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#1. Don't panic!
Your ok, I mean you've been backing up your information and keeping a hardcopy of the really important stuff right?....RIGHT???
NO??.....OH CRAP!!....PANIC!!!
#2. Back up...back up...oh please BACK it UP!
Using a computer without backing up your information is like driving a car without brakes! You're just asking for trouble...windows xp,98 and (god forbid) windows 95 all have backup utilities...I also recommend keeping a hardcopy of anything you don't want to lose! You know, write it down or print it out. And don't just make copies of files and save them on your computer...back them up on to a cd ...or a zip drive or even floppy's if you have to...believe me...at some point in time you'll be very happy you did!
Remember, anything that goes on your computer can and most likely will be lost at some point...so please back it up
Ok...that said here comes the anti-virus speech....
#3. I think my computer is sick.
Any time your computer plays with another computer, such as sending or receiving e-mail, browsing the internet, downloading music, porn or pictures from Aunt Mabel, even just chatting, there's a chance it could catch a cold...yes, a virus! Just a few weeks ago my son, while chatting with friends in AOL, clicked on someone's profile and yep...downloaded a virus. I had just built myself a shiny brand new computer...I installed the hard drive from the old computer (the one with the virus) into my new computer as a second drive...and yes...it infected my new computer! After many hours of scanning, crying and tearing the heart out of windows xp, I was able to remove the offending bug. So take it form me!...get and RUN! a good anti-virus program!
Just using the 3 steps above will improve your computer experience 10 fold....But wait...there's more!
Ahhh....the INTERNET...
Isn't the internet great! You can find out just about anything on the internet...and so can everyone else!...uh?
#1. Firewhats?....nooo...FIREWALLS
So...you finally did it...got off the phone and got on to cable or DSL. Much better uh?...No waiting for pages to load...Bam...your just there, but where are you, really? Well, if your on the internet without some kind of firewall, basically it's like being on your front porch...naked...holding the door open for anyone to come on in! Yep...when your on your computer connected to cable or DSL zipping around the internet, almost any kid on the block, anywhere on their computer...can gain access to almost ANYTHING on your computer...and in some cases...your computer doesn't even have to be turned on! On the internet your computers mission is to hook up with other computers. So it gets out there and screams "HEY!....YO!...HERE I AM!...COME ON ...TALK TO ME!!"...at that point your computer is so desperate to talk it'll tell any computer anywhere, anything it wants to know..." YEAH WERE SHOPPING ON-LINE...COOL UH?...WHAT? CREDIT CARD INFO?...SURE HERE YA GO...AND HERE'S MY ADDRESS AND MY PHONE NUMBER...OH AND SOME NAKED PICTURES OF MY DOG!" Computers love to talk! So, how can you stop your computer from telling all?....get a FIREWALL
There are many kinds of firewalls...I strongly recommend a ROUTER...they're cheap, they're easy to install and they're better than any personal or software firewall around. Don't get me wrong, programs like Zone Alarm are great! My advice is to use it even after you have your router in place, just for added protection. But get a router first, install it between your modem and your computer and stop that thing from blab'n
One quick note, if you use wireless please make sure your network is encrypted, otherwise anyone driving by or parked at the end of your street can use your connection for free!
Who runs the internet? The FBI? Well no, but there are a lot of spies out there..
#2. Spy ware..Schmi-ware
Almost every site you visit in some way or another tries to sell you something. There's advertising all over the net. And you thought late night TV was bad! Much to my disappointment, the internet has become one big selling machine! Ugh, never-the-less, it's still useful, sometimes. Whenever you visit a site they try to get information from you. You can't look at some sites without giving up information! They do this by placing cookies on your computer, cookies remember you when you go back to a site so it'll load faster or say things like, "WELCOME BACK GENE...WE SURE MISSED YOU!" Yeah yeah, so there you are, downloading music or fonts or maybe even maps or drivers, more often than not you'll get more than that though. Yep, spy ware. It gets on your computer and sends information out to the site. Things like, where you shop on line, what you buy, how often you go on line, maybe even your eye color! All so they can sell you those things from their site next time you shop on line. They'll change your home page, redirect you to their site, anything to get you there! And to top that off, it will SLOW down your computer to no end, send pop-up ads to your desktop and make you want to throw your computer out the window! What to do? Get some free ad-ware...like lavasoft or spybot search and destroy and run it often! It will clean out all of that stuff.
Wow all that's great you say, but I never get on the internet. My kids, they dominate my computer! Welcome to the world of home networking!
#1. Sharing is good!
Go ahead, share that high-speed internet with the whole family, don't be a pig! Really, with the above mentioned router you can and should share. It's easy, it's fun and you and your computer can reconnect in ways you never thought possible! Chances are you have more than one computer in the house, maybe even more than one printer? Share them! Did you know from your computer, with a home network, you can print reminders to your kids on their printer to say, for example, clean your room!!! Why fight for time on the computer?
Everyone could be on-line at the same time, doing what they want, all on one cable or DSL connection! Very cool.
#2. Common sense, yeah I know!
Ok, just because...
Never let your kids go on the internet unsupervised!!! How can you do that when they have their own computer? Well first, be a parent! Second, spy on them! It's ok, it's your job!! There are tons of programs to restrict internet access...xp even includes some. Also, for many of the reasons we've talked about here, have your network set up by someone who knows what there doing. Say, well, yeah...someone like me!
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