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Blogging is a popular online activity nowadays. People simply want to share their experiences and outlook on life with everyone on the Internet. Teenagers run blogs to express themselves through an activity that is considered cool and 'in' by peers. Adults blog to share sentiments or to offer advice and guidelines to online readers.

Currently, many online entrepreneurs make use of the Internet for income opportunities. Modern blogs provide earning opportunities for bloggers. Thus, it is logical and practical that almost all regular Internet users are now aiming to have and maintain their own blogs. But the problem is, not all are willing and able to learn how to start up the initiative.

To begin with the activity, experts advise first time and would be bloggers to simply use desktop publishing software installed on their personal computers. Doing so will help make the task easy and less complicated. Here are several ways on how you can come up with blogs using desktop publishing software installed on your PC.

- For starters, aim using the Word processor. If you want your blog to be purely content-focused and really juicy on information, this is the desktop publishing program for you. Use the software normally and then post as a blog once you get your domain.

- For blogs that aren't only dependent on text, use a desktop publishing for page layout. Page layout software facilitates the integration of images and pictures with basic text content. Thus, if you want to pose more photos and other kinds of images, this desktop publishing software is advisable for you. Simply choose the templates you like, fill in content blanks and post the images and photos using the browser menu.

- To use the Web publishing software, select the chosen template or modify existing template designs using the usual commands and programs. Follow instructions on how to include and post photos, audio files and videos. You can edit your initial Web publication output afterwards. What is best about this desktop publishing software is that it automatically converts all files into PDF and HTML formats intended for Web publishing.

To make your blog worthwhile, you should also make sure that the content you will be posting is worthwhile, engaging and very informative. Desktop publishing software is there to aid you create printable outputs. Now, use them to start up your own Website or blog and see how you can make a difference.

Are you tired of shelling out money again and again for software applications? I bet many people are, since software can be expensive. So, never doubt the idea that the Internet has it all, because it does. The Internet even has free software programs you can download.

However, the real problem is looking for them. Here are some tips to get the free software you need.

Think Open-Source

Many computer experts and techie communities are developing open source programs for the benefit of all without spending a single dime on them. Open-source programs were made as a response to the sky-rocketing prices of most software programs.

Some examples of these open-source programs are Mozilla Firefox for internet browsing, Open Office for office applications, Foxit for pdf file reading, and Pidgin for instant messaging. These are just some open-source software programs, but you'll be surprised at what you can find when you search for them (on Google, for example; or from your techie friends).

Dig In Software Download Search Engines

A simple search on your trusty search engine for the keywords free software download will yield a lot of download search engines or websites dedicated to these free software programs. Most of them are download search engines which direct you to the specific software you need from that website itself. It also has categories on what purpose you need the program for, which greatly helps narrowing down the search.

Most of the licensed software programs are available in trial versions on most of these download search engines. Although there are still a lot of available software programs which have the full version.

Utilizing Torrents

If everything else fails and you need something you can't find using the tips listed above, torrents is the last resort, because torrents are the most diverse and powerful file sharing built. If you have your own connection at home with a good broadband connection, this is absolutely for you.

Torrents are used for file-sharing using torrent programs to download the file being shared. Basically anything and EVERYTHING can be found in torrents. Where can you find these torrents? Searching for torrents in your search engine will direct you to the most popular torrent search engines, which will help you find the software programs you're looking for.

The Verdict?

Looking for free software programs using the Internet is no sweat at all. With the right keywords and the right knowledge on where to get them, you'll be getting that software you need without paying a dime.

The Internet is regarded as the best place to do everything such as finding entertainment, shopping, or research, there's still the danger of anonymity. You may find yourself in another persons shoes, literally.

One example of the evils of the Internet is Phishing, which is a criminal method of obtaining your most personal information for the benefit of the evildoers. Some of their methods are stealing your password, credit card details, or even your identity.

It's easy to avoid being victimized by phishing. Here are some helpful advice on protecting yourself from these criminal activities.

Don't Give Your Personal Information To Anyone.

This is the most basic guide in avoiding phishing. This mostly applies to e-mail, private messages on bulletin boards/social networks or chatting with your online friends. They have identity thefts in social networking sites in which the criminal took advantage of the identity to obtain sensitive or personal information from other people.

