Millions of people use the Internet every day and most don’t have any clue how it actually works. Back in the day when AOL was in its prime some people believed AOL was the Internet, and I’ve even heard people refer to the Internet as that little blue “e” icon.

Now days most people probably realize there is much more to the Internet than just AOL, but many still don’t realize how many tools actually exist for interacting with the Internet, or web, and how important Web browser really is.

If you’re not technical it’s not easy to understand, in fact it can actually be extremely complicated. Viruses, spyware, pop-ups and spam mail don’t make things any easier. For those that would like to understand the Web and web browsers a little better, the Google Chrome team has created the ”20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web” online book. The book tries to answer questions like:

How do browsers and the web actually work? What is HTML5—or HTML, for that matter? What do terms like “cookies” or “cloud computing” even mean? More practically, how can we keep ourselves safe from security threats like viruses when we’re online?

It does a nice job answering some of these questions. Some portions will be a little confusing for a novice, but it’s packed full of good information. I’m glad it touches on some really important topics like  how to make sure you’re on a secure site before placing an online order, how to tell if you’re actually on the site you think you are, and why keeping your software up to date is important. Trying to explain the Internet is not an easy but this book will surely make things a little easier.

link: “20 Things I Learned About Browsers and the Web“
Official Google post: “Curious Guide to Browsers and the Web“

This little device called looxcie is both a Bluetooth headset and a camcorder that can be used simultaneously. It cost about $200 but the slickest part about it, press the little button and you can instantly share the last 30 seconds of video on Youtube, Facebook or other social media site using your smart phone.

It’s kind of neat, check out more details on TechCrunch or the Looxcie website. There are plenty of uses for something like this but is it worth $200 to you?

Every day many people fall victim to email scams. Email scams come in many forms and could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some are so intricate that even experts can fall pray.

Most email providers like Comcast, Gmail and Hotmail have protections in place that can automatically detect and alert you to scams they discover. With the constantly changing tactics of scammers however, a few emails are bound to slip through the cracks.

I suggest you take a few moments and familiarizer yourself with some of the most common scams. The next time one slips through the cracks you’ll have a better chance of recognizing it and protecting yourself!

The folks over at MakeUseOf.com have an excellent article on the “Top 5 Current Email Scams“.
Notice the red warning bar in a few of the screen shots. For those of you have have never seen it this is an example of how email providers are alerting their customers.

In the market for a new vehicle? Be sure to visit TrueCar first! TrueCar.com, recently out of beta, offers the ability to find out what others are really paying for their new cars.

The service is free and it’s quite simple. Select the make and model and right off the bat your presented with a list of styles (i.e. 4dr sedan, 2dr coupe) and the sticker price for each. Click on the model that matches what you have in mind and you’ll see a list of options followed by the invoice and sticker prices. Selecting the desired options you receive the real benefit, a full TrueCar Price Report.

Here’s a sample of whats included for a 2009 Ford Fusion with the options I selected:

As noted in the top right, this report is based on 919 vehicles purchased. The average price paid is $27,790 with the actual dealer cost being $26,412. And noted at the bottom, For Fusion prices have been trending downward by 0.46% since October 26th.

Heading to the dealer with information like this in had makes the negotation process a whole lot simpler and leaves you more relaxed.

link: TrueCar
TrueCar’s Blog: ”The Truth” – more information and stories about the auto market.
similar service: Edmunds “True Marked Value“

April 1st is generally the biggest day for new viruses to be released, this year could be worse than normal. A virus called Conficker-C is said to be out in multiple forms on workstations across the world. Make sure your virus programs and firewalls are up to date and that you have all critical Microsoft updates applied.

The experts are saying it is supposedly immune to Anti-Virus software so you should be extra careful opening emails in the next week or two. If you don’t know who the email is from don’t open it. Even if you do know the sender you should be extra careful and not open any attachments unless you were expecting it. Be leery of all emails, the virus could send emails to you from people you know if they are infected. The virus is sitting on workstations across the world and scheduled to check in every now and then for instructions. April 1st is one of these days.

Hopefully the virus vendors and/or Microsoft will have a patch for Conficker-C, fix or a tool to clean it soon.

You’ll probably hear more about it on the news so keep your eyes open.

Social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace are so common it seems like people everywhere have joined. These sites are great for keeping in touch with current friends and family, reconnecting with old friends and even meeting new friends and professional contacts. But if you’re not careful these sites can turn into your worst nightmare!

Many people don’t realize how public their social networking activity can actually be. Every photo, status update, hobby and personal piece of information you or others post could be open for anyone to read. If you’re not careful that photo of you binge drinking or getting sick at last weekends party could cost you your job!

Employers frequently use search engines and social networking sites to assist with screening possible future employees and current employees. Luckily the social networking sites are getting better at providing security and privacy settings that give you some control on what others see … use them, and SOON!

Facebook and Myspace both have security and privacy settings that can get quite granular and allow you to control every aspect of who can see which parts of your profile. It’s definitely worth taking an hour or so to go through all of the available settings to make sure your information can only be viewed by the people you want to see it.

Stay tuned, I am currently working on an article to help you understand the security and privacy controls on Facebook. I’ll explain some areas that can be a little confusing and provide suggestions for managing different types of contacts individually (i.e. professional vs friends). I’ll provided some examples of how my account is set up and I’ll also highlight areas you want to be sure tol locked down!

I’ll update this post with a link once it’s complete but you can also keep your eye out buy subscribing to the RSS feed in your favorite reader or through email using the form at the top right corner of any page.