Best Free Genealogy / Family Tree Software

I located this great information on http://www.techsupportalert.com My clients are always asking questions on the best software for this application and they often ask my opinion on Free software – so this will cover both :-)

Later I will download, install and verify this software for you.

Here is the bulk of the article:

Legacy Standard is my top pick for the best free Genealogical software.  The program is fairly easy to use, flexible, and has plenty of capabilities.  The free version supports family, pedigree, and index views.  You can easily navigate to younger, or older generations simply by clicking on the individuals. Clicking on Events icon displays all of the events for an individual.

You can attach photos or any other type of document.  I love the well structured source formats.  The location field is unstructured but the Master Location List can help keep the locations consistent.  Strong report generator supports eight general report types. Legacy can print narrative book style reports using generic sentence templates.  Creates stunning graphical charts, ancestor, descendant, fan, hourglass, bow tie, and DNA charts.  Imports  from GEDCOM or PAF files.  Exports to GEDCOM, PAF, or Clooz. The program provides Research Guidance with tips, Internet Search links, and a To Do List.

Legacy creates the best looking web pages and has the most features for web site creation of these programs. Supports photos and CSS.

Legacy places data files in the C:\Legacy\Data directory instead of the normal %UserProfile% directory unless the default directory is changed in the options.  If the user has backup software they should take care that the backups include the nonstandard location.

Also many menu items when selected display a message that the feature is available only in the Deluxe Edition.  Greying out the unavailable options would have been less obtrusive and nagging.

Gramps is a strong contender for the top slot.  I liked that I could easily navigate or filter by people or name list, family, relationship, ancestry, events, places, sources, repositories, media, and notes.

I felt the place entry especially outstanding.  Places have distinct fields for street, city, latitude, church parish, etc.  Alternate locations can be entered for each place, e.g. one could enter West Virginia as an alternate for some Virginia locations prior to the Civil War.  Sources, notes, multimedia, and internet links can be linked to each place.  Also all events linked to the place are displayed and can be navigated to.

I loved the date support.  Dates can be based on several different calendars, e.g. Gregorian, Islamic, etc.  The date can have a quality of regular, estimated, or calculated.  And finally the type can include before, after, range, span, etc.  Events support roles, e.g. bride for a marriage event.

Gramps can create narrative style web sites.  You can select a standard copy right or from any of the Creative Commons copyrights.  Not only can living people be excluded, entirely or name only but also a date range to restrict recently deceased people can be selected, e.g. people who died within the last five years could be treated as if they were still living.

Sources can be attached to people, families, events, and multimedia.  I would have preferred source templates based on Mills' or Lackey's books.

Gramps directly supports patronymic style names, e.g. ap Robert, verch Evan, etc.  However, matronyms are not supported so for example ‘Īsá ibn Maryam would need to be entered as a patronymic.

The installation can be intimidating.  There are several required programs which must be installed in a specific order.  I recommend using the all in one installation or the portable version on the Portable Apps website.

Family Tree Legends is fairly easy to use, flexible, and has many capabilities.  Clicking on Events icon displays all of the events for an individual.  You can add alternate names, birth, marriage, death, and burial events along with the many other events of the individuals life.

You can attach photos or any other type of document.  Strong report generator supports ancestor, pedigree, descendant, descendant summary, time line, family group sheet, kinship, and other reports. Creates ancestor and descendant charts in fan, standard, and vertical formats as well as hourglass and bow tie charts.  Legends can print collections of reports with table of contents, an index, and other pages.  Imports date from Family Tree Maker and GEDCOM files.  The program supports a To Do List and a correspondence list.

I like having the ability to merge duplicate sources and repositories.

There is only one source format.  No location list to help with consistency in place entry but you do have a replace function to help clean up variations on a place name.

RootsMagic Essentials has a variety of source templates based on Elizabeth Shown Mills Evidence.  Rootsmagic supports narrative reports.  I was able to open multiple databases or the same database multiple times and display them side by side.

Supports multiple parent relationships, e.g. adoptive.  However, all parent relationships assume that the parents are married.  Happily I was able to enter a gender neutral relationship for the parents of a child.  However, one of the women was denoted the father and the other as the mother.  I'd prefer to be able to list both as parent, both as mother, or the actual mother as mother and the other as parent.

Create a web site is disabled in the free version.  Saving reports to other file formats is disabled in the free version--viewing and printing is allowed.  There is no option to hide living people or events for living folks in reports.