If an e-mail message asks you to give your name, e-mail, password, credit card number, address, never reply to it, even if it seems like it's important. It might be one step to identity theft. So never, ever, give your personal information to anyone.

Create Strong Passwords

Simple phishing is to crack passwords of accounts. The easier the password you have on your account, the easier it will be cracked. A combination of numbers and letters is the ideal password for those who want their accounts to be protected.

Use Secure Online Payment Services

In shopping online, you have to determine if the payment service is secure. This is easy since you can research about how secure the payment service is on search engines or from friends. Remember that you will give your credit card number and other valuable information so it's better to have some background knowledge than none at all.

Avoiding Fake Websites

Web browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Internet Explorer have anti-phishing measures which detect fake websites. These fake websites could lure you into giving them your personal information and use them against you or for their own benefit. Some fake websites require you to which automatically give them your username and password. Double check if the URL is correct just to be sure you're in the right place.

Killing The Spam e-Mails

In most e-mails, there is a spam filter which automatically sends your spam in a different folder to be dealt with later. Spam e-mails are very dangerous and should be deleted immediately. The usual indication of spam is that it entices you to look inside with the subject and is usually from a person you don't know.

The Internet isn't the safest place in the world, even if you think you've covered all the bases. As long as you're lurking in there, the possibilities of crime are endless. So the key is just to be very careful.

The toughest to fight in any computer is a virus that has already gotten into your system, snooped into your files and multiplied to the point that it hogs your hard disk space and slowly eats at your system. Let's admit it, we're scared of these viruses and we want to get rid of them. Here are very useful tips for protecting your PC:

Making Use Of The Firewall

Windows operating system has the firewall for a reason. For those who are connected to the Internet 24/7, the firewall is the basic way to protect your PC. Check if your firewall is on by going to the control panel of your Windows PC. Firewalls keeps your computer away from malicious software ( malware), worms, and Trojan viruses. Also, it prevents other people from snooping in your files and applications.

You can also download firewall software off the net if you want more protection for your system, but the basic firewalls work.

Download A Trusty Antivirus Software

These days, when you have no antivirus software, your PC is vulnerable to virus attacks, especially when inserting your friends flash disks in your USB ports. There are already a variety of viruses sticking themselves to flash disks then automatically transferring it to the PC.

It would be really helpful to have an antivirus which is regularly updated off the internet. It's also good to always have it active all the time to detect virus in real time.

Check If Your Windows Operating System Is Getting Updates

Never ignore the Windows update bubble popping out of the lower right part of your screen. Your Windows operating system will be fully protected by downloading updates. These updates often include anti- malware
updates or improvement for different Windows utilities to avoid vulnerabilities in the system.
Though most of the time, Windows automatically downloads updates and let you install them manually or automatically when you shut down your system.

Being Wary Of Suspicious E-Mails And Various Zipped Files

Don't open everything in your inbox. This is almost common knowledge, however, sometimes; curiosity gets the better of us. Inspect the sender and the subject before opening an e-mail and downloading anything off the attachments. Some of the most deadly virus hides in e-mails.

Lastly, if you download files from limewire, for example, be very careful on downloading zipped files. Check if the file is described in the right size and it looks trustworthy enough before downloading it.

The Bottom Line

Being careful and doing the right things will help your PC avoid getting viruses. In the end, it's not up to the PC to do the work, but it's up to the user to configure and protect the PC himself; which is the best way.

There are times when we type things on our computer and save them on our computers yet we don't wish people to read whatever it is we have written and saved. For those who don't know how to protect what they have written from people who might have access to their computers other than themselves, using a password protected system to keep your documents from being accessed by other people is one thing that should be learned.

Create A Password For Your PC

One of the easiest ways for you to protect your documents from other people who might use your computer from time to time would be to create a password for your User profile. Your User profile can be locked so that only you can access it and other people can use the PC from another profile that can be for common use. To password protect your User profile:

1. You should first click on start then on settings and finally on Control Panel.

2. From control Panel, access the User Accounts and click on your User account.

3. Follow the steps for creating a password for your user account and apply it.

Create A Password For Your Word Documents

After you create a certain document you want to keep away the eyes of people you don't want to read it, you can always password protect it after you write it. This kind of a move password protects individual documents that you feel should be hidden from everyone else without having to create a separate user profile on your computer. Here are the steps you can use to do this:

1. You first choose options from the tools menu.

2. You then click on the security tab on the pop-up and you type in the password that is needed to open the document in the box provided for.

