How to Mess Up Your Computer: 5 Sure-Fire Ways to Get Viruses, Damage Your Hard Drive and Crash Your Computer

This post is going to be a little different than our last three. Think of this as "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," except instead of getting to make out with Matthew McConaughey in the end, you'll more than likely end up calling a computer technician (like us!) to fix your problem. We are going to lay out the 5 most sure-fire ways that you can mess up your computer, ranging from software and operating system crash to virus infections to hardware failure. Here is "How to Mess Up Your Computer in 5 Ways."

1. Never update your third-party software
I know, I know. Your computer is always popping up with some little window with a message saying something like "Update me! Update me!" And most of the time, you tell it to remind you later and forget about it until it pops up again. Why do these programs such as Adobe Reader and Java and Flash always demand to update?

Most of the time these updates are security updates. When a flaw or security hole is exploited by virus writers (you may recall the recent Java zero-day flaw in the news), the software company works hard and diligently to close that hole. Once the software is secured again, they release a patch or update for you to download to ensure your computer stays safe from those viruses. So, next time Adobe Reader or any other software asks to update, remember that it's generally a security update and it's best to run it to keep your computer safe.

2. Download media or copyrighted software illegally
Because of services like Netflix providing all the Breaking Bad and Mad Men episodes you can watch for pennies per day, and Pandora and Spotify streaming all your favorite music, the art of the illegal download is losing its appeal, but that doesn't mean it's gone completely nonexistent. Sites that offer illegal pirated media are havens for virus writers, because they can inject their virus's code into the file you're downloading. And once it's on your computer, it can wreck havoc. As tempting as it is knowing you can get the new Tired Pony album for free (if you know where to look), the risk definitely outweighs the reward -- and that's not even mentioning the legal troubles you can get into. Again, though it's not free, services like Amazon Prime and Netflix offer thousands of television shows and movies to instantly stream on any of your devices. And for the music buffs, Spotify has an incredibly vast catalog that you can stream to your phone or tablet for $9.99/month.

3. Visit illicit websites
This goes hand-in-hand with the point above. File-sharing websites, torrent websites and websites that offer, ummm...illicit material are breeding grounds for people who write viruses to infect your computer. The best rule of thumb is this: if you know it's a bad deal, then it probably is a bad deal. Stick with the above-the-surface content on the web and you'll (generally) be pretty safe.

4. Throw your computer on the ground
Want to really damage that sucker? Spike it to the ground! Shock and g-forces are the absolute worst thing for hard drives. In fact, a fall of just a few inches may be all the shock a spinning hard drive can take as the heads the read the data are very delicate. A hard drive is kind of like a record player, in that the discs inside spin while a laser reads the data from an arm that scans back and forth. If the head touches the disc, though, it's bad news and generally means permanent damage.

5. Never blow it out
Computer hardware is like a magnet to dust particles that build up on and around the components, causing the fans to not be able to ventilate the system properly. One of the parts of All Star Computer Service's Monthly Maintenance service is taking the computer components out and removing the built-up dust that gets in the computer. Without doing this, the computer may overheat or cause other hardware failure, including the power supply or even the hard drive.