Destroy data on old PC or it could come back to bite you

Computer Care: Destroy data on old PC or it could come back to bite you

By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com
POSTED: March 19, 2011 9:27 a.m.

You have an old computer that you want to give away or throw out. Perhaps you found a gem of a PC at a yard sale. Either way, the issue to consider is the data on the hard drive.

If you were discarding a computer, your old data should be deleted prior to giving it away. If you were to be the receiver of one, the data should still be deleted. Either way, the existing data is sensitive and in need of erasure.

Even if the computer in question doesn't work and there is hard-drive failure, the data remains.

So what, you think? Think again.

It may not be government secrets, but you have address books, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, banking information (including credit card and account numbers), business e-mails, letters to your loved ones, family photos and perhaps a personal journal.

You wouldn't want any of that information to fall into the wrong hands.

What about a used PC you just came upon? What if there are viruses, malware, porn or those government secrets on it? You don't want any of that on your new-found computer.

So how do you clean your hard drive? There are various methods. First let me say that deleting files does not truly delete them.

A client of mine once mentioned that she cleaned up her system by deleting desktop icons, thinking she deleted the programs. She did not. All she got was a tidy desktop. The applications remained.

Even if she had deleted the associated files, they would still, in a sense be there. By deleting folders and files, you simply remove the reference to them, their names. It's telling the system that the space used by that old file may now be used by something else. Until it is overwritten, the old file remains. Someone like me, with the proper utility, could still find the files after you delete them.

You could format the hard drive or reinstall Windows, which also includes a reformat, but the old files are still there, beneath the new copy of your operating system.

In most cases, unless you really have something to hide, this should suffice.

If you really want a secure wipe of your system, you need a comprehensive utility to accomplish that task. There are of course, programs you could purchase, but there are also good free ones.

DBAN, Darik's Boot and Nuke, doesn't have the smoothest interface, but it gets the job done. It can be run from a CD or a USB flash drive and comprehensively wipes your drive clean.

There are various methods to wiping the hard drive, from one pass across the disk to many, each writing random zeros and ones across it, rendering the old data unreadable. A common wipe known as the DOD (Department of Defense) wipe, uses three passes. The more passes, the more secure it becomes.

Another free utility is Eraser. The difference from it and DBAN is that you can specifically pick which files you want to erase with this, instead of wiping the entire hard drive. You can delete files, but leave the operating system intact.

There is also the option of destroying the hard drive, as opposed to just deleting its files. Whatever you can safely do to stop the drive from spinning will render it unreadable. Drilling a few well-placed holes through the drive or banging some nails completely through it does the trick.

Contrary to popular belief, household magnets do nothing to disrupt the data on the drive. The magnets that are used in a drive (neodymium or rare earth type) are much stronger than anything you'll find in your tool box.

There is a process known as degaussing that uses those special magnets. It's an effective procedure, but an expensive alternative.

There are some ways that should not be used to destroy data on a hard drive. Nuking it the microwave, soaking it with acid or using it for target practice may work, but are extremely dangerous methods for obvious reasons.

Alternatively, before giving away your computer you can remove the hard drive. There are only four screws and a couple of cables. Then you can decide if you want to reuse the drive or delete the data.

I have been asked by clients if they need to remove the RAM (system memory) before giving away a computer. RAM is only temporary storage in a computer. Once the system is powered down, all that was stored in memory is lost. RAM need not be removed, unless you want to reuse it in another system.

A hard drive, on the other hand, is permanent storage. The data is written to disk. It will remain intact until overwritten or deleted.

Whether you're on the giving or receiving end of recycled equipment, it should be imperative that you remove existing data from the hard drive, one way or another.

If you don't, it may come back to bite you.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

Online Privacy

Computer Care: Privacy online doesn’t exist, but that needs to be changed

By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com

POSTED: March 5, 2011 2:29 a.m.


Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

Every e-mail you send, every page you visit, each form you fill out, all the ads you click on and all the products you buy online are all there to see for anyone who wants to.

Then there is the information you place on the Internet willingly. All that personal information, those photos, your plans, your thoughts and those quotes you published to Facebook.

You've heard of Internet privacy? I believe it's but a concept, something that could have been a benefit, but we let slip away. Remember when it was just our Social Security numbers we were worried about? Well, we are way past that now.

There used to be so-called paper trails of what people did. Now there are virtual trails, and they are just as real. One day, it may be used against you.

A Barrow County teacher lost her job due to a photo she posted on Facebook. She was on vacation, out of the country, holding a beer. And I thought Prohibition was over.

A Florida teen was convicted of murder because of a voicemail that was left on a cell phone.

It's not just computers now - cell phones, too, are open to ad companies and anyone else, including law enforcement.

Nothing is private anymore. Advertising companies track every mouse click we make, and it's worth billions to them. A 2009 study cited that interactive ads were responsible for $300 billion of economic activity in the U.S. alone. Globally, $10 trillion is currently being spent online each year.

Clearly, someone is making money via the Internet. The ad companies claim that curbing the tracking of our online habits will ultimately harm the economy. Allowing them to track us is a big price to pay. Our privacy should be paramount.

Our Internet service providers, and who knows who else, have access to our e-mails. They are about as private as talking into a microphone at a filled auditorium. E-mail letters are more like postcards. They are open for anyone to see along the delivery route.

Would you give the kid at the checkout your phone number and address, age and Social Security number or allow the postman to read your mail? Of course we wouldn't. But we do.

Sure you can use private mode, clean your cookies and install filters. You can opt out of certain websites for data gathering, even take advantage of privacy policies and clear your web bugs. But you are still being watched, one way or another. Big brother is out there. Remember, just because we're paranoid, doesn't mean we're not being watched.

Encryption is probably the best (but not the easiest) way to ensure anonymity in sending e-mails. You could also use a proxy server to surf the Web anonymously.

There are other proactive things you can do, but how effective are they really? The jury is still out.

For now, take advantage of the usefulness of things like Privacy Choice, Privacy Mark, TRUSTe, SquareTrade and BBBOnline. Look for their seals on websites that you frequent.

Install a good Internet security program, not just an anti-virus but one that will warn you of other imminent dangers.

Use of a throwaway e-mail address, one that you won't check for incoming mail, will ease spam. Mailinator is a great free one. Use it to sign up for things instead of using your own "real" account.

Be careful if you use a company computer. They own it and everything in it, just like the contents of your desk.

It's time for laws to be passed to protect our online activity. Some have tried and others are working on it.

Last month, a "Do Not Track" bill was introduced in Congress. Its goal is to prevent Internet advertisers from tracking what we do online. The bill is similar to the Do Not Call Registry that is used to curb the activity of telemarketers.

The new tracking bill would only work if we choose to elect to not be tracked, just like with the phone solicitation bill. If we don't take advantage, or know, of what's in place, nothing changes. We would not be protected if we didn't opt out. Maybe we need something stronger.

Recently, Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., and Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., introduced privacy bills, and at least one Republican will also be introducing a bill soon.

Congressmen from Florida and Texas are also working on other Internet privacy bills.

Meanwhile, until legislation is passed, be cautious of what links you click on, what e-mails you respond to and what you post on Facebook. Be wary each time you fill out an online form. Make sure the website is secure (https) before you purchase anything online.

Write to your Congress members and to the White House. Tell them we need better privacy laws concerning the Internet.

Let's seal the envelope on e-mails and make advertisers earn their money the old fashioned way instead of snooping. Better legislation may be the key.

Just remember, if it's an e-mail you're writing, you never know who else will be reading it.

Email Etiquette

Computer Care: Forward e-mail with courtesy, with the caps lock off, please


By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com



POSTED: February 19, 2011 1:00 a.m.


