Downloads

What is safe?

What won’t crash your computer

What is not? What will make your computer run slowly or not at all

First: AntivirusThe best way to protect your computer is to install a tool which will hunt down and clean up nasty files that try to invade your computer

Microsoft offers a FREE tool calledMicrosoft Security Essentials

Find it here: http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

Music

Downloading songs is only safe if you pay for them. First, it’s illegal to steal music and second, do you know where the “free” download

is coming from?

A good example of somewhere NOT to download from is Limewire. They share music from one person’s computer to another. Not only can these files have viruses, but this company is in trouble with the

record industry and the government.

A Safe Source For Music

iTunes allows you to pay per song.

Rhapsody is a services where you pay one price (monthly) and you can stream music and download songs (be aware, this doesn’t work with iPod)

But I’m just a kid! I can’t afford to pay for music!

Ask for a gift card as a reward for good grades, for helping with chores, or as a birthday present.

iTunes and Rhapsody

Computer Programs

Sometimes, you need a program to help you do something. Maybe you want to edit a

picture of you and your friends or your pet. You may not have Microsoft Word on your

computer but need to type and essay.

There are good places and bad places for this.

An example is OpenOffice.org, which allows you to download a SAFE program which has

almost the same features as Microsoft Word.

A Bad Idea

Download a screen saver?

Desktop Picture

You can still have a desktop picture without compromising your computer.

Search for the picture in google. Right click and choose “set as background”

Danger Zone

If you choose to download files you shouldn’t (such as

movies, which aren’t free) from

somewhere other than a place you pay

for them (like iTunes)., you may get

caught.

If you do, you could be fined. Your

computer can be traced to your home.

This is an example of a bad place to download movies

Safe Website?

Its tricky to tell if a site is safe to download from or

not.

If you want to be sure, try McAfee’s siteadvisor.com.

McAfee makes virus protection software, so

they are a good resource to ask.

Ask someone to look at the computer, this may mean taking it into Best Buy and

having a technician look at it.

Infected Computer

This can cost money and sometimes lead to loss of all the data on your computer. This is why it is important to have antivirus software.