RootsMagic displays a nagging splash screen at every start up requiring the user to chose between the free and the Full version.  This is immediately followed with a RootsMagic News screen.  Many menu choices are not functional in the free version but I do appreciate that they are highlighted in a reddish color.

If you're interested in a portable application then ScionPC should be at the top of your list.

I love the lack of gender constraints, e.g. I can add both of my grandchildren's same sex parents without resorting to tricks such as changing the gender of one of the parents.  Both members of marriages are referred to as partner's.  (There is a warning that the couple is the same sex.)  I wish other genealogy programs would adopt this standard.

ScionPC has exceptional date format support, e.g. Circa, Before, After, Estimated, and Date Range modifiers as well as Georgian, Julian, Hebrew, French Revolutionary, Islamic, Persian, Indian National, Coptic, User Defined and Unknown calendars.  I like the pop up calendar for use when entering dates.

The program creates a complete web site for upload.  Supports CSS.

The program has no place list but it does provide a unique method for merging similar places.

No method of excluding living individuals or their events in either reports or website.  Surnames default to all uppercase.  Only one source citation is permitted per event.

Personal Ancestral File (PAF) is the software supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It's a good basic genealogy program and easy to use.

The reports are in Born, Married, Died, Buried order but the other events are not sorted by date.  No box style charts.

Only one source citation is permitted per event.

No bookmarks.

PAF can generate html files for upload to your website.

Myheritage Family Tree Builder has an nice hour glass view that can adjust from just one generation above and below the focus person to three generations.  This eliminates the need for seperate person, pedigree, and descendant views.  There is a handy list for navigation just to the left which can be expanded or retracted out of the way.

MyHeritage automatically checks for possible duplicates when entering people.  This feature mitigates the absence of a merge duplicate people tool.

A button appears next to the place entry field when clicked will offer suggestions from similar places already appearing in your database.

Individual reports can be saved to HTML format.  MyHeritage supports a direct upload to the MyHeritage web site but no other independent web site creation.

No place or individual reports.

There is no context sensitive help available but the PDF format manual is very helpful.

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This post is TO BE CONTINUED…

Windows Efficiency Manager - NOT SAFE!!!

I was contacted by a client this morning that told me that they had a new software “Windows Efficiency Manager”  - well what a nice name, sounds useful doesn’t?  This is a rogue anti-spyware program that is part of the Fake Microsoft Security Essentials infection.

Yesterday, I was contacted by a client that had suddenly been knocked off the internet.  I had not seen the computer in some time so i checked to see if his AVG was up to date.  I found it shut off and in it’s place was the icon for Microsoft Security Essentials, a real program that does work nicely, offered by Microsoft.  However, after a little research I have found that this client actually was infected!  Here is what I learned and how to resolve the problem yourself.    Don’t worry this stuff can be intimidating, just contact Simply Seniors Computer Tutors for help 321-431-3866. 

What this infection does:

Windows Efficiency Manager is a fake rogue anti-spyware program that is part of the Fake Microsoft Security Essentials infection. When this infection is installed on your computer it will display a fake Microsoft Security Essentials alert that states that it has detected an Unknown Win32/Trojan on your computer. This alert will state:

Microsoft Security Essentials Alert
Potential Threat Details
Microsoft Security Essentials detected potential threats that might compromise your private or damage your computer. Your access to these items may be suspended until you take an action. Click 'show details' to learn more.

It will then prompt you to scan your computer, which will start a fake scan of your computer that ultimately states that a particular file is infected with Trojan.Horse.Win32.PAV.64.a. It will then prompt you to install Windows Efficiency Manager to remove the virus. The text of this prompt is:

Threat prevention solution found
Security system analysis has revealed critical file system vulnerability caused by severe malware attacks.
Risk of system files infection:
The detected vulnerability may result in unauthorized access to private information and hard drive data with a serious possibility of irreversible data loss and unstable PC performance. To remove the malware please run a full system scan. Press 'OK' to install the software necessary to initiate system files check. To complete the installation process please reboot your computer.

When you press OK, the infection will download and install Windows Efficiency Manager and reboot your computer.

When your computer reboots you will be presented with the Windows Efficiency Manager screen before your normal Windows desktop is shown. It then prompts you to scan your computer, which will state that your computer is infected with numerous infections. In order to get to your normal Windows desktop, you will need to close the Windows Efficiency Manager program when it has finished its fake scan. As you can see this program is a scam as it is ransoming the proper operation of your computer until you purchase it. It goes without saying that you should not purchase this program for any reason.

