anyone tech savvy???

Im sorry if I missed it, but what do you mean by "if it's ok to use"?

Ah, well more often then not you can get a good antivirus at Walmart or your local department store. (Personally I recommend DefenderPro). You may not need one but its always a good idea to have one.

There are 4 things when you build a computer to sink your money in
1. buy the best power pack money can buy, this will keep you operationable.
2. buy the best Motherboard you can afford, these are always being up graded.
3. Buy a good graphic card, especially if your into pc games,
and 4. buy the best UPS uninterupted power supply, battery back up, it'll keep
you computer up and going thru weather emergencies...
everything else can be found cheaply....

Jamie,
Chart gave you some good advice if you want an awesome computer. If you just want one that will get you on the internet & be protected from viruses, you can do that for free.

AVG offers free virus-checking software that is compatible with your computer. You just need to have an internet connection (dial-up, DSL, cable, mobile, anything will work). Connect your computer to your internet the same way you connect on your current computer. This may require software. If it can't connect automatically, call your internet provider & ask for help. As soon as you are connected to the internet, first thing, go to AVG free.avg.com/us-en/homepage. Follow the directions to download their virus checker & run the program immediately. It will check for viruses, tracking cookies, worms, etc. and will quarantine anything dangerous or flag anything that isn't a danger to your PC but isn't really desirable either (like tracking cookies).
Delete anything it tells you is harmful to your PC. A pop-up box will tell you what that includes (if anything) and you will just need to select the button that says to either repair or delete the file(s). It's very easy to use.

Once you've run the virus checker & told it to fix any issues that are identified, restart your computer -- do that whether there is anything found or not just to be safe. Then you're good to go. If you want a faster computer, let me know and I can send you instructions on how to access free virtual memory. Also, you could try removing any programs that you don't need -- I can meet you in a chat if you want to discuss how to do that & what programs you need to keep vs. can delete.

After all that, if your PC is still too slow for your liking, you can upgrade your memory and/or motherboard. I wouldn't buy the best that money can buy unless you are a total computer geek. I develop websites & even I don't have the best that money can buy. ;) Certainly more memory & a faster processor help, but you'll only see those benefits if you are doing activities that require intensive graphics (digital video editing, for example) or concurrent use of multiple programs. If you just want websites to run faster, your best bet is to upgrade your web service (more bandwidth). Finding a 4G or 5G provider will make a huge difference. When I switched from ATT DSL to Clear 4G, I was suddenly able to view movies and TV shows online at the same speed as TV -- no frozen frames, no pauses, no garbled sound, etc. That will make more of a difference for you than just about anything else. :)

You might already have a firewall. Windows XP and Windows Vista, for example, come with a built-in firewall. If you have Windows, go to the Start menu. Click on Control Menu. If there is a little brick icon that says "Firewall", click on it & see if it's On or Off. If it's off, you can turn it on.

blessings,
frances

Thanks, Jamie. I just hate to see you spending money on fixing up your computer if it can do what you want for free. ;)

I'm hanging in there. Happy that our government just passed an extension of unemployment benefits b/c otherwise I would have run out very soon. I'm waiting to hear about a temp job creating web databases, but honestly I'm hoping that I can find a teaching job instead (used to teach a long time ago, before I got sick). We'll see. I'm also starting my Master's degree program next month. So, I'm gonna be very busy. Still, though, at least I'm feeling happier these days. Stopped telling my family anything important as they are just critical 24/7. They have no idea I've been volunteering nearly every day in a friend's classroom & have gotten grant money to go back to school. No idea that I am applying for teaching jobs or any of that. I'm hoping I don't ever have to tell them.

It's getting rough though. It's hard not telling my family the truth about me returning to teaching. But they all just talk behind my back & plot together & then barrage me with negativity about how they feel I can't go back to teaching, that I couldn't do it before so how am I gonna do it now. But I was sick and misdiagnosed & to top it all off, I had a boring job that sucked and all I could think about was ending my life all day at work. But now, things are better. Worst case, I can do web dev. At least that's not super boring. Not as fun as teaching, mind you, but not dull and boring either. Best case, I'll get to return to the classroom.

I've also been thinking about maybe applying to teach abroad. Could go to a Spanish-speaking country, or else I could go somewhere I want to learn the language -- Korea or an Arabic-speaking country like Egypt or Jordan or some place like that, or maybe Thailand since I have a few friends working there. Not really sure. I'm a bit worried about what the medical systems will be like, though. I have to register by the end of this month if I want to interview to teach in the 2011-12 school year. It's all a lot to take in, but it would be exciting and would give me a chance to be a bit more independent. idk. Car broke down so I lost my counseling money but it'd be good to talk to her about the decision. I'm trying to be better about not caring so much what other people say about me. It's hard, though. Esp. with family. I wish I could fit in, but I seem to be the black sheep. Don't share their values & am ridiculed for that. I try to spend less time with them, but my mom calls nearly every day. It drove her crazy when I spent a semester in Latin America but that time really helped me a lot; I started spending more time with friends & dating, and I realized that I'm not a dumb or totally awful person. I actually have some skills. I learned that I didn't have to be stressed out all the time; I could just relax and deal with things as they came. The shocking thing was that by relaxing I actually became more successful & was hired as a consultant to schools and universities.
I wish I could go back to that sometimes. Just relaxing and not succumbing to the crazy rat race. I'm just not sure whether going abroad again is what I need to accomplish that. The main thing about before was (1) my mom couldn't call me except about once a week for 10 minutes and (2) my host mother was very kind, encouraging and laid-back. The culture was people-centered, rather than career or money centered but that is true of many places in the United States so I could always just move to a rural part of my own state if I wanted that. Oh, tough decisions. Wish this decision were as easy as setting up your computer. ;) oh well.

Let me know when you've:
1) loaded & run the AVG virus checker
2) checked your computer to see if you already have a firewall

and then I can help you get more virtual memory and/or free up real space by deleting unnecessary programs.

peace & blessings,
frances