Free Resources

AntiVirus Help - Downloadable and online help to avoid and fix computer viruses.

1. Downloadable software - AVG AntiVirus - The best free anti-virus software currently available.

2. Online AntiVirus Scanning (scan your PC directly from these company's web sites)

a. HouseCall (TrendMicro)

c. Symantec Security Check - (the makers of Norton AntiVirus)

Auction Sites - Buy and sell new and used items (just about anything).

1. Amazon.com - This auction site is coming on strong.
2. eBay - The best (largest, most widely used) auction site.
3. Yahoo! Auctions - On par with Amazon.com and worth a visit.

Auto Information - Tests, invoice prices, car values, etc. Really great sites.

1. AutoTrader - Geared more to buying and selling than the two industry standards below.
2. Edmunds - A must visit for automotive buyers or sellers.
3. Kelly Blue Book - Another must visit for automotive buyers or sellers.

Business - Interesting business sites -- well worth a look.

1. Better Business Bureau - BBB online.
2. CEO Express - Tons of very good business links.
3. Chamber Of Commerce Finder - Start here to find key local contacts.

Comparison Shopping - These sites give shoppers various choices to compare service and prices.
1. Biz Rate - Rates vendors (for anything) and gets pricing (offers discounts).
2. DealTime - Rates vendors (for anything) and gets pricing (by Shopping.com below).
3. My Simon - Rates vendors (for anything) and gets pricing.
4. NexTag - Rates vendors (for anything) and gets pricing.
5. Shopping.com - Rates vendors (for anything) and gets pricing (similar to Dealtime above).
6. Shopzilla - Rates vendors (for anything) per Biz Rate (above) and gets pricing.
7. Yahoo! Shopping - Rates vendors (for anything) and gets pricing -- (Yahoo has to be on this list).

Deals and Steals - You can enjoy considerable savings using the information found on these sites.

1. Computerlandcentral - A very good web site and newsletter with coupons and up-to-date deals.
2. Reseller Ratings - User provided technology deals and forums; mostly hardware and software.

Employment - Five of the best of the many job search/resume posting sites.
1. Career Builder (previously Headhunter.net) - Over 400,000 jobs; easy to search.
2. FlipDog - (now a division of Monster) - "Fetches" jobs from multiple search engines.
3. Hot Jobs - Job listings direct from the hiring firm (not just headhunters, etc.).
4. JobCircle - Fairly new, but very good.
5. Monster Job Search - Over 1,000,000 job listings. One of the first and best.

Entertainment - Some sites to help you take a break and relax.
1. AtomFilms - A peculiar collection of odd short films and other odd items.
2. Homestar Runner - Silly, sophomoric, childish (well, it is geared to children) - a top Newsweek site.
3. Internet Movie Database - A really fine site for movie addicts.
4. Jeopardy! Online - Still one of America's leading "IQ" games.
5. JibJab - Famous for "This Land" political satire short animated flick (actually created by AtomFilms).
6. Jump The Shark - When TV shows go bad (e.g., when Fonzie jumped the shark on Happy Days).
7. Hollywood.com - Great site on anything "Tinsel Town", plus movies and online tickets.
8. Movies.com - Everything movies - where they are, buy tickets online, etc.
9. StrangeCosmos - Aptly named - visit and you'll see why.
10. TV Guide - Check TV listings and info online.
11. WhatIfSports - Very Cool. Pick any past and present teams and play them against each other.

Free Game - Trackwords is like the game "Boggle". One of our favorites (addictive).

Freeware/Shareware - Sites with many free (and buy after you try) software.
1. CNET Downloads - Many choices by category.
2. Jumbo! - Huge (almost too large) site -- one of the first.
3. Rocket Download.com - Many choices by category.
4. Ziff-Davis - Huge, searchable file of software and add-ons.

Insurance Information:- Sources to do insurance company checks.
1. State Departments of Insurance - Links to States' Insurance Agencies
2. A. M. Best Ratings - Ratings of insurance company's financial health.
3. Fitch Ratings - Ratings of insurance company's financial health.
2. Standard & Poor's Ratings - Ratings of insurance company's financial health
3. A. M. Best Ratings - Ratings of insurance company's financial health.

Lawyers - Lawyers.com - Search for lawyers by specialty and location.

Money/Finance - Quicken - An excellent, easy to use site with many free tools -- worth the visit.

Phone Lookups - 411 Locate has phone numbers, maps, email addresses, reverse searches, etc.

Reference & Related - Some familiar names, but most people don't think to visit their sites.
1. Librarians' Index to the Internet - "Information you can trust" - a very good reference / research site.
2. MapQuest - Great online maps and directions.
3. The Mayo Clinic - Useful health and medical information.
4. NASA - NASA's web site
5. The Library Of Congress - The huge online site.
6. This Day In History - From The History Channel's fine and interesting site.
7. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) - Aerial photos of most places in the U.S. (Big Brother in action).

Search Engines - There's a bunch of them, but here's some of the best.
1. Google - The best search engine right now. They also feed AOL, Netscape, and Yahoo! search.
2. Dogpile - Bad name, great way to search multiple search engines -- even on tough to find topics.
3. IX Quick - Searches multiple search engines at one time -- very quickly.

Software - Very good, free programs - read details before installing - they're all "use at your own risk".
1. Adobe Reader - Free software you should have (to view the many files created in pdf format).
2. Alwil avast! 4 - One of the two best free anti-virus software programs around (free for Home use only).
3. AVG AntiVirus - A serious program; the best free anti-virus software currently available.

Click here for more Antivirus Help.
4. Coffee Calculator© - If you are a coffee lover, you'll like this easy to use tool.
5. GoldIcon - Nice icon creation software - very easy to use.
6. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 - The latest version of the most used Internet browser.
7. Microsoft Office Update - Scans your PC for free updates, then allows you to download needed files.
8. Microsoft Windows Update - Select "Product Updates" to scan your PC and download updates.
9. Netscape - Latest suite of Internet products including their Navigator Internet browser.
10. NetZero - Provides 10 hours per month of free Internet access - great as a backup to your ISP.
11. Newzip - A nice file compression/decompression program or consider the author's newer Simplyzip.
12. StuffIt Expander - Decompresses zipped files (e.g., *.zip) to their original size.
13. ZoneAlarm - "Firewall" software that helps keep hackers out of your PC (free for Home use only).

Time - The Official U.S. Time - Within 0.0000001 seconds of the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

Travel Assistant - Is That Flight On Time? - Up to the second flight information.

Weather - The Weather Channel - The place to get all that is weather related.

Wine Selectors - Find the right wine at the right price.
1. Alcoholreviews - A nice collection of wines with their own ratings and a "deep search" feature.
2. Wine - Nice ratings by various experts, but only for products they sell online.