E-mails reach my inbox asking me for advice, sharing humor and selling both Viagra and breast implants. But that's OK; I can deal with it. What annoy me are those who inform me of impending doom, should I not forward their e-mail to 16 people. Worse, are the ones that have me watching for a surprise after all 16 are forwarded.

Call me a skeptic, but I don't want to bother 16 friends to chance seeing a butterfly or kaleidoscope.

Let's not forward chain letters. Most are hoaxes anyway. Bill Gates will not give you $250 for passing on his e-mail. Check out snopes.com should you have doubts about a letter you got.

There are unwritten rules of etiquette when it comes to e-mail. Not sending forwards like I mentioned is one of those rules.

Grammar counts; so does spelling. I am not ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing) or anxious to talk about it IRL (in real life). What are we, 12 years old? So let's stop with the silly acronyms. And omit the smileys, too. OK?

NOT ONLY IS THIS DIFFICULT TO READ, but it is considered shouting to type in caps in the online world. Check to see if your Caps Lock is engaged before typing a message.

Most e-mail clients have spell-checkers, even thesauruses. If you use Firefox or Chrome to check your web mail, each has add-ons to assist. All I have to do is highlight a word and right-click on it to learn more about it. There are no excuses for spelling errors anymore.

Punctuation is part of writing, like it or not. Look at the following sentence to realize how misplaced or omitted punctuation can change the meaning of a sentence. At worst, it makes it hard to read:

Woman without her man is nothing.

A man might place commas to have it read: Woman, without her man, is nothing.

A woman may have it say: Woman! Without her, man is nothing.

The same words with different punctuation yield a different meaning.

Word choices require careful thought as well. Affect (a verb) differs from effect (a noun). "It's" is a contraction, while "its" is possessive.

If you must forward an e-mail, for whatever reason, follow these simple rules. Delete the "FWD" from the subject line, all of them. Some ISPs may not send it with that prefix, considering it as spam.

Also delete the header with all of the addresses of the ones to get that e-mail before you. I get some with an entire page of headers on it.

If your e-mail program has a BCC field (Blind Carbon Copy), use it. This helps keeps recipients' addresses private.

Also delete those >>>>>> you often see in a forwarded e-mail. Does anyone know what they are called? There are some good, free programs that will take care of those as well as ill-formatted e-mails, getting rid of extraneous spaces and line breaks.

Do a Google search for e-mailStripper, eCleaner or StripMail. They are all easy to use.

Many viruses and malware get spread via e-mail. Check to see if your anti-virus and anti-malware programs scan both incoming and outgoing e-mail. This will protect you and your recipients. Look in the settings area of the utilities to make changes.

If you send photos as attachments to e-mails, consider their size. Know that megapixel images are only necessary if you are going to print the picture. Otherwise, as attachments they show up as huge photos taking longer to send and receive (maybe even being blocked) and fill up your recipient's entire page.

Use free utilities like the online ResizR or see if your photo imaging software can reduce the size of an image. Remember to do a "Save as" if you choose the latter method. You don't want to over-write an original image. You may want to print it one day.

Whether sending photos, videos or audio, if you have a large file to share (again, there is the possibility of the ISP blocking it), consider a file-sharing utility online. There are many you can use for free.

Some will let you try it with no charge; others remain free, but only allow one file at a time. Some have a limit to the size of the files you can share.

Check out MailBigFile, a free service for only one recipient.

There is also Pando, but watch the installer for extra add-ons you may not want.

They work by you sending your friends a link instead of a file — quick and easy for both of you.

The bottom line is consideration. Keep e-mails neat, clean and avoid large attachments. They will be easier to read, especially with proper spelling and punctuation.

Texting while mobile is dangerous and illegal. So is sending e-mail.

Remember, love may not be forever, but e-mails are. Your ISP has copies of everything you send- just so you know.

Now, I want you to send this column to 16 of your friends.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly. Arthur welcomes your computer questions and ideas for future columns.

