The original CRT monitors required screen savers to keep from burning the image onto the screen. But, did you know that LCD monitors also require screen savers to keep from doing the same thing? Fortunately, if you do burn an image onto your LCD monitor you can recover the lost area by running a screen saver continuously for several hours or days (basically the same amount of time that it took to burn the image.

It doesn’t take much to keep your screen clear; set your screen saver to come on every 90 minutes. That way it’s unlikely to come on during the day if you’re at your computer working – it’s rather annoying to be staring at the screen "thinking" and have the screen saver kick in mid-thought. Setting it for every 90 minutes though ensures that it comes on at night when you retire for the evening.

Which brings us to another thought. The great debate "to shut off or not to shut off" has avid defenders on both sides and logical arguments for both sides. On one hand you have environmental issues regarding wasted electricity, on the other you have the question about whether it is better to have your computer running at a consistent temperature and avoid the "harsh" start up. Plus, what’s the point in having high speed internet if you have to wait 5 minutes for the computer to boot up? Basically, it comes down to personal preference; is your computer loud, does it keep you awake then turn it off. Do you think you’re personally killing the planet by leaving your computer on then turn it off. If, however, you choose to leave it running and you have an LCD monitor, be sure to run a screen saver. Right click (your other right) anywhere on your desktop but not on an icon and select "properties", select "screen saver". Browse through the various options to find the one you like and select "apply" and "ok". If you decide to download a 3rd party screen saver take care that you don’t download spyware or a virus with it.