Not everybody wants to be a computer geek. Many people-- especially those of us who are comfortably right-brained-- may be indifferent to computers and the Internet. We understand. The Internet, however, is a powerful and efficient means to grow your business or profession. This page will help you learn up to the level you choose so that you may exploit the medium.

There are some computer subjects that we very strenuously recommend that you investigate. Your privacy when online is one of them. If you have a Microsoft Windows® operating system on your computer and/or Microsoft Internet Explorer® you should take immediate measures to protect your system from intrusion. Hackers and computer criminals attack Microsoft products because most people use them.

Your first step in reclaiming-- and protecting-- your computer is to read Microsoft's "Security At Home" section, "Protect Your Computer." The incidence of adware, spyware and viruses is skyrocketing. Adware with its popups can make your computer run sluggishly and even crash it. The spyware that any user can get from just visiting some web sites will secretly run in the background, slowing down your computer and "phoning home", reporting your Web surfing habits. Even if you're a computer "newbie" you should take the time to learn how to protect your computer from outside invaders. If you don't feel comfortable about it please, by all means, enlist a knowledgeable friend or pay a professional to do it for you.

You may get a good sense of the spyware issue by reading the MSNBC News article, "Invasion of the PC Snatchers".

For your convenience we've categorized each help section below according to the difficulty of its content.



Elementary-- for Everybody.

Computer and Digital Glossary: A to Z, from ConsumerReports.Org. Put a link to this page in your Favorites Folder.

WhatIs.com - the most comprehensive site for general computer knowledge. If it exists you'll find it here. Bookmark this one, too.

How To Tell If a Microsoft - Related Security Message is Genuine. If you have a Windows operating system on your computer you may have received advisory messages from Microsoft about security and privacy. Unfortunately Internet criminals try to imitate, or "spoof", legitimate messages from people whom you trust in order to get your private information. Microsoft is one target because it's a quick way to get into your computer. Spoofing banks and credit card companies is also fairly common in an attempt to get at financial information.

Read about "Ad-Aware" in the section below. Yes, it's in the section for those with some computer skills, but it's to the point now that you must have adware and spyware protection. Spend a little time to learn how to use this must-have software. Download it right onto your computer for free. Then get ready for a shock when you learn how much adware and spyware is lurking in your machine.

To learn about excellent, FREE virus protection that you can download, read below.

For Those with Some Computer Skills.

Protect Your Computer - information from Microsoft. If you don't already have virus protection, a firewall, spyware protection and the latest ongoing updates to Windows and Internet Explorer, you should do so right now.

Stop spyware and adware with Ad-Aware. The Ad-Aware SE version is free, fairly easy to use-- and it works. We've tried a few and this one's a keeper.

Get FREE virus protection from Grisoft. I've fooled around with the two well known high priced brand names for years now and have watched them get more complicated to deal with and, frankly, less effective. Whenever I had a problem I could never get it resolved easily and it took forever. Then I downloaded Grisoft's Free AVG Anti-Virus software. On its first try it found two trojans on my machine-- trojans that my $49 software had missed and which had called who knows how much of my private information back to their criminal authors. Needless to say, I'm happy. The free version of AVG software is only for your personal use-- not for your business.

For Geeks and Those In Direct Contact with Their Left Brain.