Reading Guitar Tabs

I just checked out the Lick of the Day and realised how much I don't know about reading guitar tabs. I'm familiar with the basics (and I just read this article) but I still have some questions:

E S S E S S S S S S S S S S E. S S S E Q Q
E||-------0---3b--0------0----------------|---------------------------||
B||---3b----0-------0-3b---0--------------|---------------------------||
G||*-------------------------2br-L-0------|--------------------------*||
D||*---------------------------------2p-0-|------2-L-2---------------*||
A||---------------------------------------|----------------2----------||
E||---------------------------------------|--0---------3b--0----------||
[Unfortunately the editor is scrapping the correct spacing so some characters are a bit off here.]

What do those stars (*) mean and what's with the letters above the tab (E, S, Q)? Thanks for your help.

Also, it would be cool if a link or button was added to the tab section of Lick of the Day, linking beginners to a guide or some kind of reference to help them understand things better.

Hi Everyone

Heyaz.

I'm new. I won a six month membership on got-djent.com and look forward to shredding with you guys here.

So, my name's Josh and I love music! I mostly listen to progressive metal and progressive rock, lots of djent, some post-rock and also a bit of doom/stoner/sludge. I used to play the piano, hated it at first (my mum forced me to play) and then suddenly started enjoying it after about six years. I think I played for about twelve years but had to stop five years ago. It was really hard at first and I bought an acoustic guitar, hoping to fill the hole. Unfortunately it didn't really work and I placed the guitar in a corner of the room, where it continued to collect dust for a long time.

Anyway, now I'm trying to get into this instrument and I've been playing more recently. Some of the pieces I like to play are Mexico by Incubus, Heal Over by KT Tunstall and Stumbleine by The Smashing Pumpkins (so that's basically cheesy pop music). I think I'm better at picking/plucking than strumming. Actually, I'm terrible at strumming. Getting the rhythm/groove right can be hard and I can't switch positions with my left hand fast enough.

So yeah, that's a bit about myself. I'm a guitar beginner and hope I can take things to the next level with the help of the community here.