How to Secure a Brand New Computer

Don’t you just love the look and the smell of a brand new PC? My eyes and my heart always jump whenever I bring home a box that has an Acer, Lenovo, HP, or Asus mark on it.

The first thing that I usually do after pulling a brand new PC out of its cardboard shell is to run a diagnostic program to check if the specs indicated in the manual are true. Most computers are already pre-loaded with the basic stuff, the first and foremost of which is the operating system. If your unit’s hard drive is completely bare, then you have to install a fresh copy of your preferred OS first before you could run a diagnostic software.

Check Hardware Components

Many do not verify the accuracy of their units’ specs as claimed by the dealer, though, either because they treat the information indicated in the box as already gospel truths, or because they don’t have the necessary tools or software to do so. While it rarely happens that a unit which bears an “Intel Inside” logo to actually have an AMD chip for a brain, it’s still important to check if everything is as they should be.

Verification is all the more important when you buy a clone or ask the seller to modify some of the peripherals originally included in the package. It’s not unusual for buyers to ask the seller to make some changes in the package as they may not like the bundled peripherals or software in the unit. Components sometimes get mixed up during the assembly or modification phase. It’s imperative, then, that you ascertain if they threw in everything that you bought or ordered.

Verify Software

Hardware shouldn’t only be your concern when it comes to ascertaining if the specifications are indeed correct. As I’ve already intimated above, computers are usually bundled with software already. You should therefore check if all the promised programs are indeed installed. If the programs didn’t come for free and you paid for them, then it’s all the more reason for you to ascertain if they’ve indeed been installed and if they’re really the programs that you bought. Check the version and the license number and see if they match the ones indicated in the box or installation disk.

Download Updates

After you’ve already verified that every promised or indicated component and program is included in the unit, the next thing that you should do is to update them. Components need to be updated through their drivers. Months may have already passed since your PC came out from the assembly line. It’s possible, then, that the drivers that came with it are already outdated.

Programs need to be updated, too, especially operating systems. Microsoft issues updates or patches frequently, so it’s highly probable that the OS installed in your PC needs some patching up. Your PC may run without the needed hardware and software updates, but they’re vulnerable to crashes and attacks. You should therefore make sure that every component and program is updated before you start performing tasks.