Being Careful With the Internet Online By Jon Caldwell At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

No one can deny the ubiquity of the Internet in this day and age. Even grade schoolers can now access the Internet in the comfort of their own homes. But parents have a perennial worry that their child might be viewing inappropriate sites or might be talking to people they should not be talking to online. For starters, parents should make sure that all computers in the house are located in a common area, like the living room. On the technical side, there are resources out there that can help restrict sites visited by your child.

Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, said that the U.S. government’s cybersecurity people are trying to come up with an early warning system to detect computer attacks on sensitive infrastructure. Some experts, though, think that this idea is not quite feasible. Present technologies are only able to detect a hack after the fact. Chertoff remains persistent, though not clear on the details as they are considered classified information. Chertoff’s department also aims to reduce Internet access to government agencies that would hopefully lessen the chances of getting hacked. The project would require experts from the private sector said Chertoff, but he did not yet say exactly how many they will be needing.

Almost everything now is done through the Internet - from bank transactions to keeping in touch with family and friends - as long as you have an account with a site, you are required to come up with a password. To keep your password safe and secure, be sure to keep in mind these following tips:

1. Avoid using dictionary-accepted words, names of persons, places or things and foreign-language words.
2. Avoid incorporating any personal information in your password (i.e. employee number or birthday).
3. Make sure your password is made up of at least six characters.
4. It is recommended to combine uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters in your password.
5. Create a unique password for each account that you have.
6. Do not let a soul know what your password is.

Social networking sites are not going anywhere soon. Many people benefit from them because they can make new friends, keep in contact with friends and relatives in other parts of the globe and expand their business networks. The need for social interaction is innate in each and every one of us. With its growing popularity, many have spawned, giving users hundreds of sites to choose from.

In 2007, Nielsen unveiled its top social networking sites according to traffic.

MySpace - launched in 2003, based loosely on the features of one of the earliest social networking sites, Friendster

Facebook - founded by Mark Zuckerberg while still studying at Harvard University and was launched in 2004.

Classmates Online - started in 1995 by Randy Conrads

Windows Live Spaces - launched in 2004 by Microsoft.

AOL Hometown - has a feature called the EasyDesign for hassle-free customization of your web page.

Nowadays, blogging has become a part of the daily lives of millions of people around the world. If you are just starting out your own blog or looking to start a blog but haven’t decided yet which platform to use, here are some topnotch choices you can choose from.
Presenting the top blogging hosts for 2007 according to the Blogger’s Choice Awards.

Blogger - started in 1999 by Pyra Labs and later acquired by Google in 2003.

Multiply - a social networking site that allows users not only to blog but also to share media, from photos to music to videos.

WordPress - started out in 2005 with a lot of user-friendly features.

Populum - currently under construction but will relaunch on April 2008.

LiveJournal - launched by Brad Fitzpatrick in 1999, which revolves around the concept of having a friends list and syndication.

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