5 Most valuable lessions I learned from my computer crash

It all started like a normal day working at my computer when I noticed an alarm of a virus threat on my PC, so I ran AVG anti-virus scan which detected the file, then I thought why not use an anti-malware to clean it instead, so I opened MalwareBytes and scanned. It found 10 infected files and I simply clicked REMOVE, and then restarted my computer as prompted.

And… the was it. I could not access my computer anymore. Just a blank desktop with nothing on it!

Computer Crash

3 Full days of pain I endured to get back to my PC and regain all my files and programs back and here is my list of Must-Do tips to prevent suffering like I did:

1. Always backup regularly and get the best backup software and hardware you can afford( I’ve always thought that it’s not crucial to pay for backup hardware, I was totally Wrong!). I also use Mozy for online backups, it’s easy to use and efficient.
   Update: I bought a Western Digital External Hard drive and am currently backing up all my work on it.
2. Have a Plan B in case things go wrong, like another PC or laptop with your software, settings, files etc.. that you could use in cases of emergency.
3. Always travel with your important Recovery CD’s and backup( I didn’t!)
4. When things go wrong with you hardware, seek a professional immediately( Don’t try to fix it yourself like I did! trust me, it won’t work in most cases!)
5. Be prepared mentally for such occasions and don’t panic or get depressed, after all it’s YOU who is the most important not your PC or files and you can always get back on track even if you lose everything.

A Word to anti-virus programmers and companies:

Please, make sure to tell your programs which files shouldn’t be deleted and how to deal with infected systme files that can crash the computer if removed!

I’ve always trusted such programs but I guess I was wrong!

So, hope you find those useful and I look forward to hearing your part of the story and your tips for not getting stuck with a computer crash once more.

Rate our design

As most of the site and blog visitors are designers I guess it’s important for me to see how do they rate my site and what’s their comments on it.

So, please, take a look around and write a comment on how you see the design, what you like, what you don’t like, and any suggestions you might have to improve it.

All comments are welcome, and please, be honest with me so I can improve it further.

elmalak

My first impressions on a Mac

After two years of working with Photoshop CS3, I decided it was time to move forward and take a course on the newly released Photoshop CS5, so I looked for a good training center and I started two days ago.

The thing that made me happy was that they taught on Mac computers, which was my first interaction with a Mac.

I’ve always loved the funny commercials Mac vs. PC, and they always made me wonder, is it really better?

An amazing display for a Mac

Read more >>

Suffering with Arabic Web Design

If you’ve tried to design a site in languages other than English, I am sure you must have felt like I do whenever I try to design a site whose language is Arabic.

Most of the coding languages, software, tools, and even the tutorials assume that you’re designing in English and using a left-to-right writing direction, and thus if you’re doing otherwise, you’re in big trouble.

To appreciate what I mean, try opening Dreamweaver and enter some text in Arabic to find it flowing in the wrong direction, which makes it almost impossible to select or edit that text later on!

Arabic text looks funny in Dreamweaver CS3

Things become even worse, if you decide to include English and Arabic text on the same line!

Hoping to see a good and reliable solution for this some time soon to enable designers to create professional looking web sites with ease.

My top 6 secrets to succeed as a freelancer

After two years of working as a freelancer on Scriptlance.com and successfully completing over 100 projects,  I’ve been able to settle on a number of very important values and keys to succeed as a freelancer. Although they are not true secrets but they are very important things to always bear in mind while working as a freelancer.

My top freelance secrets

Here are my top 6 secrets to succeed as a freelancer:

1. Communication is KEY:
   • As most of the work we do as freelancer is with people we don’t meet, it’s very important to keep a very good level of open communication with them. I believe this is the most important value to consider, and here some quick tips for using it effectively: Read more >>

Protect your health while using computers

Being a very keen computer user I have started to suffer from a lot of health-related problems like eye strain and dryness, backache, pain in the hands and arms, neck ache, and I am sure a lot you who share the love for computers might be suffering from the same problems.

Today I found a very nice video that was presented in the Wordcamp 2010 in San Francisco by John Ford, and it truly amazed me, exactly what i was looking for, giving very useful tips on how to preserve your health and stay healthy while using computers, so I thought I would share it with you here on my blog so more of you could see and benefit from the very valuable advice he gives in it.

Please, share your opinions and comments about it below.

Have a healthy life and take care of your bodies.

Mamdouh