Rosa Parks Refused To Give Up Her Seat and The Civil Rights Movement Began

There will forever be two 1950's--the 1950's before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person, and the 1950's that followed. Her simple act of bravery on December 1, 1955 defied racism and heralded the start of The Civil Rights Movement, ensuring that nothing would ever be the same again. Now you can explore this pivotal moment in our nation's history in greater detail, on the web, by visiting A Guide To Materials For Rosa Parks from The Library of Congress.

This Library of Congress website is a comprehensive directory of government resources and external links about Rosa Parks. You'll find information on The Montgomery Bus Boycott that followed her arrest, the details of the arrest, and even an image of her being fingerprinted.

The external links are equally if not more impressive. Especially worth noting is The Academy of Achievement site on Rosa Parks which includes a profile, biography, an interview with her, and an image gallery.

Step Back In Time With Nostalgia Central

Do you remember watching shows like Star Trek and Mission: Impossible when they debuted? Or how hard you laughed when you first saw Bewitched and Get Smart? Now you can relive those memories and then some by visiting Nostalgia Central.

Spanning the 60s, 70s and 80s and covering TV, pop culture, music, movies and more, Dave Turner's Nostalgia Central has been helping people stroll down memory lane since 1998. Loaded with over 22,000 pages of content (including many memorable photographs) it's one of the more extensive nostalgia sites on the Web.

If you're in the mood to reminisce about the 60s, 70s or 80s you'll want to check this one out. You won't be able to stop the flood of memories!

How To Find Out If Your Computer Is Protected From Online Threats

Did you ever wonder if there was a quick way to determine how vulnerable your computer is to online security threats? Well, there is, and you don't even have to be an über-geek to take advantage of it. It turns out that you can run a free online security scan of your computer at websites like Symantec's Security Check or Microsoft's Window's Live OneCare.


The process is quick and painless. To illustrate just how easy it is, we'll assume you elect to run a scan using Symantec's Security Check. These are the steps you'd follow:

1. Click on the Symantec Security Check link above.
2. Once there, click "go."
3. Under Security Scan click Start.
4. Read the End-User Agreement and if you agree to the terms select "I agree." Now click Next.

You're Done! Symantec will scan your computer and within minutes present you with an online report detailing just how secure your computer really is!

What is a Meta Search Engine?

A Meta Search Engine sends your queries to several different search engines at once and then displays the results from the different search engines on one page. An example of one of the more popular ones is Dogpile.

If you conduct a search on Dogpile, for example, they'll send your search terms (the words you type in the search box) to Yahoo! Search, Google, Windows Live Search, and other search engines at the same time without having to visit each one individually.

Some other examples of Meta Search Engines include Metacrawler, Ixquick, and Clusty.

Visit The AARP Website

If you're a senior you're probably very familiar with AARP, the largest organization for people 50 and over in the United States. You might even have a subscription to their print publications, The AARP Magazine and AARP Bulletin--but are you a regular visitor of the AARP website yet? You will be once you see just how much they have to offer. Here are just a few of the features which will have you coming back again and again:

• You can read select articles from AARP Magazine and AARP Bulletin online.
• Find web exclusives that don't appear in either the magazine or the bulletin.
• Take online courses on subjects like computers and technology.
• Discover articles on topics like, how to reduce stress and protecting yourself from identity theft.
• Much, much more!

Once you spend some time on the AARP website you'll agree that it's one of the most useful sites for seniors on the web!

How to find the Best Prices Online

The Problem: You've decided to buy a new digital camera online because you think you'll save money that way. But with so many places to shop for a digital camera on the web, how do you find the best price without visiting each and every online retailer?

Your Solution: Let a Comparison Shopping Site help you find the best price. Comparison Shopping Sites like the popular PriceGrabber.com are web sites that use special computer programs to quickly search multiple web sites for the best deals--so you don't have to. Give it a try and don't forget to calculate tax and shipping costs!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just like a turkey dinner is an annual tradition this time of year, so too is The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. To learn more about this 80 year old tradition visit the official web site of the parade, where you can go behind the scenes to see how they make those incredible floats, learn all about the history of the parade, and much more!

Enjoy the parade and have a happy holiday!

4 Tips for Creating Stronger Passwords

By now you've probably heard that you need to create strong passwords when you register for anything online so no one can steal your sensitive information. But, how exactly do you create strong passwords? Here's a list of tips to keep in mind whenever you're asked to create a password for a new account:

• Never use a password that can be found in a dictionary. Did you know that hackers (the bad guys) use software that steals passwords by trying every word in the dictionary? If you use a word that can be found in a dictionary you could be susceptible to this type of attack.
• Don't use your pet's name or any other word or phrase that unscrupulous people can easily identify with you. You should make it difficult for anyone to guess your passwords, not easy.
• Longer is Stronger and don't forget to mix & match letters and numbers. Long passwords that are a combination of made up words, upper and lower case letters, numbers and even symbols(if the site allows) are your best bet because they're obviously harder to guess by man or machine.
  
