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A lot of people use the Internet to find porn.

A lot of people use Firefox (go download Firefox 3.6!)

In fact, I'd go as far to suggest that porn surfers -- or at least the search for naughty, illicit, adult-only material -- account for Firefox's biggest market demographic. The 'young' Internet -- blogs, social networks, porn -- is predominantly ruled by the spotty teenagers of the browser world: Firefox and Chrome. Internet Explorer's total market share is larger, but corporations, geriatrics and aging family computers -- i.e. the non-porn world -- account for most of that.

I'm not expecting you to raise your hand or even nod your agreement, but let's face it: most of us, at some time or another, will search for porn. It makes sense to be prepared for such an eventuality -- I think we all know the perils of loud, auto-playing sex music or aggressive pop-ups of hairy, German MILFs that just. won't. close.

Note: all of the links in this feature are safe. Don't worry: you should be fine to read this at work.

1. Back up my important files regularly. I've always sucked at doing this, and it's time to change that. With so many good online options (like Mozy, Backblaze, and Carbonite) and external hard drives being so cheap, there's really no excuse for operating without a good set up backups.
2. Keep my operating system, applications, and plugins updated. I'm good with keeping my OS up to date - Windows does that for me. Antivirus programs? They take care of themselves, too.
   
   Other applications are another story - if a program doesn't auto-update like (Firefox, Google Chrome, or uTorrent, for example) I often forget to check to see if there are newer versions available.
   
   I'm also guilty of clicking away alerts from plugins like Java and Adobe Flash player, and that has to stop. Installing their updates is a big part of keeping a system secure, and it takes very little time.
   
   A program like the File Hippo Update Checker or Update Notifier can be a big help.

Peel yourself off the floor (like Flickr user B. Rosen above), Download Squad readers! It's time to usher in 2010!

Over the past twelve months we've shown you plenty of great tools to improve your productivity. We like to keep things in balance, though, so there were also plenty of awesome Time Wasters posted to keep your stress levels in check. Although in hindsight there were several which probably stressed some of you out even more... so... sorry about that.

Still, there's no better way to kick off the new year than with a big ol' helping of button-mashing, bad guy-blasting, puzzle-solving fun. Without further ado, it's time to take the jump and enjoy ten of our favorite Time Wasters from 2009!

Sure, Chrome OS has been all over the headlines since early December. But it might not run on your hardware and you're going to have to wait at least a year for the final version. Why bother waiting?

Linux enthusiasts have been working on projects like this for years - fast booting, stripped-down distributions which offer the core functionality most users are looking for in a pinch: web browsing, music and video playback, photo management, and some basic games.

Here are 11 options you can take for a spin right now...And since the Google Chrome beta version is available for Linux you can even run the browser that "is the OS" in most of these if you want!

Many of you probably received a shiny, new netbook, laptop, nettop, desktop, HTPC, or something else with a CPU in it running Windows for the holidays. One thing that has come to be synonymous with new PCs is dreadful preinstalled software (nerdy types call it crapware or bloat).

For the most part, the programs OEMs pack onto their systems suck. They're marginally useful at best, and just eat away at your PC's performance and disk space. Since you've got a nice, quiet weekend to get things done, let's take a look at how you can un-suck that new system!

It's really just a two-step process! Step 1: uninstall all the garbage. Step 2: install some free, kick-ass software.

Ok, so the steps might be kind of long, but it's still only two key steps. Let's break it down into a few more for clarity's sake...

Christmas is a week away. Have you finished (started) your holiday shopping yet? If you are a PROcrastinator (like myself) you've been planning on ordering everything online and having it speed-shipped in the Saint Nick of time. Well there is still time (or not). Check out the lists below for the last possible minute to order your gifts.

Amazon
Amazon order deadlines are:

• Thurs. 17th - Free super saver shipping. Too late! Sorry.
• Sun 20th - Standard shipping. (hurry!)
• Mon 21st - Gift cards by mail
• Tues 22nd, 8pm PT - Two-day shipping
• Wed 23rd, 4:30pm PT) One-day shipping. (Though this varies by item, so be careful)
• Thurs 24th - Local express in select cities
• E-mail and printable gift cards - Immediate at any time. (The ultimate procrastination gift)

Best Buy
Best Buy guarantees Christmas delivery by the following times if you order on the following dates prior to 11am ET, or they will give you a $10-$20 digital coupon (depending on order size)

• Mon 21st - Standard Shipping
• Tue 22nd - Expedited Shipping
• Wed 23rd - Express Shipping

Apple Store
Apple store order times depend on the exact items, but for the most common items such as iPods, iPhones, standard config macs (except for the 27" iMac), and apple accessories, the following dates are pretty solid:

• Sat 19th, midnight PT - Free 2-3 day shipping
• Wed 23rd, 10am PT - Next day shipping

Dell
Dell is promising that their most popular systems can be delivered in 48 hours, meaning that you have until Monday the 21st at Noon PT to order.

• Mon 21st, noon PT - 48hr shipping.

Newegg
Newegg's order deadlines are:

• Sun 20th, 11:59am PT - UPS Guaranteed 3 Day or FedEx Express Saver
• Mon 21st, 3pm PT - RUSH ORDERED UPS Guaranteed 3 Day or FedEx Express Saver
• Tues 22nd, 3pm PT - UPS 2nd Day Air or Fedex 2Day Express
• Wed 23rd, 3pm PT - UPS Next day, FedEx Overnight

Tiger Direct
Tiger Direct's deadlines are based on region so check out their shipping chart, but you might be able to squeak by with a little later than the following:

• Fri 18th - UPS Ground
• Tues 22nd - UPS 2 day
• Weds 23rd - UPS overnight

Think Geek
Order quickly for some of the best geek gear on the planet. Eastern states can still get standard UPS ground shipping if ordered by today, all other states must use an expedited shipping method.

