I rarely watch YouTube videos that offer tips, and tricks, because I rarely find myself amazed, since I’ve seen it all, and I prefer written guides, anyway, because the YouTube ‘minutes watched’ algorithm makes most run-of-the-mill YouTubers abuse it nonstop, but I’ve decided to watch ThioJoe’s video anyway, and I’m glad it didn’t feel like a complete waste of time; in fact, one of the 10 ways made me feel very nostalgic.
00:47 Restarting incorrectly:
I’ve known this for years, but I wanted to watch the whole video, hoping to find something interesting, but honestly, spending more than half my life messing with computers, especially on the software side, none of the 10 ways are new to me, but watching the whole video was totally worth it, since ThioJoe is not your average Tech YouTuber. His tool YT-Spammer-Purge caught the attention of none other than Linus Sebastian himself. Generally speaking, people who have “necessity is the mother of invention” in their DNA always earns my respect automatically.
02:10 Not Reading Installation Options:
Oh, this one, I always warn every customer of mine not to install stuff in “blindfolded” mode, so to speak. The fact that some people are trigger-happy when it comes to clicking the Next button still annoys me to this day like, what is wrong with you, people? Never every checkbox is required, but it would be unfair to blame the average user, since those who compile the installers pull that crap on purpose, because just like YouTubers abuse the ‘minutes watched’ algorithm, app developers take advantage of the fact that most people will just hit Next until the end of time. Personally, if I could disagree to the terms, and conditions, and still use the app, I would. 😂 That’s how careful I am when it comes to installing software. I hate bloatware too much to install anything I don’t need. Heck, even on my WordPress blog, I’ve just used a plugin called Plugins Garbage Collector to remove over 100 database tables that were left by plugins I uninstalled.
03:16 Not Customizing The Start Menu:
Honestly, I don’t care much about this one, since I’m used to keeping all the shortcuts that I need on my desktop. I also avoid placing any big files or folders on my desktop lest I slow down my system during startup — 99% shortcuts, and 1 or 2 music or movie playlists. Old habits die hard, I guess. 🤷🏻♂️
04:18 Not Encrypting Laptops:
Yet another one I don’t care about, since I hate laptops, but this one can obviously be super useful for laptop users who have sensitive data on their laptop, because the last thing anybody wants is to get blackmailed by some sexually deprived asshole, so as the saying goes, “Better safe than sorry.”
06:03 Never Removing Startup Programs:
This is one of my favorites. At the moment, I only have like 4 items that are enabled during startup by choice. I’ve been optimizing people’s computers for as long as I can remember, and back when most people had a Pentium III or IV, disabling most startup items would speed up their system like crazy. Heck, I even stopped personally using antivirus software due to the fact that back then, hard drives couldn’t handle the constant scanning of data, and even though I have a high-end PC now, I still don’t use AV software; I just use VirusTotal when I have a bad feeling about an executable file. I obviously don’t recommend that. I’ve been messing with computers stuff since 2006; I was 12 at the time, so I know what I’m doing. I use NetLimiter to block Internet access to apps on the fly, and I sometimes use Sandboxie-Plus to run potentially harmful executable files.
07:05 Re-Using Passwords:
ThioJoe said something that I relate to here, that is, creating a pattern to remember passwords. I’ve recently created a Gmail account, thinking that I forgot its password, but then I remembered the pattern that I normally use, and got the password right on first try. That can be really useful; I also store randomly generated passwords on the browser, since I’m not really a fan of using third-party stuff for every single thing.
08:50 Using an Out-of-Support OS:
This is obviously a very bad idea, and the fact that every single browser, and antivirus software will keep nagging you about upgrading your OS; that alone should be enough for you to upgrade your operating system. In general, if you have a computer that’s connected to the Internet, and you download stuff regularly, it’s always better to make sure your operating system is up to date. If you’re a stubborn risk taker, then you can use this combination of ad-blocking extensions, since most malicious files come from ads that promote something that is too good to be true: uBlock Origin, Poper Blocker, TamperMonkey, Anti-Adblock Killer by Reek, and SponsorBlock.
09:35 Using Default OS Settings:
When ThioJoe mentioned that thing about malicious files like “song.mp3.exe”, he reminded me of the Limewire days. Thing is, the first thing I do when I install Windows, I make sure the extensions are visible, and if the average user is worried about accidentally deleting file extensions, well, you should know that when you try to rename a file, only the filename part is highlighted, so you don’t have to worry about that, unless you’re on Windows XP or something. Also, one of the very first thing I do after fresh install is that I change my default apps, and add all desktop icons to desktop via Desktop icon settings. Whenever I see someone’s desktop containing default desktop icons with shortcut arrows, I roll my eyes so hard, I accidentally open my third eye. Learn to do basic things right, man, come on!
11:20 Not Backing-Up:
Even though I have over 12 terabytes of data, if something went wrong, and I lost it all, I wouldn’t feel bad, because over the years, I developed a tolerance for losing data (weird, I know), and since I’m a firm believer of Murphy’s Law, and the fact that I don’t like having to add another monthly bill into the mix, well, let’s just say that most — if not all — of my data is stuff that I can download whenever I want, and I’m not one of those pussies who panic as soon as they lose their precious media files. So if I lose data, I get it over so quickly, and that’s why backing up data, for me, is just a waste of money, and resources.
12:25 Not Updating Right Away:
Because I’m an empiricist, it took me a while to be convinced that Windows updates are any good due to the fact that I’m very careful when it comes to downloading, and installing stuff, and most of my life, I had a horrible Internet connection to the point where I had to create my own app to prevent Windows Update from getting re-enabled on its own every time I disabled all the relevant services — including Telemetry stuff. However, I’ve recently upgraded to fiber Internet, so I have no reason not to install new Windows updates whenever I get a notification, while before, a single request from Windows severs would make my online gaming experience horrible like, the ping would get to 1,000 ms instantly — it was a nightmare!
Conclusion:
All in all, this is a great video, and I recommend that people watch it, especially those who aren’t familiar with basic Windows stuff.
Also, thank you, MrWickedSalsa, for the timestamps!