The best solution we have found to stop spam dead in its tracks are email gateways. Email gateways can be devices similar to firewalls or software running on another server which intercept all of your email messages before they actually reach your mail server. They are highly accurate and have multiple benefits including preventing spam from reaching your mobile email devices and keeping mailbox size down. You can still check your spam by logging into your spam box, setting rules, and exceptions from there. The best email gateways we have found are from Symantec and SonicWALL. They have both software versions and appliance devices. There are also email gateway services such as AppRiver to which you subscribe so you don't have to set up your own system, just have all your mail directed to them, they clean it up and send it on.

7 Online Blunders that Invite Identity Theft
Consumer Reports has an article outlining common mistakes users make which put them in harm's way. The list contains some very valuable information with regards to protecting your identity and keeping your computer secure. It may appear as familiar as stuff we've brought up many times before regarding best computer practices, but it is definitely worth checking again to make sure you're safe. Click here unless you're 110% certain you're good; are you feeling lucky?

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The Idiot-Proof Way to Securely Use Public Wi-Fi
If you use public wireless connections at coffee shops or other places, and aren't taking steps to secure your communications, then you're asking for trouble. Not protecting yourself by using a corporate or private VPN leaves your actions on the internet accessible by any prying eyes which may be connected to the network as well. There's an excellent article here, which outlines the various options users have to protect themselves.

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Get a Mac-like "Dock" for Windows
Are you a fan of the application "Dock" in Mac OS X - that's the toolbar along the bottom with the animated program icons - but have a Windows-based PC? Well there's an application called Rocket Dock which gives you a highly customizable dock just like the one in OS X. The dock allows you to directly access programs without the hassle of going through the clutter of desktop shortcuts or the start menu. It consumes very little system resources while increasing accessibility and productivity on your desktop. Click here for the web site to download Rocket Dock.

Microsoft to Soon Launch Windows "Cloud" OS
For some time, experts have claimed that the future of personal computing will move towards applications hosted online, not actually installed on your computer itself. Many companies have been developing such solutions (Google Apps, Google Gears). Microsoft is set to launch their own "cloud" based operating system in about four weeks. How this will be delivered to consumers isn't known yet, but it is said that there may be a one time fee, subscription based, or paid for by advertisements within the program itself. The official name for the operating system has not been finalized, but it is currently dubbed "Cloud". Consumers are more likely to adopt "Cloud" computing more readily than enterprise markets; but that may change in coming years as more companies write "cloud" based programs. For more information, click here.