Beware Malware on Facebook

Computer Care: Beware of malware, other threats hiding in Facebook


By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com
POSTED: January 22, 2011 12:30 a.m.


Facebook may be a nice place to keep up with your friends online, but lately I've been wary of a couple of things concerning its security.

Have you noticed its availability to connect to other websites? All of a sudden I find the ubiquitous blue "F" icon wherever I go on the Internet.

Other web sites, forums and blogs are offering for you to use your Facebook credentials to log on to their sites. Sure, it's easier. You don't have to type in your e-mail address or make up yet another password, but is it safe? The short answer would be no.

They have since reversed the ruling, but Facebook officials recently said they were going to sell our names, addresses and phone numbers to their vendors. That would have meant whoever advertises on the site would be privy to your private information. Sure, under pressure, they quickly reversed it. But who knows what they will do next week or next month? I don't trust them.

Supposedly we would have ability to opt out, but it was up to us to find the link to disable that option.

I have since gone to my Facebook settings page and changed everything to make sure that only those I want to see my information will be able to. Go to yours by clicking on the "Account" link on the top right of the page and then click "Privacy Settings," then "Customize."

Also check your "Account Settings " at the same spot while you're there. Scrutinize the way your account is set up. Your privacy may depend on it.

Facebook is a business, bottom line and our information is a gold mine to them.

Not only is Facebook not to be trusted with our information, but it is also a huge source of malware.

The Internet security firm BitDefender, claims that social media sites are the largest source of malware online, especially on mobile devices. With Facebook being the most traveled social site, and more users logging on via cell phone, malware is spreading rapidly.

As a technician, most of my jobs in the past few months have been malware-related. As computer users and Internet traversers, you need to tread cautiously if you don't want to get infected.

Facebook is inundated with links and pop-ups to fake wallpapers and phony applications for the site. Some claim to allow you to see who has viewed your profile or who has "unfriended" you. Others offer nonexistent "dislike" buttons. These are nothing other than sources of malware.

Also beware of bogus surveys and links to FB apps such as Farmville giving away free add-ons to the games. By clicking on them, not only will you not get what you expect, but you may be giving away access to your sensitive information.

If apps such as those were available, Facebook would offer them to us.

Cybercriminals are financially motivated. They are there not only to send spam and spread malware, but also to steal your identities.

Sophos, another maker of online security products, says cybercriminals will be more prevalent in 2011 and that more threats should be expected on Windows 7 and iPad platforms.

They claim that over 50,000 Web pages hosting various forms of malware are discovered daily — every day!

The most common ones and the one I see most often are fake anti-virus or anti-malware programs. What they are in reality is nothing other than sources of malware. Click on them and you open up your computer for them to access or just spread the infection throughout your system and to those in your address book.

Beware of pop-ups from programs not installed that warn you of infections. If you didn't run a scan with an app, it can't advise you, plain and simple.

Sophos offers a free social media toolkit for your social security, but you do need to register with them to get it. Find it here. There is some helpful information in it.

Be careful what you click on and think twice before you do. Even an e-mail saying someone has commented on a photo of yours or tagged you in one of theirs may be bogus. Also beware of e-mails claiming that someone has posted something on your wall. Find them on FB instead of going there from that e-mail. They may not be legitimate.

Even on the Facebook site, remain vigilant. Once you click that "Allow" button you could be opening up the floodgates. Any requests for permission should be denied.

Be aware of links that take you to pages where you see an "Allow" button to access your profile. If you have apps installed that you don't trust, hit the "Remove" button next to them, to be sure.

Facebook is a virtual street in the virtual city of Internet. It can be a dark alley if you allow it.

As far as allowing it to be your universal Internet log-on, I wouldn't.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly. Arthur welcomes your computer questions and ideas for future columns.

Free Apps for your computer

Computer Care: Free apps are nice, but download them with care

By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com
POSTED: January 8, 2011 12:30 a.m.


