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Tips for Internet Newbies (and General Reminders)

50 Responses (Add) | Thursday, March 13th, 2008 at 3:41pm

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As we get older, the world wide web gets newer. We find ourselves not able to keep up with the new world because we’re still stuck spending senseless hours checking 20 emails and trying to figure out how to install a program on Vista. For those of you like me, going on 21 for the 9th year in a row, here are 5 tips to help you get through the old stuff so you can stay hip with the new.

  • Book it before you book it. Now let’s say you are in the bored surfing mood, and you come across a cool website that you like. You think you would like to go back to it. The little “favorite” button or “bookmark” button will remember it for you. That way, you don’t spend 30 minutes to an hour getting frustrated, trying to figure out the website. So just book it before you book it. If it was just a “mood” website, you can always right click and delete it later!
  • You have the “best” pop up blocker installed and are certain nothing that shouldn’t is getting through. If it does… you just hit cancel… and what the heck you’re at their site!4. So, not only does crap still get through, you also have to read it before you click it. For example some will say, “to continue to the website click ‘cancel’.” Them sneaky sons of www dot coms did it again! Don’t waste another 15 minutes of what you have left of your life playing click that pop-up!
  • The dreaded Email. You always check your email when you get online. Yesterday, even though it took you two hours, you got your email down to 0 and now it’s back up to let’s say 20 new messages. Now, you don’t want to waste another two hours checking and replying and wondering who that “Jim” is that says he knows you and has been looking for you. So, you probably didn’t know this like the “hip” kids do… but not all spam messages make it into the spam folders. Them sneaky sons of www dot coms can sure sneak them in there. Trust me, 9 times out of 10 you are not the lucky winner in a drawing, or have been selected in a special giveaway. And honey… even though your memory’s going… you don’t know Jim! I personally hit the little spam button on those emails and eventually after a couple times they go away.
  • Not that this has ever happened to me before… you find yourself in let’s say Chris’s chat room. And let’s say the topic is gadgets. Now all the “young’ns” in the channel are chatting and swapping gadget ideas, and you find yourself lost asking “hey, what is an iPod?” or “hey, what is a 3g card?” Of course, nobody answers you. They are busy thinking, “You gotta be kidding me right? They’re just messing around.” Well, here’s a tip: make Google your new best friend. When you are lost, Google will help you find your way. Taking a few minutes to google something is a lot better than looking dumb or like an old fart in chat.
  • Watch your links. You’re chatting with one of your online buddies and they send you a link to lets say rnicrosoft.com. Earlier, you had Googled some new software that just came out, and you would like to buy it. So, you click on the link, find the software and give all your info. Weeks later… your CC is maxed out! If you carefully look at the link it’s r n i c r o s o f t . c o m. The r and the n are pushed together to look like m. This is just an example. though I’m pretty sure with your protection maybe something that drastic won’t happen, but that is one way your passwords and info. can get stolen. Sometimes, you are better off to type in the link yourself that way your not wasting even more time online and off trying to get this mess resolved.

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50 Comments

Surfing

March 13th, 2008
at 5:41pm

on Vista. For those of you like me, going on 21 for the 9th year in a row, here are 5 tips to help you get through the old stuff so you can stay hip with the new. Book it before you book it. Now let’s say you ar Read the rest of this great posthere

Windows Vista Torrent

March 14th, 2008
at 12:41am

Tech Interviews MMORPG EtiquetteTips for Internet Newbies (and General Reminders)Sleep Tips How to Record Live Performances (Concerts, Plays, etc) How and Where to Find Free Software Public Relations (PR) and the Blogosphere How to Put Yourself and Friends in a Comic Strip

japanese90

March 13th, 2008
at 9:18am

first videw 1st comment and great video sorta helped me

J4gg1T

March 13th, 2008
at 12:03pm

thirty blurbfjgb years old lolol

ssolkemserB

March 13th, 2008
at 4:30pm

You are the 18954763947578394820th visitor of this site! Click here to claim!

Juuuust junk…

guest2424

March 14th, 2008
at 1:53am

I do the same thing. Google over bookmarks. Also, in addition to using google, i wrote a quick link page which includes the google search bar and all the links of the most common websites i go to, such as video sites, e-mail links, local weather, etc, infact, I might just make a video showing it and explaining. I wrote one for my friend, it is the ONLY way to use a browsers start page :) all websites start pages suck. Of course you could upload it, but local is faster.

Hunter

March 13th, 2008
at 7:23pm

And just because it says your computer is infected or is running slow doesn’t mean it is! Don’t download these things! I can’t stress this enough. Do not ever download a “registry cleaner” and talk to several people before deciding what anti-spyware/virus software to get. Also, before going off and buying an expensive piece of software like Office, check if there are open source alternatives that do the exact same thing (like OpenOffice.org). Open source software is almost always safe and free. Browse SourceForge.net if you would like to see for yourself some cool open source programs.

