Purchasing a used or refurbished laptop on eBay is fun and exciting. A laptop that’s a few months to a couple years old will serve you just as well as a new machine and it’ll save you a lot of money. If you don’t think you will need all the bells and whistles of a brand new laptop, buying a used laptop on eBay makes a lot of sense. Ebay has computer resellers who buy used laptops and fix them up and there are also lots of ordinary people looking to sell their laptops because they’re moving on to something newer.

I recently purchased a laptop on eBay for under $300.00. The seller was offering a used Pentium 4 Dell Latitude with Windows XP and Office applications installed. This laptop had 512 MB of RAM and also included a 802.11g wireless built in.

When searching eBay, look for sellers who have at least 98% positive feedback. Do not be tempted to buy systems just because they’re cheap. Anything below Pentium 4 is should be avoided, as Pentium 4 laptops can already be found for a great price on eBay.

Next consider minimum memory configuration. I highly recommend 512 Mb as your minimum memory configuration and of course more memory is better. Next, be sure to purchase a laptop with the operating system (OS) installed. Look for Windows Windows XP or Vista.

Now, start to compare laptops for screen size. I recommend a 14 inch screen size. Many people are excited by the larger screened laptops, but fail to fully understand the impact of resolutions. Some laptops with large screens are set at very high resolutions, making them difficult to read without eye strain and therefore are more difficult to work on than laptops with smaller screens. A 14 inch screen set at 1024×768 resolution is very good to work on. Avoiding larger screens with higher resolutions can save a lot of money.

Finally, there are networking considerations. It does not make sense to purchase any laptop without WiFi wireless networking capabilities. A laptop without this capability is practically obsolete. Click the link below to go directly to eBay listings for laptops under $300.

Laptops under $300 on eBay

With wireless networking becoming the easiest and most economical way to set up a home network, I get lots of questions about how to make sure it’s secure. Here are some tips for securing your wireless router/access point and computers with wireless adapters:

• Change the defaults. Wireless routers come with a preset administrator password and SSID (network name). These are usually the same for all routers of that model, so it’s common knowledge to hackers. A hacker can use that info to change your WAP settings or connect to your network.
• Turn off SSID broadcasting. SSID broadcasting makes your network visible to anyone in the area who has a wireless-equipped computer. Turning it off doesn’t hide it from WLAN “sniffers” but it does keep the neighbors from knowing you have a wireless network.
• Turn on MAC address filtering. This allows only computers whose MAC addresses have been entered by the router administrator to connect to the network. It’s not foolproof since some hackers can spoof MAC addresses, but it provides a layer of security.
• Assign static IP addresses to your wireless clients and turn off DHCP, so that unauthorized persons who try to connect won’t automatically get an IP address.
• Use encryption. And use WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) encryption instead of WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy). For instructions on how to configure WPA in XP, see: Improve the security of your wireless home network with Windows XP

Can’t wait to see “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”? Thinking about downloading a pirated copy? Think again, as it could contain malware.

Cybercriminals are pushing “blackhat” search engine optimization tactics to target the most popular file sharing and P2P networks, pursuing those interested in upcoming movie releases and in particular taking advantage of the sizeable Harry Potter fan base wanting to download the movie in advance of its screening.

Fans are baited with text like: ‘Watch “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” online free. What appears to be a legitimate looking website then redirects you to a video offer which prompts you to download and install the additional “streamviewer”. The streamviewer, however, is installing malware. Suddenly, missing out on a sneak peek is the least of your worries!

For the most comprehensive protection, look for reputable award-winning software such as Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus or Zone Alarm Security Suite and ensure you apply security updates regularly.

Thousands of websites have been hit by an attack that re-directs you to a site that will attempt to download trojan keyloggers to your computer.

What kind of trojans are being downloaded is still being determined because the Nine Ball virus tracks the computer by IP address and repeat visits from the same IP to the domain will then re-direct them to Ask.com. This makes it hard for security experts to evaluate the threat. The malicious code attempts to download several programs to the users computer in one quick swoop hoping to catch you off guard.

Many of the websites that are infected got they way because the administrators have a keylogger program installed on their computer or the server has been atacked and hacked into.

The best way to ensure protection is to take a pro active approach and have security software installed on your computer that provides real time protection. Free antivirus and anti-malware software programs have very little up front protection.

If you’re not already protected, look for reputable award-winning software such as ZoneAlarm Security Suite.

Contraviro is a new program created to make you believe your computer is infected with malware and viruses. This rogue anti-spyware program is from the same family as Unvirex. Contraviro is not legitimate software and issues exaggerated and false scan results. Contraviro usually installs itself onto your PC without your permission and will be configured to start automatically when you log into Windows. Contraviro will display fake system alerts or fake security alerts to trick you to buy the paid version of Contraviro. This is an old trick from the creators of spyware. Contraviro causes your computer to slow down dramatically. Your privacy and data are at risk if it’s not immediately removed.

If you’re not already protected, look for reputable award-winning software such as Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus or Zone Alarm Security Suite and ensure you apply security updates regularly.