A: I have an old computer with (Windows) XP that is running very slow (I think it has a virus). I would like to get a new computer and transfer things to the new computer but I’m afraid it will transfer the virus. What should I do? -- Maureen

"By saving frugally, we reap liberty, a golden harvest.” The Spartan King, Agesilaus, spoke those words 24 centuries ago, and they are still true today. Here are some financial goals to consider when choosing your New Year’s Resolutions.

Microsoft has announced the launch date for the new Windows 8 as the last week in October. Big deal, huh?

I was probably about 11 years old when I had my first experience with Internet safety.

If you ever watch old mystery movies, there is usually a scene where a guy is walking down a side street on a rainy night when he hears a “Psst. Hey fella. I have a secret to tell ya” coming from a dark alleyway. Well I am giving you the same “Psst. I have a secret to tell you.” It is an easy way to tell if your computer is running well and your Internet is slow and some simple things you can do to fix this.

By now, the majority of New Year's resolutions have fallen by the wayside and if remembered at all, they are recalled in sentences like, "What was I thinking? Every time I organize my office, I cannot find anything for weeks!" So how about a few things that are easy to do and will make a difference in your computer life?

Q: Would an iPad work as a computer for my first-year college student, or should I just get them a laptop?

‘Hi, Mike? I was deleting a bunch of programs to give myself more free space on my hard drive and now the computer is getting a bunch of errors and is not running very well. Do you think I deleted something I should not have deleted?"

Q: I’ve heard that you can install software on laptops and smartphones that will allow you to track them if they are ever lost or stolen. Which ones do you recommend? — Clifton

Chandler police are warning residents not to get stung by well-orchestrated scams, according to a news release.

Should I install a security suite on my Mac? - Susan

A longtime client e-mailed me to ask if I recommended having a certain program run on a scheduled basis. The program happened to be a registry cleaner that she was considering purchasing. A few days later I received an e-mail from a reader asking virtually the same thing. The programs were the same so it sounds like a marketing ploy. This got me thinking about how long it had been since I had written a column on which programs I feel are beneficial for your computer maintenance and which ones may cause more harm than good. Please keep in mind that every PC tech has their own areas of expertise, so their advice may differ from mine.

Q: Is it really true that it's safer to search using Bing or Yahoo than it is to use Google and if so, why? - Anna

These days everyone seems to be divulging some deeply held secrets from their past; some events hidden from the public eye for fear the revelation of these hideous deeds would bring their whole world crashing down. Jesse James and Tiger Woods come to mind as purveyors of such secrets. In keeping with the "coming clean" feeling now spreading across the country, I need to bare my soul to all of our faithful readers and clients. My personal secret is that even though we keep a very tidy home (my wife made me say that) my office is the least organized room. This came to mind rather blatantly the other day as I was stepping over two partially rebuilt computers, an array of keyboards and around a monitor just to get to my desk. I knew I had to come clean and make a fresh start of it so I decided that tomorrow I would clean my office.

I need to apologize to the guy in the cool looking blue Mustang convertible at the corner of Piedmont and 48th streets the other day. I truly was not calling you an idiot, but rather someone on the radio, really! I can appreciate why you may have had an uncontrollable spasm in your hand as a response to what you thought I had directed toward you but, honest, it was the radio.

I received a call the other day that went something like this; “Hi Mike? Do you guys do exorcisms?”

Q. I'm pretty sure a horrific virus infected the hard drive on my wife's computer. We need to have some way to back up our information, and I'm wondering if a similar virus would infect an external hard drive. - Stephen

Lawyers can make their clients' files available to them on the World Wide Web - but only if they take proper safety precautions, the Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Arizona has concluded.

Lawyers can make their clients’ files available to them on the World Wide Web — but only if they take proper safety precautions, the Ethics Committee of the State Bar of Arizona has concluded.

Q. I have a 2-year-old Windows computer that’s running really slow, and I’m trying to decide whether to update it or replace it since computers seem to be getting really cheap these days. Any suggestions? — Gene

Ken Colburn: Before you get too hyped up about the 64-bit revolution, let's make sure you aren't "buying a car based on the tachometer."

Ken Colburn:  The need for good protection software against the thousands of malicious software attacks is critical, especially since the cleverness of the attacks is on the rise.

There are two guys everyone should know and trust: your car mechanic and your computer guy. Both of these people can take you to the cleaners and you will probably never know it.