While the program is running it will also display fake security alerts that are further used to scare you into thinking that your computer has a serious problem. Some of these alerts include:

System Security Warning
Attempt to modify register key entries is detected. Register entries analysis is recommended.

System component corrupted!
System reboot error has occurred due to lsass.exe system process failure.
This may be caused by severe malware infections.
Automatic restore of lsass.exe backup copy completed.
The correct system performance can not be resumed without eliminating the cause of lsass.exe corruption.

Warning!
Name: firefox.exe
Name: c:\program files\firefox\firefox.exe
Application that seems to be a key-logger is detected. System information security is at risk. It is recommended to enable the security mode and run total System scanning.

Just like the fake scan results, these alerts are also fake and are only being used to scare you into purchasing the program. Therefore, please ignore them.

As you can see, Windows Efficiency Manager was created to scare you into thinking your computer has a severe security problem so that you will then purchase this program. For no reason should you purchase Windows Efficiency Manager, and if you already have, you should contact your credit card company and dispute the charges stating that the program is a computer infection. Finally, to remove this infection, and any related malware, please use the removal guide below.

Threat Classification:

• Information on Rogue Programs & Scareware

Array

Tools Needed for this fix:

• Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

This informwas brought to you by Grinler on Wed, 02 Mar 2011

Hope you find this helpful!

Thanks for reading – Simply Seniors Computer Tutors are on the web at www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us!!!

Don’t forget our Friday Classes at the Wickham park Senior Center, Melbourne, FL

registration is required: 321-431-3866

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor is the premier technical assistant for seniors!

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor will be offering a series of computer classes this March. All classes are $10 and this will include a printed book.  Classes are offered at the Wickham park Senior Center in Melbourne.  Class starts promptly at 10am until 11:30am.  Each Friday you will learn a different topic.  Pick and choose only the classes you need!

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor is the premier technical assistant for seniors!  Not only do they offer classes at various locations throughout Brevard, they offer one on one in home services, repair, pick up and delivery, new computer set up and specialty projects such as photo recoloring, digital photo archiving and much more.  Simply Seniors Computer Tutors are Florida and Brevard County background checked, arrive in identifiable uniform, with company ID, additionally, UNLIKE the 'average guy' posting on CL, our company is licensed, insured and certified to work on your computer.  KNOW YOUR COMPUTER TECHNICIAN do not allow just anyone into your very personal data and information or your home!  Simply Seniors Computer Tutor understands seniors have unique learning abilities and we have spent the last 10 years researching the BEST methods for computer training and senior citizens.  Stop struggling to use your PC or stop your parents constant phone calls asking "how do I..."  Call Simply Seniors Computer Tutor today at 321-431-3866

www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us

Computer Tutor March Class Schedule

It’s March!  No way!  March 2011 is already here, are you ready to learn something new about your computer?  Ready to get mom & dad off your back?  Simply Seniors Computer Tutors offers in home computer services for senior citizens in Central Florida.  Tutorial, Technical and Terrific!  That’s how I’d describe Simply Seniors Computer Tutor!

www.ComputerTutorHelp.com

Simply Seniors Computer Tutors – we make computers simple for seniors! 321-431-3866

Seniors Learn Differently

We at Simply Seniors Computer Tutor have spent the last ten years learning the BEST teaching methods for older computer users.  Learn more about our services at www.ComputerTutorHelp.us

This article is about how seniors learn differently from younger students.  The original content is located at http://www.associatedcontent.com.  It is very useful to anyone that may offer a service like Simply Seniors Computer Tutor’s or for anyone that wishes to be helpful to an senior new to computers.

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor’s looks forward to seeing you soon!

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For several years, I taught basic computer use, from introduction to computers to office skills. I learned a lot doing it - that weapons scanners at the courthouse wipe diskettes clean, and that if you bond too much with rich kids their daddies lean on you to do personal tutoring.

But the most interesting thing I learned was that older people - those born before 1950, primarily - learn technology differently from those of us who have more or less grown up with computers. As an older population, they also have different physical issues; and as a completely different generation, they have very different learning styles.

It requires a different approach to teach our respected elders how to use the technology we take for granted. But if you're a teacher excited about technology, and creative about ways to get others excited about it, older people learn better than younger people.
You heard me right. I prefer my older students to my younger ones. They are smarter, more motivated, and genuinely excited about learning. But it can be a challenge.

Seniors Learning Computers: The Issues
Getting older students to the point where they can learn technology is the first hurdle. Physical, mental, and attitude issues all get in the way.

