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Learn about The Online Mom Network
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How Do I Become An Online Mom?
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The Online Mom provides internet technology advice and information to help parents protect their kids, encourage responsible behavior and safely harness the power of technology in the new digital world. Social networking, photo sharing, video games, IM & texting, internet security, cyberbullying, educational resources, the latest on tech hardware, gadgets and software for kids 3-8, tweens and teens, and more.
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Security Software
Too many "bad guys" are working overtime cooking up creative new ways to attack your computer,
grab your data, capture your identity, and steal your money. Fortunately, you can defend yourself.
There's no substitute for using your brains, but the right security software will definitely help.
There are two ways to buy security software. You can buy multiple packages, trying to find the
best software to do each job. Or you can buy a "security suite" that bundles multiple functions
together in one package. You might not get the absolutely "best" of everything, but most of the
leading suites are pretty solid, and it's a whole lot easier. (Usually cheaper, too!)
Some suites worth considering are: Norton 360; Norton Internet Security 2008; McAfee Total
Protection 2008; and Microsoft's own Windows Live OneCare 2.0. Whether you buy a suite or individual
products, though, here's what you need at an absolute minimum...
Anti-virus software. Scans your computer searching for malicious software – and
also scans incoming email messages to find and destroy any dangerous file attachments. If the
software discovers malicious software in an incoming message, it quarantines or deletes that software.
If it finds that you've already installed malicious software, it attempts to remove that software,
or at least keep it from running.
Anti-spyware software. Warns you when you're about to inadvertently install software
that'll monitor your behavior and pass it along to outside parties – whether for criminal purposes,
or just to show you targeted advertising.
Anti-spam software. Intercepts most of the junk email messages that would otherwise
flood your email account.
Firewall. Hides your computer from attackers, and inspects all the data flowing
into it, stopping any data it finds suspicious. Should also inspect data flowing out of your computer:
that's important, because you might have voluntarily downloaded malicious software that now wants
to communicate with its "masters." (Recent versions of Windows come with their own firewall, but you
need to make sure it's turned on. If you have a home network, you might have a hardware-based firewall, too.)
Some security suites have additional optional features – for example, built-in backup tools to automatically
make copies of your data; parental control tools for limiting where your kids can go on the Internet;
and anti-phishing tools that tell you when you've visited a fake web site that's only there to steal
your identity and credit card information.
Two things you must know about security software: First, you need to keep your (paid) subscriptions up to
date, or else your computer won't get information about the newest threats. That's crucial, and plenty
of folks forget. Second, when you install your software, you should spend a few minutes making sure
everything's turned on and working the way you want it to. Then, every once in awhile, check to make
sure everything's still set up right. It's not hard, takes just a minute, and it's very good for your peace of mind.
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