“Security” collection
Safeguard your family’s digital and physical environment with expert advice on home monitoring, online privacy, and data protection. This category provides essential strategies and reviews of tools to help you maintain a secure, private, and protected connected life.
HTD Tech Briefs
View all →October 13, 2015
Don’t Restrict Your Child’s Smartphone, Instead Discover via Monitoring with AT&T Smart Limits
Instead of restricting children's smartphone usage, use AT&T Smart Limits to monitor and make discoveries for later discussion. Here's how.
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March 20, 2015
NETGEAR Arlo Security Camera – Look Ma, No Wires and It’s Super Easy to Install
Review of the NETGEAR Arlo video security system, an easy-to-setup, no-wires, HD camera security system for your home or business.
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January 22, 2015
Blogger Warning: LLT Consulting Banner Ad Scam
I receive a lot of advertising and guest blogger solicitations on my site. To set the record straight, I don’t currently allow guest blogging and the advertisers I choose must be reputable, well-known, and/or part of a network. This morning I received an email via my contact form from a “Josephine Bergson” from "the LLT Consulting company” who said they…
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September 27, 2014
Parents Guide to Social Media Apps Used by Kids
I was recently asked by a reader of my site (Denise) if I could put together a chart that lists out some of the main social media sites used by tweens and teens and if I could provide some commentary on how they are dangerous (or not) for kids - essentially, a Parents Guide to Social Media apps used by…
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May 20, 2014
Less “Stranger Danger” – Kik Messenger Updates App Over Privacy Concerns
Back in mid-2012, I wrote an article about the "dangerous" combination of Kik Messenger and Instagram. The article turned out to be quite popular (and controversial) in a few ways. Parents didn't know about Kik nor how the "Kik me at" functionality was working with Instagram. Over 2 years later, Kik Messenger has taken a new approach to privacy and…
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November 12, 2013
“OnStar? I’d Like to Get a Tour of Detroit!” #ConnectedByOnStar Event
Now I get it. Now I understand why so many people choose GM vehicles like Buick. It's because these vehicles come equipped with OnStar. OnStar is like having your own personal, 24x7 co-pilot and concierge on-call. For the past couple of days, I have been not only immersed within all things OnStar and Buick, but also was able to experience…
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October 14, 2013
Watch Out SnapChat Users! SnapHack App Can Now View & Save Photos & Videos Forever
SnapChat has always, in my opinion, been a controversial app. It has a very simple model, you can take pictures and photos and send them to friends and these multimedia files only are visible for a few seconds. Once the time passes, the videos or photos can no longer been seen. Teens and tweens view this app as a lot…
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June 5, 2013
Parents Be Warned! Ask.fm is a Dangerous & Deadly Social Site for Teens & Tweens
Back in 2012, I wrote about some potential dangers surrounding the Instagram and Kik Messenger combination. By now, hopefully many parents know what to look for and how to combat this social danger. Recently, I started to investigate a new social danger for kids, specifically Ask.fm which actually has a few documented teen suicides attributed to the service. Interestingly, it…
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March 25, 2013
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…
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January 11, 2013
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…
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January 11, 2013
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,…
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December 28, 2012
13 Security Resolutions for 2013 – Follow Them or Get Hacked!
With just a few hours left in 2012, it's time to think about ways to make 2013 an even better year. I'm sure that all of you are planning on going to the gym about 20 times a day, or eliminating all fat from your diet, or working to become Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2013. I wish…
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