Physical issues include:
Vision - Not only do older students have poorer vision overall, it's poor in a different way from younger students. You may have to learn how to adjust screens for each individual student - and then teach them how to do it themselves.
Mobility - Most people think of mobility problems as wheelchairs and walkers. That's not a problem; in a comfortable chair, everyone's the same. What is a problem: arthritic hands.
Once you have those problems sorted out, you often find serious learning issues lurking behind them:

Lack of technological background: Your seniors grew up in an age where not every house had a television - and when they did have a television, there were likely one or two channels, four or five hours a day. It was a  radically different world, and you have to understand where they're coming from before you can teach them. Students who learned how to operate older generation mainframe computers are often the hardest to teach, as they have to unlearn things they've known for forty years.

Difference in learning style: Our kids today learn in a group setting that often seems chaotic; our seniors learned much more individually and may value politeness over assertiveness. The most important difference: you have to learn to spot questions without the student asking them. Many seniors, especially women, simply won't ask questions, and get lost instead.

Senility and mental acuity problems: There's nothing you can do about this occasional problem except have patience with it. Older people don't learn as easily as younger people, and even when they do you may have to go back more often. This requires your patience.
Resistance to learning new things: A lot of older people just want to learn one thing on computers, or believe that "old dogs can't learn new tricks." You have to sell them on the fact that they will need to understand more than just one thing, and that they can, indeed, learn new things. This requires mostly respect and patience.

Methodologies in Teaching Computers to Seniors

If you're teaching older people in the US, always use Microsoft products. That's not because Microsoft is better - it's not - but rather because most of what they will get out of the box on a computer or run into at the library will be Microsoft. (Outside the US, visit a library to see what's most commonly used in your locality - Linux and Corel are more common as close as Canada.)

Once your classroom is set up and you have everyone comfortable - and you've familiarized yourself with your students' limitations - desensitize them to computers. The most common problem I run into is a fear of breaking the computer, or just a fear of the computer. Open an old computer box (unplugged, of course!), show them the insides, explain what the processor, memory, etc. do. Take out chips and components, and let the students handle them as you explain what they do. Especially show how the connections in the back work with individual cards. This will go a long way toward taking the mystery out of the computer.

Explain computer safety, and introduce peripherals like the mouse, etc. Encourage them to plug in and unplug their own peripherals so they can see how it works. Watch for any uncertainty, and only move on when everyone seems comfortable.

Then - play games. This enables seniors to work on the mouse, their own mobility and vision, and allows you to teach the very basic components of Windows. Even if you have a senior who's used the internet, etc., require the games. It tells you a variety of things. For example, I had one sweet lady who would move her mouse to the right position, then take her hand off it and click it from above. This did not work well! I had to put my hand over hers to guide her, and then she got it.

Other students may obviously at this point have mobility issues. Consider using trackballs for these students, and if the mobility issue is severe look at ergonomic options like special keyboards or even chord keyboards.

After this task is completed, teach basic windows tools, generic keyboard shortcuts (especially CTRL-Z, Undo) and other generic Windows things. Use slideshows and handouts to help them remember. Move from there into specific programs like word, excel, etc., and into specific tasks like downloading pictures from digital cameras.

One last tip for this section: at the end of every class every day, teach your students something useful you think their children and grandchildren don't know. It can be as simple as the CTRL-Z, or as complex as where to find a particularly useful website. This will keep your students eager to return to the next class, and allow them to impress their younger relatives.

Teaching Techniques For Seniors
Throughout your courses, you should encourage your students to direct their own learning. Older people often lack patience, whether they say so or not, and they want their time to be THEIR time. Keep classes small, and let them tell you what they want.

At the same time, teach slowly and patiently, emphasizing hands-on. My rule is to show them how once, and then guide them through doing it themselves thereafter. Because the slow, patient approach is a must, it's a good idea to match students with a pre-test to their skill level. With younger students, I often encourage quicker students to help the slower students next to them; this has less-predictable effects when you're working with an older population.

Most importantly, watch for those mobility and other ergonomic issues. Donut cushions may be necessary, or back support cushions. Learn everything you can about ergonomic keyboards, antiglare screens, improved contrast screens, and the Microsoft accessibility tools. Larger screens may be necessary for some students, at least when they take their skills home with them. As a last resort, talking programs for either input or output may be a necessity.

Chord keyboards are something a little different. These resemble game controllers, and have up to six keys. These keys, pressed alone or in combination, can duplicate the normal keyboard. They're harder to learn, but if you have a student with severe arthritis, this frees up one hand and requires much less movement of the arm in order to get the same results. A person who is sincere about teaching technology to older people would be wise to purchase one and learn how to use it.

