Top 10 Tips for WinXP Users

Top 10 Tips for WinXP Users

by: Anna-Marie Stewart

Are you new to WinXp? Just upgraded, or gotten a new computer maybe? Or you might have friends and contacts who use it and you want to "show off" a little by teaching them a few tricks? I`ve collected 10 of my favourite WinXP tricks, each of them easy to use, and very helpful, and if you follow the instructions step-by-step, they work perfectly. So here goes: Top Tip #1: Having a problem making your desktop icons stay exactly where you put them? When you temporarily change your desktop to a lower resolution—for example whilst using Safe mode, Windows can wreak havoc with your careful positioning of desktop icons. Right click your desktop click arrange icons and uncheck auto arrange. You can now drag & drop them wherever you want them. Note that if you start your computer in SAFE mode you will have to rearange them again. Top Tip #2: Accidentally moved your taskbar and want it back where it was? Point your mouse to a 'blank' area inside the taskbar, THEN hold down your left mouse button, and DRAG it down where you want it to go. It may take a couple of tries to get it over. Top Tip #3: Feel like changing your Start Menu? (1) Right click a blank spot on the Start Menu. (2) Select Properties (3) Select Customize (4) Select the Advanced tab. Most of those preset items which don't have the option to check or uncheck will be there. For each item listed you'll have the option to Display as link or Display as menu or Don't display this item. Make your selection as you desire. Note that you will have the option to display the Control Panel as a menu, which you might find very useful. Top Tip #4: Getting grey popup boxes with ads in? Stop the spam like this: (1) Select "Start" (2) Select "Settings" (3) Choose "Control Panel" (4) Choose "Administrative Tools" (5) Choose "Services" (6) Right-click on "Messenger" (7) Select "Stop" To permanently disable Messenger: (8) Right click "Messenger" (9) Select "Properties" (10) Change "Startup Type" to "Disabled" and click "OK" Top Tip #5: Having problems viewing sites cos your computer isn`t accepting the cookies? Open a New Browser window. (1) Click on Tools (in toolbar). (2) Click on Internet Options. (3) Click on Privacy. (4) Click on Advanced. (5) Click on Override Cookie Control. (6) Click on Enable First Party Cookies. (7) Click on Enable Session Cookies. (8) Click OK. Top Tip #6: Want to change how you see your emails? Try this: Click on "view" at top. "Layout" will allow you to fix what you see. "Sort by" will let you arrange the order the messages appear in. Top Tip #7: Want to disable the Automatic Update reminders in Windows? Open Internet Explorer/Tools/Internet Options/Advanced tab, under "Browsing" take the checkmark out of "Automatically check for Internet Explorer Updates", click Apply, click OK. Another thing to try is to: (1) Click Start (2) Click Run (3) Type in: "MSCONFIG" (without the quotes) (4) Click OK. (5) Under the Startup tab take the checkmark out of "Critical Updates" (6) Click Apply (7) Click OK (8) Restart your computer. Top Tip #8: Got too many icons on your desktop? Right click on an empty space on your desktop, highlight "Arrange Icons By", the click on Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard Top Tip #9: Tired of seeing your pointer as an arrow or an hourglass all the time? Windows XP offers a number of alternative pointer schemes, such as Dinosaur, Ocean and Sports. Open the Control Panel, double-click Mouse, and select the Pointers tab. (If you start in Category view, select Appearance and Themes, then click Mouse Pointers under "See Also.") Next to Schemes, click the down arrow and select a scheme to preview its pointers. Click OK to apply the scheme to your desktop. Simple as that. Top Tip #10: Want to hear your computer talk? Select Start, Programs, Accessories, Accessibility, Narrator. Or press the Windows key plus the letter "U" to open the Utility Manager. Microsoft Narrator, an accessibility option designed to assist readers who are blind or have impaired vision, starts automatically. Once you've read through the intro screen (or let the Narrator do it), click OK and you'll see a dialog box of Narrator options. Assuming you want to leave Narrator running, select the desired options, then minimize its dialog box. And if you've opened the Utility Manager, feel free to close it. To turn Narrator off, click the Exit button or right-click its taskbar item and select Close. Hope this has helped you get your WinXP working the way you want it to, and given you a little fun too. For more information like this, I highly recommend that you visit, read through, bookmark and re-visit this site: http://www.winxpnews.com/issues.cfm Have Fun Learning! About the author: -=-=-=-=-=-=-Resource Box-=-=-=--=-=-=-=- Avoid scams, shams and spam with Not Just Another Ezine! Full of free downloads, ebooks and information to maximize your time online. Subscribe free! http://annamarketing.com mailto:admin@annamarketing.com?subject=subscribe -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This article is available for reprint in your opt-in ezine, web site or ebook. You MUST agree not to make any changes to the article and the RESOURCE BOX MUST be included. (c) 2004 AnnaMarketing.com All Rights Reserved

