Here are some links you may find helpful:

Computers and Technology Links

Annoyances.org--"The most complete collection of information assembled for and by actual users of Microsoft Windows."
Best Tech Sites--some of the best links to places on the web to get technical information about computers
Bootdisk.Com--find information on creating BootDisks, PC Support and Essential Utilities.
Computer Training Tutorials
Computing.net--in addition to the many technical support forums, you will find Howtos and instructions for novices
CNET.com
Connection Keeper--Connection Keeper prevents your Internet connection from appearing idle or inactive
The Elder Geek--find answers to your Windows XP questions and problems here
"Every File Format in the World"--from Whatis.com
Extreme Tech--Deep technology content for the IT community
Fast n Fair Computer Repair --New Computer Repair shop in Dixon
Google Groups--a good place to find answers to your computer questions
Internet Explorer 7 help--Sandi Hardmeier, a Microsoft MVP
Kim Komando--Check out this Web site to see why Kim Komando is so popular with many of our SCUG members
Langa List--home of the LangaList ezines/newsletters
Mark Salloway's WindowXP Resource Center
Microsoft Mindshare--Mindshare is a division of Microsoft dedicated to supporting user groups throughout the world.
Microsoft TechNet Online
Mr. Ed's Simple E-Mail Bracket (>)& Message Board Reply Indentation (:) Stripper v3.0
MrExcel.com--Tips and Solutions for Excel
Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows--Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows is dedicated to providing all of the information you need to evaluate Microsoft's upcoming Windows platform technologies.
PC Magazine
PCWorld.Com
refdesk.com--"The single best source for facts on the Net."
Sysinternals Freeware--provides you with advanced utilities, technical information, and source code related to Windows
Tech Support Guy--free tech support from volunteers/forums
TweakXP.com--this site is dedicated to improving and customizing Microsoft Windows XP
Windows Startup Online Search --let this handy online directory help you identify all those programs that run on your computer when it starts
Windows Support Center (AumHa.org)
Windows VISTA Help and How-To
WinGuides Network--provides technical resources and support for tweaking, managing and securing the Windows operating system using the registry, scripting and security
WinPlanet--Windows Software Reviews and Downloads
Woody's Watch--all about Windows and Microsoft Office.  Sign up for one of the free newsletters (or all 6!).  Check out the Archives for lots of interesting information.

[back to the top]

Internet Guides

Digital Librarian: a librarian's choice of the best of the Web
Especially for Children and Their Parents -- from the American Library Association
Essential Links: Portal to the Internet
Finding Information on the Internet: A Tutorial--from UC Berkeley Library
Hotsheet.com--"the easy way to the best of the web"
Internet for Beginners--from About.com
Learn the Net.com
The Living Internet--updated weekly, all about the Internet
Search Engine Colossus--an International Directory of Search Engines
Search Engine Showdown--the User's Guide to Web Searching

[back to the top]

Internet Search Tools

AlltheWeb -- Crawler/Search Engine.  This site's aim is to index the entire Web.
AltaVista -- Crawler/Search Engine.  Uses directories in addition to crawler-powered searches to bring back relevant responses.
Ask-- Formerly Ask Jeeves.   Ask uses the ExpertRank algorithm to provide relevant search results by identifying the most authoritative sites on the Web. "With Ask search technology, it's not just about who's biggest: it's about who's best. "
Cuil--Pronounced "cool." Launched in July 2008, it claims to be the world's biggest search engine. "Cuil searches more pages on the Web than anyone else—three times as many as Google and ten times as many as Microsoft....Rather than rely on superficial popularity metrics, Cuil searches for and ranks pages based on their content and relevance." According to their website: "Cuil is an old Irish word for knowledge. For knowledge, ask Cuil."
Google -- Crawler/Search Engine.  One of the largest search engines on the Internet, Google has become the pre-eminent Web search engine.  Still our current favorite.
Google Services--Use one of Google's many services to find what you're looking for on the Web
Google's Special Web Search Features--check out this page for a list of Google's many advanced search features
Live Search--Live Search (formerly Windows Live Search and MSN Search) is the name of Microsoft's web search engine, designed to compete with the industry leaders Google and Yahoo!. Live Search is accessible through Microsoft's Live.com and MSN.com web portal.
Open Directory --Subject Directory.  Uses volunteers to create the largest human reviewed directory on the Web.  Their slogan:  "HUMANS do it better."
Yahoo! -- Subject Directory.  The oldest major directory and one of the Internet's most popular search sites.  Yahoo uses human editors to index the Internet.    Yahoo has over 1 million sites listed.  It now uses the search engine Google as its default search service.
Dogpile -- Meta-Search Site.  Searches 26 major search sites, including Usenet newsgroups and ftp sites.
Ixquick -- Meta-Search Site.  Searches 14 search engines and directories and reports the results using its "star rating" system, only reporting  top ten results from each search engine.
MetaCrawler -- Meta-Search Site.  Sends your query to several search engines, collates the responses, removes duplicates, ranks them, and returns the results.
Internet Search Engines -- Internet search engines are categorized by topic in this searchable directory of general and specialty search engines.
Search Engine Colossus -- An International Directory of Search Engines.
Soople--let Soople help you use Google's advanced search features

[back to the top]

