and read all the facts before installing, changing, and/or deleting any les on your computer.
What you don’t know can hurt you! Running maintenance on your computer is just as important as running maintenance on your car or house – it needs to be done. Even the best maintenance, however,
can miss something. Here are a few precautions your business can take to
help prevent a loss of productivity due to system viruses:
Step 1: Identify what is on your computer. One of my favorite FREE tools is called Belarc Advisor, www.belarc.com/products_ belarc_advisor. The reason I love this tool is best answered from Belarc’s website, “The Belarc Advisor builds a detailed pro le of your installed software and hardware, network inventory, any missing Microsoft hot xes, anti-virus status, security benchmarks, and displays the results in your web browser.”
Step 2: Install an anti-virus software
that not only protects against viruses, but also protects against malware, phishing, ransomware and browser protection. You can get great protection from free software by visiting www.tomsguide.com/us/best- free-antivirus,review-6003.html. The free version of Avast has been one of my go-to anti-virus solutions for years.
Step 3: When sur ng the web, use a privacy browser or go incognito to limit what information you share. A search engine that does not track your sur ng history is DuckDuckGo (https:// duckduckgo.com/.)
Step 4: Install a maintenance software that helps keep your computer optimized and one that cleans your internet cache and temporary les. One favorite I have been using for more than a decade is CCleaner, www.ccleaner.com. The free version
does everything I need to help keep my computer optimized.
Step 5: Install a password vault to store
all your passwords. I do not recommend storing passwords in your web browser, as this is one way hackers gain access to your computer. A software I was introduced to recently is called LastPass, www.lastpass. com. One vault password unlocks all your passwords, and you only have to remember one password. The software has a free version and paid options too.
In the words of Uncle Ben, “With great power, comes great responsibilities.” And for me, this includes the responsibility of ensuring I am doing all I can to manage the power of my computer.
Biz joins The Castle Pines Connection team as an advertising account manager. She is originally from Michigan and graduated from Arizona State with a Bachelor of Science in Purchasing Materials Management. She moved to Denver in 1991 and worked the next 10 years in sales and marketing in the ski and technology industries.
Biz, her husband Scott, and their three children moved to The Village at Castle Pines in 2005. She loves being involved
in the community and has volunteered her time at the local schools and neighborhood Castle Pines Homes Association. Biz is also a certi ed yoga instructor who loves the outdoors and spends her free time playing tennis, hiking, mountain biking and working on her handstands.
Biz Hansen, Account Manager