Rest easy, your computer is more likely to be damaged by a virus picked up from the Internet than by being turned off and on too much.

How you end a computer session depends on how often you use the computer, your views on energy conservation (the amount of juice it uses while sitting idle), and what you have been told about how your decision will affect your investment's longevity: Will frequent starting and stopping cause its circuits to burn out sooner? But before you exit cyberspace, a decision must be made: Should you shut the machine down, place it into 'sleep' mode or do nothing at all? You take a deep breath, rub your tired eyes and prepare to push away from your personal computer after a lengthy instant message exchange, video viewing or analysis of your monthly budget-maybe all three.