• Let the site's password strength checking tool be your guide. Some sites will automatically rate your password strength as you type it. Keep working on your password till you see a rating of strong or strongest.

81 Years Young And Still Blogging Strong!

If you always thought you were either too old to start a blog (short for web log) or didn't think you had much to say, read 81 year old Millie Garfield's popular, My Mom's Blog for inspiration. Whether she's retelling a story from her early years or offering insights on life in general you'll find her style engaging and her sense of humor refreshing.

Be sure to check out her funny videos, recipes for delicacies like potato pancakes, and links to her favorite sites. You'll want to make Millie's blog a regular read!

Do you remember where you were during the Cuban Missile Crisis?

Author John Fenzel (The Lazarus Covenant) has created an impressive site commemorating The Cuban Missile Crisis - one of the most dangerous times in U.S. History. Thirteen Days in October: The Cuban Missile Crisis includes a crisis time line, memorable quotes, a nice breakdown of the players involved in the conflict, questions for discussion, and more. You'll even find links to relevant merchandise like Books and DVDs.

Definitely worth a look!

3 Tips for Safer Online Shopping

The Holiday season is upon us once again and that means you might be thinking of doing some online shopping--if you haven't started already. With that in mind, here are three quick tips to make it safer:

• Stick with reputable or brand name sites. Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com are two good examples. I personally would feel safer shopping there than say, Joe Justrustme's site that no one's ever heard of.

• Keep Good Records Of All Your Online Transactions. Print them out and store them in a safe place, that way should a problem arise you'll be prepared.

• Make Sure The Site You're Shopping At Is Secure. At the checkout screen of the site you're shopping at, look for a padlock icon in your browser toolbar or https// in front of the web site address in the address field of your browser. If you don't see either one of these, it's time to shop elsewhere!
  

A Comprehensive Directory of Genealogy Sites

If you're interested in tracing your family tree but are not sure where to start, you'll want to head over to Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet. This cross-referenced list of thousands of genealogy related sites (a whopping 252,000 + as of this writing) is an excellent starting point for researching your family history online. Cyndi offers plenty of links for beginners who are new to genealogy research and even a tutorial on how to set up your very own genealogy homepage! (Look under the, "Frequently Asked Questions" section on the left-hand column of the main page)

On the web for more than a decade, Cyndi's List has been the recipient of numerous awards and has been mentioned often in the popular press. You'll definitely want to bookmark this one!

Quick Surf Tip

Sometimes it's fun and faster to just go to the address field in your browser and type in something that you're interested in. For instance say you wanted to play sudoku. You could go to a search engine like Yahoo or Google and find loads of links or you could simply type the word sudoku in the address field of your browser like this:

www.sudoku.com

Doing so would bring you to, not surprisingly, a site where you can play sudoku! Try it with your favorite hobby or interest!

A Senior Community On The Web

If you're looking for a vibrant web community just for Seniors, you'll want to give Eons a look. Billed as "50 plus everything for boomers and seniors" Eons offers groups you can join, tools like a longevity calculator, and even a search engine designed with seniors in mind. There's something for just about any Senior interested in making friends, discussing a passionate hobby, or looking for the best the golden years have to offer.

Quick Google Tip

Did you know there was a quick and easy way to use Google to search government web sites? Let's say for example you were looking for information on nutrition and wanted to see only information from government web sites. Instead of typing:

Nutrition

Type this instead:

Nutrition site:gov

By typing site:gov after your search terms you're telling Google that you only want information from U.S. government web sites for this particular search! Try it out!

A Warm Welcome To Seniors On The Web

Are you a fifty-something senior (or older) who would like to get more out of the World Wide Web but not sure where to start? Feel a little overwhelmed by all the techno-jargon? Do you find yourself lost on the Information Superhighway? Then this site is for you!

Welcome to The Senior Surfer!

Here at The Senior Surfer you'll find just the information you need to help you navigate the Web and get more out of it than you ever thought possible. Here's what you can expect to read about:

• The best "senior" sites
• Quick Web Tips
  
• The best nostalgic sites
  
• Jargon explained in ENGLISH
• Quick Search Tips
• Senior Blogs of Note
• And much more!

So sit back, relax and read The Senior Surfer with that cup o'joe every day!