Paul Lubic

Laptop computers have been around a long time and many of us use them. However, for those of you who are wondering what they're all about and are deciding if you should get one, here's some information that should help.

The Internet is a phenomenon that has changed our world in many ways. We communicate, conduct commerce, and obtain information globally...all good things. However, it also has it's dark side that we contend with too.

Changing to a new computer is an exciting as well as an anxious event. We're excited about moving up in processor speed, memory size and disk storage space in a newer machine. However, we're usually concerned about losing our data files such as spreadsheets, text documents, databases, photographs, music files that we want to keep. There are techniques to transfer that data to the new machine easily and inexpensively.

What does identity theft have to do with Internet security? We've all heard about a person's purse or wallet being stolen in order to access their personal identification information such as driver's license, bank account, and home address. These items are used to impersonate them in order to access their credit card account, bank account, and to open new credit card accounts in order to steal their money. Organized Internet crime groups across the world have automated this type of crime.

So you're ready to add some mobility to your computing environment are you? And are you thinking that those Apple iPads look very sexy to you? Like many others, you may be confused about whether to purchase either an iPad or a netbook PC to give your computing environment some mobility. Here are my thoughts (opinions) on that decision.

I'd like to make you aware of the existence of some very unscrupulous websites that you should avoid. They sell fake anti-virus software through a technique the computer security community calls "scare-ware", one category in a larger group of fraudulent software called malware.

The Internet is a great place to get information, shop, do business, communicate, etc., but it can also be a dangerous environment. Internet fraud is very prevalent at this time; millions of Internet users fall victim to acts of fraud each year. This article shows you how to avoid becoming a victim.

One thing I like about using Windows [copyright Microsoft, Inc.] is that you can customize and personalize your computing experience. Like adding gadgets to your desktop. Gadgets are small programs that sit on your Windows desktop. They usually are shortcuts to perform a function, automatically access information, display some control or statistic about your computer, and many other functions.

Did you know that there are lots of keyboard shortcuts to help us get things done? There are general Microsoft shortcuts, Office shortcuts, Internet Explorer shortcuts, and Vista even has programmable shortcuts. Keyboard shortcuts save time because it's much faster to touch two or three keys simultaneously than clicking on a menu function and then selecting one of the menu choices.

In Passwords Part I: Why Do We Need Them? we discussed the importance of using strong passwords. In this article, we'll describe strong passwords and how to create them.