Invasion of the Data Snatchers

While you’re putting on your costume and getting ready for trick-or-treaters, imagine creatures spookier than any you will see tonight… new devices and technologies that are tracking your every move!

A world without privacy? It’scloser than you think.

Data snatchers?? They are NOT science fiction. And they’re closer than you think.

New technologies are making it easier for private companies and the government to learn about everything we do - in our homes, in our cars, in stores, and within our communities. As they collect vast amounts of data about us, things are getting truly spooky!

Isn't it time we regained control over our personal information?

New technologies  make it easier for private corporations and the government to access vast amounts of data about us. And the Internet of computers and phones is turning into the “Internet of Things.” Unless we take action, it can grow into a web of horrors.

Click HERE to See video and sign petition!

Source:  ACLU  

Cyber Security Awareness

Did you know that October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month?

Okay, maybe you knew about this, but I didn't.  Then again, October seems to be a busy month for Awareness campaigns.  

At any rate...

Seeing how  National Cyber Security Awareness Month is now drawing to an end, just keep in mind that it  does not mean the dangers are going away until next year. 

The dangers are out there every day people! 

So what can you do about it? 

Take a little time to learn about the issues. You don’t have to be a “techie” to learn about current scams, dangers to your children, securing your computer, etc. 


Here is a good, easy to follow website that will help you learn about all of these risks AND what to do  about them: http://www.onguardonline.gov

It helps you find the answers for questions like:

 How do I know if I have been hacked?

 Why shouldn’t I use the coffee shop Wi-Fi to access my bank or pay my bills?

 How can I protect my kids online?

 How can I make my home computer more secure?

 Is it safe to use an IP camera in my home?

 How can I avoid Malware on my computer?

As well as answers to many other questions you may have.

Cyber Security is not just “the other guys” job. It’s everyone’s job. We live in a Cyber-World now, like it or not. Be part of the team, and keep yourself and everyone else safe.

Internet Access Taxes

I just took action to support consumer-friendly tax policies that will impact hundreds of millions of wireless consumers just like you.

Please urge your Representative and Senators to support a permanent extension of the Internet tax moratorium. Your support is crucial to ensure this legislation is enacted that would protect you from having new taxes imposed on your Internet access and ensure Internet commerce will remain unhindered by discriminatory, duplicative taxes.

To take action, Click here  or copy and paste the link below: http://act.mywireless.org/page/speakout/internet-tax-freedom-act-itfa

Let's keep wireless affordable and accessible for ALL Americans.

Source: MyWireless.org  ~ America's Wireless Voice

Bullying Prevention and Intervention Tips for Families

Prevention

1. Increase Communication
Initiate discussion about your children’s social and online lives on a regular basis. Ask specific questions that generate meaningful dialogue (e.g., instead of “How was school?,” try “What is lunchtime like at your school—who do you sit with, what do you do and what do you talk about?”). Make sure that your demeanor communicates genuine interest and openness as opposed to the desire to control or invade privacy. 

2. Monitor Behavior
Observe your children in different settings by volunteering at school, participating in extracurricular activities and being watchful during social gatherings. If you notice that your children are overly aggressive, vulnerable to peer pressure or exhibit other behavior that troubles you, talk to them about your concerns and redirect the behavior. Be vigilant about the warning signs associated with bullying behavior (e.g., social withdrawal, fear of attending school, avoidance of or preoccupation with technology) and trust your instinct to intervene if your children don’t seem to be their usual selves. 

3. Facilitate Positive Social Experiences
Help your children to choose friends and hobbies that make them feel good about themselves. If you notice that certain relationships or activities cause unhealthy conflict or bad feelings, talk about ways to improve things move away from the negative situation. Guide your children in finding friends and interests in varied settings so that they do not rely on only one place as their social outlet. Help your children to stay bonded to at least one close friend—feeling socially connected can help to mitigate the effects of bullying.

4. Promote Responsible Online Behavior
Talk with your children about ethical online behavior, including respect for privacy and the impact of denigrating others. Make sure that they understand how to protect their own privacy online (e.g., keep personal information, passwords and PINs confidential) and how to respond when targeted by negative online behavior (see Prevention Tip #6). Help your children to set healthy limits on the amount of time spent online and actively supervise online activities. If you use filtering and monitoring software, be open about it and don’t rely on these tools as a substitute for direct participation in their online lives

5. Talk about Bullying
Make a point of explicitly bringing up bullying. Specifically define bullying, what it looks like and what to do when it occurs. Communicate your values and expectations regarding their social behavior on and offline, and help them to clarify their own values and ways to act on them in the face of peer pressure and aggression. Discuss and rehearse ways to respond to social cruelty, and make it is clear that your children can and should come to you for help when they witness or are involved in bullying situations.

6. Be a Role Model
Think about the messages your children receive when you make judgmental comments, gossip or behave aggressively toward friends, family members, drivers on the road or help staff in stores. Use technology responsibly and avoid forwarding mean or biased jokes and posts. Model what it means to be an ally and to stand up against prejudice and cruelty on and offline.

7. Be Involved at School
Advocate for policies, programs and practices that encourage positive social behavior and be vocal when adults/institutions fall short of their responsibility to protect children and maintain safe environments. Don’t wait until your child is the target to get involved and speak up.  [emphasis added]



Source:  Anti-Defamation League

Cyber Hygiene and Top Security Controls

In this digital age, we rely on our computers and devices for so many aspects of our lives that the need to be proactive and vigilant to protect against cyber threats has never been greater. However, in order to be as secure as  possible, we need to use good cyber hygiene – that is, making sure we are protecting and maintaining systems  and devices appropriately and using cyber security best practices.

