<p>Does your child have a compurter for homework? It looks like we need to buy a laptop for our d</p>
<p>Any suggestions for good ones. And how do you keep it from getting a virus on the college network.</p>
<p>I know about anti-virus software, but I don't know how to make sure that the software has all the updates before it is connected to the network. Is this the correct forum for this question?</p>
<p>There are several ways to look for laptop computers. You can check a recent issue of Consumer reports which rated laptops. You can go to cnet.com where there are also different comparisons made of laptop models. Some colleges offer particular deals on laptops due to their partnership with computer companies like Dell. The advantage of buying through the college is the college usually will service the computers right on campus. This sure beats having to mail or otherwise ship your computer back to the manufacturer or to the store you bought it from. Colleges often hand out anti-virus software at the beginning of the semester to students before they go on the college network to make sure that the virus protection is up to date.</p>
<p>I highly recommend an Apple iBook 12 inch. No virus, adware, or spyware concerns and a very stable and modern operating system that is remarkably easy to use. It has built-in WiFi & Bluetooth wireless and comes with USB 2.0 & Firewire ports as well as video out. It also comes standard with optical drives that play DVD's and burns CD's. It comes with 512 MB RAM, a 40 GB hard drive standard, and has its own 32 MB Graphics card (many inexpensive laptops share graphic processing with the computer). The education price is $949. You can purchase the Microsoft Office student version for $139.00. All other applications required are included in the machine (mail, web browser, iMovie, iDVD, iPhoto, Garage Band, disk utilities, etc.).</p>
<p>Because of virus concerns I got my sons iBooks. I had used Dell's (running Windows 98 then XP) and other similar machines for years. After occasionally using there machines, I was so impressed, I switched to a PowerBook myself. What a difference!</p>
<p>My D has had her own laptop since she was a freshman in HS. You need to balance what you can pay vs. size/memory/bells and whistles (built in CD-rom drive vs. docking station, etc). She is currently using my old IBM Thinkpad X40...weighs <4# but does not have a built-in CD or DVD drive (uses a docking station). In our house it doesn't matter since we are wi-fi and all software work is done over our in-home network. Definitely purchase anti-virus software (such as Norton, etc.) and put it on scheduled scans.You can also set it to virus scan any new files brought to the computer.</p>
<p>Mosts schools have free anti-virus for all students. It's in their best interest to keep our kids virus-free too!! So I wouldn't buy Norton or McAfee until checking. My daughter's school has free McAfee and it is mandatory that all computers on the network use it or something comparable.</p>
<p>This is true where I work (a major state U), too, caromom. Most other software can be bought from the university bookstore very cheaply as part of a site license...you download it from a U website.</p>
<p>As mentioned above, the best way to ensure one won't get a virus is to use the Mac OS X operating system. Of the last 100 serious virus infections there were 0 that infected OS X. Another study found that new out of the box Internet connected machines were infected at a rate of 9 viruses an hour with over 300 attempts to attack the computer (Mac & PC) per hour. No virus was successfully installed on a machine running Mac OS X.</p>
<p>My son ( a freshman ) has a Thinkpad X41 TABLET pc. This enables him to take and keep all his class notes on the computer in his own handwring. This is especially handy for math classes. He backs up the days work nightly. He is 100% paperless, all his notes are organized, can be converted to text instantly and are easily shared. At least that is the plan, we'll see. If tablets are half as good as the manufacturers claim they are I expect that everyone will be using them very soon.</p>
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Another study found that new out of the box Internet connected machines were infected at a rate of 9 viruses an hour
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<p>That study was pure hogwash. 9 installed viruses per hour? 216 installed viruses per day? 1512 installed viruses per week? 6000+ installed viruses per month? 78,000 installed viruses per year? And, yet daily update McAfee hasn't seen a single virus on my Windows computer in the last year? </p>
<p>I don't think so.</p>
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with over 300 attempts to attack the computer (Mac & PC) per hour.
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<p>Very misleading. I've run firewall software that tracks those things. The software counts all kinds of network broadcast requests. For example, any time we fire up a cable modem connection, our computers broadcast an IP request searching for the cable modem providers' DNS servers and other "pings" to confirm a dynamic IP number. Those "pings" are "attacking" all the computers on the network node under such a misleading definition of "attacks".</p>
<p>Even of the potentially malicious broadcast attacks, the vast majority are searching for hosts with specific atypical port vulnerabilities. In several years of running this tracking software on a cable modem connection, I've never seen an "attack" that was even remotely of concern.</p>
<p>The risk of virus infection is pretty much zero as long as you subscribe to the automatic update service of a major virus protection scheme like McAfee. Most college networks provide these automatic updates under a site license and won't even let a student computer log onto the network without updated virus software.</p>
<p>We've never owned an Apple machine, have 9 computers networked in our home, and the only machine that ever encountered a virus was the Thinkpad used by S#2 who had been playing games at a variety of questionable online sites after having turned off his firewall and virus protection code ("... they were getting in the way of the downloads, Mom!" Um, well... DUH!).</p>
<p>If you're diligent and use appropriate protection software, and use common sense about what links to click on where (and preferably use a non-Microsoft email program and browser), you probably won't have any problems.</p>