15 Ways to Promote eLearning Programs

15 Ways to Promote eLearning Programs

by: Catherine Franz

Pre-note: In this article, teleclass is an example used to illustrate one type of eLearning market. The tips work the same for other eLearning programs, including, but not limited to, teleseminars and ecourses. In the mid-1990s, the teleclass format began and was named, distance learning. During these early years, learning institutions, particularly universities, were chief users of this format. Mainly due to the large equipment investment needed at that time. Now, due to technology changes and cost reduction, people can give and attend ePrograms without leaving their chair or selling their first child. No parking challenges, auto expenses, or travel time required. Another benefit to learning by phone is that your listening skills will reach new heights quickly. In 2003, technology allowed a single conference line to expand from 30 to 150 participants per line. Affordable conference lines were previously only available in certain states, Florida and Nevada. Now other states, like New York, are jumping in on this bandwagon with affordable rates. Currently, a 24/7 conference line, is available to rent around $600 a year. An alternative is to rent the line by the hour. This can range between $10 to $20 per hour depending on the service features desired. You can also share a line with one or two others to reduce your cost. I recommend finding line-share partners who are in other time zones, it makes sharing easier. Zero-cost teleconference lines at available at http://www.mrconference.com and by other vendors. Most of these services have flaws that range from automatic disconnect if no voice is detected every 8 to 10 minutes, to being blocked from entering the call because of overstressed lines. I recommend the leader dialing in 5 to 10 minutes early to secure the line, however, this doesn't mean that all participants may not experience over trafficked busy signals. Actually, teleprograms will not take the place of "being there" for all people. The skills and experience of the teleclass leader or host can also make or break the learning experience. There are just as many teleclass leader styles as people. If you have never experienced a teleclass, I recommend attending four or five before deciding if the format is or isn't for you. 15 Tips To Help Promote Your eLearning Programs 1. If you produce your own eNewsletter, electronic newsletter, or eZine, electronic magazine, or printed newsletter, add an eLearning announcement section. 2. Contact other newsletter editors and ask to have your program announced in their issue. You can swap ad space, your ad for their ad, exchange ad space for participation, offer a commission option, purchase the ad, or pay per click-through. I don't recommend paying for click-throughs unless excellent tracking systems are in place. In order to attract, make sure their target market and yours match. 3. You can also use pay-per-click through search engines like Google’s AdWord program. If you go this route, I suggest you purchase an ad analyzer software (about $100) or a service (average $19.95/month) to maximize time and reduce mistakes. 4. Place notices all over your web site -- especially your main page -- about the program. Remember: posting announcement notices is actually passive marketing. You will still need to pull visitors to the site. 5. Write and distribute Internet articles on the same subject. Unable to write, hire a ghostwriter. Allow four to twelve weeks for this process to begin pulling visitors to your website. The number of articles distributed will proportionally be your return. My low end measurement has been: 1 article = 10 visitors or more = 8 new eNewsletter subscribers = 1 sale. High end: 1 article = 350 new visitors = 125 new subscribers = 10 sales. This is now one of the top five Internet promotion building attractions. 6. Since ePrograms don't require people to be physically present, attendance is now open internationally. Thus, you will want to distribute information about your eLearning opportunity globally. Find places in other English-speaking countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. If you speak a foreign language, you can even offer the same program in that language. Spanish speaking ePrograms are in high demand. 