Obama, Cyber Security, and Identity Theft Protection Starts at Home

Whether you realize it or not one of the biggest threats to your personal security is your computer. And the Obama administration is bringing to light the fact that they believe, and you should too, that one of the biggest security threats to national security is also your computer.

The message is "Think before you click. Know who's on the other side of that instant message. What you say or do in cyberspace stays in cyberspace - for many to see, steal and use against you or your government."

The Internet, and the power it has in contrast to the security it doesn't, is incredible. We have never seen something so powerful bring people together, educating, informing and making life easier but it's also used to hurt, scam and debilitate in so many ways.

As reported in the Associated Press, the Pentagon's computer systems are probed 360 million times a day, and one prominent power company has acknowledged that its networks see up to 70,000 scans a day.

Utilities, banks, retailers and just about every computer network are faced with attacks each day. Many of these hacks are insignificant. However many are with intent to commit crimes such as espionage, stealing financial data or destroying information.

The criminal hackers could be cyber terrorists trying to destroy the U.S. or its economy, malfeasance simply trying to wreak havoc for the sake of it, or opportunists looking to make a profit.

The US is a prime target for many reasons. The most obvious is we've made mistakes that have many in the world hating us. Then there is our financial system that's wide open and lends credit to anyone with a Social Security number instantly checking and approving credit. And of course credit card security is an oxymoron because anyone any time can use anyone's credit card present or non present. We have a bull's-eye on us and we put it there.

A growing concern is "Weapons of Mass Disruption". The US and many other countries are electrically/digitally dependent. Our critical infrastructures including drinking water, sewer systems, phone lines, banks, air traffic, and government systems, all depend on the electric grid. No electricity, no computers, no gasoline, no refrigeration, no clean water. After a major successful attack we'd be back to the dark ages instantly. Think about when the power goes out in your house for a few hours. We're stymied.

The Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security, are hiring thousands of computer experts to protect our networks. But the weakest link in the chain is not the government, but the citizens. Government has lots of work to do, but moms and pops are the most vulnerable. Enterprise networks have become hardened, while small business and the lowly consumer know enough about information security to get hacked. Awareness is key. You are either part of the problem or the solution.

Read this and every possible blog, article and report you have access to so you can stay on top of what is new and ahead of what is next in technology and the security necessary to keep it safe. Build your IT security vocabulary. Protect yourself and your business.

Those steps include:

Use antivirus software, spyware removal, parental controls and firewalls.

Back up your data locally and in the cloud.

Understand the risks associated with the wireless web especially when using unsecured public networks.

Protect your identity too. The most valuable resource you have is your good name. Allowing anyone to pose as you and let them damage your reputation is almost facilitating a crime. Nobody will protect you, except you.


Get a credit freeze. Go to ConsumersUnion.org and follow the steps for your particular state. This is an absolutely necessary tool to secure your credit. In most cases, it prevents new accounts from being opened in your name.
And invest in identity theft protection. Not all forms of identity theft protection can be prevented, but identity theft protection services can dramatically reduce your risk.

Robert Siciliano
http://IDTheftSecurity.com

Simple Rules For PC Protection

The growth in Internet popularity is followed by a growth in immoral and criminal activities on the web. Hackers, crackers, web bullies, identity thieves, all of them and more are out there in the cyber world. They invent new methods every day for attacking PCs and networks to use in criminal activities. Every person with a computer is exposed to it. This is why Internet security has become such an important topic in the last few years. When you go online you must know how to protect yourself.

Following are ten simple rules that you can follow in order to protect your PC and privacy:



Click Wisely - When you surf the web you probably come across different ads and messages prompting you to click on them and approve downloading. A lot of these are innocent, but some can hide executable files that can infect your PC. Files that end with .exe, .com, .bat, and .scr, as well as, scriptable document files including .doc and .xls may be dangerous and turn out to be malware. You have to think carefully before downloading a file to your PC. Download files only from websites you know and trust.

