Articles Index
Is This Email Story for Real?
Hoax emails are everywhere. What's even worse: people enjoy forwarding these compelling-but-false stories. Don't get fooled by these hoax forwards! Use this guide to research and confirm whether an email story is authentic, and save yourself the embarassment at the office!
Best Torrents: The Top 35 Torrent Download Sites of 2012
Bittorrent swarming is the backbone of modern P2P file sharing. Terabytes of data trade hands every day using torrent trackers and 'group swarms'. At the center of it all: the Top 35 Torrent Search Engines of 2011...
Torrents 101: How Torrent Downloading Works
Torrent sharing is the contemporary way to download music and movie files from the Internet. More popular than Kazaa and eDonkey, bittorrent sharing is actually quite easy to learn. Here is a 10-minute tutorial on using bittorrents.
Examples of What Good Passwords Look Like
Has no one ever explained to you the secrets to a strong password? Here are several examples of strong passwords, and how you can create your own...
eBay 101: Sample Transactions
A free online e-book, from the About.com Network: Beginner's Guide to eBay Basics
Using eBay: The Secrets to Successful eBay Buying and Selling, 2012
Tips and advice for the motivated eBayer: a comprehensive quick reference to Power Buying and Power Selling at eBay and eBaymotors.
Tutorial: Organizing Favorites in Folders, Microsoft IE
Tutorial: Organizing Favorites in Internet Explorer
The Internet's Cloaked Web, Explained
New Internet users will often confuse Primary Web with Secondary "Cloaked" Web. Here is an explanation of the difference.
The Top 5 Anti-Spyware Programs, 2010
Here they are: The Best Anti Spyware Tools of 2010! There are some old friends here, but a couple of new players have joined the fray and set a new standard in the War on Malware. Read more here...
The Top Reference Web Sites of 2011
The Top Reference Web Sites of 2011
Student Researching: The Best Internet Search Engines
From About.com: the Student's Quick Reference Guide to Internet Research.
Understanding URL's: How Internet URL Addresses Work
Tutorial: An explanation of Internet addresses and uniform resource locators (URL's) for beginning users.
Glossary of Modern Internet Jargon and Abbreviations
The world of internet conversation and text abbreviations: HMU, ROFLMAO, BISLY, RTFM, IMHO... what does it all mean? About.com has an exhaustive glossary of internet jargon and abbreviation terms here.
PeerBlock Firewall: Keep Your P2P Private on Windows 7
PeerBlock is a powerful firewall product designed for P2P users to protect their computers from unauthorized searches by private agencies and corporations like the RIAA, MPAA, or MediaDefender.
What Is 'I.M.' and Instant Messaging?
IM and instant messaging are the modern evolution of computer chat. But much more sophisticated than chat rooms of the 1990's, today's IM is about high-velocity communications, file transfers, video conferencing, and virtual meetings. About.com explains IM here...
Speed Up Your Dial-Up Connection!
Are you stuck with a slow dial-up Internet connection? Short of getting high-speed bandwidth, here is a compression-proxy solution that will get you six- to ten-times regular modem speed while still using your modem connection.
Emoticons and Smileys 101
Emoticons are modern day hieroglyphs. These "emotional icons" are used as creative shorthand in email and text message conversations to convey emotion and style. Here is a list of both the common and the creative emoticons used today.
How Plug-Ins Work, and Where to Get Them
A plain web browser just doesn't cut it. In order to fully participate in web culture, you'll need plug-ins to view pdf files, run online animation, view movies at YouTube, play online games, and play music. About.com lists the Top 12 Plug-Ins for modern web users...
Internet 101, Lesson 1: Equipment Checklist
Internet 101: Lesson 1 -- Equipment Needed
The Student's Quick Reference Guide to Internet Research
College and university students pay heed: your professors expect more than just links to Wikipedia. Here is a primer on modern web research (and how not to get a D)
What Is the 'Invisible Web'?
90% of the Internet is "invisible" to search engines. As of September 2011, over 350 billion web pages cannot be found through Google or Yahoo or Ask.com. Oddly, this invisible content is the most interesting part of the Internet. Here is the explanation...
eBay for Beginners: Sample Transactions
A free online e-book, from the About.com Network: Beginner's Guide to eBay Basics
Email Tutorials
Email Essentials: basics for newbies, and intermediate and advanced tips for users who want to message more effectively.
Hacker Attack! How It Works...
Jacques Erasmus is a "white hat" hacker... a once-dishonorable craftsman who has now chosen to work for the protection of corporate networks. Here is a video of how Windows XP gets hacked, and Jacques explains the steps...
Examples of Good Passwords
Has no one ever explained to you the secrets to a strong password? Here are examples of passwords, ranging from weaker to stronger. Perhaps these examples will help spur your creativity to create your own strong passwords.