Don't use the email address(es) that come with your Internet Service Provider account. DSL, Cable, and dial-up ISP’s usually throw in free email addresses (you@big_isp.net). Changing email addresses is time consuming. Don’t let a free email address hold you hostage to an ISP when better or cheaper broadband technologies become available. Instead, sign up for a free, but permanent, email account with Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail, etc. or set up your own domain.

Don't use "Flash" or "Thumb" drives for backup. These devices connect to your USB port and provide anywhere from a few megabytes to several gigabytes of storage. Even though they are referred to as "drives," these devices do not contain disk drives but rather provide storage using non-volatile RAM. They are sensitive to static charges and electrical impulses when connecting or disconnecting the device and can lose ALL of their data suddenly and without warning. Flash drives are a great way to move data from one computer to another but should only be used when the data is easily replaced because they aren't a safe method of backup. Better backup solutions are CDs, tapes, and external hard drives.

Save money on color ink and toner by setting your printing defaults to black and white. Color is great when you need it but b&w is adequate for most documents. To make it even easier to switch between b&w and color, configure your printer as two printers in Windows. Set one to b&w and make it your default printer. Set the second one to color. Then it's easy to choose the color printer when you need it rather than having to change the printer properties.

Conserve your laptop battery by staying offline whenever possible and unhooking any USB devices when not in use. Also, change your screen saver to the blank screen option; colorful, busy screen savers make more work for your computer's biggest power draws: the CPU and monitor.