If you have a dynamic IP address, and you turn off the modem for longer than a day, it will likely change your address...if you do this too often, it will likely tick off your ISP. If you have static IP address, turning off your modem will not change your IP address, but if you do it too often, it might still tick off your ISP. Anyway, not much need to turn off the modem or router, if you turn off the PC via the console, then pull its plug. Without electricity the PC is inert, and no blackhatter can mess with it, unless he crawls in your window. As Camper6 has said, they can still mess with you when you turn it back on, which is why you need to install apps that monitor your incoming/outgoing connections, changes to your files, registry, etc., and throw a popup whenever any intrusion is detected, so you know when something wicked your way comes, and can deal with it.
Turn Off or Leave On
- Thread starter debodun
- Start date
retiredtraveler
Senior Member
I've been in IT work for nearly 25 years and this has been a debate for even longer. There is no clear cut answer. This article from Lifewire goes over the debate that will never seem to end
I'm also ex-IT. Your answer is the correct one --- no answer. I would add that as far as fears of someone remotely getting at your machine, use anti-virus software. There are so many people who do not have anti-virus software, or do not update it regularly. We have Norton (and how good it is against other software is arguable), and we check for updates every time we get on the PC. Ditto for the Windows updates. We also do a quick scan of the machine multiple times a day. So, we're never more than a few hours away from updates, unless we're gone traveling at which time, the machine is not only turned off, but unplugged (in case of lightning storms).
The answer is...whatever you want the answer to be. Is it a good idea to have good locks on your doors and windows, and keep them locked? Yes it is. Do you have to? Nope. Is it a good idea to have a burglar alarm? Yep. Do you have to? Nope. Is it a good idea to have a paper shredder? It is. Do you have to? You do not. Security for your home is much the same as security for your PC. It comes in layers, and the more layers you have, the more secure you are. For the PC, my first layer is a router with SPI & NAT enabled. Second layer is software firewall and antivirus. Third layer is anti-malware and anti-PUPs. Fourth layer is keeping the PC completely shut down when I'm not there to watch it. Fifth layer is apps that monitor for network intrusions and changes to the registry, files, etc. I add layers as I become aware of them. Probably next on the agenda will be a couple proxies and VPNs. Do you need all that? It wouldn't hurt. Do you have to? Nope.
But that doesn't answer the question the OP asked. (Do you leave your system on all the time, or...?)
I was in IT for 25 yrs. I leave my computer (Windows 7) on. The harddrive goes to sleep after 10 mins. The PC goes into sleep mode after 15 mins.
This allows me to schedule updates at the early hours of the morning.
I do restart my computer monthly. This is an established habit that could bare to be reviewed.
I turn off the PC and turn off the UPS when I'm leaving for more than 24 hrs.
HipG
Camper6
Well-known Member
- Location
- Northwestern Ontario Canada
I have had a computer for a very long time and can only remember one virus.
It was the ransom virus where your computer is locked and they are demanding money to release it. But the antivirus program didn't pick it up. I knew how to fix it but they made money off of it. People paid them and of course they didn't release it anyway.
Now my computer is so old that I don't care if it gets attacked or not. So I got rid of the antivirus program on it and I couldn't believe how fast that computer became. Those antivirus programs must be hogging all the resources . I don't think the free ones are any good to begin with.
Back to turning it off or on? I don't think it makes a bit of difference one way or another. I'll just keep plugging away with what I have always done.
I answered the OP in post #35, while the one you quote was in reply to post #52. I believe somewhere I mentioned that turning off the PC (as in cutting power) was not for one who uses an email client, runs a website, or in your case schedules unattended updates. I stand by what I said before. Microsoft has infested all their OS versions with numerous backdoors via remote this and remote that, which allow blackhatters easy remote access into your PC. If you are at your PC and it starts acting wonky, you can easily deal with it...but if you are not around, then by the time you get back the damage is done, and if the vandal is clever enough, you may not discover it for weeks or months. Simply turning off your PC when you're not around to watch it ends any hope even the best cracker has to mess with your PC. No power = no mischief.