7. Mention your eProgram on other ePrograms you attend. You can slip it in with a question or when presenting your personal information to the class. 8. Add a promotional paragraph about the program to all your outgoing e-mails, called signatures in Outlook. Choose HTML design in your software and add a picture of the leader/host along with a link to where someone can register or find out additional information. 9. Join market-rich discussion lists, billboards, or chat rooms. If direct solicitation isn't permitted, sell gently through your signature or indirect questions. 10. Write a press release for each eProgram. Become a member of PR Web http://www.prweb.com/. Membership is fr*e*e. This number one website attracts a very high percentage of media personnel. 11. Accumulate a list of all the local newspapers that offer fr*e*e community event announcements. Inquire into their deadline and submission requirements. You will also want to ask how can may confirm receipt of your information. They don't intentionally leave information out, however, they move at a fast pace and things do get lost in the shuffle. Special note: Most community list ads are for fr*e* events. Use a three-ring binder to record the advertising information. You can also save the information in your e- mail software, like Outlook, and your Internet browser software, in a separate "Community newspaper" section. However, if the hard drive crashes, make sure the information safe. Due to the value of this information and the amount of time you spent accumulating it, you still may want to keep updated printouts just in case. Even a backup diskette in the binder. Having a paper version also helps when the computer is off or you need to transport the information. This is also a great item to delegate to a virtual assistant. 12. Add your announcement to your telephone answering script. Change it whenever you are offering a new eProgram. Give instructions as to how to register -- and it’s important to make this as easy as possible for them. Don't forget some marketing tidbits of "what’s in it for them (WIIFM)" to register and do it now. 13. Use fr*e*e ePrograms or offers to provide a taste and attract participants to register for longer paid programs. Offers can include: ebooks, ecourses, special reports, or even a professional white papers. Offering a transcription of the program or an audio copy is another great offer. 14. List your class in teleclass directories. Some directories require that you attend their particular teleclass-leading course. A big downfall in time and expense in the short-run, however, good investment for the long term. Here are a few directories to get you started: http://www.seminarannouncer.com http://www.teleclass4u.com http://www.teleclasslive.com http://www.teleclass.com http://www.thefeelgoodplace.com/freetele.htm http://www.Yahoogroups.com -- over 30 places to post your eProgram listing. 15. If you give speaking engagements or even when you participate in other events, seminars, workshops, give out flyers on your eProgram. Works well in networking groups too. Take the flyers to the libraries, senior and civic centers. FYI, names of ePrograms can seem confusing at times, however, there is a standard for what to expect depending on the name. A teleseminar usually has very little interaction between leader and attendees. It is set up to instruct and participants to solely listen. Sometimes a brief Q&A period is spaced in-between subtopic changes. On the other hand, a teleclass provides more time for participant to participant or participant to leader interaction. It has a higher ratio of free forming. A teleclass format copies more of the workshop atmosphere. A teleprogram, is a teleclass delivered over a period of time, like a class at a learning institution. The term eProgram is a compilation, or overview term, of all electronically delivered learning programs. About the author: Catherine Franz, a Business Coach, specialized in writing, marketing and product development. Newsletters and additional articles: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