It came to me the other day. The holidays are over, and I didn't get anything for you. So let's make up for it and start the new year with some good free applications for your computer. It's January and you don't have any money left anyway.

Some of these you may have heard of and may have installed, while others are nice, hard-to-find or didn't know-they-existed free applications. I will let you Google the apps for location, since many URLs can be quite lengthy.

If you don't feel like Googling each one, try PCWorld.com, cnet.com or download.com for these and lots of others. Just be sure to check to see if the app you want is indeed freeware and not shareware or a pay version.

The main difference between free and paid versions is no support and no schedulers.

Most will work in XP, Vista and Windows 7 but it's always a good idea to check prior to installation.

Advanced System Care, the free version is one of my favorites so let's start with it. It is a Swiss Army Knife utility in that it cleans, optimizes and fixes. One of its tools fixes the Windows registry. There is also a Pro version with more bells and whistles.

Use caution with many of the other registry utilities on the Internet. Some are overly aggressive and you can get yourself into trouble messing with the registry. There is no "undo" button. Once you delete a value, it is gone, so be certain you don't need it.

IObit Security 360 checks your system for all types of malware and stays resident while you work.

Ccleaner and the new CC Enhancer work with your Recycle Bin to reduce clutter.

Chrome and Firefox are browsers, like Internet Explorer, but faster. You can have multiple browsers on your computer. If one stops working you have a backup. It's like having two cars in your garage. They will both get to the interstate.

Well, Internet Explorer and Chrome or Firefox are like a Ford and a Chevy or a Honda — they will each get you to the Internet. Only issue is one wants to be in charge. You need to choose a default browser, but it doesn't mean you have to only use it. Use them all. You can change defaults at any time.

AVG, Avast and Avira are anti-virus applications and all offer solid free versions. Pick one. Unlike other programs, you can only have one AV program on a system.

OpenOffice is a great free alternative to Office. It is a suite of similar-type programs.

Download of the Day is a website, not a program. You sign up for a daily e-mail and they send a link to a different free program, utility, game or screensaver each day.

Phrase Express is perhaps my favorite utility. It saves a phrase, sentence or paragraph that you type with one keystroke. Very cool.

RoboForm is the best password manager on the market. Find the free version that works with a smaller list. DriveImage XML is a free Ghost-like app that images your disk or partition.

BootSafe gets you quickly into Safe Mode. Eusing Free Internet Window Washer does just that. SuperAntiSpyware, the free version, is also just what it says.

IMG Burn and Image Burn for ISO and similar file writing to CD/DVD. Belarc Advisor tells you all that is installed on your system, with keys. Malwarebytes is a superb free anti-malware utility.

I need to add a caution about installing these. Often they sneak in other apps. Look at every checked box before you click "Next" or "OK." Many will add a toolbar to your browser; change your search engine or home page or add a whole new program.

Know what you are getting. Some apps have partial functionality. Others are full-blown programs but will limit use by time. Some fix only certain issues. Some look like Windows with the Microsoft-like logos to make you believe it is legit, but they are not.

A pop-up advising you of errors before you scanned for any is bogus.

Never click on a blind link. I've repaired countless computers with severe malware infections from clients attempting to download free programs. The so-called programs are in fact infectious malware. They are disguised as utilities and spread infection once you click on them, so beware.

Just because a website or e-mail says a download is free, doesn't necessarily mean it is a free program. (Most downloads are free.) They make you pay once you try to use it. As always, caveat emptor, although which technically is buyer beware, but you get the idea.

Once you download and install what you want, save it to an outside source. You may need it again if your system crashes or you change computers. Put those downloads on an external hard drive, flash drive or burn them to CD or DVD.

Remember what they are, where you put them — and who gave them to you.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly. Arthur welcomes your computer questions and ideas for future columns.

Homage to Technology

Computer Care: Thanks for technology, which makes our lives better


By Arthur Glazer
arthur@glazerthepctech.com


POSTED: December 11, 2010 1:00 a.m.

