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S e c u r i t y I s s u e s Don't get tangled in the Web! Following a few simple rules will keep you and your family safe while surfing.
Five Secrets for Parents to Help Encourage Responsible Use of the Internet by Marty W Stewart Children are increasingly using the Internet for schoolwork, research, communicating through e-mail and live chat, and downloading information like music files and streamline video. As technology progresses and children find even more need to use the Internet, parents must develop clear-cut and consistent rules while children are online. Establishing these rules can be quite a challenge for many parents. Since most children over the age of 10 or 11 probably know more about the Internet than mom or dad, it's imperative that parents continue to absorb what's available to children and communicate and teach responsibility while spending time online. Many parents want to rely solely on content filtering software or kid-safe Web sites, but many times this is just not enough. As children grow with the ever-changing online landscape, parents must make sure children are prepared to handle the content increasingly available to them. Here are five secrets parents can use to encourage safe and responsible use of the Internet: Place your family's computer in a room in the house that is centrally located and easy for parents to walk by to monitor or participate in what a child is viewing. It is recommended not to let a child have a computer in his/her room or behind closed doors. This will only contribute to a child's false sense of security while on-line and hinder parents' efforts to stay involved in what children are doing while using the computer. Limit the amount of time a child spends on-line. Like any other activity, using the Internet should be done in moderation and not interfere with other healthy activities for children. Once a child chooses to spend time on-line rather than interacting with other children face-to-face, or his/her other interests seem to always come second to the computer, then it may be time to review with the child how important is to show moderation while enjoying the Internet. Spend time with children online. Get involved with a child's interests on the Internet. If a child is chatting with friends, e-mailing jokes back and forth, or playing on-line games, a parent must keep up to date on the various goings on. Sit down next to the child and observe what they are using the computer for. Parents need to help children explore the vast resources of the Internet, and educate them (and themselves) on what the Internet has to offer. Surfing the Internet with a child or establishing a joint e-mail account between parent and child will also help parents stay in touch. Monitor what your children are doing and where they are going while online. This can be the trickiest of challenges for parents, but it is so vital to make sure children do not stray into areas of the Internet that contain inappropriate (even harmful) material. If a child strays from pre-designated safe Web sites, parents should use healthy parenting skills such as reinforcing agreed upon parameters (even taking away online privileges as a consequence of not following rules). Set up a "responsible use contract" between parents and children. Using e-mail, surfing the Web and downloading flies are all activities that children will be using while connected to the Internet and parents need to make agreements with children on responsible behavior. By establishing the rules of responsible use early, there should be no confusion as to what is considered responsible and safe use of the Internet. A FREE "contract" is available at http://www.ResponsibleKids.net/contract.htm. The Internet offers children unprecedented access to incredibly valuable information and it's up to parents to promote responsible online use.
Marty W. Stewart is the author of "How to Survive the Internet With Your Kids" and "101 Tips on How to Survive the Summer With Your Kids." Have questions about parenting and the Internet? Email Marty: Marty@ResponsibleKids.net FREE Family Internet Survival Guide Email: safekids@sendfree.com "How to Survive the Internet With Your Kids" http://www.ResponsibleKids.net/internet.htm It's been called the BEST Internet Glossary: http://www.ResponsibleKids.net/glossary.htm This article extracted from the UltimateProfits.com Archives at: http://www.marketing-seek.com by Julie Reuter Do you ever wonder how you can tell if a company on-line is going to be nice to work with? Are you afraid to give them your credit card number because you're just not sure if you'll hear from them again? While there is never a guarantee that a business is going to be honest and reliable, there are precautions you can take before making a business transaction. Here are some simple tips to help you feel comfortable in conducting business with companies on the internet. Ask yourself these questions: 1. What kind of guarantee does the company offer? Look for full refund/money back guarantees in case you need to return an item. This way you can shop elsewhere if you don't see anything else you like at that particular store. Some businesses offer credit-only which forces you to buy from them exclusively. 