Protect Your Passwords - Tailor your PC and Internet passwords so they won't be detected by hackers. Use strong passwords and change them frequently. A strong password is a combination of at least seven characters with a mix of lower and uppercase letters and digits. It is important to use a variety of passwords. If you use the same password for all of your accounts and PCs it may result in total exposure if the password reaches the wrong hands. Make up new words for your passwords; hackers can easily guess passwords that are made up of common words. It is important that all the users that are defined on your PC have unique passwords.

Use a Firewall - You can think of a firewall as a shell around your computer protecting it from incoming attacks. An active firewall is a necessity these days if you spend time on the Internet. If you are using windows XP OS(=Operating System), you already have a firewall installed. You just need to make sure that it is activated.

To enable the firewall, follow these instruction:


Click 'Start' > 'Setting' > 'Control Panel' , and then click 'Network Connections'.
Double-click on your active Internet connection, click 'Properties', and then select the 'Advanced' tab.
In the 'Advanced' tab, in the 'Windows Firewall' group box click 'Settings', and then select 'On'.


If your operating system does not include a firewall you should install one.


Use Anti-virus Software - Computer viruses, worms, trojan horses and much more can penetrate your computer (by email attachment, by file sharing) without being detected by the firewall. It is important to have software that can handle such penetration. An anti-virus software works from inside the computer detecting malware and deleting it. A good anti-virus will also scan email attachments and downloads before they can harm your PC. It is very important to update the anti-virus software all the time in order for it to stay relevant and handle new threats.

Use Anti-spyware Software - Anti-spyware software can increase your PC security a great deal. Nowadays many malware attacks originate in spyware. In addition to a firewall and an anti-virus you should install and run anti-spyware software.

Secure Your Internet Browser - The first step in securing your Internet browser is choosing the most secure one. Currently, IE (=Internet Explorer) is the most popular Internet browser. As such, malicious hackers made it their number one target and set out to exploit its flaws. It also has a the disadvantage of relying on ActiveX technology, which allows web sites to run executable programs on your PC via your browser. Although there is an improvement in security in IE 7 compared to older versions, this technology is still vulnerable. Mozilla's Firefox is the most popular IE alternative. Like IE, it is also a target for hackers. In order to minimize the risk it may be safer to use a less popular browser such as, Opera browser or Google Chrome browser. No matter which browser you choose, remember to keep it updated in order to deal with new Internet threats.
If you are set on using IE it is a good idea to deactivate ActiveX technology.

To disable ActiveX in IE 6 and IE 7:

Open a browser page, and then click 'Tools' > 'Internet Options'.
On the 'Internet Options' dialog box click the 'Security' tab, and then click 'Custom Level'.
On the 'Security Settings - Internet zone' dialog box, scroll down to 'Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins' and select 'Disable'.
On the 'Custom Level' dialog box click 'OK', and then on the 'Internet Options' dialog box click 'OK'.

To enable ActiveX on a trusted site in IE 6 and IE 7:

Open a browser page, and then click 'Tools' > 'Internet Options'.
On the 'Internet Options' dialog box click the 'Security' tab, select 'Trusted Sites' and then click 'Sites'.
In the 'Trusted Sites' dialog box, in the 'Add this website to the zone' text box, enter the site address, and then click 'Add'.
Clear the 'Require server verification...' checkbox for all sites in this zone, and then click 'Close'.
On the 'Internet options' dialog box, click 'OK'.


If you choose to keep ActiveX enabled you will surely encounter websites in which you will be asked to install their ActiveX control on your PC. Make sure this control is safe and legitimate before doing so.

You can also raise the security level of IE browser. To do so:

Open a browser page, and then click 'Tools' > 'Internet Options'.
On the 'Internet Options' dialog box click the 'Security' tab, and then click 'Custom Level'.
On the 'Security Settings - Internet zone' dialog box, in the 'Reset custom settings' group box, select 'High' and then click 'OK'.
On the 'Internet Options' dialog box, click 'OK'.



Always Upgrade to The Latest OS(=Operating System) Service Pack - There are types of malware that exploit weaknesses in operating systems. Due to its popularity the most attacked OS is Microsoft Windows operating system (in all versions). The best way to protect your computer is to install a different operating system such as Ubuntu Linux. Linux operating system is usually less attacked by malware.
No matter what OS you choose, upgrade regularly to the latest service pack in order to be protected from new threats.