Many key best practices are outlined in the Top 20 Critical Security Controls, managed by the Council on CyberSecurity. These Controls assist in mitigating the most prevalent vulnerabilities that often result in many of  today's cyber security intrusions and incidents. The Center for Internet Security (CIS) provides free, PDF-formatted  configuration guides (Benchmarks) that can be used to implement the Controls and improve cyber security.

Secure Your Wireless Network 
Before the days of wireless (Wi-Fi) home networks, it was rather easy to see who was linked into your home network; you could simply follow the wires. You wouldn’t allow a stranger to connect to your network, so check to  see who is connected to your wireless network. The first step is to lock down your wireless network with a strong  password and encryption. This will prevent people who don’t have the password from connecting to your network.

While there are fewer wires to follow, you can still follow some digital breadcrumbs to see who is connected to your  network. Connect to your router (for more information refer to the manufacturer’s user guide) to see who the clients  (the connected devices) are. Are there more devices connected to your network than you expect? If there are  some devices you don’t recognize, change your security settings and passwords. Don’t forget about your printers,  many of which can connect to your network and are Wi-Fi enabled

Many key best practices are outlined in the Top 20 Critical Security Controls, managed by the Council on CyberSecurity. These Controls assist in mitigating the most prevalent vulnerabilities that often result in many of  today's cyber security intrusions and incidents. The Center for Internet Security (CIS) provides free, PDF-formatted  configuration guides (Benchmarks) that can be used to implement the Controls and improve cyber security.

Securely Configure Your Systems and Devices 
The “out-of-the-box” configurations of many devices and system components are default settings that are often set for ease-of-use rather than security. This often results in vulnerabilities that offer easy targets for hackers to exploit, often using automated programs that scan for holes. To mitigate risk, systems and devices should be configured according to industry-accepted system hardening standards.

Secure Your Browser and Browser Add-ons 
Cyber attackers search for programming errors and other flaws in web browsers and associated plug-ins in order to exploit them. These vulnerabilities, if successfully exploited, can give cyber criminals access -- and sometimes control over -- your computer system. To minimize these risks, keep your browser(s) updated and patched, and set to auto update. In addition, keep any programs (known as plug-ins) updated and patched as well, particularly if they work with your browser (such as multi-media programs and plug-ins used to run videos, for example), block pop-up windows, as this may help prevent malicious software from being downloaded to your computer and consider disabling JavaScript, Java, and ActiveX controls when not being used. Activate these features only when necessary.

Back Up Your Data 
Be sure to back up your important data so you can retrieve it if your computer fails. Most operating systems provide backup software designed to make the process easier. External hard drives and online backup services are two popular vehicles for backing up files. Remember to back up data at regular intervals and periodically review your backups to determine if all your data has been backed up accurately.

Protect Your Administrative Accounts
Administrator or "admin" accounts give a user more control over programs and settings for a computer than a typical user account. If an intruder accesses an admin account, he could potentially take over your computer. Non-administrator accounts, or guest accounts, can limit the ability of someone gaining unauthorized access. It is important to change the default password on your admin accounts and to always log on to your computer as a non-administrator or non-admin account.

Another aspect to protecting admin accounts is to change default passwords on your devices. Many of them are published on the Internet, so be sure to change them to something unique and strong. Default passwords are especially prevalent in routers, wireless access points and other networked devices.

Use Firewalls
Many computer defaults are set for ease of use, which is convenient not only for us, but also for cyber criminals. Cyber criminals can use weak or unnecessary services as a first step to compromising your computer. Many computers and routers already come with a firewall built in to prevent malicious access to these services. It is recommended that you set the firewall to the securest level you think is appropriate: if this is a laptop you’ll use for traveling and connecting to public networks, it is recommended that you choose the strictest level of security and only allow exceptions for services you need. You can always relax the controls if necessary.

Update Your Applications, Software and Operating Systems
Even though you may be diligent in keeping your software up-to-date, you are still at risk from malware infections. Malware can infect your computer from a variety of different vectors, including compromised websites, malicious attachments in email, and infected thumb drives. This is why strong malware defenses are crucial. Anti-virus and anti-spyware will scan your files to see if there’s any malware in the files. It may even tell you if you’re about to download a potentially malicious file. Update your anti-virus software regularly. Keeping applications, software, and operating systems patched will help keep you more secure by providing you with the most recent and secure version.

Resources:

http://www.counciloncybersecurity.org/

http://benchmarks.cisecurity.org/downloads/benchmarks/

Pennsylvania Hospital First To Treat "Internet Addiction"

A psychologist first coined the phrase "Internet addiction" in 1995, when the web was in its infancy. He meant it as a joke. But now, with the first hospital-based Internet addiction treatment center opening next week at the Behavioral Health Services at Bradford Regional Medical Center in Pennsylvania, Internet addiction is no longer considered a laughing matter.

The voluntary, 10-day in-patient treatment program will admit up to four people who have been diagnosed with severe Internet addiction. First, they'll undergo an extensive evaluation and a "digital detox" that prohibits phone, tablet or Internet use for at least 72 hours. Then they'll attend therapy sessions and educational seminars to help them get their Internet compulsion under control.



Read More By Clicking HERE


Or copy & paste URL: 

 http://abcnews.go.com/Health/hospital-opens-internet-addiction-treatment-program/story?id=20146923


Source:  ABC News

Known as The Empress of the Known & Unknown Universes™ and The Diva of Duct Tape, Julia has made it her personal mission to put Reality back into Spirituality™. Julia sets out to assist people in expanding their conscious awareness through her rather unique and personal take on the human experience. 

In the style of Erma Bombeck, Julia utilizes her own brand of humor and down to earth demeanor to get her messages across in an all so delightful way. 

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