10 Technology Safety Tips for 2009

Now that your 2009 resolutions have worn off, now refocus and get your technology safety hat on. I recently read some tips by Anne Krishnan that inspired this article and to add a few of my own into the mix.

1. Pay attention to Phishing – Ask yourself, why would your long standing bank lose your info?
2. Watch out for pop-up ads – they won’t improve your system
3. Don’t respond to email forwards – these quick money claims are not real
4. Create SPAM account – create a new gmail, yahoo, etc… email account just for shopping
5. Download new browser – Upgrade your browser to the latest IE or Mozilla for enhanced security
6. Don’t click on every link – clickjacking is real
7. Go hands-free – don’t text while driving
8. Manage online profile – Google yourself and see what comes up and fix it
9. Back-up your files – Storage is cheap, back-up your data
10. Go Dark – Too much technology is not good, turn it off every once in awhile

Be safe online in 2009!

Clickjacking

Have you heard of Clickjacking? A friend of mine recently had it happen to him; don’t let it happen to you.

Clickjacking is when a hacker embeds code in a website, then a user clicks on it, and allows the hacker to take over their browser. Once in control, they can click any link without the knowledge of the browser user. If they can take over your browser when you walk away, imagine the possibilities.

So how do you protect yourself?

1. First of all download a browser that has higher security features than Internet Explorer; I suggest Mozilla Firefox.
2. Then download a Mozilla Add-on called “No Script” which will turn off off all suspicious code on websites. It is not easy to browse at first because you have to approve the content your want to see. If you don’t whitelist or approve areas on your screen, you will see nothing.

Is there anything else we can do to prevent Clickjacking?

Read more about Clickjacking

NetLingo – How many do you know?

How would you rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 on your technology vocabulary? As a parent do know the top 50 Internet acronyms?

How many of these these terms do you know?

1. LMIRL – Let’s Meet In Real Life
2. POS – Parent Over Shoulder
3. PAL – Parents Are Listening
4. KPC – Keeping Parents Clueless
5. ASL – Age/Sex/Location

Read the complete list at Netlingo.
http://www.netlingo.com/top50teens.cfm

Are You a Safe Cyber Surfer?

The National Criminal Justice Reference Service publishes many articles on Internet safety. The website sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice features articles and tips on how to stay on the safe side of the Internet Super Highway. Download articles from “How to Bank Securely Online” to “What to do to Avoid an Internet Scam”.

7 Tips to Stay Safe Online

1. Protect your personal information
2. Know who you’re dealing with
3. Use anti-virus and anti-spyware
4. Update your web browser and system frequently
5. Protect your passwords
6. Backup important files
7. Know who to contact if something goes wrong

How many of these seven do you do?
http://www.ncjrs.gov/internetsafety/general.html