I have nothing against Macs! However, I'm a PC user. While Macs can do much (most?) of what PCs can do in terms of statistical computing, the PC has been the platform of preference for statistical analysis. Students are welcome to use PCs or Macs as they prefer, but I'm unable to provide advice and support to Mac users.
Students should be familiar with the standard conventions of the Windows operating system. Even though everyone will have had experience with Word Processing, Internet Browsers, and heaven only knows what else, I've found that many students remain unfamiliar with some of the basics.
These basic skills must be mastered in order to use the computer effectively.
If all you want to do is find a file from part of its file name, there is no more effective tool than the Everything search engine. It finds files faster than you can type their names! It uses minimal resources and works by taking advantage of the way computers store the directories of NTSF drives (the system used by most PCs of recent vintage). However, it cannot search the contents of files.
Otherwise, a general technique for finding a file is to use Windows' Search function. To access it, click on the Start button and choose Search. The Find function can also be used to locate files that contain a specific string of text and/or were modified on a specific date or within a specific range of dates, so you could look for that term paper by searching for all *.doc files modified in the last week.
Microsoft "improved" the Find function in Windows XP (I'm not sure about WIndows 7) so that it no longer behaves as expected. The Find function will not search through files unless their types (the part of the name after the period) are registered with Windows. So, don't try using Search in Windows XP to locate the SAS command file that contains the string "proc report" because Search won't find it. There are ways to register file types, but they are tedious. A better option is to use a utility that has no such constraints. Agent Ransack is free and does the job well. File manager programs such as Total Commander also have this capability.
I've used all three. At the moment, I'm using Avast. A recent version of AVG degraded performace considerably because of an automatic link scanning function. It could be turned off, and maybe it's fixed in the new release, but I decided I didn't want to have to worry about it. I'd been using Avira but tired of its daily nag to purchase the paid version, so it's back to Avast for the moment for me. (YMMV)
I have a strong personal dislike for Norton and McAfee antivirus products. They "take over" a computer to the point where they can conflict with other software. I am not alone in being unwilling to try to fix a misbehaving computer that has either of these programs installed. On those rare occasions where I will make an attempt, the first thing I do is remove Norton or McAfee...if I can. It's often a lengthy, picky process. However, if you've already got one of them installed and are paying for it, there's no reason stop using it unless problems develop.
In case of emergency, viruses can be detected and cleaned automatically over the WWW at http://housecall.antivirus.com, a free service provided by Trend Micro. I do this every 6 to 12 months "just in case" something has been able to avoid my safeguards and conceal itself from my resident antivirus software.
If you are really worried about viruses or have the need to go to sites that might be sketchy, you should be using a program like Sandboxie that creates a virtual computer. That way, if something gets infected, it's the virtual computer, which you can simply delete.
Get a router! Even if you have only one computer. Most people think of routers in terms of their primary function that allows many computers to share a single Internet connection. However, a router does something even more important: it acts as a firewall! When you install a router, the Internet sees the router and not your computer. This makes the computer invisible to outside probing and attacks. A router also eliminates most users' need for firewall software that can conflict unpredictably with other software.
Some routers are both wired and wireless. They will have 4 to 8 connections for attaching computers as well as a wireless signal that can be used by any computer within range. If you get such a router, use the installation program to either turn off the wireless or protect it with a password. This will prevent unauthorized users from gaining access and slowing down your connection or--worst case depending on what they do with that connection--getting you a visit from a law enforcement agency.
While you're at it
It's rare for a week to go by without a news story about the unauthorized release of personal data and the possibility of resulting identity theft. If you will have any involvement in studies with human subjects (and you almost certainly will), be sure you have the ability to encrypt data that might be copied to your flash drive. Some flash drive models, such as the Lexar Jump Drive Secure, automatically encrypt anything stored in a user-defined portion of the drive. You also have the option of using third party software to encrypt and decrypt individual files if you are comfortable working that way.
If you lose data files that contain subject identifiers, you will have to report it to the Univeristy's Institutional Review Board (IRB). It is likely that the loss will have to be reported to The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP, aka o-herp [accent on the 'o'], aka "Washington"), the US Health and Human Services agency that authorizes and oversees all human subjects research. You do not want to have to go through that exercise.
Today, external 1 Tb (that's 1000 Gb!) hard drives appear on sale regularly for under $100 that are plugged into one of a computer's USB ports. Some come with backup software that runs automatically when the drive is turned on.
I chose my backup software because it has a setting that erases files from the backup drive that no longer appear on the source drive. This eliminates the bloat that comes from incremental backups. I know that someday I'll backup the computer before I realize an important file is missing from my source drive and then lose it from the backup, too, but it's a risk I'm willing to live with. I have not named the program because software that is rich in options comes with risks. Severe damage can result if options are used improperly. (Notice that the user had to go out way of her way to lose the contents of her hard drive, but still...) However, there is usually no reason to worry about using the default setting of software that comes with most drives or is intended for novice users.
$100 may seem like a large expense. However, anyone who has ever lost an important document, let alone an entire drive full, would gladly have paid many times that to recover it. Some have paid $1,000+ to send their failed drives to companies that specialize in recovering lost files.
There are many ways to backup a drive.
[back to Nutrition 209 Home Page]