Advice
Cheap but good advice for Windows users:
• Stop using Internet Explorer 6 •
Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) is the web browser that came with Windows XP, back before version 7 of the browser was released. Some people still have not upgraded to version 7. This has to be because either:
- They want to keep using IE6
- They are unable to upgrade to IE7
- They don't realize that an upgrade is available or necessary
- They don't use Internet Explorer
Naturally, if you fall into category 4 (like me), there's not any real incentive to upgrade.
I won't get into a rant about how IE6 is the worst web browser in use today. That's already been covered elsewhere. Some website developers have even resorted to devious means to trick people into upgrading from IE6, just because it is such a pain to code for. Microsoft's own people know that IE6 was absolute junk! I'll just point out that it is notoriously insecure, and it does not always display web pages the way they should be displayed. Versions 7 and 8 are great improvements, but even they can't seem to display some sites correctly. Internet Explorer is the bane of a website creator's existence. If the icon you click to look at websites looks like this: 
, that's Internet Explorer 6. Newer versions of Internet Explorer nave an icon that looks like this: 
. You really should download the latest version, or even better, switch to another browser like Firefox. That would be the smartest thing to do. Then you can rest assured that you're most likely seeing any web page the way it was intended to look.
Tip: Here's a sure way to identify the version of any program you're using: Click Help at the top of the window, and click About (program name).
• Keep your computer clean •
No, I'm not referring to the case itself, although it doesn't hurt anything to give the tower a good wiping-off with a soft cloth dampened with kitchen cleaner. I'm referring to your operating system. Windows is inherently buggy. For all its operations, it depends on a collection of files called the "registry".
Every program you install on your computer makes changes to the registry. Sometimes a program will change the registry in a way that affects the behavior of another program. Sometimes that "other program" is a part of Windows itself. When Explorer, the "shell" of Windows, gets messed with by some other program's installation or operation, the computer can become unstable, or worse, unbootable. This happens a lot.
The lesson here is an important one:
If you do not NEED it, do not install it !!
The surest way to ensure difficulty with your computer is to install every program, game, system utility, emoticon pack and screensaver you can get your hands on. Bear in mind, the words "Free Download" do not mean "You MUST Download Me Now". Also bear in mind the fact that many of these free downloads may come bundled with malware.
Resist the temptation to try every new program you see, leave your system as clean as possible, and you will better your odds for worry-free computing.
• Use free software •
Many people are under the impression they have to pay big money for software if they want a good product. This simply isn't the case. I use Linux as my primary operating system, and it and all the software that I run on it are free. Using 100% free software, I am able to surf the Web, email, instant message, create documents, graphics and spreadsheets, listen to mp3's, watch movies, and create websites. Admittedly, Linux isn't for everybody, but even on a Windows computer there will almost always be free alternatives to the high-priced commercial software applications.
Instead of Microsoft Office, try the OpenOffice suite. For the typical user it should do whatever you need an office suite to do. Instead of Photoshop, give GIMP a try. Instead of Dreamweaver, try NVU. Never, ever pay for antivirus when there are great free products like AVG Free and Avast. It's always worth looking for a free alternative before you part with good money.
• Be sceptical of forwarded email •
Ok, not exactly Windows advice, but good advice nevertheless.
Emails that are marked "PLEASE READ! URGENT!!" and/or that plead with you to "FORWARD THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!!!" are almost always hoaxes. Always approach them with this attitude. When you receive such an email, select the first sentence in it (or any portion that has specific info) with your mouse, and search Google for this portion of the text. Odds are great that you will see a list of links that describe the hoax and give background information, such as when the hoax was first reported. Most of them have been around for years.
You will never rescue a missing little boy by forwarding an email to fifty people. Bill Gates is never going to mail a check to you for forwarding email. It will not make any difference in anything whatsoever if you don't buy gas on a particular day of the year. There is no such thing as a "Zero Sector" on computer hard disks.
Consider the logic behind a common email hoax that claims a computer virus is spreading via an email that, once opened, destroys the "Zero Sector", shuts your computer down, and prevents it from ever booting again: If the email shuts down every computer it is opened on, and those computers never boot again... how is the virus supposed to spread?? Through some sort of hard drive telepathy?
Most of these hoax emails similarly defy common sense. A common hoax email is the "Olympic Torch" virus email, which warns of "a virus that opens an Olympic Torch which burns the whole hard disc C of your computer", and declares that this virus is "the worst virus announced by CNN". If you receive such an email, ask yourself: Why haven't I heard about it on the news? Why am I only hearing about this horrible virus through a chain email?
Before you fire off a forward to dozens of people, it's a good great idea to check out the facts first, and once you establish it's a hoax, send the sender of the forward a gentle note explaining that he/she has fallen prey to a prank.
Excellent sources for hoax email information: Hoax-Slayer and Snopes.
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