When surfing the Internet, you are bobbing around with roughly a billion other people. Lots of these people want to sell you stuff you don’t want, others want to steal your money, and some just want to cause disruption. By adopting the following practices, you will go a long way towards minimizing the risks posed by the sharks swimming in this virtual ocean. Read More »

Prior to Windows XP, Microsoft’s operating systems were notoriously temperamental. Over time, instability could build up until it became necessary to wipe the hard drive and reinstall a fresh version of the system and all user applications. This doesn’t seem to occur as readily with XP, but hardware failure and infection by viruses and spyware can lead to the same need for a total system reinstallation. Read More »

Is your hard drive currently being used as one big storage unit for every file on your computer? If this is the case, you can simplify maintenance and backups, as well as improve system performance, by dividing your hard drive into multiple partitions. Read More »

What’s the next step to take when a strange computer problem defies all possible remedies that you (or any local gurus) can think of? You could call for professional (and expensive) advice, or, alternatively, you could scour the Internet for a solution. This is free, but can be time consuming unless you narrow down your search. One of the best ways to do this is to find an appropriate help forum. Read More »