Should you upgrade to Windows 8? -- Much of the tech media would have you believe that Windows 8 is to be avoided at all costs. That's nonsense -- there's nothing wrong with Windows 8, no downsides at all, only positives. But that's true ONLY if you first apply some very easy, quick fixes to it. For the real scoop on Windows 8, click here.

Do You Really Need A Faster Internet Connection? -- If your current internet connection is 1 Mbps ("one meg") or less, then you are probably tempted by all the ads promoting faster connections, and how that would make your internet experience so much better. Well, faster connections are not all they are made out to be. Here's why.

Chrome Browser -- Google's Chrome browser is steadily picking up market share, and is getting close to having as many users as Firefox. Should you consider switching? For a quick review of Chrome, click here.

Backing Up Your Computer -- If you don't keep an up-to-date backup of everything that is on your computer, one day you will lose everything -- that's one of your basic Murphy's Laws for personal computers. But there's an easy way to have a safeguard in case this does happen -- it's called an image backup. For more info, click here.

Our Favorite (Free!) Software -- One of the amazing things about the Internet is how much software there is out there that you can download and install. And even more amazing is how much of it is not only very high quality, but also absolutely free. For a list of some of our favorites that can be used by almost anyone regardless of how much computer expertise they might have, click here.

Dealing With Malware -- If your computer is running extremely slow, or you are having a hard time browsing the internet -- searches don't work correctly, or you are indundated with ads and popups, or links don't go to where they should -- then odds are extremely high your computer is infested with some type of malware. Here's our quick guide on how to get rid of it.

How to Do A System Restore -- If your system all of a sudden starts acting strangely (slowing down, programs not opening correctly, internet browseing issues, etc.), quite often you can fix whatever went wrong very easily with a system restore. All this does is restore your system components to where they were at a prior point in time, i.e., right before the problem started happening. And the great thing about a system restore is that all your personal files (email, docs, etc.) are not affected at all. To learn more, click here.

Windows vs. Mac vs. Linux -- If you are thinking about switching from a PC to an Apple Mac computer, you best think again. Long ago there might have been an advantage to the Mac, but those days are long gone. For the average user, getting anything other than a Windows PC makes no sense at all. Here's why.

Mysterious Email Returns -- Are you getting emails returned to you that you never sent? And you're concerned that maybe your email account has been hijacked, or maybe someone has stolen your "identity"? Relax, this is a common occurrence on the internet, nothing to get concerned about. To learn why, click here.

Freeing Up Disk Space -- Before you begin worrying about how you can free up some extra disk space, the first thing you want to do is figure out if you really have a problem to begin with. One of the first rules of reliable computing is "Don't fix what ain't broken". Read our discussion of disk storage in our tips section on computer memory (click here) and also be sure to read about the myths regarding freeing up disk space (click here for that discussion). If you're still convinced you need to free up some disk space, here are some simple tips on how to do this.

Common Personal Computer Myths -- If you happen not to be exactly what one would call a "computer guru", odds are that quite often you encounter folks who do consider themselves "gurus" and who are more than willing to offer you myriad tips about how to maintain your computer and/or increase it's performance and reliability. Unfortunately many of these folks really don't know much more than you do, and lots of what they say is "misinformation", at best. Here we'll try to debunk some of the more outrageous of these "tips" that you might hear.

All You Ever Wanted To Know About Computer Memory -- Confused about all those computer terms relating to memory and when memory is important and how much you should have? Don't know the difference between RAM and disk memory? Here's a quick primer on the subject!

Keeping Your Computer Safe and Secure -- In this day and age of viruses, worms, trojans, and who knows what's next, one can never be too careful with how they set up and configure their computer. Making your computer safe and secure does take a little effort on your part -- but the downside potential of not doing this and then getting "burned" by some virus-type software makes the effort well worthwhile. In this tip we discuss several programs that everyone should be using, along with some suggestions on how to prevent "bad things" from happening.

Keeping Your Anti-Virus Software Up-To-Date -- Running a good anti-virus software program in today's computing world is a "no brainer".  However, many people don't understand how anti-virus software works -- in order for it to be effective, you must be continually updating it. Read this tip to understand the necessity for updating the software and how to easily keep it up-to-date.

Organize Your Desktop -- Are you frustrated with how cluttered and confusing your Windows desktop is? Many of today's computers come pre-configured with dozens of different icons all over the desktop, making it a mess before the user even starts to use the computer. Here are some suggestions for cleaning up and organizing everything on your desktop.