2. Look for testimonies from past customers. Read what other people are saying about the company. Were they satisfied? Were their needs handled in a professional manner? Sometimes you can contact past customers and ask for their opinions personally. 3. Is customer service a priority for the company? There's no better way to turn a customer off than with terrible customer service. Customer service is the backbone of all businesses. Is the customer service personalized? Do they respond to each buyer's individual needs? Are customers' questions answered in a timely manner? Ask the customer service department a question and note how long it takes for them to answer you. This will give you an indication of how long it will take for them to get back to you if you had a problem with a product. Do they use autoresponders? Autoresponders in my book are not personalized service although some businesses can use them very effectively. Is the company easy to contact? Are there various payment methods to satisfy each buyer? 4. Is the merchandise quality? There's no way of telling the quality of the merchandise by looking at a picture on the internet, but sometimes you can tell by the way it is priced. Although a sale or discount is great, sometimes products are reduced so low it is ridiculous. Watch out for these kinds of reductions. Although the low price is inviting, there is usually a reason the items are priced so low. You get what you pay for. Also, pay attention to what the product is made of. It may raise a red flag. 5. How are purchases handled? Do you receive a purchase confirmation or a thank you note? Do they follow-up with you to see if you are satisfied with your purchase or do they just assume you have received your product and never speak to you again. A good business should make you feel as though they appreciate your purchase. These are just a few tips for you to think about the next time you go on-line to make a purchase. Most businesses are legitimate and nice to work with but once in a while you may run into a company that just doesn't meet these standards. My advice to you is if you have any hesitation what-so-ever, move on to the next company. You'll be glad you did. HAPPY SAFE SHOPPING!!
Copyright 2000 Julie Reuter. Contact her through her website at http://www.giftsbyjulie.com. FREE monthly drawing and FREE "Gifts-Plus Newsletter" just for registering with us! All gifts are 15%-40% off retail prices. Julie Reuter is the owner and webmaster of Gift Expressions. This article provided by the Marketing-Seek Archives at: http://www.Marketing-Seek.com When your PC Backup is not enough If you are dependent on your PC for running a business venture on the Internet then it is vital that the loss of your PC does not damage or cause the downfall of your business. In other words you must make sure that you regularly backup the data on your PC. Now this should not be news to you, but here are two vital warnings. #1 It is NOT SUFFICIENT just to backup your data. How do you know you can RECOVER it ? Have you ever tried ? Yes, I know it’s meant to work but who knows what can go wrong. When my car once failed to start the mechanic correctly identified that the battery needed replacing. Did he check that the car would start after fitting the new one ? No need - it’s "supposed" to work Did it start ? No! So are you going to take the RISK that something will work because it is "supposed" to work - and say goodbye to your online business if it doesn’t. Because you’ll have lost all your data - gone forever. So test out the recovery option - NOW. #2 If you make backups of ALL of your hard disc (maybe you have a high capacity backup unit) - then skip this section. The rest of us are making copies (hopefully) of our CRITICAL data to floppy disc. So if your hard disc crashes you will be up and running in no time ? Afraid not. * What about the programs and utilities that you regularly use * Can you recall the personalized configurations that you have applied to your software or those simple shortcut keystrokes which you use so often that it’s hard to recall the original method ? * Can you remember all the passwords you are using - for connecting to your ISP, retrieving your POP mail, checking the statistics on reseller sites set up for you ? * Do you have vital contact information such as your ISP dial up number ? * Are there files, not directly under your control, which need to be part of your critical data - for example address books embedded in your Email software ? Imagine this situation. Your computer has been wiped out, stolen, gone up in flames. All you have left is a backup copy of your critical data. (And, by the way, you are keeping a spare copy in a separate building - aren’t you?) In your hour of need when you are desperate to get back online and attend to a mounting army of Emails or orders the last thing you need is to struggle to connect to the Internet, to find your passwords, to be deprived of the tools which simplify your PC work. What is the solution? You need to keep a RECORD of all the vital information mentioned above (passwords, configuration details etc). Put this into a file which is part of the critical data that you regularly back up. Keep a PRINTED copy handy - and another one in a REMOTE location. You can even copy the file to your web site. And also review the backup content of your critical data to check for any other files, such as address books, that need to be included. Do this NOW.
