the things I would add are as Owbist mentioned malwarebytes, and also spywareblaster, you just have to open it about once a week or so and hit update then once it gets those hit the enable all protection and that is it, it sits in the background protecting you. I do believe since this will be for a young one I would add WOT to the browser and I would put firefox on it as the browser. You also will need to run the secunia tool on it occasionally to make sure all that should be updated has been updated Secunia Online Software Inspector (OSI) That nero for linux is just the linux version of nero I would imagine they do that because they were putting out computers with windows and linux so you would select the version appropriate for your computer OS. You would use the one for windows on yours. you should have no problem downloading directly to the unit from online connection. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware (Win) - Detecting and Removing Malware SpywareBlaster WOT Here is a link that might be useful: firefox

had you gone to windows updates and got the multitude of updates you would need after using recovery material to re install windows? If not that is probably what happened it started trying to download and install all those many updates and it locked it up. You may have even needed service pack 2 and 3 with a unit that old. plus of course all your antivirus programs etc would be trying to update also. It is always best when doing that kind of recovery where you will be very very far behind in windows updates to turn off automatic updates and go manually to windows update and first get your service packs in order and be absolutely sure to reboot the computer after each service pack, then get any remaining updates. I usually suggest getting them in small batches and creating a restore point before each service pack and before each batch of updates. Should something go wrong you have a good restore point to return to.

So after much thought - we decided to talk to our daughter and let her know that we wanted to get her a laptop - but that we also have concerns about her use of technology - and that we would only do this with a contract. I'm going to be working on the contract for a while - and would welcome any ideas. So far, I know it will include that I have administrative control of the laptop - which will be used to update programs, run antivirus and antispyware - and generally ensure me that I have access (unlike her ipod which she changed her password on so I don't have access). It also includes that all technology (ipods, laptop, etc) will be in the parent's bedroom - from when it's time to get ready for bed - until after school the next day (or the next morning if there's no school). (not having it in the kitchen over night bc. she'll sneak down and get it if she's awake in the middle of the night. She won't sneak into our bedroom to get it.) This will prevent her from using it in the middle of the night (esp. tempting when her friend lives in Vietnam is is available to chat at those times) - and thinking she can have the laptop open in the bathroom while she's getting ready for bed. For now, I am not setting time limits - but will include that those could get added in the future if we think she's using it too much. The reason to not add it now is that she is using it a bit too much. BUT - that's bc. she loves her new Sims game - which is actually motivating her to do her homework as soon as she comes home. For the first time ever, I do not have to monitor her homework and keep asking her to do it (I still pay attention to what she's doing, but it's nice that the impetus to do it and stay organized is now coming from her). She's also coming out of a serious depression - and having some pretty terrific, responsible behavior - so any limits on amount of her free time spent on the computer - when she's meeting all her responsibilities - isn't as pressing for right now. She's also healing form a broken ankle - so in fairness to her, there's not as much active stuff she can do with her free time. ------------------------------- I have some questions about how to set up her computer so I have administrative control. I have that set up on my computer now - and she can use it as a guest. But if my computer is off - and restarts, she needs the password to get on. She doesn't have the password to my computer (which is how I want it). But I do want her to be able to log into her own computer without me giving her the administrator's password. Is there a way to do this? Set it up so she can start the computer and log in as a guest? Thanks. Lynn.

Yes, Google Chrome is a browser. No, you do not have to make it your default browser to use it. Just click on the icon for Chrome to open it, same as you do for IE. But you can have whichever one you want as your default and still use either one.