Safety

Post image for 5 Reasons Why Social Media Might Actually Be Good for your Child

WARNING: The repeated use of Social Media can be dangerous to your child’s well-being. Should we have a Surgeon General’s warning label slapped onto each and every social media site out there? What about some sort of age rating system like we have for movies, music and video games? No, of course not. The Internet is all about freedom of speech and expression and is a wealth of knowledge. But we all continue to get the message that social media is dangerous for children. Even I have written a couple of articles to that effect.

Surgeon General's Warning: Social Media can be dangerous to child.

Surgeon General’s Warning: Social Media can be dangerous to child.

But as I reflect on it and watch how my children use social media, I wouldn’t be a balanced parent if I didn’t look at both sides of the argument. Sure, social media can be dangerous to children, but there are lots of caveats to that statement. In fact, the statement needs to be really qualified. “Unmonitored” social media makes that statement much more true than without the descriptor. But I won’t be dissecting that statement. Instead I will offer one that is potentially controversial: Social media might actually be good for your child.

I’d like to preface my reasoning however. I am not saying to just turn your child loose on social media. I am, however, saying that not all aspects are dangerous to them. In fact, I believe that some social media, in moderation, can have a positive influence on a child’s life.

5 Reasons Why Social Media can be Good for a Child

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Post image for How To Disable Java in Chrome, Firefox, Safari & Internet Explorer on Mac OS or Windows to Prevent 0-Day Exploit

If you have been reading any of the Technical publications online, you will probably know that there is currently an exploit in Java that affects most internet browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer on systems that have Java installed. This is being called a zero-day or 0-day exploit which essentially means that there is a security vulnerability in an application that is so new (“day zero”) that the developers have not had time or the opportunity to patch or correct the security issue. If you think about a disease outbreak, this is day zero of the outbreak and no vaccinations have been created yet.

Java-skull

This Java vulnerability is currently in the wild and affecting systems. This currently identified exploit allows for remote code execution which means that if your system is vulnerable, an unauthorized and/or unauthenticated user on your system can launch arbitrary code without your knowledge. In some lab tests conducted by security firm AlienVault Labs, they were able to use the exploit to launch the Windows calculator. This exploit is already in the hands of hackers around the world and until Oracle who now manage the Java code line release a patch or update the software, it will remain a clear and present danger.

So, are you scared yet? You should be! The only way, currently, to prevent your system from being compromised is to fully disable Java in your browser. This is actually the recommendation from the United States Department of Homeland Security (US-CERT).

Here are some quick How-To’s for disabling Java in your browsers. Covered are Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer. [click to continue…]

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Post image for A New Year Means New Security & a Google Nexus 7-Inch Multi-Tablet Twitter Party Giveaway with Trend Micro – #SecureNewYear

I am hoping that this New Year is already off to a great start for all of you, apart from my plumbing issues and a flu-ridden child, our family has been enjoying 2013 thus far. And as most of the celebrations should have died down by now, here’s one more that you might want to attend.

For the past year, I and several other families across the country have been participating in a program with Trend Micro, a leading global internet content management and threat security firm, called the Digital Joneses. During this year, we completed various security challenges and awareness programs where we learned new ways to protect our family’s technological assets and then shared our knowledge with our readers, friends, family and co-workers via regular articles. This past month, I wrapped the highlights of the program up in my post “13 Security Resolutions for 2013 – Follow Them or Get Hacked!” You can see my other posts from the program here.

Basic CMYK

Well now The Digital Joneses program is ending, and what better way to bring the program to a close than by having a party, a Twitter Giveaway party. And guess what? During this Twitter Party, Trend Micro is GIVING AWAY…not ONE

n7-product-hero

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Post image for Reacting To and Remembering the Tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary – Cast of Dads Podcast #55

A week ago today, innocent children, students and educators were horrifically gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School. I don’t believe that anyone will fully understand the “why” but all of us have been struggling to comprehend it as well as be able to talk about this event with other adults as well as our children. The Sunday after this tragedy struck, the Cast of Dads got together to discuss this horrible event. Originally, this was to be our “holiday” episode, unfortunately, we only were able to talk about the joy of the holidays at the end of the show.

Cast_of_Dads_episode_55

The event was pretty fresh in our heads but I believe we all had some pretty firm ideas about Sandy Hook. And since we are all dads, this hit pretty close to home .

The Topics

Here are some of the topics we covered in Episode #55: [click to continue…]

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How Safe is Online Shopping? Tips to Get Ready for Cyber Monday and Beyond

November 25, 2012
Thumbnail image for How Safe is Online Shopping? Tips to Get Ready for Cyber Monday and Beyond

Personally, I hate shopping. I do though, like the act of giving gifts. There is something always great about spreading joy to friends and family during the holiday seasons. My wife is a bargain hunter and loves the “sport” of the deal hunt. She went missing on Black Friday only to reappear a few hours [...]

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Silent but Effective – ESET Cybersecurity for Macintosh

November 19, 2012
Thumbnail image for Silent but Effective – ESET Cybersecurity for Macintosh

I don’t know how many different types of Anti-Virus or security software I have tested over the years. I would guess that it’s in the 20′s. There are a lot of great providers out there, some paid and some free. Those people who have computers but don’t have ANY anti-virus software are destined to a [...]

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Zombies, Bots and Trojans are Trick or Treating in your Computer!

October 30, 2012
Thumbnail image for Zombies, Bots and Trojans are Trick or Treating in your Computer!

Did you know that it is basically Halloween each and every day in your computer? That digital doorbell is ringing every time you visit a website, get an email or download an application. How is your computer greeting those Zombies, Bots and Trojans? Are you giving them treats and sending them on their way? Or [...]

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Why It’s Important to Teach your Kids How to Cook and Use Social Media

September 19, 2012
Thumbnail image for Why It’s Important to Teach your Kids How to Cook and Use Social Media

A recent post of mine which focused on an informal and potentially dangerous marriage between Instagram and Kik Messenger seems to have gotten quite a bit of attention lately. I’m always excited when I can share my ideas, opinions, insights and personal recommendations when it comes to educating kids about the evolution of social media [...]

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