The Basics: Welcome to the basics, this isn't a guide to how to use the internet or anything near the sort. But, this is a place for me to point out some of the things you need to know and understand. Windows Update: Windows update has been integrated into every version of windows since 1998, yet most people never noticed it. By default there is a button on you start menu under programs, right there at the tip top of the list. If you don't see it, you can just type www.windowsupdate.com into your address bar in Internet Explorer or follow that link. Windows update is one of the greatest innovations in operating systems well... probably ever. Its a centralized place to find all the patches, updates, new versions of software and even hardware drivers for your Windows computer, and the best part is it finds everything you need for you. No digging through lists and no guess work about what you do and don't have. What that you say? my computer works fine why would I update it? many reasons actually, First off you might just not know what you are missing. For instance if you are not running Internet Explorer 6 you are missing a lot. IE6 doesn't just have more support for new internet technologies, but it will actually speed up your desktop as well. The fact of the matter is that every Operating system starts off buggy (That's right, not just windows, ALL of them) and over time they work out issues and speed things up and add new features! Right now the internet is a rapidly changing thing. Groups of people create standards on which software companies are supposed to build their software. Of course most software companies look at what the committees have come up with and say that's not enough, we can do much cooler things (no monuments to committees), but I am going off on a tangent, the point is if you want to browse the internet and get it the way its supposed to be seen, you always need the latest software, and fortunately for you, its free! People keep talking about Linux, what's the deal?: Linux is a free operating system that has gotten much press as an alternative to what is out there. Linux was birthed in the early 90s by Linus Torvalus as a college project to make his own version of the UNIX operating system his school used for some of their computer science work. UNIX is that old operating system that AT&T cooked up for those huge mainframe computers in the 60s and 70s.  Linux has come a long way from the UNIX of mainframes and it is free because it is licensed under something called the GPL which basically means Linus gave up all ownership to his intellectual property in an agreement that says: Here I made this, its free, but if you modify it or use it, what you make must be free too. Its basically digital communism. So lots of people everywhere work to make their own, or improve other versions of Linux and it all has to be free. So why aren't you using it? There are probably some good reasons:   1) You never heard of it 2) It doesn't run the software you are used to 3) It doesn't look/feel/operate like what you are used to, AKA learning curve 4) Installation is technical. If you can't install windows by yourself, don't even think about trying to install Linux 5) Its made by scruffy bearded nerds who like to edit configuration files and compile code for scruffy bearded nerds who like to edit configuration files and compile code, and you are not a scruffy bearded nerd who likes to edit configuration files and compile code. Basically Linux is not YET a good general purpose operating system. Its still to technical, geeky, backward and suffering from UNIX (1970s) design. It has many great uses, though, especially for business, backend servers, internet backbones and other customized software niches where you can hire technical specialists to maintain your stuff. Maybe one day it will be as easy to use as normal commercial software... but today is not that day. Mac don't have problems!: Every technical person will tell you that they hate Macs (As I do), but what's the real skinny on the Apple Computer? Many people say Macs don't get viruses or have problems or get popup, basically they say Macs don't have all the problems that windows does. So is that true? Yes and no. Technically most operating systems are really just about equivalent. Its the non-technical things that are creating issues. When people say Macs don't get viruses, they are half right. Its not because they can't, or are less susceptible to them than windows, its because people are not creating viruses for them. The reason they are not creating them is not because one is better than the other, but because if 95% of the world uses one kind of machine, that is the kind of machine that people will focus on. Windows suffers from popularity, while Mac rests in the hands of a loving few. If we returned to the way the world was in the late 80s and early 90s when there was about a 50/50 split. Macs would be suffering from all the ailments of the modern internet. As things are now, making viruses and spyware for Mac doesn't pack a good price to performance ratio for malicious software makers. So what it comes down to is: as long as Mac users are few, they are safe.