Secure Your Wireless Network - If you are using a wireless network it is important that you protect yourself from people who are trying to use it without your knowledge.
First change the default name of your Wi-Fi network in order to prevent "drive around" hackers from thinking you are an easy target. Make sure to encrypt your network; use a strong WPA2 protection standard.
You can also hide your Wi-Fi network by hiding your SSID broadcast and implementing MAC address filtering. Most Wi-Fi access points and routers have this feature set to 'disabled' as a default setting. It is recommended to enable this feature in order to improve the security of your Wi-Fi network. Without MAC address filtering any wireless client can join the Wi-Fi network if they know the network name (also called the SSID) and a few other security parameters like encryption keys. When you set MAC address filtering feature you should create a white list of clients that will be allowed to join the network and enter those MAC addresses into a configuration screen of the wireless access point or router, then switch on the filtering option. Once enabled, whenever the wireless access point or router receives a request to join with the Wi-Fi network, it compares the MAC address of that client against the white list you have entered. Clients on the list authenticated; clients not on the list are denied any access to the Wi-Fi network.

Be careful when using unsecured connections of neighbors or free public connections. Sometimes there are just Wi-Fi networks of people who didn't bother to take protection measures, but they may also be traps set up by hackers in order to get your personal information. If you must use a public connection make sure you encrypt your outgoing data and don't sign on to financial accounts.


Secure Your Email - The majority of malware is being spread by emails. It is important to take measures in order to make your email more secure. As a first step always use a trusted email client. Many email clients can deliver your emails but it doesn't mean that they protect your PC and personal information in the process. It is important that the email client you are using has basic features, which protect your PC, such as, filtering unwanted messages from your inbox and scanning email attachments for computer viruses. Use a first-rate email client, such as, Google Mail.

It is also recommended to carefully monitor emails with attachments. When you download an email attachment to your PC it is not checked by your firewall. Many hackers use spam emails in order to spread malware. Don't open or download attachments from an unknown sender. Opening attachments that were send from friends may also be a risk if their PC was infected by malware. Make sure that the email makes sense to you before you open its attachments.
Be careful with emails that have links. Hackers and spammers sometimes use links in order to seduce you to enter malicious websites and get your personal information. These emails can seem like authentic emails from your bank or from some service provider. If you get such an email it is better to open a new browser page and enter the URL of the legitimate business manually to check if the email is legit, or contact the service provider and check it out.

Another protection measure you can take is to set up customized filtering options on your emails. Most ISPs provide spam filtering, but you can make it more effective by customizing it yourself. For example, Google mail allows you to create aliases for your email and you will get all of the emails to the same inbox. When subscribing to a new service or newsletter you can create a new alias and if you find that this alias is being used for spam or malicious intentions you can just delete it. If you are using an email client that does not give the feature of aliases then you can create a few free emails accounts (directing them to your main email account) and use them in the same way as aliases.


Disable File Sharing On Your PC - Sometimes you allow file sharing on your PC so people who have legitimate access to it can easily reach these files. This can be dangerous if you are using Wi-Fi network that is very public like in universities or airports. You are exposing your PC to strangers that are on the same network. If you didn't disabled file sharing these people can get access to your files. It is important to disable file sharing access from foreign computers.

For more information on how to protect your PC and personal information go to - In3Go - Internet Security Information

Anti Virus Protection - Free Anti-Spyware and Anti-Virus List

Spyware and computer viruses are one of the online threats that can be harmful to your system. Protection against these threats is essential and every computer should have at least a basic protection.

National Cyber Security Alliance in 2005 online safety study has reported that 81% of computer home users lack basic protection. This study shows that most people still don't know about PC protection and even though some of them know about it, they don't know where to find good software to protect their system.

In this article, I will tell you what are the anti-spyware and anti-viruses that you can use for free and will give you the protection that you need.

Avast! Anti-virus is created by ALWIL Software and one of the top anti-viruses. I like this the most because it has seven protections. Instant messaging, Internet mail, network shield, outlook/exchange, P2P shield, standard shield and web shield.

