Using a
computer to access Christian resources &
information on the Internet is a wonderful way to
spread the Good News of Jesus Christ!
But
there are many bad and nasty things to take over
& make your PC sick. The easiest way to keep a
PC safe is to buy an Apple MacIntosh computer.
But
if you want to use a Windows machine - please take
the time and read my tips below.
Val Haring, Church Webmaster.
I thank God for the opportunity to use my computer
skills to glorify Him!
Tip 1: The
most important thing you need to do is to keep your
computer safe when you are connected to the Internet.
There are so many ways someone can use your computer
from stealing your identity, using your email address
to send nasty viruses or to just steal your bandwith
connection, just to name a few. You need to maintain
and update your computer system just as you need to
take your car for checkups and oil changes. Use my
checklist by clicking on this link - Computer
Checklist.
Tip 2:
The next important thing to understand that knowledge is
power. You can use your computer for so many different
things - that it would be almost impossible for me to
know it all or to fit everything on one page for you.
However - there is an excellent website that provides a
starting base for you. Click on this link to see what I
mean - Newbie.org.
Tip 3:
There are many free things on the
Internet, however there may be a catch involved. There
are many programmers who want just to write good free
programs and provide an alternate option to us. Check
out the open source website for more info - click on
this link - OpenSource.org.
Tip 4:
Google is one of the fastest developers of free online
tools. One of these options is a free online email
account with an automatic spam filter. Also instead of
using folders to store your emails, you can use a key
word or a "tag" to save and organize your emails. You
can use more than one "tag" and attach it to the same
email, so you don't have to remember which folder you
put your emails. You are also given quite a large amount
of storage space to store these emails. Click on this to
sign up for a free account today. - Gmail.
Tip 5:
When you use the Internet and find
a website that you would like to visit again, you can
bookmark or save it to favorites, depending on how you
connect to the Internet. However this only saves it on
the computer you are using at the time. What if you
were at work or the library or a friend's house and
you wanted to go to one of those websites? Instead of
using bookmarks or favorites, you can actually do this
online at this free Google website. Click on this link
to get started - Google Bookmarks.
Tip 6:
You may have a digital camera. You can load and save all
those wonderful pictures you took on your computer. But
what if you wanted to share those pictures with friends
and relatives? You can either invite everyone to your
house or share them online for free. Click on this link
to get started - Google Photos.
Tip 7:
If you have anything you would
like to buy or sell - Ebay can help you out. They have
lots of information on how to use their site. I
suggest you print out all the information and put it
in a notebook for future use. Click on this link to
get started - Ebay.
Tip 8: With all of these things
that you are going to be doing with your computer, you
won't have time to read the newspaper. So what do you
do? Do what I did - sign up for a free online service
where you can subscribe to free RSS feeds from different
websites. This is a summary update of headlines on any
subject you want whether it would be news, sports, or
shoppping deals. Click on this link to get started - bloglines.
Now the trick is my personal
invitation to come and talk about computers with me
this Sunday! I will be happy try and answer your
questions at that time.
Address:
