CYBER SAFETY

The internet today is a great source of information. It is also known as the super information highway because it is the number one source that people of all ages turn to. There are a whole lot of good sides to the internet, but there are dangers also of the internet and we should do to ensure the safety of you and your family. As technology improves, more and more people begin to play with computers, exploring the possibilities. As the people become more and more curious to what the limits are with computers, they begin to break those rules and steal information from other computers on the internet. There are many things that a computer hacker can get from your computer. Some of these hackers can get personal information off of your computer such as phone numbers, full names, credit card numbers, home addresses, personal letters, and much, much more. To avoid this many things can be done. First, you can store all the personal information, not wanted to be accessed by unknown eyes, on a separate floppy disk or other storage object you might have. You can also buy a firewall from your local computer store to allow you to choose who does and does not access your computer. Although, your personal information should be concealed from the internet, it is not the most dangerous thing out there. Young children should be monitored at all times when accessing the internet. AOL is a good internet service to have with young children. AOL offers many parent control options to ensure that your child does not view items on the internet less than appropriate for them. AOL offers four different access privileges for every different age group. The internet is a very interesting place you can learn on it, you can get research for a project, and also you can connect with family and friends. But the internet can also be a very dangerous place because the websites on the internet can lead kids into inappropriate websites, lured into dangerous situations, and also posts online can have lasting effects.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.