Before 60: World of Warcraft Tips

I’m thinking about writing an entry about some of the User Interface modifcations (UI mods) I’ve downloaded for World of Warcraft, but figure I should start with this entry first so I can refer back to it.  General computer security is an important thing to consider before downloading anything online or even entering information into a web form!

Spyware and Key logging “trojan” programs on your computer are a serious security threat when it comes to the privacy of your personal information online.

A few rules to help you keep clean of these trojans:

1. Use a different browser than Internet Explorer wherever possible. Some sites won’t work without IE, but many of the spyware that comes from websites was developed specifically to exploit Internet Explorer weaknesses. Considering over 80% of all web traffic is done through IE, it’s a good investment for them. I recommend Firefox, as it’s also a pretty zippy browser for complex pages. It’s fast and it comes with certain securities built in that IE lacks upon install. See the link at the top right of this page to download Firefox for free.
2. If you play games like RuneScape that don’t need a software purchase and a local installation to run, don’t download “hacks” or programs that are meant to enhance your experience. If it’s an official program, suggest the author submit their software to Tucows or some other large well-known repository, and download it from there later. You could be installing a key logger or the program could straight out ask you for your password and then pass it on to the maker of the software!
3. Any web link you get from an email that brings you to a page where you’re supposed to enter sensitive information like your credit card, bank info or passwords, don’t do it!  Banks and other service providers would NEVER contact you that way.
4. Download Lavasoft’s Ad Aware SE - the free version if you’re using your home computer. Then, make sure all aspects of it are updated (when you first download it, there may still be updates you need to download immediately after installation) and then let it scan your drives. This may take a while if you, like me, have large drives. It’s worth the wait but you might want to let it scan overnight if you’ve never scanned before.Remove *ALL* of the things that Ad Aware SE finds. You may have to right-click the list and choose “select all” before proceeding if you have a long list. I had a friend with over 700 items in this list the first time we cleaned his computer up.
5. Download Spyware Search & Destroy (these can both be found in Tucows directory) and do the same things as in step #2. I find that these two programs work nicely together to keep my drive clean, with my doing weekly scans.

And as is standard these days, get a virus scanner that runs on your machine all the time it’s on, and make sure the virus scanner keeps up to date. I personally use Norton with its LiveUpdate feature, but you may prefer something else, or your computer may prefer something else ;) I’ve had virus programs severely slow down my machine’s performance and even crash it, while on other machines that virus program works just fine. Do what works, and what doesn’t cause you headaches.

Keep your computer clean. It’s an important step in protecting your personal, private information from those of unscrupulous internet users!

When I first started playing WoW, I read Blizzard’s page on professions but didn’t completely understand what it meant in terms of how I could choose them myself.  Therefore, now that I understand, I’m writing this entry so others may also understand.

Primary and Secondary - poor terms

I think my main problem was that Primary and Secondary put specific things in my mind when I hear them.  Like the fact that generally in life (except if you’re into Polyamory), if you have something assigned to a “Primary” slot, there are no other slots available that are also labelled “Primary”.  One primary.  That’s it.  Except in WoW, where a Primary profession means it counts towards the two professions you’re allowed to choose at any one time in the game.

“Secondary” on WoW in terms of professions basically means “a skill that anyone can learn in addition to the Primary professions they’ve selected”. 

Secondary Professions Available

There are three Secondary professions available:  Fishing, Cooking and First Aid.

You still need to “train” in these professions as you would your Primary ones, meaning you still need to find the Cooking, Fishing and First Aid trainers (aka Physician in some areas), but they’re skills you can work on right away at low levels while you’re deciding what Primary professions you want to commit to.

Committing to Primary Professions

The commitment to your two chosen Primary Professions gets to be more serious as you advance them.  You cannot switch Primary professions and still maintain the old levels you had trained up in the previous Primary professions pairing, so it’s a good idea to really THINK before you commit to your Primary professions.

I’ve heard that Alchemy, Leatherworking and Herbalism are good Primary skills to engage in, but of course it depends on whether you’re looking to collect/create things to sell or whether you’re looking to create things for your own use within your class specialties.

Personally, my Troll Hunter is Skinning/Leatherworking and my Gnome Mage will be a Herbalist/Alchemist once she’s a little bigger.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for something to do at low levels instead of just hacking and slashing and questing, find Cooking, First Aid and Fishing trainers to get you started on your way.  You can fish in almost any puddle you run across, humanoids drop linen for your creation of bandages, and as your Cooking level advances, you can cook most of the fish you catch, which provides for healing and pet food. 

Give it a go!