1.
Take
those disks they give you and put them in a safe place. Keep them where
you will be able to find them. If you have more than one PC,
label them to keep them separate.
2. Keep a copy of your warranty with your disks. Examine your warranty
to see what it covers. Read the fine print. Go into the ownership of
this new PC with an exit strategy.
3. Now you can take your new PC out of the box and set it up.
Install an antivirus and antispyware program. Setup a firewall and
patch windows. For more information, go to
Malware
Prevention.
4. If it is not already on your PC, install Adobe Acrobat
Reader.
5. Change Power Options in Control Panel to suit you.
6. Create a strong password for yourself. Turn on the screen
saver and where it says "On resume, display Welcome Screen"
check
this box. I have read a number of hacker manuals and the largest
obstacle to someone trying to access your PC is a strong password.
7. Next, you need to determine how you are going to move the
data from your old PC to your new PC. For about $79 after rebates, you
can get an external USB hard drive. You can attach this drive to your
old PC and copy the data to it. You will find a lot of your data in the
"C:\Documents and Settings" folder.
8. If you have children, you should consider installing some
kind of
parrental control program.
