Almost all of us have experienced the feeling of buying a new laptop. It is much faster than your previous computer and can do great new things. It has much more storage space and on the lid there is room for more stickers…
Too often we end up buying a new laptop when our old one is so slow that it is almost useless or destroyed. When your old laptop crashes suddenly, you may try to save your data to another computer or a hard drive, which is not easy, or may be completely impossible due to the damage.
So for your new laptop, be sure to save your data for the future.
Save the future: keep your data in at least one place, separate from your laptop. It can be done by synchronizing backups to the cloud through services like DropBoxCarbonite, iCloud, OneDrive ή Google drive. Of course you can keep copies of your data periodically on an external hard drive.
Mac laptop users can easily do this through Time Machine while Windows 10 offers its own ability to automatically back up with the "Backup and Restore" settings in Control Panel. In addition, many hard drive manufacturers have their own backup software.
Backing up your data to your old machine will make moving to a new laptop easier.
Install all available updates instantly
When you first open your new laptop, go straight to Windows Control Panel or System Preferences for Macs and check for new operating system (OS) updates.
It is very likely that there are updates to your operating system. You don't want your brand new laptop to be vulnerable to security issues, especially when security updates already exist. So, yes, before installing something else or starting to download the backups, update your operating system immediately.
Once the operating system is up to date, you can start installing the programs you want and need.
Make sure automatic updates are enabled
For your operating system and all your programs, if there is an option, turn on automatic updates.
Enabling automatic updates will keep your operating and software up-to-date and safe from vulnerabilities.
Use a security program
New threats are circulating at an alarming rate and you need to protect your new laptop. Make sure your machine is available some security software is installed which can protect your privacy and keep your data safe from ransomware and other threats.
Some operating systems come with basic security precautions, but there are many applications that offer much more.
Install a password manager
Now that you have secured your operating system and applications, you can do the same with your credentials. We recommend password managers to everyone, as they make it extremely easy to have unique, strong passwords for all the services you use without having to remember them. Some password managers store your data in the cloud, and others locally on your computer. We recommend him KeePass, one open source password manager, which stores your data locally, as you often make backups as suggested above.
Remove the bloatware
When I open a new system, it's one of them first steps i take. Others still completely miss it.
If you bought a laptop (from any manufacturer), you've shipped a new system with a whole bunch of new software. It is likely that you will never use them.
Uninstall these unwanted pre-installed programs. Any unused application is also a potential source of security vulnerabilities, and of course takes up space in your system.
Create your own account
If you're not the only one using your laptop, don't be tempted to share your username and password. Create a separate account for each person using the computer and make sure they have the access they need to do the things they need to do and nothing more.
Remember, admin accounts are for management, not just for browsing the web.