As you can see, the problems presented when teaching technology to seniors can be mild to extreme. However, this sort of teaching is also lucrative. There are few computer schools or tutor programs that focus exclusively on seniors - and it is our older people who are most motivated to learn how to use computers. They didn't have the exposure younger people had, but want to use the technology to keep up with family and especially grandchildren.
With decent marketing, a talent for teaching, and patience, you can teach technology to seniors through churches, local adult ed programs, or as commercial classes. It's fun, rewarding, and not all that hard.

Are YOU Following Me? Website ‘tracking’ and what Microsoft is doing to help you.

I was reading some website this morning and that led me to thinking abut that little agreement that we all just have NO other choice but to click YES on when we want to install certain softwares on our computers.  Reading one of the agreements made me want to do reseach on “TRACKING” what does it mean, why, who, and how!  I hope these articles I located will mhelp clear up soem fo those questions for you!

First, lets find out what “TRACKING” means:

Website tracking refers to the act of archiving existing websites and tracking changes to the website over time. There are many applications to website tracking which can be applied to many different business. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Website_tracking

Then it was off to this web site to learn a little more.  You can read the entire article on there site:

http://www.wisegeek.com/do-websites-track-and-record-ip-addresses.htm

An IP or Internet Protocol address is a unique numerical address assigned to a computer as it logs on to the Internet. The IP address can be mapped back to a specific individual with help from Internet Service Provider (ISP) records. Virtually every website on the World Wide Web (Web) will track and record IP addresses as visitors click through the site’s pages. Two primary reasons for this are security and site improvement.

Every website is hosted on a server. When a visitor clicks his or her way to a website, the user’s browser sends a request to the server for a webpage at the location. The server returns the webpage to the IP address on the request. The page subsequently loads on the visitor’s computer screen.

If the server is bogged down by traffic (handling many requests at once), pages might load slower for visitors. In the case of an overload of simultaneous requests, the server will “crash” or go down, leaving the site temporarily unavailable. This can be a form of attack, called a Denial Of Service (DoS) attack. If the attack comes from a network of infected computers called abotnet, it is referred to a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack.

A malicious hacker might infiltrate a Web server in an attempt to gain information from protected databases that hold customer data such as credit card numbers. So-called “script kiddies” might simply want to malign a site by uploading images or text to the website.

For these reasons and more, websites track and record IP addresses as a matter of course, storing the numerical addresses in server logs. Each request from the IP address is recorded, along with a time stamp. Older data is routinely purged from logs to make room for newer data. The length of time a website holds on to IP logs is variable, configured by the site’s administrator, and dependent upon many factors.

Website policies generally refer to IP addresses as “anonymous” data. However, with the help of computer cookies there are many ways for websites to link identities to IP addresses, even when the address is dynamic, or changes with each Web session. Many websites also contain “Web bugs” or a few pixels linked to an advertising firm that can track and record IP addresses across the Web, from one site to another, surreptitiously compiling detailed surfing profiles of individuals over a period of months or years.

A visitor need not register at a website to be tracked and profiled. Typically all visits to a site are time-stamped and recorded to a cookie, if cookies are enabled in the Web browser. All pages and links visited within the site are commonly added to the cookie (in addition to the sever logs). While server logs are purged, cookies are commonly retained. Deleting a cookie from a user’s computer does not remove the duplicate cookie on the Web server. Upon a subsequent visit to the site, the server might “recognize” the surfer by various system and software data that browsers routinely hand over; even when the surfer is careful to allow temporary cookies only, or no cookies.

Due to these concerns, many savvy netizens prefer to surf anonymously. In this case a proxy server stands between the surfer’s computer and the Web. All browser requests are sent to the proxy which relays them to the Internet. Web servers return pages to the proxy’s IP address, logging its address instead. The proxy receives the page, forwarding it on to the surfer, acting as a go-between. Web servers have no record of the surfer’s IP address, (however, the proxy server will trackand record IP addresses).

If using a proxy service, it is important to know if it is truly anonymous. Some proxy servers forward the requester’s IP address in their headers, defeating the purpose. Only anonymous proxy servers hide this information. Some proxy’s claim to be anonymous but are not, so personal checking through available proxy tools is advisable. Using international proxies can also increase anonymity because the proxy’s logs will not be subject to jurisdiction of the netizen’s home country. That said, proxy services are designed to help maintain freedom and privacy for legal activity, not protect illegal activity.