I put mine in sleep mode when I am not using it during the day. At night I shut it down.
But I've been wondering whether having to boot up each morning is wearing out my hard drive faster. My kitchen has a fluorescent light on the ceiling. Recently, an electrician told me that turning it on and off all day uses more electricity and wears it out faster than just leaving it on all day, period. I wonder if the same thing applies to computers? (Not the electric bill, of course, but maybe I'm wearing it out faster by shutting down every night?)
But I've been wondering whether having to boot up each morning is wearing out my hard drive faster. My kitchen has a fluorescent light on the ceiling. Recently, an electrician told me that turning it on and off all day uses more electricity and wears it out faster than just leaving it on all day, period. I wonder if the same thing applies to computers? (Not the electric bill, of course, but maybe I'm wearing it out faster by shutting down every night?)
No idea about that. Is a PC more like an incandescent bulb or a fluorescent bulb? If its more like an incandescent bulb, then turning it off is the way to go. I kept close watch on the frequency my bulbs needed to be replaced, and when I started turning off lights upon leaving the room, my bulb life increased by two to two and a half weeks. If its more like a fluorescent bulb, you would know more about that than me. Landlord forced a fluorescent fixture on me for the kitchen. Don't recall how long it lasted, but I vividly recall falling off the ladder trying to replace the burned-out tube. When the landlord came to collect the next months rent, he made the mistake of asking me how I liked it. I told him exactly what I thought, showed him my swollen elbow, and mentioned he was lucky it was me, cause anyone else would of sued him. He had the fluorescent fixture replaced with an incandescent one within the week.
As for your hard drive, an SSD would fix any issue like that, assuming your PC can accommodate one, and assuming you do not need a large capacity drive.
Camper6
Well-known Member
- Location
- Northwestern Ontario Canada
One more point.
The fan is more likely to fail because it rarely gets cleaned.
You are sucking dirt in. But to clean it you have to open the case.
I can do that with my old tower. Laptops and tablets are a different ball game.
The fan is more likely to fail because it rarely gets cleaned.
You are sucking dirt in. But to clean it you have to open the case.
I can do that with my old tower. Laptops and tablets are a different ball game.
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
When I had a PC the tower and dust was a constant problem, always having to clean the dust out of the tower regularly.. First time I saw it, I was horrified, I demanded to know where the dust was coming from given that I have a very clean house..lol.. but it was soon explained to me. Now having a Mac I don't have that problem, thank God!!
IKE
Well-known Member
- Location
- Oklahoma....U.S.A.
I've only had my new computer since Aug. of 2017 but after reading this thread this morning I figured that it was probably about time that I take the side cover off my desktop CPU and take a peek inside....it was filthy in there so I blew the the dust off everything with a can of compressed air and reinstalled the side cover.
IKE
Well-known Member
- Location
- Oklahoma....U.S.A.
It looked like there was enough dirt in mine to plant peanuts and I seriously considered this.........
JaniceM
Well-known Member
- Location
- still lost between two shores..
Can I contribute this info?:
A desktop PC I had a few years ago developed the habit of shutting itself off for no reason. As I used canned air regularly, I didn't think there could be anything inside the computer. However, when I took a close look at the internal fan (not sure what it's actually called), there was a rather thick layer of what looked like dirty cotton, and chunks of similar material on top of it. I removed most of it with tweezers, then cleaned it the rest of the way with cotton swabs. It never shut itself off again, continued to work great until a problem later developed with the start button. So from my experiences, canned air is virtually useless.
I use a vacuum cleaner also, but my PC tower never has much grim, which I credit to the enclosure I built for it. Basically a wood frame with noseeum netting stapled all around:
https://ripstopbytheroll.com/collections/noseeum-mesh
and I have a bed canopy over it:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Oasis-Round-Hoop-Sheer-Bed-Canopy/17644223
The netting has to be vacuumed frequently, and the canopy has to go to the washing machine about once a week, but I see that as a small price to keep my PC clean.