Hardware, mice and keyboards, files, browsers, email and staying safe online.
An introductory chapter on what computers are and how they turn data into information. It covers types of computers, common hardware such as monitors, printers, keyboards and mice, software and firmware, and how to start up and shut down Windows.
Defines what hardware and a computer are, noting that everything from phones to smart TVs counts. It then describes the separate parts of a desktop computer and gives examples of computers without screens.
A free Wikibook for people with little computer experience that moves from the basics toward more advanced topics. Chapters cover buying a computer, security, office programs, the internet, networking and keeping a PC running smoothly. Its examples mostly use Windows XP, so menus look dated.
A short chapter separating internal hardware from external devices and describing the main parts. These include the CPU, power supply, motherboard, memory, drives, video cards, input and output devices and casings, plus units of information.
Introduces the core parts every working computer needs and treats the rest as peripherals. Topics include the motherboard, hard drive, RAM, CPU, video and sound cards, optical drive, power supply and cabling.
A chapter on picking parts before building a desktop PC. It starts with the essential components, then covers intended use, budget, operating system compatibility, sample builds, reusing old parts and where to buy.
A library page promoting the free Learn My Way digital skills courses. Complete beginners are pointed to the Getting Started and Online Basics courses, with library staff on hand to help.
A library page collecting beginner resources for learning the mouse and keyboard. It links to mouse tutorials and exercises, typing practice sites and a getting-started guide, with Spanish versions as well.
A 90-minute classroom lesson plan for teaching basic mouse and keyboard skills, shared via DigitalLearn.org. The page lists the learning goals and links to the full lesson plan.
A 90-minute lesson plan on organising digital files, shared via DigitalLearn.org. It uses the Windows 7 File Explorer, so navigation steps may differ on newer systems.
A workshop handout for new computer users on organising files. It covers planning an organisation tree and categories, creating folders, saving files into them, moving versus copying, deleting, views and shortcuts. It was written for Windows XP, Vista and 7 (updated April 2017), so screens look older.
A downloadable PDF handout gathering file organisation advice from several Purdue Library Guides. It includes file naming guidance, a directory structure template, an exercise for building your own structure and data management basics.
A reference of keyboard shortcuts for Chrome on Windows, Linux and Mac, covering tabs, the address bar, web pages and mouse-based shortcuts.
Shows how to save favourite sites as bookmarks in Chrome and find, edit, organise and delete them. Signing in with a Google Account syncs bookmarks across devices.
A library guide listing free resources for learning internet skills, including interactive lessons, a Wikiversity course on internet fundamentals, short DigitalLearn tutorials and the Tech Life Unity site.
A beginner online lesson on what the internet is and how to use it. It covers web browsers, URLs, hyperlinks and search engines.
A college library page linking to a nine-lesson Internet Basics tutorial and a guide to using search engines and refining results. It also covers citation basics with practice activities.
Explains how to search the web, bookmarks and history straight from Chrome's address bar, and how to find a word on a page.
An introduction to Outlook's core features, which keep email, calendar, contacts and tasks together. It covers account setup, the quick access bar, composing mail, scheduling meetings, contacts and tasks.
How to compose a new email and send it to one or more people in new Outlook, classic Outlook and Outlook on the web.
A short UK government guide to recognising fake emails that imitate trusted organisations, with warning signs such as urgency, generic greetings and odd sender addresses, and where to forward suspicious messages.
A one-page infographic on what phishing is, how to make yourself a harder target, telltale signs of a phishing email, and what to do if you have already clicked a bad link.
A US-CERT paper on how email scams work and how to protect yourself, from old-style fraud like bogus business offers to phishing. It is an older document, so some details are dated.
Explains how to add files and photos to a Gmail message on a computer. Personal accounts have a 25 MB limit, and larger files are turned into Google Drive links.
A short 2022 post on basic cyber hygiene for people who think they are not targets: multifactor authentication, automatic updates, caution with unexpected links and long unique passwords from a password manager.
Outlines the typical red flags of fraud: impersonation of trusted organisations, claims you owe money or won a prize, pressure to act fast and unusual payment methods. It advises verifying through known contacts and talking to someone you trust.
An FTC guide to phishing emails and texts, their warning signs, ways to protect yourself, what to do if you were caught out and how to report it.
Explains how sites, apps and advertisers track activity with cookies, pixels and advertising identifiers, and how browser settings, app permissions and ad blockers can limit it, though none block all tracking.
Guidance on how phishing works through fake emails, texts and calls and how to report suspicious messages, sites, adverts and calls to the NCSC. It suggests reviewing social media privacy settings to be a harder target.
Explains how phishing messages by email, text, social media or phone try to trick you, which warning signs to look for, and how to respond safely. It cautions that polished grammar is no longer a reliable clue.
A long beginner course from freeCodeCamp on computer and technology basics, per its title.
A LearnFree lesson on protecting your computer, from their Computer Basics series.
A LearnFree walkthrough on cleaning a computer, per its title. Part of their Computer Basics series.
An introductory lesson from LearnFree on getting started with Windows. Likely an older Windows version, so menus may look different today.
A LearnFree lesson introducing laptop computers, part of their Computer Basics series.
LearnFree announces its Basic Computer Skills course, which is aimed at newcomers to computers.