On Spot Techs

By Eric Geier (Our Founder & Owner)

Originally published by Cox Media Group on 4/6/25

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​When doing your seasonal cleaning around the home, don’t forget about your computers and other tech gadgets.

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I suggest doing some maintenance tasks every couple months, some of which you might be able to do yourself.

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Even if you aren’t having apparent issues with your computers or mobile devices, I recommend having a professional do a checkup and cleaning once a year too. They can help find issues before they become a real problem and ensure you’re properly protected.

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They can also help solve those little annoyances, too.

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Here I share a couple things you should consider for your computers and gadgets during your spring cleaning: Protect computers against power surges.

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Spring is also the start of the storm season, so check if your computer is plugged into a modern surge protector to help protect it from surges and lighting strikes. Don’t forget, laptops should also be plugged into surge protectors too.

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Keep in mind, surge protectors certainly wear out their protection over time. The protection level of surge protectors are rated by the amount of joules of energy it absorbs before it passes on the energy to the devices that are plugged in. Realize that the joule level is not a reusable value. So, for instance, say a surge protector is rated for 900 joules. A surge comes that is 600 joules. It now will only protect against surges up to 300 joules or less. Thereafter it will no longer protect against any surges since all the 900 joules were used up.

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Run Malwarebytes scans. Although you might have an anti-virus program installed, I also suggest running Malwarebytes as a second opinion and to catch other non-virus junk that can cause issues.

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You can download the Malwarebytes Antimalware program from www. malwarebytes.com. It’s free to download and manually run scans. But I recommend upgrading to the paid product (Malwarebytes Standard) for all your computers, so it actively protects you and runs scans automatically.

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You can buy directly online from Malwarebytes, or call a reseller like us.

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Physically clean your computers and laptops I suggest cleaning the exterior of computers every couple months.

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When your computer is shutdown, wipe your keyboard, mouse, screen, and computer itself with a microfiber cloth and mild cleaner or a cleaner wipe, being careful not to soak and ruin the components.

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You could also vacuum up any hair or dirt buildup you see, especially around the intake fans of the computer.

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I also suggest having the inside of the computer cleaned every year or so by a computer tech to prevent any buildup from damaging or wearing out the electronics or fans.

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Clean your phone or tablet. If you have an Android phone, iPhone, tablet, or iPad, I suggest cleaning them at least once a month. You can physically clean with them with a mild antibacterial cleaner or a cleaner wipe, being careful not to soak and ruin them. You should also review your photos and videos. Delete any you don’t want and then transfer or backup the ones you do want to keep, or setup automatic syncing of them to iCloud or Google Backup. You should also remove any apps you’ve previously downloaded but aren’t going to use.

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Just like your computers, I suggest a tech do a checkup and cleanup of your smartphones and tablets every year, even if you aren’t having issues.

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They can double-check the security and backup, solve annoyances, and maybe make them easier to use.

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