As the first decade of the new millennium draws to a close, I reflect back on all of the good things I have: health, happiness and my family top the list. But there is more. Without technology, I would not be happy.

I am grateful to be living at a time when technology abounds; when one innovation is topped by the next. Most likely those who lived in Edison's time felt the same way. Electricity was new to the world. There was the telephone and the light bulb. It must have been quite an exciting time to be alive, as it is today.

Twenty years ago, no one had a cell phone and all but a few had a personal computer. What will the next 20 years bring? I often wonder.

So I give thanks to technology and to those who were inspired to create the devices we live with and couldn't live without.

Einstein once said that imagination was more important than knowledge. Without the imagination of the following people, where would we be today?

Charles Babbage was a British mathematician who in 1856 came up the concept of programmable machines. Then 80 years later, along came another Brit, Charles Turing, who built a computer-like device that cracked German codes in World War II.

It was John Eckert and John Mauchly who built E.N.I.A.C., the original computer in 1946. It filled a huge room and took a crew to run it. It was the first, and the first to become obsolete. After 10 years, there was a better mousetrap. Thanks guys.

This brings us to the era of the personal computer. It was Ed Roberts who designed the Altair 8800 in 1975. It sold for a mere $400 and came in kit form. They were not the kits of today. You had to solder the motherboard yourself. You got a box of diodes, capacitors and transistors with a sheet of instructions. Thanks, Ed.

I also feel thanks are due to Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniac at Apple for coming up with the Graphical User Interface that began with the Mac in 1976, and is used by most computers today.

In 1975, the partnership of Bill Gates and Paul Allen created Microsoft and Windows. I thank Microsoft for coming out with Windows, especially Version 7. The world needed something to replace its predecessor Vista, in a bad way.

Then came alternative operating systems.

It was Linus Tovalds, a Finnish graduate student who came up with a thesis of Linux, a portable operating system in 1990. It is now an open-source (free) alternative to Windows or Mac the world over. There are dozens of distros or distributions, as they are called.

This brings me to Vic Hayes, the father of wi-fi. Without him, even laptops would still be tethered to a cable. Thanks, Vic.

What a bunch of brainiacs these guys were and are.

Alternative browsers like Firefox, Safari, Opera, and then Chrome came about. We were no longer forced to use Internet Explorer.

Google appeared. I love Google. I give thanks for the opportunity to look up anything, at any time and get as many answers as I want.

Everything seemed to happen quickly after that. Windows evolved. Wireless was omnipresent. Everyone had a Web page, then a blog. They instant-messaged. They texted. They Twittered. They posted comments to their profile.

I am not grateful for Facebook. Frankly, I could live without it. It's nice, but really, I don't need it.

What I am grateful for is the ability to block certain entries from my Facebook home page and the ability to delete things I had written in haste.

I like my desktop. After all, I built it. But I really like my laptop. So I give thanks to those who take big things and make them smaller. I am grateful to be able to check my email in bed or at the kitchen table, should I desire.

I am extremely thankful for my spam filter. Free enterprise and freedom of speech are great, but I get a ton of junk email. At least this way I don't have to look at it.

Finally, I am grateful to my wife, Teressa, who encourages me every two weeks to come up with yet another column and my daughter, Rachel, who proofreads them for me. It is truly a family effort.

Also, I am grateful for the opportunity The Times has given me over the past three years by providing a forum for my thoughts.

I thank you my readers, for letting me share them with you.

So where would we be without all of those inventions and innovations? We'd be giving the postal service more business - we'd all be writing letters, reading actual books and newspapers. Landlines, pay phones and typewriters - anyone remember them?

Sure, we could live without all of the technological advances. But who wants to?

