The Last Day of 2009… And Some Safety Tips

I want to thank all of you, Dear Readers; for your questions, and comments, and for just stopping by. You made 2009 a phenomenal year for me and Tech – for Everyone. I hope I will see even more of you in the new year.

I am a safety & security-conscious sort, and so I would like to remind you that,  “New Year’s Eve is a night that is ripe for the occurrence of any untoward event. It should not only be left to the law to take care that nothing bad happens. There are a host of safety measures that people can take for their own good on the big night…” and I invite you to read Safety Tips for New Years Eve

The text (and article link) comes from a website I discovered while researching online safety tips. The site is called Buzzle.com, and I was impressed by its list of categories. I am providing the direct links. Maybe one or two will catch your eye… I marked a couple, for you techy-types.
Safety Tips
Baby Safety
Car Safety
Cell Phone Safety
Child Safety
Computer Safety <——–
Driving Safety
Electrical Safety
Fire Safety
Food Safety
Internet Safety <——–
Road Safety
Safety
Safety Glasses
School Safety
Water Safety
Workplace Safety
Children & Family Attractions & Entertainment
Children Sports
Children’s Art & Literature
Computers & Internet <——–
Events & Holidays
Kids News
Kids’ Health & Fitness Learning & Playing
Parenting
People & Places
Philosophy Topics
Teenagers & Young Adults
Children & Family Articles

So please have a safe celebration, and allow me to wish you and yours a Happy New Year!

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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How to Avoid Facebook and Twitter Disasters

Take Some Practical Steps To Control What Others See About You

Folks, today I want to refer you to a well-written, entertaining, and informative article which gives you a wonderful introduction to the etiquette of, and is a great How To on, the ‘smart’ use of social networking.

“…we’ve outlined here a handful of common disastrous scenarios in which one (or both) of these social networks was misused, as well as the best way to prevent or remedy the problem. But in the end you’ll find that the fundamental lesson is invariably the same, and that’s to remember the golden rule of all social networks: Never forget that the whole world is watching…”

To read the rest, please click here. (Even if you are not a “social networker”, you might enjoy this read..)

Facebook users should be aware of recent changes to the “settings” and privacy features. See, Five Facebook Privacy Issues You Should Know About

Copyright 2007-9 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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Tips For Safe Online Shopping*

I think it is a pretty safe bet that quite a few of you are doing some last minute holiday shopping.. and that some of you are going to use the Internet to do some of that shopping.

I would like to remind you that there is a healthy, active, and well-financed underworld of cyber-criminals who are well-aware of the fact that the next few days are prime credit card and “identity” theft opportunities, and are going to be particularly active in trying to GET YOU.

You will see an increase in spam, and bogus pop-opens that tell you you are infected when you’re not. (Note: The phraudulent Skype alert is active again, too. see Skype — “Windows Requires Immediate Attention”.. Not! )

I am posting the following Basic Internet Shopping Tips in the hopes that Tech–for Everyone readers will not join the 9 million Americans who had their identities stolen last year.

• Download Software Updates — Regularly!
• Use Complex Passwords (include numerals and @#$%^&*[])
• Use Onetime Credit Cards
• Verify Secure Connections See that little padlock symbol at the bottom of your screen, and in the URL address bar?
• Check Your Credit
• Enter Your Shopping Site’s Web Address Manually (embedded links=no!)
• Shop From Your Own computer (not a public ‘hotspot’)
• Enable your browser’s phishing filter, or install a add-on. (such as the super-easy WOT toolbar)
• Don’t Send Credit Card Information Over E-mail. Even if you think it’s secure. Don’t send it over IM either. If you feel uncomfortable about sending personal information online, call up the business.

I would like to direct your attention to the first bulletpoint. The programs on your computer need to be fully “patched” with the latest updates, as exploiting weaknesses is the primary method hackers use to infect your machines. (You visit a website that they’ve ‘poisoned’, and if you have an unpatched ‘hole’, bingo – you’re infected.)

How do you know if you have the latest updates? For all your installed programs? Do you think you are patched? Don’t guess. Be sure!

Today’s free link+download: Secunia offers a tool that I highly recommend. The online scanner (which you should bookmark, btw) will scan your machine for roughly 100 programs and tell you if there is a patch/update you need. If you go this route, you will need to visit once or twice a week.)
Better yet, they offer a download, a Personal Edition, which will scan your system against a database of over 7,000 programs.
Even better yet, it includes direct download links to the missing patches it finds.

I just ran it and it found an old ActiveX plug in, and told me that my Java Runtime Environment was out of date.. and I didn’t think I had installed JRE on this machine!

Further reading:
Computer Security – Time to Think About It
A Teen Texting Trend All Parents Should Be Aware Of

Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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