10 Successful Strategies To Site Promotion

10 Successful Strategies To Site Promotion

by: Rhonda White

Internet Marketing Tips for Moms 1. Generate Traffic. To generate a lot of traffic to your site and gain recognition, you need to promote in as many places as you possibly can. Do not throw all your advertising dollars in only one or two spots. Try to determine or ask the amount of traffic they are generating. Sites generating huge traffic often require higher advertising rates. Be aware; however, that some sites requesting high advertising rates, may not necessarily be generating that much traffic. There are many sites out there that really offer a great deal and do not charge high rates. To generate more traffic find as many free places to advertise as you possibly can. 2. Target the Right Market. Try to find sites that target the type of audience you are marketing to. Example: Someone selling baby products should advertise at baby sites, mommy sites, networks, groups and forums where mommies hang out and visit frequently. Just because you may be a work-at-home mom doesn't mean you have to limit yourself to just advertising at "WAHM" sites. Place your focus mainly where your targeted market will be, but find all similar possibilities to target as well. Example: If you sell educational products to career-minded young people, you would want to focus where young people of this age visit frequently, but you can also search for a few places to network where moms may visit who have teens getting ready to graduate from high school. 3. Visit Mom Sites. Spend time visiting other sites by moms and see where they are advertising. If they are displaying a banner on their site referring to some directory or networking site this gives you a clue that they may have exchanged links or listed in their directory for free in exchange for displaying their banner. Exchanging links with websites of similar content and products as yours will help with your search engine rankings and once again target your market. While you are visiting other sites by moms, be sure to sign their guest book while you are there. Many guest books allow you to add your website's url. 4. Use the Search Engines. Use Google and Yahoo and do a search for "Free Advertising", "List your URL", "Add your URL", "Add your Site", "Free Site Promotion", etc. Also include keywords you use for marketing your site. Just be cautious before spending money with any new sites you haven't heard of before. You will probably be surprised at how many sites you find that still offer free advertising. 5. Go Local. There is a HUGE competition going on all over the internet especially for those who are promoting websites with direct sales. "Local" is gaining popularity...and for a good reason. If I decided to start buying Avon, for example, I would probably prefer to buy from someone locally. Use the search engines to do a search for free classified ads in your city and nearby locations. See if you can find any local networks, groups, forums, portals, directories, etc. 6. Write Articles or Ebooks. You don't have to be a professional writer. Just find some great content, some interesting facts, some helpful hints, etc. Your article does not have to be very long at all. To get better results, write more frequent short articles than just a couple of big long ones now and then. Be sure to include your name and website at the end. If you offer a newsletter, promote it as well. After you write your article, submit it to as many places as you possibly can. Give permission to others to use your articles as long as they include your name and website address. 7. Start a Newsletter. Newsletters are a great way to generate repeat traffic. It reminds your customer or interested visitors about your site when they receive your newsletter. In your newsletter, be sure to encourage your subscribers to forward your newsletter to a friend. Include information about how they can easily subscribe to your newsletter. Offering your subscribers a chance to win a free gift will often help you receive more signups. 8. Add Content. Content helps get repeat visits to your site. Sites become stale without new content. If you have a site that you can edit, use plenty of good content, especially using keywords that the search engines will pick up particularly targeting your audience that you are marketing too. If you don't have time to do this, there are lots of sites that offer "free content" and "free articles". Just do a search on the search engines to locate them. You can use their content for your site instead of trying to write your own content. 9. Partner with Someone. Working at home can begin to seem like a long lonesome journey. Find someone you can connect with and trust. Exchange front page links or banners and help each other promote your businesses. You could even add your partner to your signature. For example, under your name and link place: Partner, Sherry - partnerdomain.com. Have your partner do the same for you. Write and promote a newsletter together; manage a networking group together. Partners can encourage each other and make the marketing road a little smoother. 10. Read and Learn. Marketing is an endless task that must be done to generate sales. The best tip I can give is to read and learn all you can about marketing and sales. You can do this on the internet as well as your local library. Find someone who is successful and get some of their best tips. If possible, set aside at least an hour or two each day promoting your business. Many people make the mistake of thinking they can create a website and traffic will automatically arrive. It just doesn't happen. Behind each successful site is a hard worker who labored away to advertise and promote. You can do it too! About the author: Rhonda White http://wahm-announce.com http://small-budget-advertising.com http://OklahomaCityShoppers.com

20 Ways To Increase Website Traffic and eBook Sales

Here's a fast, easy list for you. Use it as checklist to see what you need to do to increase traffic. Or use it as a review list if you have already been working on improving your website traffic. It will help you find ways that you might have known or forgotten.

