Continuing from last week’s article, I’ve noticed that without proper education, users and their computers are just accidents waiting to happen.

If a user cannot correctly answer the following questions, then I guarantee you that their computer will eventually become a mess and a danger to others.

1. What is Microsoft Windows?

2. What is Windows Explorer? Why is it important?

3. What is a file? What is a folder?

4. How do you make a new folder? How do you rename a file?

5. What browser do you use (you’d be surprised how many people answer, “Duh, Windows?”)

6. What is a browser? What does “WWW” stand for?

7. What is a network? What is the Internet?

8. How can you tell when your computer is “on the Internet?”

9. What is a toolbar? What are help files? What are preferences, options and settings?

10. What is a virus? What is spyware? Why are these things bad?

Many Internet nasties find their way into computers because of bad user behavior. I hear this line all of the time: “Well, something popped up and I didn’t know what it meant, so, I clicked on it and now nothing works right.”

The general rule of Internet safety is, “be suspicious of everything.” If you don’t know what something is, don’t click. With that in mind, here’s a list of “don’ts” that covers some things that users do which bring viruses, trojans, spyware and rootkits into their machines.

• Do not use Internet Explorer for anything other than Windows Update. Use Mozilla Firefox or Opera for your general Web site browsing.