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly. Arthur welcomes your computer questions and ideas for future columns

Computer Care: Plenty of bargains to be found shopping online

	By Arthur Glazer arthur@glazerthepctech.com POSTED: November 27, 2010 1:00 a.m. It's the time of year for friends, family and spending lots of money. Oh yeah, the economy. Well, you can still get those electronic gifts and not spend all of your hard-earned cash. Shop online this year where there are plenty of deals. A few years ago, I spent a Black Friday at an outlet mall at my wife's insistence. She usually makes good decisions, but that is something I shall not experience again - not even with a gun to my head. Instead, now I shop on my computer. I get what I want, spend less time and less money doing it. Retailers know we are careful with what little spendable cash we have in this fragile economy. With this in mind, they are presenting us with many options for discounted purchases. I have a half dozen or so favorite online retailers that I frequent year round for electronics. Recently I have seen drastic reductions in items like laptops, desktops, monitors and other related items. You can find deals on sites like newegg.com, tigerdirect.com, overstock.com, amazon.com, techbargains.com and even eBay, for a "Buy it Now," when you don't want to wait for an auction to end. An advantage to online shopping is that those sites all list consumer comments about the products and the retailer. You get to see what others thought of the laptop you're about to drop $500 on. Aside from computers and monitors, I‘ve found good prices on e-book readers, GPS devices, cell phones, printers, software and gadgets galore. The e-book readers, or Kindle-type devices, are going for about $150, some for even less. It depends on the size and type of connection. Amazon has many in the used market for less. If you want a free reader, Amazon will let you download one. Look for Free Reader for PC on their site. It also has a rotating choice of free e-books for download. GPS devices have come down in price. If you don't have on in your car yet, check them out. I found a Garmin Nuvi and a Magellan Roadmate both for about $85 online. IPads are big this year. Apple usually won't discount anything, but again, Amazon has many used models. Don't picture a beat-up, half-broken device. I've bought some "like-new" electronics from them and have had no problems at all. Like Kindles, IPads vary in price with size, whether they have just Wi-Fi or 3G as well. New ones start at about $500. Last year's phenomenon, the netbook, is still around and is even cheaper than ever. Just be aware that you get what you pay for, especially with these subcompact mini laptops. They have 8-to-10-inch screens, weak processors, low-capacity batteries, small hard drives and keyboards that don't accommodate chunky fingers. They also don't have an optical drive. That means no CD/DVD. But if you just need it for note taking at school, it may be for you. They can be found for less than $300. Alternatively, laptops or desktops can be a better deal for about the same price. They now range from $300 to $2,000 and more, but many go for less than $800. You can get an Acer, Toshiba, HP or a Dell for less than $500, with some even less than that. Some are 64-bit and now all have Windows 7 installed. As I've mentioned in the past, Dell has a refurb section on its website with a huge inventory. At the high end, for little more than $1,000 or so, you can get an 18-inch laptop with a new generation i5 or i7 Intel processor, loaded with memory and a huge hard drive. The best deal I've come across is actually from Microsoft. The folks in Redmond are currently not only discounting some versions of Office Suites, but Windows as well. You can get a Family Pack of Windows 7, good for three computers for only $149.99 from their site, and they'll throw in a free wireless Cisco router as well. Usually you can only install Windows on one system and it costs about $120 per machine. So yes, this is a great deal. They may pull it at any time so check it out soon. If you want a new computer but don't want to buy one, get this updated operating system instead. It's everything XP never was and all Vista wanted to be. It's the big brother that did well. Win 7 is a great OS with some nice enhancements and is very smart and extremely fast. Online shopping is safe as long as you are cautious. Look for the "https" in the address bar before you enter your credit card info, or call the site instead. So fire up your PC and go shopping online. Google whatever it is you're looking for and do some comparison shopping. Use cnet.com for some unbiased reviews to help you decide. Even with expedited shipping, you'll often spend less online than at the mall. Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly. Arthur welcomes your computer questions and ideas for future columns. POSTED: November 27, 2010 1:00 a.m It's the time of year for friends, family and spending lots of money.