There are different schools of thought on this but these are my opinions. If you disagree don't tell me about it. Get your own web site. Just kidding. I welcome all comments.
Turn off your computer if you're not going to use it for some time. If you're going to bed or leaving for work or just taking a nap turn it off. I've seen the dust that builds up on cooling fans. The longer the fans run the more dust builds up. This puts a strain on the fans that can wear out anyway since they consist of mechanical moving parts.
Others will say that electronic components may suffer damage from the heating and cooling that takes place during startup and shutdown. Such as soldered components developing cracks. Like an improperly cooling fan won't cause heat issues. They might even say that this is the biggest reason for hardware failure. I disagree. The biggest reason for hardware failure is cheap hardware. When you buy cheap you might get cheap for a reason. But I diverse.
The argument I hear most is, I've left my computers at work stay on 24/7 for four years and they still work perfectly. And most of these people were running Windows 95 or 98. (Please give me a break. Those systems wouldn't last a month without needing to reboot.) Then they will cite examples of those that did otherwise and had problems.
Aside from the fact that absolutely no scientific studies or data were supplied to make their case there is still the logic issue involved with the assumption. For one there is the "cause and effect" issue. I could also use the same logic to apply to car maintenance. "I never changed the oil in my car and it lasted for twenty years. Other people I know changed their oil all the time and they went through five cars already." I guess I better not change the oil then?
As I said this is just my opinion. I have no facts to back it up. But please don't use unsupported facts or faulty logic to back up your claims. Personally I would trust quality circuitry over any moving mechanical parts. After all what usually wears out on VCR's.
While your at it turn off your monitor. Turn off Screen Savers, Standby and Hybernation modes.
DISCONNECTING
You still don't want to shut down? Especially since you have a high speed internet connection? I know the always online function is nice. Hackers like it too. In this cat and mouse game of keeping your computer secure why give 24 hour access to the bad guys?
If you're one of the smart ones you at least have a soft firewall installed. A hard firewall would be even better. But I still wouldn't trust software or a piece of hardware to completely protect me. If you're at your computer you might be aware of an attack if you have the proper programs in place and if your taskbar is visible. But once you walk away you have no idea what internet activity might be taking place.
Disconnect from the internet when you don't need to be on and I can almost gaurantee you won't be hacked while your away. There is still a small possibility that a malicious program is on your computer which will attempt to establish a connection. So I say again. Turn off your computer. That will sever the internet connection as well.
That's all the opinions I have. OK if you know me you also know I have a lot more opinions about everything. But this is all I have done for now. But since this is America and my web site you can expect more.
