Security
If you go to many sites you will run across things called “pop ups” they are ads for things and they can be tiresome. You can block these.
HERE is a website that links to several and reviews and rates them.
Many sites also send out programs to “spy” on what your computer does. They are called spyware. These machines do this to find out how to sell things to you (that is a very short definition of what they are and do, but in essence, they are about getting money.). Some can be damaging and others ore innocuous. Either way spyware blocking is a good thing to use.
If you have heard of a computer virus but do not know what it is think of a real virus. It can make your computer sick and can spread itself to other computers too. There are anit-virus services that you can use.
Most anti-virus programs also have a spyware blocker component to them. I will link to a couple, but if you use Windows, click on the help page or go to the Windows sie and see what they have to offer too. (Here is one of Microsoft’s)
McAfee is one. You can buy it online or you can usually find it at stores that sell computers.
Trendmicro is another one. (Did not work with Mozilla Firefox browser when I used it. But it worked very well with Microsoft Explorer.)
HERE is a buying guide for anti virus software.
HERE is a site that reviews several. HERE is another. There are several more. Use a search engine and the term “anti virus software” and you will find plenty of help.
NOTE! Some of these programs do not work with some browsers. If you do not know what those are you can read the link or go to the category on the side margin marked “browsers.”
Using these tools to keep your computer healthy and free from virtual bugs will save you time.
I must put one note. If you are using a Mac. You probably were already told at the store or on the website that you won’t be as prone to viruses. You won’t! That’s great. But if you are set up using wifi (wireless network connection) even with a Mac, your router (the thing that sends the wifi around your house) can be vulnerable. There are anti-virus services to keep that safe too.
Anyone who uses a router can benefit from making sure it is safe as well. HERE is a site that has some information for you.
As with all these categories, using a search engine to find out more about the terms is a good idea. Wikipedia has a bunch of good and easy to understand information about all of these things. I have linked to it in the margin.
FREEBIES!
Working on it.
PREDATORS
The web has an unfair reputation with many for being home to so many predators. News programs make it seem like you can go anywhere online without running into a predator. The danger is real but it is exaggerated too. It is best to be informed.
It is best to understand how to protect yourself and/or those you love. This site: Be Web Aware has good information about how to prevent, detect and protect yourself from predators.
Safe Passage is another award winning site that can help as well.
Cyber Safety in the Classroom is a good place for teachers to visit.
Adults also can fall prey to predators. You don’t hear a lot about it in the news, but sometimes a person can be taken advantage of horribly even if they are experienced.
Some tips for adults:
1. Be wary of people who ask you for money or things.
2. Be very wary of people who ask you to lie for them.
3. Do not give out your personal financial information to any one person. Only do that with a secure transaction for which you will receive a receipt.
4. People misrepresent themselves all the time. Do your research. Get real names and locations and check people out before you give your mind or heart or time to a stranger.
5. The Knight of Kindness has a post for people who feel they are being stalked. If this is a concern for you, read it and you will have some good tips on how to make it stop because often predators do not give up even when you figure them out.
The web is not full of predators but to say they do not exist is irresponsible. Get informed and do not give up your place online due to the fear of predators. You have every right and reason to be here and for the most part, unless you are communicating with someone online, you are safe.
The exception to this are those predators that send notices through emails. Sometimes they look just like pages from places you trust. If any place asks you for credit card information or personal information in an email, contact that place and ask if it is real. Most times if not all, these types of requests are fakes. DO NOT give your information out without doing your homework.
NEWS
Getting your news online is easy and fun. You can get the exact news you want often and most it is better than what your local papers and television has to offer.
It’s better because you can get it “straight from the horses mouth” often. In my area, the local tv news talks about things that they found online. Many times I’ve already found them. More often than not, tv news doesn’t give a complete picture of anything they find online. It’s usually laced with scare tactics and sensationalism. Online there isn’t such a need as if being scared or titillated is what a person wants, there are thousands of places to get that for free online.
