Laptop computers recently surpassed the sale of desktop computers and there are many reasons for this.   Today a laptop is comparably priced with that of a desktop computer and monitor for similar performance, you can take the computer with you and they do not require a dedicated space in your house.  There is also no big mess of wires connecting everything together, you can use your computer where you want in your house when a wireless network is setup, and laptops have all the power most people need for under $1000.  However, there are some limitations and problems with laptops compared to desktops.  These limitations can be overcome with a few simple solutions.

Most laptops come with a hard drive that spins at 5400RPM.  This was common in most desktops 5+ years ago.  All desktops come with at least a 7200RPM hard drive today.  This makes the computer much faster

One of the biggest threats today is not someone breaking into your house or your car, but someone stealing your credit card information or even worse, your identity, online.

There are a few simple things that you can do to make sure that you do not compromise your information online.  
Never respond to an email asking for personal information.  This is known as phishing, and the emails and websites that they take you to, look very authentic.  If someone is asking for information, type in the web address directly and do not click on the link in the email.  You can often tell a fake link by looking in the status bar when holding your mouse over the link in your email.  When you hold your mouse over the link, you will see the destination of the link show up in the status bar at the bottom of the page.  The destination in the status bar will not match the link shown in the email and will often have a number or a web address that is different than the intended target.

Be careful of ad-sponsored or “free” screen savers, games, videos, toolbars, music and movie file sharing programs, and other give always.  These usually contain hidden ad-ware or spyware that monitor where you go on the internet and pop up windows on your computer selling you something.

Use Internet Explorer 7 with the phishing filter enabled to alert you to bogus websites, use the Mozilla Firefox web browser, or the latest version of the Macintosh web browser.

Only enter in credit card and other personal information on secure websites.  You can identify a secure website because the address starts with “https://” rather than “http://”.   Secure web sites will also have a lock symbol on the status bar at the bottom of the page or to the right of the Address bar at the top of the page.  When you click on the lock it will confirm the owner of the web site.
Make sure that you have Windows firewall enabled or that of another security suite.  You also do not want to have your computer connected directly to your Cable or DSL modem.  Make sure that your computer goes through a router which will have a built in firewall.  You can check this by looking at your IP address.  Make sure that your IP Address starts with a 192 or a 10.  You can find your IP address by going to “Network Connections” in the “Control Panel”.  Right click on your network connection, choose “Status”,  and click on your “Support” tab.

Periodically check your computer for Ad-ware and Spyware by using Spybot Search and Destroy from www.safer-networking.org  and Ad-aware from www.lavasoft.com.  These are both free programs and should both be used to make sure that your computer is free from Adware and Spyware.  DO NOT click on an advertisement online that says that your computer is infected with spyware and that you need to download and pay for a program to remove it.   I have seen many of these that create bogus spyware reports and are actually spyware programs themselves.  Some even hold you hostage by creating a ton of pop up windows and make you pay for the program before they go away.  These programs are almost impossible to remove without re-loading windows from scratch.

When you are planning for a trip, you can’t always see what neighborhood a hotel is located in.  You really aren’t sure whether it is near a shopping mall, if it has a view of the water or if there are many restaurants near by.  You may also be curious what kind of neighborhood some one lives in or what their house looks like.   The only way to figure this out has been to ask someone or drive by yourself.  With the advent of the Internet and some of the latest mapping websites we now have some incredible clarity on the world that we live in.