RenegadesTV

March 14th, 2008
at 3:18am

if u dint want to watch it why click it? G00N!

go chris!

Irockman1

March 14th, 2008
at 4:27am

Those are some very nice tips. I can think of a few people that I should show this video to. They would help them a lot, especially my father. =)

kiwibaby3p

March 14th, 2008
at 4:32am

this is nerdgirl…ty for reading my top 5 chris…i am a newbie/oldie and i enjoy your live chat. people there help me a lot, even through the “dumb, you’ve got to be kidding me” stuff. lol. e-ya later

funckyjunky

March 14th, 2008
at 5:16am

FireFox
Yahoo
Google
are the best tools !!!!

stryper2000

March 14th, 2008
at 3:54am

Another tip is before you blindly click on a link, put your cursor over the link and see what the URL really says. If it doesn’t match up then be very cautious. For example if the text says http://www.ebay.com but really says http://www.gotusucka.com when you put the cursor on the link, then don’t click it.

TxNana

March 14th, 2008
at 3:56am

These are very good tips and to the point. Thanks Chris for the one on open DNS.com I had not herd of it before so i added it to my list to check out.

Derekness22

March 14th, 2008
at 11:03am

When internet noobies ask me how to do something that is very obvious in my mind, I give them the exact same sentence ‘google is your friend, use it’.

Rat_Dot_Exe

March 14th, 2008
at 6:17pm

Great tips i wish i had these tips back when i was a “Internet Noob”

Book it before you book it is so true i hate having to look for a site i lost because i did not bookmark it

Irockman1

March 14th, 2008
at 6:21pm

These are very good tips. I know a few people that I might show these to, one of them include my father. He’s not very good at keeping himself safe, or saving time on his computer, so this may help him a bit. =)

XedLos

March 14th, 2008
at 6:43pm

Another good tip is to ask Google b4 you ask people in a chat or forum. It might be a a common question and some people online might be annoyed by you asking simple questions.

Rubiksfan

March 14th, 2008
at 7:08pm

also when there is an advertisement for a program, no matter how good, do not click ok…u can download a program that can infect your computer…also do not take surveys….they are not free! and they will spam your email….i hope this helps

blazing619

March 15th, 2008
at 2:52am

wow i hat that word

especially when they change it from Newb to Noob

it’s like i wanna kill people who say that

Dylanl321

March 14th, 2008
at 8:07pm

Also you need to know what your downloading or ask what thie download is before downloading. download.com is a good site to download viruses! so be carrful on whAT you downlaod

ohmahgaw246

March 14th, 2008
at 8:52pm

I think a pop-up/ad blocker is a very good thing for an internet newbie to have. Too many times have I watched someone who is not familiar click on all sorts of advertisements and prize giveaways, filling out their information and e-mail addresses, etc. only to get bombarded with more of the same. So on that note another good thing is good spam filtering. In my opinion if they can’t see it they can’t get fooled by it.

Also as mentioned above, hovering over a link before clicking it is a good way to be careful. Turn that Status Bar on! (Talkin’ to you Safari users, myself included.)

seibar5

March 15th, 2008
at 2:49am

lol agree with post above me. any ad you click = death for your computer or your inbox.

DNS.com works great

dimarec

March 15th, 2008
at 7:13am

Chris, this article is an art piece! Wonderful. You managed to candidly explain some of the common problems we get into when on the internet.

A tip I sometimes use to get rid of spam is using the old Yahoo! mail, I select messages from people that are not in my contacts, check all, and I uncheck those that seem relevant. It can help you a lot if you have some thousands of spam. It does not work with the new Yahoo! mail (despite several feedbacks on this…)

Ben Oberholtzer

March 15th, 2008
at 11:00am

hey chris just stopping by to say hello and I love your show.

David Mc Daid

March 15th, 2008
at 11:55am

yes make sure you don’t get struck with pishing for example you get an email from someone saying for paypal never ever give it to them any company including paypal has all your data on record and should not need to ask for it

pyper16

March 15th, 2008
at 1:08pm

good video chris thanks for the tips keep them coming

Mharm2k6

March 15th, 2008
at 2:09pm

I wish I had this guide a long time ago when I was a froob-

on the email: I don’t know why people fall for this, but anytime you’ve been selected to win the Nigerian lottery; ignore it. If someone wants you to help them “transfer $1Billion from some dead guy’s account from some MiddleEastern bank; and we’ll share 314Million with you”, some companies request that you report it to the FBI type thing (not sure what organization).

on links: if you are trying to send a link to a good friend- or something, and instead of typing something that’s 1000 characters long, use TinyURL.com.

On secure browsing from a public computer: even if you think you’ll be 100% secure browsing from something like PortableFireFox on a thumbdrive, you might not be. I have personal experience- bought a thumbdrive that said it was “100% secure for browsing”: buncha passwords and encrypted stuff, and while using it on an unsecured computer (library) a buddy of mine was still able to access the stuff on a network= he’s a library tech, and we were testing it.
*although I am sure some out there are fool-proof, some are not!