When people want news without the gimmicks they come to the web. I will list a few places to find news but here is an interesting concept that could broaden your perspective. If you are interested in an international news item, you can go to that country’s (or another’s) news outlets and read (if you know the language) what is being reported there. This can give you a more well rounded idea of the situation often.
I have linked to the New York Times in the margin. I am told it is a well read online paper as in the real world. They have just opened up their whole site for free. At one time you had to pay extra for certain features and some news outlets still make people do that. So be aware you might not get all the information without paying from some places, but others will likely have it anyway. Keep searching.
Decide the kind of news you want and search for it.
Random sites of varying interest:
CNN You can choose U.S. or International there.
NPR Yes, it’s on the radio but you can find things you missed.
MSNBC This is part of the television station.
Speaking of which, you can search and find your favorite station online.
EdNews Education news.
CNET News Technology news.
BLOOMBERG Stock market news.
I enjoy getting some news from podcasts. As you become more familiar with the net you might want news about the net. Here is a fairly new podcast that is informative:
Some sites have a network of people who find stories from news outlets of all kinds. They choose which ones they like the best by voting on them. This is one that is pretty fun:
Here is one for weird news:
Here is an outlet that covers social networks.
There are so many more places to find news. You can read rulings from the US Supreme Court online.
If there is news about something, you can usually find it online. However, as with all news in the real world, you must consider the sources and use your own mind.
Subscriptions
Working this one yet.
Forums
A forum is a place where more rapid exchanges of ideas can happen. They are places for discussion and resources to find help.They are also referred to as discussion boards.
Forums can develop around personal web sites just as easily as they can around organizations. Each forum you go to will have guidelines for you to read.
People usually have to register in a forum before they can post or comment in it.
All the guidelines about commenting apply to forums as well.
When and if you go to a forum and register the administration of the forum will email you a notice that you have joined and possibly a confirmation link for you to click before you can post any thing.
Forums are great places to get help for the real world or for something you are doing online. For example, I found a forum about my car. If I have a question about my car (i.e. It’s making a funny noise or a blinker has gone out and I don’t have the manual.), I can post the question in the forum and someone will answer if they have help for me.
Each forum is different but many use the same model. Look around and see what tools are available for you. At this stage in the internet, there are forums for almost everything!
Education
New apps (applications: things created for people to use) are being made every day for people to learn. Search for them.
Bzzybee is new. It is an online writing collaboration tool.
Teach the People is very new. Who knows what it will bring? Look into it if you are interested.
I searched the term “collaborative learning online” and came up with many sites. This one has more information than I can describe!
Blackboard is neat service that some professors use to hold class online.
A basic tip that is good for finding out about innovations in education online is to read online. If you’re a real world educator your state board of education has a site online. They will likely have some tips for you and links too. Educator unions and professional organizations all have web sites! They may offer some great information. Or you may find that after searching yourself or taking a tips from someone else online, that you are ahead of them.
Whatever works to get your learning on! Don’t be afraid to ask questions at sites. You’ll have to supply an e-mail if you ever hope to get a response though.
And by all means, if you find something you think will be helpful to someone else, tell them. Tell me here. I will link to it or you (if you like) and tag it with “education” so you can find it easily.
Podcasts
A podcast is an audio or video presentation that can be used like a blog, but more frequently is used to air programs of niche commercial and entertainment interests.
Some video services offer podcasting services as well if you are interested in podcasting.
Podcasts can be very educational. Searching for podcasts is easy. Just use a search engine and you will find many clearing houses for podcasts. If you use iTunes, check out their stuff! iTunes U has educational podcasts that often originate from universities. (iTunes is free and you do not have to have a Mac or an iPod to use it.)
You can subscribe to the ones you find useful. Some teach languages. Some offer the news and others are pure entertainment. There is a podcast for you, just look.
You can subscribe to them and even download them onto an MP3 device to take along with you while exercising or what have you.
Here is a directory of podcast directories. (There are so many directories that this is a neat resource.)
