Laptop Connectivity, Maintenance, and Security

This unit teaches practical skills for maintaining and securing PCs and laptops, including hardware care, peripherals, wireless connectivity, and system upkeep. Students will learn to connect and protect devices in public and private settings, perform routine maintenance (updates, backups, resets), and apply privacy and data‑protection practices in preparation for advanced troubleshooting and system administration.

Learning Objectives

• Demonstrate proper setup, physical maintenance, and securing of laptop hardware and peripherals, including power management, cooling solutions, printer connections, stands, locks, and general cleaning procedures.
• Apply procedures to establish, troubleshoot, and secure wireless connections (Wi‑Fi and Bluetooth) and manage network behavior in public settings such as cafés and hotels, including safely breaking and restoring network connections.
• Evaluate and execute routine system maintenance tasks—installing OS updates, performing backups and resets, clearing memory and storage, and preparing devices for reuse or disposal—according to best practices.
• Analyze security and privacy risks and implement protective measures such as strong password creation, separate user accounts, email safety, safe handling of unknown files, and configuring privacy settings for voice and touchscreen input.