3. You will then click on OK after typing in your password and you will need to re-verify this password after you click OK.

4. You can then safely save the document and be secure that no one can read it without the password. You can only open this particular document after you provide the password.

Protecting your documents with the use of either a user profile password or a specific document password will help ensure that whatever you wish to keep to yourself will remain safely away from people you don't want seeing your documents and what they contain.

A computer virus could be the end of a wonderful day when in the middle of a computer application, a virus starts eating up your files. Or you slaved all week for a report and when you try to open the file, you can't find it anywhere. In cases like these, what do you do?

The first thing to do is to unplug the modem wires and don't connect to another computer. Just re-plug everything once the virus has been eliminated. Second, look for a virus-scan software in your computer and install updates via the internet. Once installed, you can run the software. If the software can't remove the virus, there is a possibility that it can identify it.

Third, browse the Web for any data about the virus affecting your computer. Just type the name of your virus like Trojan Virus. If the Web gives you specific instructions in getting rid of the virus, follow these instructions carefully. Or you may try downloading and installing programs from the Web that can get rid of the virus. Lastly, you may run another virus scan to see if the virus was totally eliminated.

There are other things you should know about these viruses and what to do as First Aid. To avoid spreading the virus to people in your contact list, find out if the virus is spread through e-mail. If it is, contact these people and tell them to avoid opening attachments and messages from your email address temporarily until the virus has been dealt with.

To find out, open your address book and a new contact which is a phony address. You may try !000 because this is the very first address that will register in your address book and the first address where the virus will send itself. Right there, it will stop sending itself because of the phony address. The best thing to do is to get specific online procedure to get rid of the virus.

If your computer contains many sensitive and personal files that practically mean your life, it would probably be good if you invest in software that virtually removes all kinds of viruses. Because even reformatting can't get rid of all types of virus, it is very important that you get one of these software's.

Knowing these things about computer viruses is imperative. At least, when you encounter one, you will know what to do. Invest in a good virus-scan software that could take care of all sorts of virus. Or you could download good virus scans from the Web anytime for free.

A video card is that device ( a loaded circuit board ) that determines the screen output or video display of the computer. It is also known as the graphics card, graphics adapter, display adapter or video adapter.

The video card is either installed directly on the mother board or in an expansion slot. The intended use determines which type to use.

What To Check For When Choosing A Video Card

1. Determine how the computer will be used. Is it for computer games or just for ordinary encoding?

There are different types of video cards for different uses.

2. RAM is resolution required to meet the video output needed.

The memory of a video card is very important for speed because it holds the common operands for the images. Since the video card can access its own memory faster than that of the mother board, the images are displayed faster.

3.Mother board and Video card format compatibility.

A mother board doesn't support all kinds of video cards. Some mother boards only have the GPUs or graphics processing units which maybe adequate for an average business or home use but not applicable where more graphics capabilities are needed. A GPU is a video card's own processing unit.

Mother boards may have the following expansion slots: AGP slots, standard PCI slots, 1xPCI EXpress slots, 16xPCI Express slots. Make sure the video card and the slot where it will be installed are compatible

The 16XPCI Express slot has compatibility with the most video cards, so it is advisable to buy this card for a new computer. The next newest slot is the AGP slot which came before 16xPCIExpress.

The least recommended slot is the PCI slot because there are only a few video cards compatible with it and most of them are the slow , expensive type.

4. TV output capability

Not all video cards have this capability. Be sure to check this out.

5. The fan on the video card must be working to prevent over heating of parts which slows down its performance.

6. Price- how much can you afford to pay?

The compatibility of components determine how the equipment functions. In the case of video cards, there is more need to check for compatibility due to the various models developed to meet various needs.

Incompatibility is expensive, for how will you install a video if it doesn't fit in the expansion slot?