WEB DISCRETION
Behind all the words, pics and vids there are people. Much like in the real world you can’t trust everyone right away. Just as you would be cautious about going to someone’s house, you shoud be so online as well.
People have been fired from jobs for things they’ve done online. Kids have been busted for pics they’ve posted of themselves doing very stupid things. Police are not web stupid. They come here too. This is not a place to be irresponsible. This is a place to have fun, learn, create, help others and do most anything you would do in the real world in public.
Often people do not realize that there are feeling and thinking humans on the other side of the page they are viewing. This lack of understanding makes it easier for some to hurt others, be cruel or lewd or just plain rude. If you would not be these things in real life, do not be them virtually.
A special note to those in the public eye: For crying out loud, people are reading and looking. Act responsibly. Teachers and school officials should assume that what you write can be read by students and their parents as well as colleagues and officials. This works for you if you think about it. Online there is a record of what you say and do. If you are doing nothing untoward, you have a record that proves just that. You’re more accountable here than in the real world. It would be good to make a mental note of that and reread it each time you think of posting something that could be misconstrued and turned around to hurt you or damage your career.
I find it a very useful mental technique to tell myself that everything I write is going to be read by my worst enemies and closest family and friends. This helps me to express myself clearly and avoid embarrassing myself.
Kiddos! You might forget in all the fun you are likely already having that you can be seen. You may want that girl or guy to be impressed with you, but selling yourself short or to the lowest bidder by giving away your personal information in text or in visuals (nude pics are super silly to post in public and most places have policies against it) is going to hurt you. Be careful. Get permission. Act as if someone you respect can see you and you will be better off. You can build great relationships online, but in all likelihood those will come when you demonstrate that you have something to offer from your mind and not your ability to party.
Parents! Get literate. Use a search engine to find out what kinds of tools you have available to control where your children go online if you are worried it. There are many kinds of filters you can use to limit access. But remind yourself. This arena is going to be a part of their futures. Like many things that can be dangerous in real life, you do not want to ban it; you want to encourage and teach responsible use. Compare it to driving. Being a bad driver can get you in trouble. It is best to know how to use the vehicle well.
There are tools to track where your children go online. Most web browsers have a history. It may be a pain in the bum to check it after your child is off the computer, but if you really want to be confident in your trust, doing that kind of work will give you relief.
But in the end, just as in the real world, if you teach your children to live by the moral and ethical codes you establish, they will likely do that online as they do in real life. Setting a good example is important. So is communication! Asking your children where they go and why they go there ( and who they talk to) could not only teach you a few things, it can give you the opportunity to build stronger relationships.
Social Networks
This term can be applied to any network where socializing takes place. That’s almost everywhere!
MySpace and Facebook are huge and are dedicated to social networking almost exclusively. There are countries of people in them. Knowing how to use these places to your best advantage is empowering and can be very enlightening.
See discretion though. Even with something more private like Facebook, discretion is important. Your boss may not be in your friends list, but that does not mean they cannot find someone who is and then look at your page that way. It happens. Being discrete everywhere you socialize online is a good thing.
Research the social network you are considering joining. Find out about the demographics of who is involved.
Many have niche interests.
DIGG is social news networking site. It is great way to find links to interesting stories and sites. It has a more masculine and younger feel, but that is not to out weigh that the people involved in DIGG can be very savvy and well informed.
StubleUpon is similar but with a softer side. I have seen more females there. It seems to be about sharing sites of interest. It’s fairly new and I have little experience with it, so if you have something to add about it, do so.
There are sites that one must be invited to join.
The ORG is a great place if you can find your way to an invitation. Creativity abounds there. That network is not simply about finding things to share, it is about creating and collaborating. It produces content and that can be an awesome experience.
This article on Mashable, a social networking news site, is about what they regard as the 10 Most Beautiful Social Networks.
Social networks are everywhere. Blog hosts that are conducive to community building have them. Some people are so web famous that they have a social network that revolves around them. Forums and discussion boards can be social networks.