1. People love to receive free or win free stuff, whether they really need it or want it. A free eBook is perfect to satisfy those needs over the Internet. They will visit your website to get the free valuable information.

2. Give away the full version of your eBook in exchange for testimonials. You can use these customer statements to improve your ads' effectiveness.

3. When you create an eBook, you change your image to "Expert." This will gain people's trust and they will buy your main product or service quicker.

4. Publish your website in eBook format. Put the eBook on a disk or CD-ROM then include it with your direct mail packages. This can increase the number of people that buy your product or service.

5. Offer your eBook as a free bonus for buying one of your main products or services. People will buy the product or service more often when you offer a free bonus.

6. Allow people to download your free eBook, if they give the e-mail addresses of 3 to 5 friends or associates that would be interested in your eBook. This will quickly build your e-mail list.

7. Create a directory of websites in eBook form. List peoples websites in the directory that will agree to advertise the eBook on their website or e-zine (electronic newsletter). This will give them an incentive to give away or advertise your eBook.

8. Allow other people to give away your free eBook. This will increase the number of people that will see your ad in the eBook. You could also include a mini catalog of all your product or services that you offer in the eBook.

9. Gain new leads by having people sign up and give you their contact information before they can download your eBook. This is a very effective way to conduct market research.

10. Make money selling advertising space in your eBook. You could charge for full-page color ads, classified ads or banners ads. You could also trade advertising space in your eBook for other forms of advertising.

11. Give away the eBook as a gift to your current customers as a way of letting them know you appreciate their business. Place an ad in the eBook for a new back end product you are offering

12. Get free advertising by submitting your eBook to freebie and freeware/shareware websites. This will increase the number of people that will download your eBook and see your ad.

13. Make money by selling the reprint rights to those that would like to sell the eBook. You could also make even more money by selling the master rights. This would allow other people to sell the reprint rights.

14. Hold a contest on your website so people can win your eBook. You will get free advertising by submitting your contest ad to free contest or sweepstakes directories. Just make sure you publicize the winner's information -- they love the acknowledgment.

15. You will gain valuable referrals from people telling others about your eBook. Word of mouth advertising can be very effective.

16. Make money cross promoting your eBook with other people's products or services. This technique doubles your marketing effort without spending more time and money on your part.

17. Increase your e-zine subscribers by giving away your eBook to people that subscribe to your e-zine. This will give people an incentive to subscribe. Allow your e-zine subscribers to also give it away to multiply your subscribers.

18. Give away the eBook to people that join your affiliate program. This will increase the number of people that subscribe. You could also create an eBook for them to use that will help them promote your product or service.

19. Give away the eBook in exchange for people leaving their contact information. This will help you follow-up with the prospects that buy your main product or service.

20. Offer a free eBook that contains a couple of sample chapters. If they like it, give them the option of ordering the full version. It would work just like a software demo or shareware.

You will want to print this list and keep it in your website improvement file if you aren't quite ready. Or add it to your planning list.

Catherine Franz, a Professional Marketing & Writing Coach, specializes in product development, Internet writing and marketing, nonfiction, training. Newsletters and articles available at: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com