Another good software is AVG. AVG is created by Grisoft and you can get new virus definitions almost everyday. It also has a real-time protection against viruses. Install one of these software because you cannot have more than one anti-virus in a system.

Now let us go to the anti-spyware solution. The first one is Spybot Search and Destroy and it's also free software. This software is very good and it can remove almost all threats such as adware, spyware, and keyloggers from your computer. It also has some real-time protection.

Ad-Aware 2007 is also one of my favorite software. The free version of this software lacks Ad-Watch, which is the real-time protection against spyware. However, owning the free version of this software is enough because you can use other software to provide your system a real-time protection for free.

The software that can provide you real-time protection against spyware are Spyware Terminator and Windows Defender. Both are free and both are good enough to give real-time protection for your system.

Anti-spyware has a different rule than anti-viruses, not like anti-viruses, you can install more than one anti-spyware in your system.

It's up to you which software that you want to use because all the software that I recommend here are good and please remember that some of these free software can only be used for personal use only and not for commercial use.

Azwan Asmat is the author of Chuang Computer Tips - http://www.chuangcomputer.com/blog - Want to know the secret of securing your PC from dangerous spyware, adware, and malware programs that can ruin your PC, your finances, and your sanity?!! Visit http://www.chuangcomputer.com/5day for more info.

NCSA Study Shows Many Computers Lack Antivirus Protection

Even with the scads of information available, even with the numerous antivirus options available to consumers, and even though internet users are inundated with offers for antivirus and anti spyware programs, it seems that some people prefer to take their chances when it comes to infecting their computers. According to the second annual AOL/National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) Online Safety Study, fewer than 60 percent of survey participants had antivirus protection software installed on their computers, and those who do fail to update it more than once a week.

Studies show that anywhere from 200 to 600 new viruses and other online infections are released each month, and the NCSA reports that 23 percent of Americans are each month affected by phishing attacks. Additionally, 81 percent of protected computers are not fully protected - very few users have the necessary trio of updated antivirus software, spyware protection, and a secure firewall. According to the survey, however, 83 percent of participants thought themselves secure from online infections.

Viruses, spyware, adware, and other malware all have the potential to pose a serious threat to your computer, not only to the hardware itself but to your personal information and identifying details. A good antivirus security suite should be able to detect and cure viruses, spyware, adware, worms, trojans, malicious code, malware, and keyloggers, all of which can do grave damage to your computer. Updating your software daily and scanning regularly for any unfamiliar or suspicious files on the computer, including archives, email, and instant messages, is also a necessary step in catching and preventing infection.

Due to the sheer number and variety of online threats, it's difficult to keep track of them specifically by name. However, the basic threats you should watch out for are as follows:

Spyware: A program that gathers personal information logged in your computer by noting your internet browsing habits and recording your keystrokes and passwords. It can also hijack your browser settings, redirect your search queries, and transfer any noted information to third parties for the purpose of identity theft.
Virus: Viruses infect the files on the computer and spread by replicating themselves. A virus can also be spread by email, and will automatically mail itself to people in the address book of the account it infects. Though worms and Trojans are not technically viruses, they often fall into the subcategory of "virus." A worm is a piece of software that replicates itself via security holes in networks, infecting vulnerable machines by copying itself and spreading to any other connected, unprotected computer. A Trojan horse is a program that masquerades as a benign application, but actually will damage your computer if you try to run the program.
Adware: Adware generates revenue by displaying advertisements on your screen, offering links to follow that take the user to the advertised website. Third parties then collect money for every hit on that site. Some adware programs gather personal information about you and select ads to display based on your browsing habits.


To be fair, the age of the browser might have something to do with the high instance of computer infection.The NCSA states that homes with children are more likely to have their computers infected by spyware or adware. In fact, more than 69 percent of homes with children under 18 were infected. But don't blame it all on the kids - 58 percent of child-free households had their fair share of spyware and adware infection.

With so many viruses, spyware, and other malware clamoring to infect your computer, it is essential to have in place the necessary preventative tools to catch and eliminate online infections. The fact that so many new threats are released on such a regular basis is not an accident - hackers and the writers of malicious code are targeting those who mistakenly think that using only a firewall or updating once a month will keep their computers safe. Persistence and diligence in keeping your software, updates, and antivirus protections software current can help ensure your information and computer access remain yours and yours alone.

