Because the holiday season is upon us, we felt it would be a good idea to profile a hot gift item that appeals to the broadest of audiences; something that teenagers, baby boomers, men and women alike can both appreciate and enjoy. When I think about something that fits the criteria, I think about none other than The Beatles: Rock Band for XBox 360, PS3 and Wii.

Combining the short attention span of today's youth with the musical culture of their parents and grandparents, this version of Rock Band has become a staple in many homes in the mere three months it has been on shelves. The track list includes 45 songs chosen from 12 of the albums that the Beatles recorded between 1962 and 1969 under contract with EMI. If you become tired of those, the remaining songs on Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road and Rubber Soul are available for digital download at $2 a piece.

The instruments that come in the $199 - $250 Limited Edition are replicas of the bass, guitars and drums that the Beatles helped make famous. If you already bought Rock Band 1 or 2, you can use your existing hardware and get away with just purchasing the game for $50. The official website has all of the extra details and links to retailers to make your purchase. I recommend Frys, who is selling the full kit for $199 ($50 cheaper than anyone else).

LogMeIn Ignition provides one-touch access to any computer - PC or Mac, desktop or server - you have running the free LogMeIn client. Good for most tasks such as starting downloads, referencing or making changes to files on the go and managing services, it's amazing how easily the iPhone can become an extension of your remote machine!

Some of the selling features include password memorization for all machines, easy computer searching and the ability to control your PC or MAC with all of the native gestures you use with your iPhone. Pinch to zoom in on fields you need to read and type in, touch icons to click on them and tilt for full wide-screen viewing. The iTunes app store is selling the application for $29.99, but the client for all of the machines you wish to remote into is free. Visit iTunes to read more reviews and view ratings and screen shots.

We all know that disk space is important regardless of which OS we are running. With the recent release of Windows 7, which can take up more than 10 GB as a fresh installation, it is more important than ever to trim off excess data. We recommend you look into the following four options when trying to keep the free space on your hard drive at a maximum:

1) Run Disk Cleanup: Right click a hard drive (C: for instance) in "My Computer" and select Properties. The window that appears has a "Disk Cleanup" button. When clicked, windows will remove any temporary files that are doing nothing but taking up space. This also works in Windows XP.

2) Remove Unwanted Programs: In the Control Panel, select "Programs and Features." You will get a list of currently-installed software, some of which you no longer use or never have used. Free up as much space as you can by removing any programs you do not need. In Windows XP, the Control Panel option is called "Add or Remove Programs."

3) Disable Hibernation: By default, the hibernate option is turned on in Windows 7. The Hiberfil.sy file associated with the feature can be as large as a gig, so disabling the service will give you the space back. The easiest way to do this is to open the command prompt and type, "powercfg -h off" without the quotes, of course. Hit enter and close the command window, you are finished with this step.

4) Disable Unnecessary Features: Most users don't take advantage of most of the various features that come built into an Operating System. You can get a complete list of which features are currently installed by going to the "Programs and Features" window in option 2 and selecting "Turn Windows features on or off." From there, you can remove things like Internet Explorer, Games, Media Features etc. This is also available through the same steps in XP.

All of the steps above are identical for both 7 and Vista. To keep things running smoothly, it is a good idea to run the Disk Cleanup fairly regularly or along with your routine defrag.

Brent - I use Firefox, IE and Safari about equally and hate having to open a second browser if I need to get onto a website that is not bookmarked in the browser I am already in. Is there any way to get around the inconvenience?

I have three PCs with Internet Explorer and Firefox on each and it really is a frustrating experience not being able to get anywhere I want on any machine I happen to be at. I have tried quite a few solutions, but eventually found a free service that completely ended my predicament. It is called Xmarks and it is an enhanced searching / bookmarking service that can synchronize your bookmarks on Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and even Chrome. All it takes is a 30-second free sign-up on the website and then a quick download for each of the browsers you use. Because Xmarks stores and backs up all of your bookmarks, you can see them from any of your computers that have the program installed. There's never a reason to go without all of your bookmark information again.

Aside from syncing and backing up bookmarks, Xmarks (formerly "foxmarks") can save web passwords for you; think about never having to worry about login credentials no matter where you are or whose computer you are using! Other built-in conveniences include site previews that drop down when you type in the address bar and a smart search assistant that highlights the top three websites in your search results based on actual traffic. Mouse-over details on these top websites lay out rankings, reviews and other site info. There are quite a few more features than I can talk about here, so check it out for yourself.

"Phishing" was once defined as an attempt to collect banking and payment info on the internet through what seems to be a legitimate website. Over the years, phishers have expanded to log-in credentials to email, social networking and video game accounts among other things. Because the public has become aware of sites that seem to be inappropriately asking for private information, Phishers have started showing themselves in new forms.

Fake anti virus alerts are the newest craze in phishing attempts. Windows pop up on internet browsers with titles like "Antivirus 2009" and try to convince you that you have a breach in security. Their goal is to get you to click on their provided link to purchase their fake antivirus software while secretly downloading files and alter your computer. Not only do they get money from the sale, but they have your credit card information logged and can hack into your computer whenever they feel like it. Legitimate anti virus software can spot these threats, so make sure you have a copy of AVG, McAfee or some other name brand program running at all times.

Another form of phishing now comes disguised as a rather personable email from a bank or other institution you may be familiar with. They include a link to chat online with a customer service representative in hopes that a small percent of the blast they sent out will click the link. The fake CSR will then ask you for proof that you are who you say you are and you end up giving them all of the personal information they are after. To combat this, you just need to be aware of what you are doing when online. If you don't have an account with an institution or the person you talk to asks for private information, you should be doubting the legitimacy of the conversation you are having.

5 Ways to protect yourself from Phishers:

1) Use a secure browser. Firefox and Chrome are rated very high, while Internet Explorer is among the weakest of the big browsers.

2) Use a virus and malware-resistant operating system. Mac OSX and Linux are rarely targeted, so it may be a good time to make a change if you aren't too attached to your Windows machine.

3) If you must use Windows, make sure you are running a good anti-virus / anti-phishing program. AVG makes a free one called LinkScanner that will block phishing attacks while allowing you to view any site you want.

4) Any software you do have is susceptible to attack if it is not updated at all times. Keep up on your automatic updates so that the new attacks don't get to you.

5) Finally, use your discretion. Don't put out any information in cyberspace that you don't really want out there. If someone asks you for information you are reluctant to give, trust your gut and ask some questions yourself to make sure you are giving the information to a trustworthy person.