3 Ways to Publish RSS

3 Ways to Publish RSS

by: Josiah Mackenzie

As RSS news syndication gains popularity among users, new ways for publishing RSS are emerging. In this article, I examine the three most popular methods, and help you decide which one works best for you. 1. Blogs Weblogs, or blogs, as they are commonly called, are the primary reason RSS gained popularity. In fact, one of the earliest uses for RSS was for bloggers to monitor other blogs for updates. Most blogging systems will produce RSS newsfeeds automatically. All you need to do is enter content, and the blogging software will build a newsfeed based on the information you enter. No extra work is needed. Just add content to your blog, and you have a newsfeed. But there is one major disadvantage to using a blog for publishing RSS: you do not have complete control of the RSS output. Most blogging software will simply take an excerpt of your blog entry (eg, the first 15 words), and use that to create your RSS item. As you can imagine, this can lead to problems. The first 15 words of a blog entry don’t always capture the essence of that article. 2. RSS Publishing Software Because of the inadequacy of blogs as a reliable and accurate RSS tool, new stand-alone software was developed. This software has one purpose: to provide the user with an easy way to create and publish RSS newsfeeds from their desktops. No longer do you have to write a long article in your blog to produce RSS feeds. All you have to do is enter a title for your news item, and (optionally) a couple sentences to describe that headline – and your feed is better than the blog-produced feed. Examples of RSS publishing software for Windows include FeedforAll (http://www.feedforall.com) and Newzalert Composer (http://www.castlesoftware.biz/NewzAlertComposer.htm). Mac users have their own tool in Orangebox for Macintosh (http://www.globalsyndication.com/orangebox-for-macintosh). 3. Online RSS Publishing Systems While subscribers to feeds generated by RSS software enjoyed the simplicity and clarity of the new feeds, some publishers began to run into problems that came with the publishing software. They missed the convenience of blogging’s online publishing that allowed them to add news -- regardless of whether they were at their home computer. News publishers wanted the accessibility of online blogging with the accuracy of RSS publishing software. The new demand lead to the emergence of online RSS publishing systems such as FeedServer RSS Hosting (http://www.globalsyndication.com/rss-hosting). This new format of RSS publishing allows webmasters to login to an online control panel and publish their news – without having to worry about restrictive software licenses. Since most online RSS publishing systems run on a subscription basis, you can make use of the free trial or subscribe for one month and evaluate if the service meets your needs. So which system should you use to publish RSS? It depends on your needs. If most of your readers manually visit your site to get new information, a blogging system may be sufficient. However, if you plan to take advantage of the full capabilities of RSS news syndication, you would do well to use a stand-alone RSS publishing system. RSS publishing software will satisfy your needs if you plan to use one computer only. But if you’re looking for flexibility and a lower startup costs, look into the new online RSS publishing systems. About the author: Josiah Mackenzie is an entrepreneur and small business owner. His website (http://www.josiahmackenzie.com) contains fresh tips and advice for business and internet marketing. Josiah also manages marketing for Global Syndication (http://www.globalsyndication.com), an RSS solutions company.

7 Tips for Choosing the Right Blog Software for Your New Blog

7 Tips for Choosing the Right Blog Software for Your New Blog

by: Michael Turner

Choosing the right blog software for your new blog requires that you ask yourself some questions and make a list of all of the features and tools you need as well as your budget. Once you have this information written down you will be prepared to start shopping for blog software. However, keep in mind the following seven tips for choosing the best software for you. Tip #1 Ping Updates These allow you to update your blog and are very important in blog software. Make sure the blog software you are interested in provides automatic ping updates. Tip #2 Comments Whatever blog software you choose, you'll want to make sure that it has an area for comments from visitors. This will help you understand what is successful in your blog and what is not, as well as guide you in future blogs. This is a really great tool and should be part of your blog software. Tip #3 Trackback If you are discussing your blog on another blog, or simply adding information to another blog, trackback will allow you to update this information. This is a little confusing, but trackback allows you to talk on your blog about information on another blog and ping the writer of the other blog to let them know what is going on. Trackback is certainly a feature you want in your blog software. Tip #4 Pingback Pingback is similar to trackback, but it just sends a URL to the other blog to let them know you are talking about their blog on your blog. This is not used as much as trackback, but you will want a blog software that has at least one of these two functions. Tip #5 Web-based The point of a blog is you can post information instantly online, so you want your blog software to be similar to a word processor and web based without a shadow of a doubt. Tip #6 Archiving You want a blog software that supports archiving, and most of them do. The reason for this is you will want to save all of your past blogs by the date they were published and archiving allows you to do that. Tip #7 Categorize Another great tool you will want in your blog software is the ability to categorize. You want to keep your blogs organized and in categories, if you have them, so this option is really a great one for most bloggers. There are lots of types of blog software available. You just need to do the research and compare what you find with what you need and then... start blogging! About the author: Michael Turner reveals step-by-step how you can increase search engine traffic in his free 7 part mini-series. Grab it now at http://www.powertraffictactics.com/