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Who Needs Protection the Most? Your Data, Your PC Or You?

Data security, PC protection and the safety of your Personal identity are constant challenges faced daily when data processing and the use of the internet is considered.

Mention must be made here and now that:

1. Your data processed requires protection: It is common knowledge that viruses, worms, Trojans, and the likes daily pose a threat to data processed on your PC and/or stored on your computer hard drive.

Any incidence of virus attack on your PC infects and renders useless information, files, folders and data present on your hard disc. This development is frustrating whenever it occurs and as a result installing and deploying anti-virus software against risks posed, threats faced and attacks from viruses, worms, Trojans, etc is to be desired and it is greatly required to curb this data security and digital menace.

Any data processed requires anti-virus protection.

2. Your PC requires protection: Performance is something that cannot be compromised when the operation or use of your personal computer is considered.

Every computer owner and/or user enjoys it when their system boots quickly at start-up, performs different functions and processes on time, responds quickly to keystrokes and commands promptly, etc.

At a time, it will be discovered that your PC begins to operate slowly and takes so long a time to open a file or folder, load a program or application, often hangs or crashes, etc. Whenever you experience any of the aforementioned while operating your computer system, know that your PC requires a Registry Fix or Clean-up software urgently.

Registry problems occur as a result of errors and conflicts from installing and uninstalling programs, corrupted drivers, bugs, lost chains, abruptly terminated start-up tasks, hardware and software conflicts due to incompatibility with the operating system configurations, to mention a few.

With a Registry Fix or Cleanup software, you can protect your PC from running slowly, constant hangs and freezes and periodic system crashes experienced quite often.

In addition, you get your computer system to perform better, fast and reliably well when processing data, booting, loading a program, file or application and responding to keystrokes promptly whenever pressed.

3. Your Personal Identity requires protection: The implementation of a personal identity for yourself especially when you shop, bank, chat, browse, socialize, sell or trade online is an obligation you cannot run away from.

Considering the rate with which cyber-crime and internet fraud involving personal identities is being committed, leaving your online identity protection to chance or luck is plain suicidal. You may easily fall victim to fraud and impersonation. These are by no means good for your unique, special and personal profile and image as an individual.

You must install and deploy online identity protection software on your PC immediately.

In all, you will have realized and equally discovered the importance and the uniqueness in securing your data, your PC and your Personal identity. These must all be protected as one without the other is not good enough for an all-round protection in your quest to safely and securely operate your PC, process data and access the internet in this present day.

Get to install and deploy:

1. An Anti-virus software.

2. A Registry Fix or Cleanup software.

3. An Online identity protection software.

And you are on your way to a better and a more secure computing experience even whilst connected to the internet.

Your Self, Your Data and Your PC all require and urgently need protection, ACT NOW and ACT FAST!

The internet can be pretty unsafe nowadays with the prevalence of constant threats and attacks from identity thieves, viruses and malicious contents in addition to flooding your PC with spam and ad ware. CLICK HERE for best methods to combating this menace and ensuring you do not fall victim to fraud when online.

Anti Virus Protection - Free Anti-Spyware and Anti-Virus List

Spyware and computer viruses are one of the online threats that can be harmful to your system. Protection against these threats is essential and every computer should have at least a basic protection.

National Cyber Security Alliance in 2005 online safety study has reported that 81% of computer home users lack basic protection. This study shows that most people still don't know about PC protection and even though some of them know about it, they don't know where to find good software to protect their system.

In this article, I will tell you what are the anti-spyware and anti-viruses that you can use for free and will give you the protection that you need.

Avast! Anti-virus is created by ALWIL Software and one of the top anti-viruses. I like this the most because it has seven protections. Instant messaging, Internet mail, network shield, outlook/exchange, P2P shield, standard shield and web shield.

Another good software is AVG. AVG is created by Grisoft and you can get new virus definitions almost everyday. It also has a real-time protection against viruses. Install one of these software because you cannot have more than one anti-virus in a system.

