I used to use macs back in the dark ages of home computers (1983 - 1994) but when I came to Italy I had to start using a pc. So I got set in my ways.

A couple of months ago a friend who was leaving Italy gave me his iMac (I5). I love it but it is taking some getting used to and I hoped that I could ask some silly questions here.

1) What type of virus and ad programs should I get? I want to start using it to get email (have transferred over all of my emails to Entourage) but don't want to do it until I am protected.
2) If I want to copy stuff from the PC, like my dreamweaver files, I put them on a cd then put the cd in the mac. Now where do I put the files?
3) Does anyone know of any good tutorials on how to use the mac (maybe there is one already on the computer and I haven't found it?).

Thanks for any help0 or information.

Hi Cristina. Glad you like your Mac! I think I can help a little.

Regarding virus programs, I really don't know of anyone that even uses one with a Mac. I don't even know what ad programs are?? Your Mac should have a firewall built in which is all you really need but if you want a "stronger firewall". Here is part of a good thread discussing security:

quote:

It's worth noting that by default Mac OSX has all its communication and ports closed and services switched off which makes it quite secure right out of the box unlike Windows. So initially you can put a Mac straight online without a firewall and it won't get hacked, whereas a computer running Windows could be 'owned' within the hour. Switching on the firewall can give greater security and more control. Also by default the ports are closed but not stealthed unless you turn on the firewall and this gives greater security. Stealth mode is available in the Advanced section of the OSX Tiger firewall.

It is a proper firewall and is not limited in the context of sharing so go ahead and use it. You can read a bit more about the default security and the firewall here:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/security/
and also here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh1042.html

I tried to put the url but it went to an error page...not sure if I can just copy part of a page...if not type in how to turn on a firewall on the Mac discussion board (see below) to get to this page.

I go to the Mac discussion board for any problems I have. It really is helpful:
http://discussions.apple.com/index.jspa
I just type in a question on the main board unless I know that it is specifically for a certain subject and in that case, I go there first from this main page to then type in my questions.

Regarding transferring files, if they are just documents, you can put them wherever you want...make a file name, put them inside the pre-made document folder, etc. Applications though need to go in the application folder. Do you have dreamweaver on your Mac? If so, your files should work unless there is a translation issue from a PC to a Mac. When I copy stuff from my PC to my Mac, I just make a new file folder OR put it in a folder already made such as my "work" folder. You can put all different type of documents, jpegs, etc. in the same folder. It usually doesn't really matter where you put your files as the application you open will find them.

I don't know of any specific Mac tutoring programs but will ask around and also do a little googling.

I hope this helps a little.

Hi again,
I found this page which may just be what you are looking for. It is for PC user's who switch to Macs.
http://www.apple.com/support/switch101/

I guess I better check first though - are you using OS X (Tiger or Jaguar or Panther)? Or if not, what system are you using? I found other tutorials for OS 9 that may be what you need if you don't have OS X. Let me know if the site above will work for you.

Hi, Cristina,

As girasoli says, one of the wonderful things about a Mac is that you don't have to worry about all those viruses and spyware that plague PC users. There have never been any serious viruses on a Mac and I don't know anyone who uses anti-virus software.

If you want to get rid of popup ads on the web, make sure you have "Block Popup Windows" checked in Safari (if you are using that browser). There is a similar setting in Firefox. Of course this only applies with OS X -- I hope that is what you are using, since I can't remember much about OS 9.

If you want to reduce the number of ads in general that show up in your browser, there is a adblocker plug-in for Safari called PithHelmet that I find to be well worth the $10 shareware fee. Occasionally it blocks something I want to see, and then I just use the "Reload Unfiltered" command.

I keep my Dreamweaver files in the Sites folder on the Mac. I make a subfolder with the name of the website, and then put all the files for the site inside it. The advantage to the Sites folder is that you can run a local web server on your Mac so that you can check your files that way before uploading them. (That option is built in to Mac OS X.) Obviously you will need the Dreamweaver application made for Mac, but the files themselves are completely transferable.

Enjoy your new Mac!

- Roz

Thanks for all of the great advice. So I should just be able to start getting emails on this machine without worrying? Happy dance time.

I love this baby. It is OS X, only a year old, iMac so pretty new and fancy. I installed Dreamweaver and also Microsoft Office since I have most of my stuff in Office. All works great, just a little confusing at the get go.

I will read the links above and thank you both again.

Thanks to all. This is timely for me because we're about to become a 2-computer family and the "baby" is going to be a Mac. I'm sure this will answer some of my initial questions too.

Cheers,