I am honored that our local library has asked me to teach a class on computer and Internet security. Call 701-2620 for more information. The class will be held February 26 at 6:30 p.m., and will last for two hours. If you’ve never witnessed a password cracking demonstration, seen what the inside of a hard drive looks like, or known why you should care about such things, then you owe it to yourself to attend. The library offers many good computer classes, which you can learn more about at www.pioneer.lib.ok.us. They’re free, so you now have no excuse for not learning how to use that powerful and potentially deadly device known as a computer.
I’m often amazed at how easy it is to learn about computers; easy, that is, if you’re willing to invest a bit of effort and time thinking about what it is that you wish to learn. The Internet, and in particular, Google, make learning about almost any subject as easy as a walk in the park. Type any question or topic into a Google search box and you may be surprised how easy it is to get an answer to your question. The library also has a good selection of computer books available. Despite the somewhat offensive titles, the “Computers for Dummies” and “Internet for Dummies” type books are actually pretty well written.
For those that prefer the online approach, there are many good Internet resources available. Well worth the small fees that are charged are the online courses and videos available at www.lynda.com, in particular, the “Windows XP Essential Training” course at movielibrary.lynda.com/html/modPage.asp?ID=45. If you’re on a tight budget, a good source of free computer education is SeniorNet, at www.seniornet.org. Don’t be put off by the website’s name; computer education is not just for seniors. You really should learn what the other buttons on your computer mouse are for!
Instead of just clicking your mouse dangerously willy-nilly around the screen when you’re on the Internet, take the time to learn how to use what’s there. Learn about all you’ll ever need to know at websites such as www.learnthenet.com and www.internet101.org.
It’s easy to be confused by the many wacky terms and acronyms that go along with the computing experience. However, in order to have your best computing experience, it is necessary to get a grasp on the basics. You should learn what a “network” is, along with the definitions of terms such as ISP (if you’re using the Internet, then you have one), WWW, download, upload, URL, browser, hard drive, logon, and many others. Good sites for this are www.webopedia.com and www.techweb.com/encyclopedia.
If you’ve read any of my past columns, then you know that I’m big on computer security. One of the best explanations of the subject geared towards the beginning/intermediate user is at one of the highly respected CERT websites at www.cert.org/homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity. A much more technical and geekier resource is the AntiOnline website at www.antionline.com.
No computer-users’ education would be complete without knowing something about the history of computing. One of my hobbies is learning about and collecting old computers (yes, anything with an age of ten years is considered “old” in the world of computers), and one of my favorite websites dealing with the history of computing is the Hitmill website at www.hitmill.com/computers/computerhx1.html. It’s great fun, loaded with neat stories and pictures. It’s also fairly thorough, as it begins with one of the world’s first computers, the abacus.