Now let us go to the anti-spyware solution. The first one is Spybot Search and Destroy and it's also free software. This software is very good and it can remove almost all threats such as adware, spyware, and keyloggers from your computer. It also has some real-time protection.

Ad-Aware 2007 is also one of my favorite software. The free version of this software lacks Ad-Watch, which is the real-time protection against spyware. However, owning the free version of this software is enough because you can use other software to provide your system a real-time protection for free.

The software that can provide you real-time protection against spyware are Spyware Terminator and Windows Defender. Both are free and both are good enough to give real-time protection for your system.

Anti-spyware has a different rule than anti-viruses, not like anti-viruses, you can install more than one anti-spyware in your system.

It's up to you which software that you want to use because all the software that I recommend here are good and please remember that some of these free software can only be used for personal use only and not for commercial use.

Azwan Asmat is the author of Chuang Computer Tips - http://www.chuangcomputer.com/blog - Want to know the secret of securing your PC from dangerous spyware, adware, and malware programs that can ruin your PC, your finances, and your sanity?!! Visit http://www.chuangcomputer.com/5day for more info.

Who Needs Protection the Most? Your Data, Your PC Or You?

Data security, PC protection and the safety of your Personal identity are constant challenges faced daily when data processing and the use of the internet is considered.

Mention must be made here and now that:

1. Your data processed requires protection: It is common knowledge that viruses, worms, Trojans, and the likes daily pose a threat to data processed on your PC and/or stored on your computer hard drive.

Any incidence of virus attack on your PC infects and renders useless information, files, folders and data present on your hard disc. This development is frustrating whenever it occurs and as a result installing and deploying anti-virus software against risks posed, threats faced and attacks from viruses, worms, Trojans, etc is to be desired and it is greatly required to curb this data security and digital menace.

Any data processed requires anti-virus protection.

2. Your PC requires protection: Performance is something that cannot be compromised when the operation or use of your personal computer is considered.

Every computer owner and/or user enjoys it when their system boots quickly at start-up, performs different functions and processes on time, responds quickly to keystrokes and commands promptly, etc.

At a time, it will be discovered that your PC begins to operate slowly and takes so long a time to open a file or folder, load a program or application, often hangs or crashes, etc. Whenever you experience any of the aforementioned while operating your computer system, know that your PC requires a Registry Fix or Clean-up software urgently.

Registry problems occur as a result of errors and conflicts from installing and uninstalling programs, corrupted drivers, bugs, lost chains, abruptly terminated start-up tasks, hardware and software conflicts due to incompatibility with the operating system configurations, to mention a few.

With a Registry Fix or Cleanup software, you can protect your PC from running slowly, constant hangs and freezes and periodic system crashes experienced quite often.

In addition, you get your computer system to perform better, fast and reliably well when processing data, booting, loading a program, file or application and responding to keystrokes promptly whenever pressed.

3. Your Personal Identity requires protection: The implementation of a personal identity for yourself especially when you shop, bank, chat, browse, socialize, sell or trade online is an obligation you cannot run away from.

Considering the rate with which cyber-crime and internet fraud involving personal identities is being committed, leaving your online identity protection to chance or luck is plain suicidal. You may easily fall victim to fraud and impersonation. These are by no means good for your unique, special and personal profile and image as an individual.

You must install and deploy online identity protection software on your PC immediately.

In all, you will have realized and equally discovered the importance and the uniqueness in securing your data, your PC and your Personal identity. These must all be protected as one without the other is not good enough for an all-round protection in your quest to safely and securely operate your PC, process data and access the internet in this present day.

Get to install and deploy:

1. An Anti-virus software.

2. A Registry Fix or Cleanup software.

3. An Online identity protection software.

And you are on your way to a better and a more secure computing experience even whilst connected to the internet.

Your Self, Your Data and Your PC all require and urgently need protection, ACT NOW and ACT FAST!

The internet can be pretty unsafe nowadays with the prevalence of constant threats and attacks from identity thieves, viruses and malicious contents in addition to flooding your PC with spam and ad ware. CLICK HERE for best methods to combating this menace and ensuring you do not fall victim to fraud when online.

