I am thinking of purchasing a second-hand Macintosh computer (perhaps a Performa, with a PowerPC processor) which I would use exclusively for connecting to the Internet. Moreover, I would use the Internet, in principle, mainly for sending and receiving email. The Macintosh appears to be less vulnerable to computer viruses in comparison to the PC. Is this true or merely a legend? What version of the MacOS operating system would you suggest as the most appropriate for the task? Finally, is it possible to obtain, somehow, a free connection to the Internet. If so, could you please let me know how? Thanks for your help.

There are quite a few more viruses for PCs which affect operating systems such as Windows than there are viruses for Macintosh. However, be aware that viruses still can infect the Macintosh. It is a bit complex to explain the ways in which Mac’s can be infected with viruses so I will point you to the following article ‘Viruses and the Macintosh FAQ’: www.sherpasoft.org.uk/MacSupporters/macvir.html. While this site is over a year old now, it still holds quite relevant information with regard to the Macintosh and viruses. In the event that you cannot access this internet site (noting that your computer does not have an internet connection at the moment) I will post a copy of this article to you. Another site which is worth a look is antivirus.about.com/cs/macintoshthreats/. Concerning your question on which version of MacOS to run, it really depends on what your computer can support. It is unlikely that you would be able to run an operating system like MacOS X on a Performa. You should ensure that before buying the computer, the operating system which is loaded does support internet access. Finally, there are some companies which seem to give away free internet access. One such service is FishPC Internet (www.fishpc.com.au) which appears to only require the payment of an upfront set up fee and no more. However, they don’t seem to be taking any more applications at the moment. For myself however, I would rather pay a monthly charge in the expectation that I am assured of having a stable and available internet connection. Also, my apologies for the delay in responding to your question.