Washington - If you decide to move to Windows Vista, be sure to visit the Windows Update site soon after completing installation. Just open the Vista start menu, and type Windows Update. Windows Update will scan your computer and offer to deliver important patches and updates to the software - including Vista's first service pack, which improves the overall performance of the operating system. Schedule Windows Update to run automatically to get incremental security fixes.

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Munich - Programs like Outlook and Thunderbird are useful for sending and receiving e-mail messages. Another option is to sign up for an e-mail account with one of the many services on the internet. All correspondence can then be handled fully online. The same services often offer a pay-version alongside the cost-free ones, promising extra functionality in the process. Are the extra services worth the cost?

Washington, August 26: Carnegie Mellon University experts say that they have developed a low-cost system that can reduce the risk of eavesdropping on Internet communications.

The researchers say that their system, called Perspectives, can also offer protection against attacks related to a recently disclosed software flaw in the Domain Name System (DNS), the Internet phone book used to route messages between computers.

Berlin - While postal services want to promote letter writing, the trend is clearly working against them. With a push of the button, an e-mail lands in the inbox of its recipient before a letter writer can even moisten the stamp. The tools of the trade are e-mail programs known as clients. They are used to manage correspondence on the computer, but nowadays they can often do far more.

Berlin - Bertram Meyer leans over his desk and tugs at his computer's monitor cable. He disconnects the keyboard and packs up his computer mouse. A case of energy drinks are waiting in the hallway of his Berlin apartment. He packs a sleeping pad, sleeping bag, and inflatable neck rest.

"I'm taking that along in case I get tired," he says. The question of whether he'll sleep at all remains open, since Bertram is on his way to a network party. If everything has been properly organised, he'll probably have little down time - but all the more gaming fun instead.

Washington, August 13 : E-medicine—prescribing medicines via the Internet—has been found to outperform the tradition system of visiting a doctor’s clinic, in treating patients with erectile dysfunction (ED), in a recent study.

Researcher in Utah randomly selected 1,000 patient medical records from patients seeking ED treatment from Jan. 1, 2001 to Dec. 31, 2005.

While half of the patients used the online prescriber, and the rest consulted a physician for treatment.

Using statistical analyses, the researchers compared the safety of both approaches in treating patients who had ED.