Internet Security Suite Packages is a Must For PC Protection

These days, it is more important than it has ever been for computer users who frequent the internet to be sure that they have good internet security for their personal computer and for themselves. Often people who are shopping for internet security software solutions are met with the term "security suite" and are confused by what that means and why it is so important to have it properly installed and running on their computer.

A computer internet security suite is a complete set of specialized software packages that are bundled together to provide internet security protection for personal computers. An internet security suite will typically be offered by a software publisher that owns and produces the various security software applications that make up the suite of computer software.

One of the best reasons for buying a software security suite to protect a system, instead of simply buying applications from a variety of companies, is that with a suite all of the programs in the set are from the same software publishers. Because of this, each of the software component pieces will work together seamlessly by design, which in turn makes the package more effective with no concerns about compatibility.

Typically, a complete suite offering security against any internet threat will provide a PC user with a very comprehensive blanket of protection. It will guard the computer against various types of computer viruses, spyware and adware applications, with firewalls to thwart intruders and hackers. In addition, most of the security software suites available today also provide at least a minimal level of privacy protection, which is designed to shield and safeguard any personal information stored on the computer, such as various account numbers and account passwords.

Many people question if they truly need to bother about security, or if they can just get along with the Microsoft internet security software that was installed on their computer at the time of purchase. For the most part, if you have a Windows computer and are connected to the internet, especially through a high speed connection that is always on, then the answer is a very strong yes! If you do any type of shopping or banking online or download any type of files at all, then you should take the extra steps to get the protection you need to secure your computer from the cyber criminals who want access to your data.

It should be noted that while Apple Macintosh computers are less vulnerable and have fewer issues with internet safety, it is still a good idea to be vigilant about downloading the latest security updates and making sure that your firewall is enabled. It is also advisable to scan for viruses and malware, although these tend to be rare because of the built in internet security protection that is built into the Mac OS X operating system.

No matter what type of computer system you have or what kind of security suite you have decided upon to protect your computer system, the most important aspect to any security solution is to regularly update the software. Some of the software suite publishers have programmed their software to automatically update on a regular basis, saving the user from having to remember.

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Internet Child Protection - 3 Action Steps For Parents

Our kids are exposed to more and greater threats online each year. As parents, it is our job to provide an Internet Child Protection Home Plan to effectively guard against this growing problem.

Consider these 3 action steps to get started:

#1. Take Steps to Get Educated on the Latest Internet Child Safety Threats

Depending on the age of your children you should take steps to keep updated on the latest threats and what's being done to prevent them. Fortunately, there are more and more watchdog groups that focus on these trends and you can access their findings online.
Accessing information on different Internet Child Safety Associations is as easy as typing in the phrase "Child Online Protection Association" plus the country or area you live in. Governments are continually working on this growing problem so checking online for this information can provide you with many resources to keep educated on the latest threats.

#2. Establish Internet Child Safety Guidelines at Your Home

Regardless of your children's ages, they need to have guidelines to protect them from harmful information, images and potentially criminal activities online.
Let you children know what is acceptable and what is not acceptable. Also, by keeping computers in a common area of the home, you can carefully monitor their actions. Unfortunately, most children come across these sites without knowing it, so be sure to let them know what to stay away from.
Children must understand the potential dangers of predators on chat lines and to be careful about providing personal information or arranging meetings after school.
Other areas for discussion are cyber-bullying threats and sites with inappropriate images and hate information. You need to let them know to stay clear of those threats.
Establish an open dialog about what your children are working on. You need to know what they are learning and doing online to avoid the potential dangers.

#3. Install Parental Control Filtering Software and Keep it Updated

Using Parental Control Filtering Software will greatly reduce the risk of your child typing in a word that can bring up inappropriate sites which reveal sexually explicit or graphically violence images. They also help you to limit internet usage and monitor their activities.
Keeping updated on Internet Child Safety Practices and taking action to provide the latest Parental Controls within your home can make all the difference in shielding your loved ones from these crimes.

Internet child safety is within your control. Take steps today to ensure your family is secure from ongoing threats with Education, Setting Guidelines and Keeping Up-to-Date on the latest Parental Control Filtering Software.

Learn more about Parental Control Filtering at Child Online Protection Solutions to safeguard your family today.