A very common question people have when it comes to using their computer is if they should be leaving on their computer at night or shutting it down, that goes the same for when they are not using their computer. While there is no “true” answer to the question, I will go over the benefits of each choice so that you can decide for yourself what is better option for you as a user.

Leaving your computer on can be a great option for users that need instant access to your computer when you need it. leaving it on means no waiting around for your operating system to boot up, just sit down and away you go. Anti virus and Anti Male-ware programs usually have a schedule time in which they will scan your computer for threats, if this time is set for the night time or during a time when you are not using your computer then it makes it easier for your computer to keep itself secure. Programs and Operating system updates will also be easier to keep up to date when your computer is always on, otherwise you may be prompted to install updates or to scan your computer for threats when you start your computer which will slow down the time its takes to get started or cause you to skip doing so creating increased security risks. So time can be a big factor in wanting to leave your computer on. Keeping your computer on is also beneficial for users who use P2P and file sharing based programs to allow for their content to finish downloading or to complete whatever you set them to do, and is needed for people using remote desktop to access their home computer from work or work computer from home.

On the flip side, leaving your computer on will also increase your general power consumption, raising your yearly electrical costs, and will cause more strain on your hardware from constant use which will increase your chances of having a hardware failure. In a dusty environments dust can accumulate on fans quicker causing them to become loud or fail increasing your computers noise and give you higher computer maintenance costs.
Your computer is also at more risk to electrical spikes and brown-outs being left on which can be assisted by using a good UPS and or surge protector.
Constant exposure to the Internet can also increase your computers risk towards getting virus’s/worms.

So what option should I take?
It’s really up to you on how you use your computer, power management has improved allot over the last few years, you can set your computer to sleep or hibernate after being inactive for a certain amount of time which will save allot of power and allow the computer to wake almost instantly when you need it, of course network access, downloads, and background programs will stop while your computer is asleep so make sure to pick a power management option that works for you.

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