Surf Guru

Q?How Can I Register My Family��s Name for the New .Name Domain?

A? You can��t��but you can register your own full name. On January 15, the Global Name Registry (which is in charge of administering the .name domain) began doling out new .name Web addresses. To register yours, go to .Name [gnr.com] and click the ��I want my .name now�� link; this will take you to a page of certified providers who can reserve your .name. Surfers can register only their own names, and they must follow one of the following formats: firstname.lastname.name or lastname.firstname.name. In other words, I could register either surf.guru.name or guru.surf.name. I could not register guru.name. (Domains can be registered for fictional characters as well, providing you own the trademark.) As for fees, individual domains cost anywhere from $10 to $25 per year��which, you may notice, is less than the $35 per year you may have paid in the past to register a typical dot-com domain name.

Q? When I head out of town on business trips, I often forget things on my home computer. Is there some way to log on to my PC from afar?

A? Looks like you haven��t heard about GoToMyPC [gotomypc.com]. This fee-based service lets surfers log in to their computers remotely and access their software or files. You can check your new and saved e-mails, launch and use Adobe Photoshop, access network documents, play MP3 files, or start a computer game. While the service is easy to set up, it requires some software installation on your home machine, choosing of a password, and an additional PC access code. Furthermore, GoToMyPC works only if the computer you��re trying to connect to is on and connected to the Net via broadband. It��s available for PCs running Windows 95, 98, 2000, ME, NT, or XP, but not for Macs, and is free to try for 60 minutes or 30 days. Thereafter, pay either $19.95 per month or an annual fee that averages out to $9.95 per month.

If you��re nervous about making your computer accessible over the Web, consider using Symantec [symantec.com] PCAnywhere software instead. It��s not as simple to use as GoToMyPC and requires setup on both the host and remote systems. You��ll also need to know a little about IP addresses and shell out a one-time charge of approximately $180. Still, it��s worth every penny if synching up two computers is a priority for you, and it��s especially useful for backup purposes.

Q? I��ve heard there��s a new audio format called MP3Pro that sounds better than ordinary MP3s. Is this true?

A? You heard right, and yes, it does sound better. Coding Technologies, the company that introduced the world to MP3s, has developed a new format called MP3Pro��and you can find out about it at MP3 Pro [mp3prozone.com]. In a nutshell, MP3Pro files are improved digital audio files that maintain CD-quality sound at lower bit rates (the speed at which data is transferred); this means you can fit far more MP3Pro files onto a CD or portable player than you could fit regular MP3s. But speaking of players, you should know that few currently support the new MP3Pro format, and at press time, a software demo that lets surfers play and encode these files offered very limited features. Hear it for yourself by downloading the free program at Thomson Multimedia [thomson-multimedia.com].

Surf Guru Tip of the Month

It��s inevitable; deviant hackers will always find new ways to exploit Microsoft products, including the Windows Media Player, Internet Explorer, and Windows XP. Fortunately, there��s a simple way to keep up with the latest security vulnerabilities and receive patches to plug up the holes. In Internet Explorer, click the Tools menu and choose Windows Update; this will take you to a Microsoft site that posts ��Critical Updates�� for all your Microsoft software. Download them and feel better.

Copyright © 2002 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Yahoo! Internet Life.