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Almost everyone is familiar with Microsoft Word. It is the dominant word processing software on the market and is the default way that most people create their important business documents. But what happens if you don’t have Word installed on your home computer? If you don’t want to spend the money to purchase a copy, you have several legal options that will allow you to produce high-quality documents that are compatible with anyone using Microsoft Word.

“Word” has become as closely associated with word processing software as “Xerox” is to photocopiers to “Kleenex” is to tissue paper. However, it is just a brand name and there are several alternative options available for people who need word processing on their computer. Some of these options are specific to operating system (Mac vs. PC) while others work on almost any computer. You can choose from several freeware software suites that give you all of the basic word publishing features you need to create a simple document or select a paid option with a wider range of features such as Web publishing, layout and design templates.

Another great option is to take advantage of cloud computing. Instead of creating a document on your personal computer, cloud computing lets you create and share documents that are stored in the “cloud” – on Internet file servers. Services such as Google Docs allow you to upload, create and share word processing documents as well as spreadsheets, PDFs and other important files. It’s free and you don’t have to worry about losing an email, as files are automatically saved and can be accessed from anywhere.

IT departments at businesses of all sizes have to deal with the headaches associated with spam emails flooding the In boxes of their employees. In many cases, these messages are nothing more than harmless advertisements or newsletters. But in some instances, “spam” email can be much more insidious. It can carry a virus that will attack a user’s computer or the entire network, often giving hackers the ability to access critical information.

The dangers of spam emails are real and IT departments take steps to protect their networks through the use of technology such as “spam filters” that weed out likely spam messages. But while filters will catch many spam messages, they won’t filter out all of them. Employees who frequently use email need to understand the steps they can take to root out spam messages:

Steps include:

Reading email addresses of senders: Email spammers will frequently attempt to fool the people receiving their messages by using a fake “from” email address that looks similar to those from real companies. Keep in mind that a company such as Microsoft will never use a domain of “Microsoft.co” or “MicrosoftIT.com” to send an email to you.

Checking for misspellings: Real corporate emails have typically been read and copy edited to ensure that every word is perfect. If you notice obvious spelling or grammar errors in the copy of an email that you receive, be very careful. Either the person sending the email was sloppy or you have received spam.

Watching out for deceitful links: One of the main things that a spammer wants you to do is click on one of the links in their email. It could take you to a sales page or to a site with harmful viruses. Hover over any link before you click on it – this gives you the ability to review the website address. If the website address looks suspicious or has a lot of characters, be wary.

Laptop prices have gone down considerably over the past few years. As the price of parts and manufacturing has steadily decreased, computer companies have been able to introduce products to the market that are friendly to customers looking to spend as little as possible. But purchasing a “budget” laptop doesn’t mean that you have to settle for second-rate quality. If you know which features are the most important before purchasing a laptop you can get a great deal that meets your needs.

Here are three things you need to look for when comparison shopping for a laptop:

Size of the RAM: Many people think that having the fastest microprocessor (CPU) will lead to blazing fast performance. In reality, the speed of your laptop has more to do with the size of your system memory (RAM) than anything else. If the RAM is too small, your computer will start to drag and crash – especially if you save any large files.

Video Controller: If you plan on watching online videos or playing games on your laptop (and everyone does), you need to have a high-quality video controller. This is the dedicated memory that goes to playing video and other multimedia items. Most “standard” laptops come with a 64MB video controller, but upgrading to a 128MB video controller will mean a big difference in your computer’s overall performance.

USB Ports: If you plan on using a mouse with your laptop, uploading pictures and videos from your camera or storing files on an external hard drive, you’ll need to have plenty of USC ports. Newer laptops should come with USB 2.0 ports, which is the latest USB technology and allow you to upload and download content much faster between USB devices and your computer.

One of the biggest hidden expenses dealt with my small businesses is the cost of being able to accept credit cards. Few consumers realize that businesses such as restaurants, supermarkets and clothing stores need to open a merchant account with a service provider in order to take credit cards. They have to pay a small fee to their merchant bank for each transaction – no matter how large or how small it is.

If you’ve ever gone into a restaurant only to be disappointed with the fact that they are “cash only,” this is the likely reason why they have this policy. They don’t want to go through the time and expense of setting up a merchant account or have to lose part of their profits each time a customer decides to charge it instead of paying in cash. Gas stations also use this strategy when setting different rates for cash purchases versus credit card purchases. The higher price for getting gas on your credit card makes up for what the gas station is losing in transaction fees.

For larger businesses, the cost of setting up a merchant banking account is relatively minimal compared to the overall profits that they can make. A business like McDonald’s can spread the cost of merchant banking around thousands of franchises. In addition, many merchant banks will have better deals for larger businesses since they can potentially make a lot of money due to the high volume of transactions these places do. Unfortunately, small businesses don’t get these benefits and often have to pay higher rates and upfront fees in order to set up their merchant banking account.

If you own a small business and are thinking about setting up a merchant account, make sure that you look for a service provider that specializes in working with smaller businesses. Instead of having a “one-size-fits-all” approach, these companies have offering tailored to your specific needs. You’ll often find that you’ll save more money than you think and get more personalized attention than if you go with a larger provider.

When many businesses develop a pay-per-click advertising campaign, they spend lots of time developing the text and look of the actual ad. However, they often forget to spend time developing one of the most important elements to their PPC campaign – the landing page. This is the site that potential customers will be directed to after they click on an ad. Having the right landing page can make a major difference between a campaign succeeding and failing.

If you are developing a PPC campaign, it’s important to know how to come up with the best landing page. Here’s a look at a few of the tips that top landing page design service developers use for to come up with landing pages for their top customers:

Call to Action: When someone comes to your landing page, you want them to clearly understand why they are on the page and what you want them to do. This “call to action” could be to purchase a product, register for more information or sign up for a newsletter. You want the call to action to “pop” from the page and be at the very top.

Graphics and Images: The colors and images you use on your landing page design will play a major role in how it is perceived by your customers. Certain color schemes and images are more aggressive than others and may or may not be appropriate based on what the landing page is designed to accomplish.

Keywords: Targeting the right keywords is critical in order for your page to rank highly with search engines. Make sure you tie the SEO keywords you targeted during your PPC campaign in your landing page copy.