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It is fairly easy to start but to freshers out there, let’s dig up the basics to ensure you are properly equipped. So gear yourself up and look into the most basic requirements.

These are just some of the many things you can equip your home office with. If you have these resources available plus your desire to succeed, then you’re ready to go and start earning some serious money.

Technically, here are the resources you need to start with:

1) Get a good computer. A good and reliable computer is very essential. A desktop computer or a laptop will do. This doesn’t need to be the expensive brand or the latest in the market. A processor of Pentium 4 or higher can be very good coupled with Windows XP or a newer application. If you use a desktop computer, make sure you have a UPS or power supply to back you up in case of power outages or interruptions.

2) Get an internet connection. In choosing your internet service provider, consider gathering information first with regards to speed, connectivity and subscription. You may want to opt for a subscription service for unlimited usage monthly at a fixed rate. Most providers have this package. The main goal here is to have a dependable and always-on internet connection 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

3) Register for a PayPal l account. This will come in handy for your online payment transactions or when setting up a merchant account for your business. PayPal is safe, easy and convenient and works seamlessly with most credit cards and bank accounts. There are also other online payment facilities that you can use like Alertpay or Xoom.

4) Install Microsoft Office programs. Word and Excel are the commonly used programs for your data processing tasks. You can never do without these programs.

5) Install an Antivirus software. As the worldwide web progresses to unlimited heights, it also becomes increasingly unsecured. Having antivirus software installed in your computer will serve as your doctor to diagnose and heal existing and potential viruses and threats. This is very essential to safeguard your computer and save potential loss of valuable data. Free versions can be downloaded online but buying one is always better for more security features and upgrades.

6) Have an Adobe Reader. This is used to open and read PDF files and can also be downloaded for free.

6) Use a ZIP program. You may need to send large and heavy files through email. Don’t cause trouble to the receiver by sending very heavy files that her mailbox can’t handle. As a courtesy, use a zip program to compress the files. This can be sent in *.zip or *.rar format.

7) Have an email account. This is your gateway for communication and is as important as any other tool for your online job or business. There are a lot of free options available such as yahoo, gmail, aol and lycos, to name a few.

8) Have a backup drive – Making back-up copies of files from your computer on a regular basis would ease up clump in your hard drive, free you more disk space and most importantly, secure all your files. Using an external hard drive is a good and affordable alternative for this. Flash disks or cds have relatively low memory capacity so external hard drives are always better.

9) Use a telephone – This is an optional requirement. Should you need a phone service, a VOIP phone would be great or you might want to consider Skype for more convenience. They have low call rates compared to the regular telephone line.

10) Use a FAX service. This is also optional. Free software is available online for fax service or you can always use the conventional fax machine.