I'm new to laptops with my HP Pavilion dv6985se, Q: ?!

Hello MajorGeeks!

You've helped me out of a pickle before with my malware infected PC some time ago and I've got a request of a different flavor today if I can bend your collective ears for a moment.

This is the skinny: I've been yerning for a laptop for a while. Bless my wife, she hooked me up with a new HP Pavilion dv6985se for my birthday today. Funny, I know nothing about them, so I've got many questions, but will limit them to a couple of big ones here.

I'm only going to use this for internet surfing, e-mails, word processing, maybe some movies and loading some music into. I'm a novice computer user and happy with that level of interaction at the moment. I might do some gaming on the laptop, but that can come later.

My main concern with this laptop being new is keeping it safe from malware/viruses. I'm also interested in being able to use it in a wireless capacity, but I know nothing about it (wireless stuff.... ); my main concern being safety here also. Finally, I'm interested in knowing if I should buy certain accessories, like a mouse, that might make things easier. Three basic questions, I think. Any thoughts? Your input is always respected and appreciated.

Thanks... ~ rob

 

Thanks for the quick reply, thanks for the well wishes.

I connect via DSL at home. I've purchased a Linksys "Wireless -G" broadband router and USB network adapter a year ago at a local retailer, but was too intimidated by the move to wireless (concern for security and my lack of knowledge...) to actually move forward with it. Both are in their respective boxes, I'm not even sure if they're actually what I need to move forward to wireless, so here I sit with my DSL.

Also, if I use WiFi, which I'm not even sure if my computer can do, are there any extra considerations for safety/roamability that I need to prepare for or consider??

~ rob