The Firefox™ browser has an add-on plug-in called FoxyProxy which allows users to keep a list of proxies and easily switch between them to keep records from accumulating on just one proxy server. One can also link proxies, placing two or three proxy servers in a chain, however, this slows surfing. Also, if one of the proxies is down requests get lost. Additionally, there are various shareware programs for proxy surfing.

Web-based anonymous services allow visitors to surf the Web through an onsite interface. Surfing from the site, requested pages appear in a window. The only IP address revealed to the Internet is the website’s own address. But once again, the website itself will track and record IP addresses of those that use its services.

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Wow I learned much more than I ever wanted to know!  But it’s all good information!  Simply Seniors Computer Tutors wants to let you know how to safely use the internet. 

Here is a link to Microsoft’s IE9 web site with very helpful anti-tracking software's:

http://ie.microsoft.com/testdrive/Browser/TrackingProtectionLists/Default.html

 

You will want to choose the link above but if you do not and land on their home page – choose the “tracker protection” link under the Brower's Demos column.

I hope you have found this information entertaining and insightful!  If you know someone age 50+ that needs technical help, please consider Simply Seniors Computer Tutors 321-431-3866

Thanks for reading and please share our links with your friends!  Knowledge IS Powerful Stuff!

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The Laptop Life: Tips to Improve Portable Computing

This information comes to you from AOL.Com, the original author is Deanna Glick.   At Simply Seniors Computer Tutors I am often asked how to make things easier.  This article has some great tips and is worth passing along!

More information on Simply Seniors Computer Tutors at www.ComputerTutorHelp.Us.

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People seem to be on the go more than ever before. And they’d never dream of leaving their electronic life behind.

Ah, the lure of laptop computers. A fully-featured computer that weighs a few pounds and can be carried in your briefcase on a business trip or under your arm as you migrate from the home office to your family room. What’s more, along with ever-expanding wireless Internet availability, laptops allow you to surf at the beach without getting in the water or send email from your porch on a nice day.

This might be why the first quarter of last year saw the best sales record for mobile PCs in eight years, according to a blog at CNET.com. This coincided with the onset of intense iPad hype. However, as one analyst pointed out, limitations of that product category in the face of aggressive price cuts of regular notebooks seemed to give the larger notebook computers staying power in the market. They do more than their smaller counterparts, but consumers still seem generally willing to sacrifice the performance of a desktop for portability, making the traditional laptop the proverbial happy medium for most people.

When it comes to laptops, good things might come in small packages. But portability comes at a price.

A Small Space

For all their benefits, laptop computers can certainly fall short when it comes to memory, speed and hard drive space. And special considerations should be given to wireless network security and battery life. Fortunately, there are some great tips and tricks, special services and accessories that can help make laptop users’ lives a lot easier.

Whenever you open a file or an application, data is stored via Random Access Memory. Laptops use a smaller, slower version of RAM than their desktop counterparts. Once that memory is used up, the computer reverts to the hard drive, causing it to operate much more slowly. What this essentially means is that the more RAM you have, the more applications and files can be open simultaneously without affecting performance. Therefore, it can be helpful for laptop users to use as few applications at a time as possible.

How much hard drive space you need depends on how you use your computer. If you find your music, photo and video collections are causing your hard drive to burst at the seams and thus reducing operating speed, additional options for data storage might help. External hard drives and online storage services can go a long way in freeing up space and providing backup protection for your data in the event of a computer crash.

Wireless Worries

While you may have the ability to work on spreadsheets on the sun porch, the portable life isn’t entirely peaceful. Laptop users would do well to pay special attention to issues that affect wireless network security.

Unlike computers that connect via router or Ethernet cable, wireless networks talk to devices using radio waves. According to an article at LaptopLogic.com, these open radio waves leave you susceptible to myriad snooping attacks that could make way for a hacker to access your network and all of your valuable information. This means family pictures, passwords, electronic bank statements, the information contained in your emails and your personal files are all compromised.

LaptopLogic.com suggests some preventive measures to help achieve security while using a wireless connection with a laptop. For example, when you create a wireless password make sure that you use a combination of numbers, letters (upper and lower case), and symbols. You also need to make sure that password is long -- the longer the password is, the more time required to crack it. It is also recommended that you use guest wireless networks rather than readily giving out your passwords to friends visiting your home. A guest network is a common feature found in newer routers, that is essentially a second network which is completely isolated from the network your personal devices use.

Simply Seniors Computer Tutor is here to help those age 50+ with technological needs!  321-431-3866