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My motherboard came in today along with my hard drive and opitcal drive. The rest of my parts should be here within the next few day. My question is should I wear rubber gloves to completely remove the threat of static ruining my mother board?

And also, what's a good antivirus software that does a good job and doesn't rape your wallet?
Arcobelano
My motherboard came in today along with my hard drive and opitcal drive. The rest of my parts should be here within the next few day. My question is should I wear rubber gloves to completely remove the threat of static ruining my mother board?

And also, what's a good antivirus software that does a good job and doesn't rape your wallet?

You don't have to wear rubber gloves. Avoid wearing clothing that produces static, like pajamas or sweatshirts. I guess you could wear rubber gloves, but I don't think that is necessary.

Usually people tap the side of the metal case with their hand before touching anything inside the tower. This is supposed to help ensure that you don't accidentally shock anything inside.

Also, don't pay for antivirus. There are a ton of good free ones out there. I use Avast. It's caught multiple viruses/trojans/malwares for me, and it's always been quite trusty. There are a few others out there, but that's the one I use. If you lurk long enough, you will stumble upon others too. Try not to use more than one antivirus at a time.
Arcobelano
My question is should I wear rubber gloves to completely remove the threat of static ruining my mother board?
Absolutely not. Certain kinds of rubber can generate the very static electricity you're trying to avoid.

Remove all clothing that uses synthetic fiber. Don't wear anything other than cotton and hemp. Not even wool. Only cotton or hemp.

Don't wear shoes indoors. Don't wear rubber.

Don't shuffle your feet when you walk in a carpeted room. Pick up your feet.

Touch your computer case before you touch any components while the power supply is plugged in. If you're worried about getting shocked by it being plugged in, then unplug it with your hand on the case, and consider getting a new power supply if that risk is a concern.

For added protection, wear an ESD wrist strap and make sure it's connected to a proper ground connection. Also, work with electronic components on an ESD mat, if possible. The wrist strap alone, if it's properly grounded, is enough protection, just by itself.

If you're concerned about your hand oils getting on components or if you have allergies that might be affected by touching parts (it's not a realistic worry, but whatever), or if you really must wear gloves (as ridiculous as that is), wear only non-powdered nitrile or latex gloves.

Never touch exposed contacts. (Those little gold patches on the edges of boards and such? Don't touch them.) Only hold circuit boards at their edges.

Most of this should be common-sense.
Henry Hobo-Master
Arcobelano
My motherboard came in today along with my hard drive and opitcal drive. The rest of my parts should be here within the next few day. My question is should I wear rubber gloves to completely remove the threat of static ruining my mother board?

And also, what's a good antivirus software that does a good job and doesn't rape your wallet?

You don't have to wear rubber gloves. Avoid wearing clothing that produces static, like pajamas or sweatshirts. I guess you could wear rubber gloves, but I don't think that is necessary.

Usually people tap the side of the metal case with their hand before touching anything inside the tower. This is supposed to help ensure that you don't accidentally shock anything inside.

Also, don't pay for antivirus. There are a ton of good free ones out there. I use Avast. It's caught multiple viruses/trojans/malwares for me, and it's always been quite trusty. There are a few others out there, but that's the one I use. If you lurk long enough, you will stumble upon others too. Try not to use more than one antivirus at a time.


Ah, ok. Thanks! I think I won't be using the rubber gloves seeing as I just now read on my MOBO's box that it has a bit of ESD protection of its own.
i agree Avast is one of the best antivirus programsa and the standard package is free, its also simple to use and updates regularly.
Dripppz
i agree Avast is one of the best antivirus programsa and the standard package is free, its also simple to use and updates regularly.


Yeah, I gotta admit I was skeptical because it was free, but it does its job well!

Divine Sage

Arcobelano
My motherboard came in today along with my hard drive and opitcal drive. The rest of my parts should be here within the next few day. My question is should I wear rubber gloves to completely remove the threat of static ruining my mother board?

And also, what's a good antivirus software that does a good job and doesn't rape your wallet?


No. I handle sensitive electronic equipment without a shred of ESD protection almost everyday, and I have never had any trouble. However, if you have ESD protection equipment, then there is no reason not to use it. Less risk is always better.

No. Know what you are doing, and you will never need anti-virus software. Do not click on suspicious objects, do not go to questionable websites, do not download questionable files, etc. Besides, since all virus scanners are based on a virus definition, they would be useless to protect you against newly launched threats that have yet to make it into a virus definition database.
Flemmes Felares
Arcobelano
My motherboard came in today along with my hard drive and opitcal drive. The rest of my parts should be here within the next few day. My question is should I wear rubber gloves to completely remove the threat of static ruining my mother board?

And also, what's a good antivirus software that does a good job and doesn't rape your wallet?


No. I handle sensitive electronic equipment without a shred of ESD protection almost everyday, and I have never had any trouble. However, if you have ESD protection equipment, then there is no reason not to use it. Less risk is always better.

No. Know what you are doing, and you will never need anti-virus software. Do not click on suspicious objects, do not go to questionable websites, do not download questionable files, etc. Besides, since all virus scanners are based on a virus definition, they would be useless to protect you against newly launched threats that have yet to make it into a virus definition database.


Noted. Oh yeah I'm typing this from my new build right now, so thanks anyway for the sort of late advice! Ended up going with avast.
Microsoft offers free antivirus, even as far back as XP. Microsoft was sued by other antivirus companies because its free program threatened to put them out of business. Part of the settlement was that they say that third party anti-virus programs are better.

In fact, its fine for the typical home user running the client operating system. Save the money and upgrade to Ultimate instead.

Also, use a router and either Ethernet or WPA encryption. WEP has been hacked.

Use a wrist strap. Of course, if you are REALLY into controversial content, don't use Windows at all. Use PC-BSD or Linux. No antivirus program is perfect. The more well known an antivirus program is, the more hackers (all things being equal) are trying to crack it.

Chrome books are a reasonable simple alternative for the most dangerous parts of the web. Protect your nice new expensive Windows PC from Cyber Slime by avoidance.
If you keep your bare arm on part of the metal case while working on the computer it will keep you grounded as well, i'm too poor for an ESD wrist strap so that's what I do.

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