Let's face it, our kids are addicted to technology like never before.  Computers are a way of life for them.  It's how they get they music, videos, pictures, stay in touch with friends, play games and just about everything else.

Kids are fearless and will always act first and worry about the consequences later.  And that includes their computer habits. Downloading programs or games without understanding the fine print that goes along with these types of activities.

Alot of "free" computer downloads are loaded with a ton of bad or just plain annoying junk.  So here are a few things you can do to help ease your computer trouble down the road without  cutting your kids off from the family computer.

• Educate them about the potential pitfalls of free downloads - remember the old saying, "there's no such thing as a free lunch", well it's true in the computer age.  A program is free because someone is paying the developer to add their spyware/adware into the free download and then getting it on your computer.
• Make sure you antivirus software is up to date and is setup to scan in real time.  As your kids browse or get email, these antivirus programs will scan the webpage or email for these piggyback programs and warn you.
• If you don't have antivirus software on your computer, stop right where you are,  and make a small investment to get your self protected.  Better to spend about fifty bucks of software, than a couple of hundred later on cleaning you computer up.
• Monitor your kids online activity.  There are several software titles that will let you know what they're doing, who they're chatting with and where they've been. Remember, this are just ways to help protect them from many online threats and people looking to prey on children.
• If you need to, get professional help getting your computer protected.  Professional computer technicians can provide you with several options to help keep your computer and your family safe and it doesn't cost as much as you might think.

Online computer use should be fun, informative and safe.  Don't allow the bad elements online keep you and your family from enjoying the internet.  Find a professional computer technician to help you stay protected and your computer will perform better, you'll have peace of mind and save alot of money in the long run.

As I mentioned before, it's the only sure way that your computer won't be damaged in anyway by surges or outages.  But hold on...

There are really a couple of things at play here with regard to computers and storms.

First, if your computers shuts down and restarts due to surges or brown outs, there may be minor problems developing over time.  But that's no different that when your pc locks up and you have to shut down and restart by holding the power button or unplugging the computer.

The other thing, which I personally experienced, is a direct or close to direct lightning strike to your property.  At that point it doesn't really matter what type of surge protector you have or even a backup power supply. Very few, except those ones the big dollar corporations can afford will stop this type of hit from potentially damaging you computer system, not to mention all other electronics in you home or business.

What are the chances of taking a direct lightning hit?

I was always told don't stand under trees and wait on the bath until the storm passes.  Back in 2005 I was doing neither of these and my house took a direct lightning hit that melted the cable box outside my home and traveled through my house systematically taking out just about every electronic device including literally blowing up my computer.  We're talking smoke and fire.  I was left with a very nice paper weight afterwards. 

Now I had this connected to a very good computer surge protector, but it was no match for the force of a direct hit.  Yeah, alot of damage was done, but to this day I pretty much always leave my computers plugged in and on.  I figure what are the chance of taking a direct hit once let alone twice.

If I do, it's time to go buy my lottery tickets because the odd are changing for me.  And if you have a laptop, you in better shape.  Get it fully charged, optimize your power settings then just unplug it and run off your battery for awhile.

The bottom line is this, it just risk tolerance.  We get hit by these storm quite often, and most people and businesses keep functioning just fine. Between your power breakers and your surge protectors most of you are going to be just fine.

If it gets really intense then play it safe and just do a proper controlled shut down, and if you really are worried, unplug your computer until this settle down.

Ok, some of you enjoyed a long holiday weekend and now get back to work and after settling in at your desk you realize something is wrong with your computer.

How can that be?  You turned it off before you left for the weekend, but something is not right.  It's either storm related or just a coincidence that something is wrong.  Bottom line, your stuck!

Sometimes storms cause power outages or surges and these can cause minor or major problems for your computer, even if it's off.  One of the most common issues is a beeping noise when you turn on your computer that's leaves you looking at a black screen.

This is a fairly simple fix that requires reseating the memory.  That's means opening the pc tower and taking the memory out and putting it back in.  Of course there's a right way and wrong way to do this and only a qualified computer repair technician should handle this issue.

As an added measure, a diagnostic should be performed to insure your computer wasn't damaged in any other way.  This includes running a memory test among other things.

The only real way to protect your computer during a storm is to use a backup power supply or better yet unplug it from your wall outlet until the storm passes.