Below are some hints and tips for your interest

::	Is an Antivirus scanner really that important?

• If you use internet and/or email, it is a must!
• Antivirus will detect, clean your system and minimise the rate at which you send on these viruses to others (from your address book.)
• Caution with free antivirus products, they may end up costing you more with the lack of quality they provide.
• We use and recommend Norton Antivirus (maximum protection, minimum intervention.)

::	Got broadband internet? Get a firewall!

• Your broadband offers greater speed than dial-up and is charged on a per megabytes basis. Broadband users are prime targets for hacking.
• Hackers not only like to browse through your files, but also 'piggy back' of your internet connection to download things for themselves.
• Firewall allows applications that are meant to access the internet (i.e Internet explorer, chat programs, antivirus etc.) block and inform you of files or programs trying to get unauthorised access to your pc.
• Provide you with details of an unauthorised user.

::	Risk of opening emails from people you don't know.

• Do not open an email from someone you don't know. Chances are, it is a virus - DELETE it!
• If you open the email, the virus may go through your email address book, send itself to that list among other things.

::	Buying a new pc or upgrading-video card or onboard?

• Get a video card; it has its own memory, so it won't have to share with your computer's RAM.
• If you get onboard video, it will be cheaper; however it means twice the work for your CPU - having to look after both the graphics and applications.

::	Want to upgrade to Microsoft Windows XP?

• If you have anything less than 700Mhz (CPU) and 128MB RAM, it's not really worth your time or money.
• If you have 128MB, it will work, however you won't experience the performance that you're expecting..so 256MB would be recommended.

::	Should you get an internal or external modem?

• Both will do the same job. However external is easier to setup (among other advantages) than the internal.
• During a storm, if you get a spike through the phone line, it is quite possible that the internal modem will get damaged, which in turn will damage the motherboard. (Options: external modem or phone line surge protector).

::	When buying a computer.

• Don't purchase a computer that's the fastest on the market, because tomorrow it won't be and it will be considerably cheaper.
• Purchase based on need rather than hype- you might surprise yourself what you can afford.
• When buying a computer, look for quality in 3 main things: Motherboard, RAM and Hard-disk drive.
  • Motherboard - you will get hardware features and functionality (how well it all works together)
  • RAM - if it's bad or not enough, it will cause your pc to be slow, to crash.
  • Hard-disk - holds all your files, you want it to be very reliable and robust.

::	Shortcuts and Icons invading your desktop?

• We use and recommend a rather intuitive, creative, practical and very user-friendly tool called Filing Cabinet. Made by a company called Macroworx.