Well, that’s my 4.5 cents worth.

idiotonuni

March 15th, 2008
at 3:53pm

Well I love how this is written to old people. I like the reference to youngins. This is a pretty useful post for new internet/computer users. I only see two problems with it:
1) Most browsers now have pop up blockers built in so they might get confused and say “I got one of those pop up blocker things” and they may try to download one and get some spyware.
2)You never gave a link to Google. If they are new to the internet they might wonder where to find Google. They could be searching all through the start menu for something that says Google. If you can’t find Google (tho unlikely) here’s a link: http://www.google.com/

Jsonic

March 15th, 2008
at 4:37pm

I don’t really consider myself a noob to the internet, I’ve been following it reasonably well since the days of dial up. However, I am a noob at quite a few other things, like programming code or any programing language for that matter. I know some fractured BASIC, and how to writes scripts for GlovePIE. The only thing I can do well that even remotely resembles programing is event programing in MultiMedia Fusion 2 Dev, witch is the best of the latest version of the MMF software line.

Gary (Tuxedojericho)

March 15th, 2008
at 4:44pm

Another tip, and this one people need to be followed.

Don’t continue to do an action if somone ask you to stop. Sometime moderaters are not there to offically say “Dont do that,,,”

Many times, on the chat for the stream, people start to flood, and get the , and annyone us with the flooding the bots.

So, when I (TuxedoJericho) say dont so it.. LISTWEN.

chichi

March 15th, 2008
at 4:48pm

I use my CA anti virus program to check if a link is legit. It gives me information such as the owner of the website and where the server is located. So far I haven’t had any problems.

JCgeekGirl

March 15th, 2008
at 4:50pm

Another tip –

Scams are all around you. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Don’t take that cashier’s check to the bank assuming it’s good (my ex and his girlfriend just did this).

Don’t be the person that says “wow, I can make $x if I do this” and agree to some strange email you get out of nowhere. Check the site you are on, contact the BBB or your local Consumer Protection office.

Craig_B

March 15th, 2008
at 4:50pm

One thing that many inexperienced internet users seem to think is that “free” actually means just that. Keep in mind, that many “free” utilities that you may find on the net, are nothing more than a scam. They might be loaded with adware, spyware or even a virus or two. The authirs of these programs make their money by selling information that they collect about you and they get much of that information from that little “free program”

KrnSidez

March 15th, 2008
at 4:50pm

I use all of these tips every day. i always bookmark, and i love my spam filter in Gmail. it sorts all of my junk, or mail from my friends that owe me $$$. I need to get a better pop up blocker though.

~~~~Google

I63G

March 15th, 2008
at 4:53pm

I think that one of the most important thing that and Internet newbie can do, is perhaps take classes at a local computer store to learn more about safety and security. It is also important that you learn about software used for protection on the Internet, such as pop-up blockers, phishing filters, and other software that has been designed to keep you safe. Also, NEVER click on a site if you think that it could potentially be harmful. If you think that it may be harmful, then it most likely is.

luke403

March 15th, 2008
at 5:40pm

I am still kinda of a newb since I am only 14. I am safe on the internet, however my sister isn’t. She likes to click on the little ad games like press the button to race to the finish line. It really gets on my nerves when she goes and installs Zwinky and smiley Central, and I end up getting a load of spyware. So overall you don’t have to be safe when just surfing the web but also when downloading off the web.

Ruth Avigliano

March 15th, 2008
at 9:26pm

Noob, froob, whatevuh! Still strugglin, learnin and thankin the good Lord for the Chris Pirillo’s out there takin care of greyin (strugglin with computers) America. Mucho gracias amigo!

BloodlustBlackout

March 16th, 2008
at 4:53am

haha, i bet that google in the chatroom was well proud. :)

rml695

March 16th, 2008
at 7:06am

In addition to using Google to find things what’s the word on Wikipedia? I use it all the time concerning gizmos, and on Apple it’s pretty darn accurate.

Dave

March 16th, 2008
at 11:02pm

Love the show chris. just recently started watching it and im addicted

skrstov

March 18th, 2008
at 11:32pm

Bad-click advice:
Make the status bar on the browser viewable. That is useful – you just have to get the pointer over the link and you can see in the status bar where it leads.

P3roZD3roGTX

May 12th, 2008
at 6:41am

when i go play some games on the net on vista wery 2 or 3 min in midel of the game it stops for 2-3 sec and rearly disconects when i surf ewrything is fine it only hapens in games if i play them online its not then my PC is weak my PC is very strong intel core quadro 2.41ghz 3GB of ram EN8800GTX 768 mb adn i hawe vista and XP instaled! on XP my pc sometimes laggs totaly i dont mkean liek slow even sound sometimes laggs on vista its beter but im hawing problems games on net!¨

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