Don't miss Harvey's FREE book The SuperTips Book ofInternet Marketing. And there's more great articles, ideas and tips at the SuperTips website http://www.supertips.com by Heather Colman The subject of Internet Security continues to be of interest to most netcitizens. There is always the concern that some "hacker" will get into your computer without your knowledge and utilize personal information about you to do only God knows what. In this world of technology we are vulnerable in ways we are not even aware of. Most of you probably visualize a hacker as some sort of "geek" that sits on his computer breaking into big main frames, government computer systems and such. We need to change our mental picture of what a hacker really is and how easy it is to get into anyone's computer. Everyday we engage in activities on the Net that make us vulnerable to breaking and entering without even knowing it. No.. I'm not talking about breaking into your home. I'm talking about our online habits and how much information is available about you online without your knowledge or permission. What kind of information is available and how do they get it? More than you know and a lot easier than you think. You are actually giving it to them and don't know it. Have you ever used a "freeware" program that is supported by advertising? You know the kind I'm talking about. They usually have a banner rotating at the top during use or some pop-up banner that comes up from time to time. These advertising spots are sold to the advertiser on the basis of usage. They must be able to disclose to the advertiser how many times the banner was viewed, clicked on etc. In order to do this your usage of the program must be monitored. What's the big deal Heather? Stick with me here... this gets better. What you don't know is a parasite is written into the program that gets placed into the background of your system when the program is installed. This parasite monitors your activities and reports this information back to the program owner. Even when you are NOT using the program the parasite has the ability to attach itself to your web browser and ride along with you the entire time you are on the web. Now they know what you do and everywhere you go online. Now this may not be a big deal to some of you, but for others it's a big invasion of privacy. But wait... before you uninstall that program that's carrying the banner ad, you might want to know that even when you UNInstall the program, the parasite stays in the background of your system. This type of invasion is not the only way private information is transmitted to others without your knowledge. I'll bet you have several doors open on your computer right now that make it easy for the experienced hacker to walk right in and grab what they need. Any information you have stored on your computer is at risk. The sad part is the more technical we get, the more vulnerable we become. The good news is there are ways to close all the open doors in your system. The Gibson Research Corp. (no we don't have any affiliation with them) has developed a site called "Shields Up" which is a terrific website actually written in plain english. It explains in much detail about Internet Security, who is at risk and how to resolve it. The information is presented by Steve Gibson who is extremely knowledgable and considered an expert in his field of security. Steve walks you through the process step by step of closing all the open doors and ports on your computer. He makes sense out of all the confusion. Please don't misunderstand me. This is not a service he is selling. The information is listed on his site and available for anyone who wants to use it. It's 100% FREE. Once you have gone through the process of tightening up your security and all the loop holes have been locked down tight, (which by the way can be done within 30 minutes or less) he gives you a tiny utility program that you can use to re-check your system. That program is also FREE. I have it right on my desktop. Everytime I install or uninstall a program of any kind, I quickly do a check with this utility to make sure my settings are still the way they should be. This gives me the piece of mind to know not only is my personal data safe but also the important information my customers entrust me with is safe too. Click on this link have your system tested. It takes less than 5 minutes to check. http://www.roibot.com/w.cgi?R267_ShieldsArtVulnerable Steve goes into much detail (don't worry about the technical stuff, he makes it easy to read and understand) about security issues that you probably aren't even aware of. He also lists the software programs that are known to carry the parasites along with other information he has discovered in his research. If nothing else the "Shields Up" website will be a real eye opener for you. A link you can't afford not to click on! http://www.roibot.com/w.cgi?R267_ShieldsArtVulnerable
Article by Heather Colman. Get YOUR eBook listed in the Net's Fastest Growing eBook Search Engine. http://ebooksearchengine.com. Subscribe to Heather's "New" eBook ezine "eBook SearchEngine News" and get tips, tools and "proven" marketing strategies to maximize your ebook profits. To subscribe, send a blank email to: ebsen-on@ebooksearchengine.com. Permission is granted to reprint and distribute this article as long as it remains unedited and includes both the resource box above and this authorization. :webmaster@ebooksearchengine.com. This article extracted from the Marketing-Seek Archives at: http://www.marketing-seek.com/ The World Wide Web Security FAQ SecureZone, En Garde Systems' computer security information center Security Product Resources: eSafe, by Aladdin |
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