A common question I get is about using COM objects or components within Visual Basic. Any object you use within Visual Basic (leaving out DCOM and COM+ for now) is a COM object. COM is simply a specification for how objects talk to each other within the Windows environment. For instance, if you create a FileSystemObject, that is a COM object.
In more general terms, you have to first reference the object library in the References dialog under the Project menu. For the FileSystemObject, for instance, you need the Microsoft Scripting Runtime library. The Object Browser (located on the View menu) will then show you all the parts of that library. You can then declare instances of those objects as shown in the documentation provided with VB.
In short, don't let the buzzwords trip you up. COM objects are really easy to use and, believe it or not, you're already using them!