Yes, you read that right, my computer has enemies. No, they aren’t really made of malware, although malware is a threat. Mostly malware is a threat to me and my content stored on the computer. No, I am not my computer’s worst enemy, although I know some people who are rather hard on their machines. I am talking about enemies that are potentially more dangerous than me or malware combined!
Enemy #3 is moisture. Computers are electrical creatures, and therefore don’t respond well when they come into contact with moisture. Sometimes its possible to unplug them, take them apart, dry them out, and put them back together again, but other times they simply fry and never come back to life.
Enemy #2 is static. Precisely because computers are electrical creatures by nature, they are incredibly sensitive to voltage that may be higher than their parts were designed for. A single lightening strike through a building’s electrical wiring can fry motherboards, video cards, disk drives, etc. Give your computer the gift of a UPS/surge protector on its next birthday.
Enemy #1 is DUST! You read that right, DUST! Dust blows into your computer via its ventiliation ports in the case, drawn in as the case fan blows it out the back end of the case (or the front as some case mods may be). Dust can cake along motherboard bus ports, clog heat sinks, bring CPU fans to a stand-still, causing your entire system to overheat and potentially blow or dry out capacitors, resulting in an elaborate brick instead of a working machine.
It’s a good idea to dust out your computer roughly every 6 months to a year. But take care not to wreck your fan, or blow too hard on sensitive equipment. If you’re not sure how to do this, contact your favourite computer tech for some case-loving TLC. Your computer will thank you!
