Have you ever read a message on a postcard that was not addressed to you?  It was right there, in the open, so, how could it have been avoided?  Maybe, at least once in your life, you’ve held an envelope up to the light, hoping to read its contents.  Perhaps you were...

No parent really wants to spy on their children.  We simply wish that they would be up front with us, tell us what’s going on in their lives, and allow us to help them.  However, sometimes that is not the case, and we must use other means to keep up with what our kids...

Promoted as a “social networking service,” the MySpace.com website is turning into one of the Internet’s hottest commodities.  It’s also turning into a giant headache for concerned parents and law enforcement officials, as young children, teens and well-meaning adults...

Titled the “Computer Spyware Protection Act,” Oklahoma House Bill 2083 is literally a Trojan horse waiting to invade your computer.  The bill, introduced by Rep. Guy Liebmann, R-OKC, touts itself as a way of protecting “owners and operators of computers in this state...

I recently received an email from my bank, notifying me that they were upgrading their security systems, and that my account information needed to be updated.  The email included a convenient link which took me directly to my bank’s website.  No problem, I thought, so...

I recently received a call from a client who complained of a virus getting into his computer, and his antivirus program not being any help.  In this case, it was Symantec’s Norton Antivirus informing him that it was not able to remove the virus. This happens...

I know a lady who has worked out of her home for years as a medical transcriptionist.  She receives audio cassette tapes recorded by physicians, therapists and other medical professionals, onto which they have dictated patients’ medical reports and personal...

Companies and employers throughout the country are scrambling to put themselves in compliance with federal computer security regulations brought on by two far-reaching pieces of legislation.  Known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and...

“This message pops up on my screen all of the time, uh, I don’t know, something about an error.”  “OK, what does it say?  What kind of error?”  “Gee, I don’t know, I just keep closing the message, and then the computer freezes up.” I’m involved in conversations like...

In my three previous articles, I’ve painted a rather bleak picture of how our money is being stolen, our privacy is being violated and our free speech rights are being trampled by those who desire to control the Internet.  There is no doubt that businesses and...

In our country, we take the notion of the right to free speech entirely for granted.  We don’t think twice when speaking up about our government, social institutions and each other in whatever public forum we find.  We naturally expect the right to speak our minds on...

Part of the allure of the Internet is the idea that one can operate with virtual anonymity.  In the early days, anonymity was a given, as the powerful tracking and Internet forensics tools in use today simply didn’t exist.  A fascinating book dealing with the subject,...

As much as we might like to think that the grand, collective fantasy known as the Internet is somehow a free and sovereign, untouchable entity all unto itself, the Internet is under attack from many different directions.  Extremely powerful forces desperately desire...

Comments received from readers of last week’s column have shown me that a few basic computer concepts and terms need clarification.  After reading my discussion of Apple’s OS X operating system, some readers still didn’t really know what an operating system was.  So,...

In June of 2005, Apple Computer raised many eyebrows and quite a few hopes when they announced that by June of 2006, they would begin delivering models of their Macintosh computers based on microprocessors made by industry giant Intel, and utilizing their wildly...

A few years ago, I decided to build my “computer farm.”  It was a group of computers connected to a special switch box that allowed me to use the same keyboard, mouse and monitor with each machine at the flip of a switch.  I did this to experiment with different...

Like Bigfoot and George Washington’s cherry tree, some myths just don’t want to go away.  In the world of computers, here are a few by which you should not be fooled. “All my computer needs is a virus scanner, and then, my troubles are over.”  To be sure, computers...

In our quest for a greater understanding of computers and the Internet, let’s put another computer myth into the trash bin.  This week’s column will be devoted entirely to: Myth No. 4: “CDs last forever.”  Introduced in 1980, the Compact Disc (CD) presented digitally...

A recent discussion I had with a customer about screensavers reminded me how much personal computing has changed over the years, and how things that were once necessary are now old hat.  There’s a lot of misinformation regarding general computing, and some old myths...

If you were at all politically aware in 1993, you may recall Clinton-era Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders, in a poorly planned effort to promote gun control, laughably stating that we need “safer guns and safer bullets.”  In a similar fashion, many people seeking a...