Use google or hotbot and search for a program called "LiquidIcon."
It's free and I'm using if for a few projects right now. It creates an .ico file, and you can either import a .bmp or .jpg image (which it resizes for you), or you can use its icon creator that lets you draw from scratch, in the proper icon format. I've tested the icons it creates in a text program I'm making (I talked about that in a different thread) and it's tops. I tried to attach the app to this post, but I'm not sure if I did it right. Hope this helps!
-Matt Rock
PS. For someone who calls himself "the computer geek," you sure do ask a lot of questions! hehe
"Hell is an Irish Pub where it's St. Patrick's Day all of the time." ~ Christopher, *The Soprano's*