If you are new to researching genealogy online, as I am sure you have discovered there are very different methods for gathering information than the regular brick and mortar library. The internet is a vast place filled with information, some useful and even more not so useful. It is important to keep things simple at first to prevent that overwhelmed feeling. (picture of being sucked into a black hole)
Step 1: Don’t purchase anything on the internet if you are a beginner. If you feel strongly that membership or paying for a vital document is essential to your search, consult with someone familiar with technology such as a librarian to give you the best insight as to what is reliable.
Step 2: Don’t enter your email address or your name or any other personal information into a website. This information is tracked and recorded and often used for telemarketers and email marketers that can put you on lists to receive thousands of SPAM emails.
If you find a website that is asking for this information, just go back to Google and find a different website.
Most everything is organized by searchable databases, meaning you type in the last name you are looking for and a results list will pop up on a page with every link to the last name you entered.
