Carroll County Times Articles
Internet Safety for You and Your Family
by Jeannine Morber – February 14, 2008
Back in the early 90's when surfing the net was a rather new pastime, internet dangers were fairly limited for the average user. Viruses were more likely spread from a borrowed floppy disk than from opening an email. Spam was rare because few people had an email address and of those that did, very few actually used them. Even after the World Wide Web was in full swing, the consensus was that if you stayed away from gambling, pornography or file sharing sites, viruses were something you need not worry about.
Of course, all that has now changed.
According to research by Daniel G. James of TechLearning Magazine, people receive an average of 18.5 spam email messages a day and spend 2.5 minutes each day deleting them. James also states that today, 8 out of 10 computers are infected with some sort of spyware. Also today, without an up-to-date anti-virus program, a computer connected to the internet will become infected by a virus within two to seven minutes.
In addition to dangers to our computer and files, unfortunately the internet can be quite dangerous for our children. Adults posing as children can trick real children into revealing personal information about themselves or even arranging meetings. Children can also be victims of or be involved in -cyber bullying-, a form of bullying that involves posting negative comments about another child on blogs or other social networking sites.
So how can we protect ourselves?
Alex Wilson, a Professional Services Engagement Manager with System Source in Hunt Valley Maryland is passionate about protecting adults and children from internet dangers. He has developed a two-part presentation about these dangers, how to recognize them and how to avoid them.
The first part of his presentation addresses what you need to know to protect your computer while on the Internet. He discusses the various types of issues you can run into and the tools that are available to you to battle phishing, viruses, email scams, Trojans, spyware and more.
The second part of Alex's presentation addresses the more insidious side of the Internet and how it can affect your children. He frankly discusses things that kids like to do on the Internet such as cyber bullying, blogging, chatting and using sites like MySpace, Facebook and Xanga.
Alex Wilson will give his Internet Safety presentation on Monday, March 6th at 6 PM at the Non Profit Center located at 255 Clifton Boulevard in Westminster. He will also be available to answer specific questions after his presentation. The presentation is free for Tech Council members and only $10.00 for non-members and includes refreshments.
For more information, go to http://www.carrolltechcouncil.org/programs/speaker/2008/2008_Wilson.asp or email the Tech Council at the email address below.
About the Author
Jeannine Morber is the Director of the Carroll Technology Council. Questions are welcome and may be addressed in future articles. Email mail@carrolltechcouncil.org or go to www.carrolltechcouncil.org to learn more.