• Fri 18th - 3 Day shipping
• Mon 21st - 2 Day shipping
• Wed 23rd - Next day shipping

On 12/28 I am eligible to switch phones and am rationalizing an iPhone purchase, which is all the more difficult as I just read David Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. The book advocates saving money and paring down expenses, so the $30 monthly data plan would definitely be in the con column. However, after reading 33 things you don't need if you buy an iPhone, I'm thinking I'll definitely come out ahead in the long run. Below are some of my favorite excuses reasons to purchase.

GPS- rather than purchasing a stand alone unit, like Tom Tom, there's several apps in the App Store that will help with turn by turn navigation.

Camera - since my husband borrowed and never returned my Canon PowerShot, I definitely "need" a good camera. And while the iPhone's camera is not like my SD850IS, it's a decent enough point and shoot. Plus, I'll be "saving" money and don't even get me started on the convenience of not having to carry multiple devices.

Five years ago today, a new web browser arrived on the scene. Yes, it was Firefox 1.0. At the half-decade mark, Firefox has become a force to be reckoned with. Nearly one in four people on the Internet is now using Firefox - and that includes the entire population of Antarctica!

If Firefox users were a country, they'd be the third most populous in the world - behind only China and India - at 330 million people! 2009 has certainly been a big year for the Fox.

Mozilla's add-on site reports 4.3 million registered users using nearly 164 million add-ons. That's a lot of people using a lot of add-ons. If you're a new Firefox user, you might be having trouble deciding which are worth installing.

Since this is Firefox's fifth birthday, here are five add-ons that can make browsing better for just about anyone!

With Halloween out of the way, it's now officially time to look towards CHRISTMAS!

Stop right there! Let me turn those groans of yours -- those Scroogeish grunts of displeasure -- into smiles and laughter! For this year, how about giving the gift of game with Valve's Steam? OK, so they might not be your smiles nor your laughter, but what feeling of joy is greater than seeing someone's face light up with happiness and the glow of a widescreen TV)?

For $10 to $20 you can give someone a game that will provide hours and hours of pleasure and fun this festive season. Think about how much your son would love you if you gave him an excuse to leave the dinner table early, to play with his new toy? Or if your wife could bus virtual tables, rather than real ones? Perhaps you just want to treat yourself to some brain-scratching, finger-contorting goodness. Any way you want it, the best Christmas presents this year will be video games.

Read on for the five best games currently available on Steam. They're all cheap. They're all fun. They're all a complete steal.

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We've already mentioned other ways to power up Google Chrome. Before extensions arrived on the developer channel, Userscripts and bookmarklets were your only options. Both are still great ways to add some kick-ass functionality to Chrome. If you're running the stable or beta builds, you may want to stick to them for now.

• 10 handy Userscripts for Google Chrome users
• 15+ handy bookmarklets for Google Chrome (and other browsers, too!)

Now, onto the extensions!

If you have a favorite that I left off, feel free to share it in the comments!
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Now that you can go and pick up Windows 7 just about anywhere (I hear there's a free copy of Starter coming with every Happy Meal*), let's take a look back at some of Download Squad's past articles about the new OS.

After all, we've been covering it since it was just a rumor and using Windows 7 hands-on since...Well, frankly since that first leak appeared on torrent trackers. With our retail copies in hand, let's go back in time and take a look at some of the Windows 7 coolness you can read about right here!

Get Windows 7 installed on your netbook without a DVD drive!
A handy little secret about your Windows 7 DVD is that it's easy to dump onto a USB flash drive - which you can plug in to any DVD-less computer system and boot! It's a hassle free way to install on your netbook.

Got a clean Windows 7 install? Get some great, FREE Open Source program and games!
While these downloads aren't Windows 7-specific, this list has a ton of awesome apps and games that are right at home on your new Windows 7 desktop or laptop. Best of all, they're all free!!

Microsoft shows off Windows 7's touch features
A number of PC makers have started rolling out touchscreen (and multi-touch) laptops and desktops, and Windows 7 takes full advantage of those technologies. Take a look at what the new OS has in store for real hands-on interaction.

It's all over the place; Verizon is embracing Android. Google loving apologist geeks everywhere are heralding the 85 million new customers -- who are obviously ready to try Android, if only Verizon would let them -- as the beginning of a new era in mobile phone competition. The cries of panacea are all I've heard all day:

"It's going to be a floodgate of new users! "

"Death to the iPhone!"

And, as one particularly difficult to satisfy commenter on another blog wrote:

"Get over yourselves apple and make a new product."

I'll have to admit, as a current G2, and previous G1 owner, I was a little excited myself. Then I read one thing from the joint Verizon/Google press call which made me crestfallen.

"Verizon also has no plans to make any changes to the Android Market."

And with that, all my dreams of an Android controlled world ran away like so much sand through my fingers. This is an enormous mistake, Verizon. Care to know why? The Android Market is terrible. It's worse than terrible, it's horrible.

Horrible, and just a little bit dangerous.

I've got a list of five things Verizon must do to the Android Market if they're to have any hope of even modest success.

We're continuing our Tell DLS column by leaving the desktop and heading to the web. There's tonnes and tonnes of webapps out there -- however here's just 10 that I use day-in, day-out. If you're got any other favourites, be sure to leave them in the comments!