The cloud is a network of computers on the Internet—a “cloud” of computers—on which data, including yours, can be stored. When you check your email or the news, or pay bills or play a game online, you’re often accessing the...

Using a firewall is like locking the front door to your house—it helps keep intruders (in this case, hackers and malicious software ) from getting in. Windows Firewall is included in Windows and is turned on by default. If you see a warning that...

Knowing when to trust a website depends in part on who publishes it, what information they want, and what you want from the site. Here are five reasons to think twice before sharing information with a website. 1. The site asks for personal information...

The first thing you need to know: Support for Windows XP ends on April 8, 2014. You can get solutions to your Windows XP security issues now, but not for too much longer. If you’re still using Windows XP, you’re missing out on all kinds of...

The easiest way to get security updates automatically is to go to the Microsoft Update website and make sure that you have automatic updating turned on. Microsoft Update provides very important updates for performance and security. If you have automatic...

Microsoft releases security updates on the second Tuesday of every month. Skip the details and go to Microsoft Update to download the latest updates. This bulletin announces the release of security updates for Windows, Internet Explorer, and other...

As a parent or caregiver, you probably needed only one trip to the playground to realize that children can have radically different styles of play. Just as there’s no “one size fits all” approach to helping children navigate the jungle...

Today, the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) posted details about the August security updates . If you have automatic updating turned on, most of these updates will download and install on their own. Sometimes you may need to provide input...

Tom asks: I’m getting messages from Microsoft about my email account. The messages say that my account is blocked and I can only unblock it with a credit card number. Is this legit? No, these messages sound like a phishing scam , a type of...