It's a nice gesture to set up your parents or in-laws with a computer system that enables them to surf the Internet, get email from their friends, and play online backgammon with their cousins from "back East". I know that providing them with this window to the world without teaching them anything about the Internet it is a lot like leaving a five-year-old alone at a shopping mall, but I'd be less concerned (about the in-laws) if I knew I had properly set them up with the right antivirus software.

You just know it's inevitable that your family member is going to end up downloading some file or attachment that would otherwise cause irreparable damage to their Minesweeper high score list. So it's comforting to know that after you went to Symantec and then picked up your free Norton downloads, and installed some appropriately useful Norton Security Scan software, you could sleep peacefully, knowing that they can surf safely, and that you won't be required to provide any additional tech support...because you've unplugged your land line, turned off your cel phone, and made yourself invisible on MSN.

Unfortunately, the war (with viruses, not your in-laws) doesn't end just because you've inoculated your computer system with appropriate antivirus software. Certainly make sure that your system is enabled to retrieve updates, upgrades, and lists, because you don't want to be the one that has to explain what happened to mother's ultimate high scores!

Always remember the pros and cons when it comes to taking on the role of family tech support guru. Once you've installed one system, upgraded one chip of RAM, or wiped one tiny little virus from your father-in-law's Pentium 3, you're likely in it for life!