Leaving computer over night?

Question

I have a few questions to ask because I don't know who right or wrong

1. My friend told me it cost a lot of money leaving your computer over night but my uncle said it only cost like 12 cents for 3-4 hours with the monitor off.

2. some people said leaving computer on is much better because the computer running at it pace saying it badder for the computer to be turn off and on. Others said it will over heat and the fan will die out and make the computer run slower.

3. They said virus and hackers can get in overnight though my friend told me if I had a firewall, spyware protection, virus protection and maybe a router that has a password lock on their no way a virus can leak in.

So who right and who wrong?

P.S. for question #1 because I attend to let it clean, and scan for virus when im sleeping sometime even downloading/uploading my movies.

Answer 1

anyone who puts great stake in either answer is slightly crazy and just stuck in their ways. Keeping a pc on 24 hrs does not use much energy. if your running things that need to be done anyways, why does it matter?

turning a pc on and off daily doesn't make its life any shorter, for practical uses. I hope you've bought a new PC by the time the parts start quitting anyways.

virus and hackers can get in just as well during the day,
leaving it on overnight isnt going to change that.

Also as was mentioned before, leaving the pc on for long stints will use more and more memory. One of the biggest duh's when I worked on a helpdesk when someone would call in complainging about their pc running slow is when we could check the props and see that it hadn't been shutdown or restarted for several weeks.

overall though, I would leave mine on most of the time if it wasn't so loud.

Answer 2

IF you have a good Firewall and you change the default password on your Router you should be fine. Newer pc's are much more energy efficient than older ones and typically it only cost a little bit more on your electric bill a month.
{I leave a Home Server on 24/7 and my laptop goes into StandBy at night so they can do their updates, virus scans, defrags, back-ups, etc. (scheduled for different nights of the week).}

1) Your uncle is pretty much right, especially on the monitor part, (The monitor is the biggest energy user. Turn it off at night.). Try it for a month and see for yourself. The bill shouldn't go up more than a few dollars, if that.

2) While it is true that the less a hard drive spins up/down, the longer it last, (less friction and wear on the bearings), it dows not mean that it is exactly better, it's a matter of preference.
AND as to the Overheat and fan die out junk...
If your PC is kept clean, in a well ventalated area where dust build up is not an issue, it will be fine.

3) This is the mostly true one...
Most malicious people do try to infiltrate systems overnight, it can happen just as well during the day when your actually on the pc. As your friend stated, there are several easy measures to help prevent that from happening.
a) Change Default Passwords !!!
b) Use a strong password.
c) Use a Firewall
d) Turn on Encryption for your Router if you use wireless, or turn of the wireless broadcast if you don't use it.
(I only turn on my Wireless Access when I have friends come over, otherwise I have it off cause my home is hard wired).

There is absolutely no excuse for not having Spyware & Virus protection today. There are plenty of decent FREE packages out there available for download from the internet, (ALWAYS use a respectable companies, you can do a quick google search on their package to see how affective it really is).

As I said above, the expense is minimal, but the convenience of not having to wait for mundane tasks to complete is highly rewarding. When you'll need the pc, it will be available and ready to go.
The best bet is to run it for a month and see for yourself.

enjoy...

Answer 3

You hear both sides of the argument. Poeple have been arguing this for decades.

If you have a smaller pc and goes into sleep when not in use, it typically uses 50 watts or less. 24 hour of this is 1.2KWH. At a rate of 6 cents a KWH, this is only 7 cents a day.

As to longevity, I have many regular PC serving a server role. They have been ON for about 5 years. Comparing those with ones that get turned off often, I have not seen any better or worse failure rates. Remember, those are hundreds of PCs each. Today's PCs are made with far more advanced components. Even with continous use, their lifespan far exceeds the life of them being useful.

As to hackers, you can never ignore them even if you turn it off every now and then. With firewalls and proper common sense in using your pc, risks are about the same.

People will tell you the problem of HUGE initial rush currents from power supplies and harddisks spinning up with bearings wearing. While they are technically somewhat true, components are made to withstand them. Unless you flip your switches every few minutes, they should not be a concern.

Bottom line, do what you think you need to do. If you don't plan on using it for a whole day or longer, turn it off. I use mine often enough, so they stay on 24 hours a day and only reboot when I need to.

Answer 4

All my computers run 27/7 except when rebooting for some reason.
If you are on a broadband connection, it can be benfitial to you to leave your PC run. There are many applications, such as Windows and your antivirus, that update automatically. If your PC is on, it can do these updates and not interupt your PC habits. If you turn your PC off, all those in need of updates will begin at start-up and you will either have to wait for them to complete or work with limited productivity until they have finished.

The PC, itself, takes very little electricity to run.
By shutting off the monitor, you save the electric that it would take several more PCs to use.

If you are running a current antivirus program and keep it updated regularly, you have little concern about viruses creeping into your PC while you sleep. Keep the Windows Firewall active, and run a malware remover, like spybot or adaware, regularly.

My advice, if it is feasible to your location, is to just let it run and shut off the monitor when not needed.
I hope this helps.

Answer 5

1. that value depends on sweveral different things. First is the computer gonig to go into stand by or hybernation during that time
2. Dont turn it off and on but if you're not going to use it for more than 2 hours turning it off will cause it no harm. Your fans should not burn out because they do not run always while the computer is on, and it should not over heat if its properly housed (nothnig near the vents and fan outlet.
3. Viruses can not leak on at night, but leaving it on will make it so that any bot program and run constantly, which would make the power bill higher... I would put a firewall and virus scamnner on there anyway.

Answer 6

I work in IT for a large car manufacturer and it's quite safe to leave the computer on all night. The computers in our firm are on almost 365 days a year. This helps with important downloads and updates which are processed overnight. However as others have said, in the concern of the environment it is recommended to power down the PC overnight.

Answer 7

Leaving your computer on all the time will not hurt it. Firewalls and virus protection will keep it safe. The amount of energy it uses is negligible. If I were you however, ( if you are using Windows as an OS ) restart it at least once a week, just to refresh all your levels. But, this is one of those questions like which way the toilet paper should unroll, it depends on you.

Answer 8

1- It does cost money maybe a few cents, i leave my computer on all night most of the time

2- That is somewhat true, when the computer is running all day 24/7 things will and can die

3- That is somewhat true if you don't have good protection.

If you want to have your computer on all night or want to be secure you could have it on Hibernate mode or have it on Standby.

Answer 9

Number 2 is right except for "It will over heat and the fan will die out and make the computer run slower. When your going to get off the computer,go on task manager and press "Stand by". When you come back to your computer, move the mouse and it will automatically cut on.

Answer 10

1. With the monitor and speakers off, it costs very little to leave it running. In fact, it costs more to run a ceiling fan all night.

2. As long as you have a firewall and have it enabled, you're safe.

I haven't turned my computer off in 4 months...and nada.