AdobeReader--download free Adobe Reader software to view, print, and search Adobe PDF files.
Ad-Aware Personal--Download Ad-Aware 2007 FREE spyware scan and removal tool from Lavasoft.  Okay to use with Microsoft's Windows Defender and Spybot Search & Destroy to help keep your computer free from adware and spyware.
AVG Anti Virus:  AVG Free Edition--Protect your computer from viruses with AVG's Free anti virus software.  "AVG Free Edition is for private, non-commercial, single-home computer use only."
IrfanView--This is a very easy to use FREE graphics program.  "IrfanView is a very fast, small, compact and innovative FREEWARE (for non-commercial use) graphic viewer for Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003."
Mailwasher--"The Reliable Free Spam Blocker."  "Use this powerful anti spam software, a reliable spam blocker, that will effectively stop email spam. Discover the safe way to stop unwanted e-mails before they get to your computer."
MajorGeeks.com--Great Site--Download Freeware and Shareware Computer Utilities
Mozilla Firefox--try this browser as an alternative to Internet Explorer.  Fans say it's faster and safer than IE.
OpenOffice.org--"OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute."
Password checker--Use this Microsoft Web site to test the strength of your passwords.
Picasa--A FREE graphics program from Google.  "Picasa is software that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the pictures on your PC."
Spybot Search & Destroy--Use with Ad-Aware Personal and  Microsoft's Windows Defender to help keep your computer free from adware and spyware.
Thunderbird--"Thunderbird delivers. Enjoy safe, fast, and easy email, with intelligent spam filters, quick message search, and customizable views. Brought to you by Mozilla, Thunderbird makes email better."
VirusTotal.com--Virustotal is a service that analyzes suspicious files and facilitates the quick detection of viruses, worms, trojans, and all kinds of malware detected by antivirus engines. Or download their VirusTotalUploader tool.  Use this small tool for sending samples to VirusTotal. Once installed, you'll have the 'Send to -> VirusTotal' option in the Windows contextual menu when you right-click on a file. Once the file transfer is done, you'll get the reply through the web interface using your browser.
Windows Defender--Microsoft's FREE Antispyware program.  This program is getting good press in the computer magazines.  Okay to use with Ad-Aware and Spybot Search & Destroy to help keep your computer free from adware and spyware.
ZoneAlarm--Download a FREE basic firewall for non-business use only.

[back to the top]

Computer Security

EULAlyzer Personal--Download this free tool to analyze license agreements in seconds.  It provides a detailed listing of potentially interesting words and phrases. Discover if the software you're about to install displays pop-up ads, transmits personally identifiable information, uses unique identifiers to track you, or much much more."
Ewido Anti-Malware--Note:  "This setup contains the free as well as the paid version of ewido anti-malware. After the installation, a free 14-day trial version containing all the extensions of the full version will be activated. At the end of the trial, these extensions will be deactivated and the program will turn into a feature-limited freeware version. The purchased license code can be entered at any time."
FirePhish - Firefox Anti-phishing Toolbar--"FirePhish is a cross-platform anti-phishing toolbar for Firefox that utilizes the Open Phishing Database to provide the user with information and tools to protect against phishing attacks. FirePhish is part of The Open Phishing Database project."
Microsoft Security at Home--this site is full a valuable information on how to protect your computer, yourself and your family online.
Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool--"This tool checks your computer for infection by specific, prevalent malicious software (including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom) and helps to remove the infection if it is found. Microsoft will release an updated version of this tool on the second Tuesday of each month."
Netcraft Anti-phishing toolbar--Download Netcraft's anti-phishing toolbar.  It works with both IE and Firefox.  System requirements: Internet Explorer on Windows 2000/XP or Firefox 1.0 or later.
Password checker--Use this Microsoft Web site to test the strength of your passwords.
SecurityStats.Com Password Strength Meter--use this handy tool to help you create a "good" password.
Shields Up!!--"The Internet's quickest, most popular, reliable and trusted, FREE Internet security checkup and information service."
Spyware Warrior List of Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites--"Rogue/Suspect" means that these products are of unknown, questionable, or dubious value as anti-spyware protection. Check this site to see if a supposedly protective product is legitimate.  Also refer to the list of Trustworthy Anti-Spyware Products also found on this site.
VirusTotal.com--Virustotal is a service that analyzes suspicious files and facilitates the quick detection of viruses, worms, trojans, and all kinds of malware detected by antivirus engines. Or download their VirusTotalUploader tool.  Use this small tool for sending samples to VirusTotal. Once installed, you'll have the 'Send to -> VirusTotal' option in the Windows contextual menu when you right-click on a file. Once the file transfer is done, you'll get the reply through the web interface using your browser.
Windows Live OneCare safety scanner--FREE online tool for PC health and safety.  It checks for and remove viruses and spyware, improves your PC's performance, and gets rid of junk on your hard disk.

[back to the top]

Recycling Resources

Earth 911--locate recycle centers near you to recycle electronic equipment and more
How to Reduce Electronics Waste--basic information from the EPA
myGreenElectronics!--CEA's (Consumer Electronics Association) site featuring ZIP code lookup for consumers who want to recycle electronic equipment in the US and Canada
Recycle Your Old Computer and Other Electronic Products--tips from the EPA

[back to the top]

Odds and Ends

Dixon Public Library's Web Links Page--Lots of useful links.
Identity Theft Resource Center
Sterling-Rock Falls Historical Society--SCUG member Jerry Glawe is the Web master of this new interesting local site.  Check it out.
StumbleUpon--According to Wikipedia:  "StumbleUpon is a commercial web discovery service which integrates peer-to-peer and social networking principles with one-click blogging. The Toolbar system automates the collection, distribution and review of web content within an intuitive social framework, providing users with a browsing experience which resembles "channel-surfing" the web."
Wikipedia--"Begun in 2001, Wikipedia has rapidly grown into the largest reference website on the Internet. The content of Wikipedia is free, written collaboratively by people from all around the world. This website is a wiki, which means that anyone with access to an Internet-connected computer can edit, correct, or improve information throughout the encyclopedia, simply by clicking the edit this page link (with a few minor exceptions such as protected articles)."

[back to the top]