9 Steps to Protect your MS Windows System from Viruses

9 Steps to Protect your MS Windows System from Viruses

by: Evgeny Kovalenko

Nowadays as the Internet and other networks are greatly developed computer viruses are distributed rapidly and intensively. Everyday several new viruses capable to damage considerably your computer system arise. Anti-virus specialists work hardly to make updates their software against new viruses as soon as possible. The viruses can get inside computer in different ways. That is why there is no simple method to protect system. Only series of measures can give you reliable protection from the infection. Below are 9 steps to protect MS Windows based PC system from viruses. 1. Make regular backups. It should be said that there is no absolutely safe way of protection. Virus creators regularly find holes in new computer products to use them for infection of computer systems. Some dangerous viruses can considerably damage data files or even erase entire file system. Make regular backups of your data files to separate file storage device. It can be separate hard drive, flash card, compact disc or another file storage device which you choose. To ease the procedure you can use some automatic backup software. And be ready if the system will die because of virus infection. 2. Be ready to reinstall your system if it dies because of viruses. Get distributives of your operation system and distributives of software which you use and keep them together, for instance, on a set of CDs not far away from you. In this case if virus infection will cause unrecoverable system failure you can rapidly reinstall your working medium. 3. Protect your network connection with Firewall. Firewall is a software which blocks suspicious potentially dangerous connections to preventing viruses from network to penetrate into your system. Windows XP system has quit simple but reliable built-in firewall. You can enable it as follows. 1) in Control Panel, double-click Networking and Internet Connections, and then click Network Connections. 2) Right-click the connection on which you would like to enable firewall, and then click Properties. 3) On the Advanced tab, check the option to Protect my computer and network. If you need more flexible control of connections with network you can get and install more advanced firewall software like Norton Personal Firewall or Outpost Firewall. If you use this software you have ability to permit or to block particular connections and to monitor network activity. 4. Use antivirus software. Install antivirus software which will scan your system searching and erasing viruses on a regular basis. Leaders in antivirus software products for Windows systems are Norton Antivirus, McAfee, Kaspersky Anti-Virus and PC-cilin. 5. Regularly update operating system. Windows XP has built-in automatic update service. It regularly contacts Microsoft server to find updates and notifies you if updates are ready to be installed. Updates are important because hackers regularly find holes in operating system which are often used by virus creators. 6. Don't install and don't run suspicious software. Check new programs which you are going to install with anti-virus software. Don't download software from suspicious websites. To download software always seek website of software creator or official distributor. Do not open applications received by email from unknown persons. 7. Limit access to your computer. Protect enter to system with password. 8. If you use Internet Explorer, consider moving to another browser. As IE is the most distributed browser today virus creators actively use defects in its security system to infect computers. Infection may arise if you will visit webpage which contains invisible harmful code. You are more safe if you use less known browser only because virus creators do not pay much attention to it. Major IE competitors Firefox and Opera browsers provide now the same comfortable interface and range of services for working on the Web. 9. Use spam protection. Viruses are often distributed via email. Switch on spam filters in your email box to block spam receiving. If you need assistance with using of the filters you can ask your email service provider. About the author: Evgeny Kovalenko is the Editor of FSSD computer software directory with free submission service for software developers and distributors.