Archive for the ‘Tips’ Category

How Do I Keep My Kids Safe Online?

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Keeping your kids safe online can be a challenge.  It’s natural for kids and teens to be curious about the world and a great way to satisfy their curiosity is by searching the internet for answers to their questions.  So how can a parent limit access to the internet while still giving their kids an enjoyable internet experience?

First, there is no substitute to parental monitoring.  Placing your computer in a central part of the house can discourage the type of online activity that can get a kid or teen in trouble.  But let’s be honest… even if the computer is in a central location, you can’t monitor your kids 100% of the time.

Using Windows?  Try their parental controls.  Windows Vista and 7 have built in parental controls that can limit the amount of time your child spends online.  For example, you can set it to where your kid can’t access the computer from 10 PM to 7 AM, so you as a parent can sleep knowing that your kid is off the net.  Here are some links to help you setup parental controls…

Vista – http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Set-up-Parental-Controls

7 – http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Set-up-Parental-Controls

Look into parental control software.  While the Windows Parental Control software is pretty decent, many parents want more robust control over their kid’s internet experience.  Take a look at these software packages for a more fine level of control…

McAfee Total Protection 2010 – http://home.mcafee.com/store/total-protection

SafeEyes – http://www.internetsafety.com/safe-eyes-parental-control-software.php

Net Nanny – http://www.netnanny.com/products/netnanny

Cyber Patrol – http://www.cyberpatrol.com/cpparentalcontrols.asp

Our recommendation is McAfee Total Protection 2010.  Not only does it include parental controls, it is a full featured Anti-Virus program as well.

Try OpenDNS – A free website filtering service for your home network.  DNS is one of the main technologies that make the internet work.  When you type in www.novacpu.com, DNS resolves this to an IP address.  DNS is often described as phone book for websites.  What if that phone book never gave you the IP Address?  Your computer would not get to the website.  This is the concept behind OpenDNS.  OpenDNS filters DNS request from your computer and filters out the bad stuff.  For example, if your curious teenage boy tries to get to an adult magazine’s website, OpenDNS will block that.  It’s free for home use and you can even use it in the office.  Check out www.opendns.com for more details.

A few things you may want to tell your kids…

  1. Not to install additional software.  Many websites try to get their visitors to install software to ‘display the site correctly’, to ‘update your video player’, or (most common) to ‘protect you from a virus’.  And it’s easy to fall for this too.  Just remember, if it is not from a known company, you should steer clear.
  2. That your family computer is a great tool and not to abuse it.  Your kids love the computer, no doubt.  Teach them to respect it.  It can cause time, money, and heartache when a computer goes down for any reason.
  3. To check their privacy settings in Facebook, MySpace, etc.  Online predators commonly search these sites for things like “Females teens in ‘My Town’”.  Make sure their profile is not public – only their approved friends should be able to see their pictures, status, etc.
  4. Not to meet up with somebody they met online.  This happens more and more with the rise of social networking.  Many teens will accept random friend requests because they simply want a lot of friends on their Facebook page.  This can create a false sense of trust.  Online predators can be very patient, developing a relationship over weeks, months, even years.  If your teen posts “Going to the 7:00 show with my friends” on their Facebook page, the predator may see that and show up unannounced.  Let them know that a friend of a friend may not be their friend.

 

Kyle Greenup
NovaCPU
www.novacpu.com

Email: kyle@novacpu.com
Office: 615.822.5454  |  Cell:  615.498.5789
111 Hazel Path | Hendersonville, TN | 37075

Posted in Online Safety, Tips | 1 Comment »

Improve your Computer’s Performance & Security – 10 simple steps

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010


Our Computers are valuable tools. I’m sure you agree that it is very worthwhile to keep them running smoothly. Like cars, computers need a bit of TLC every now and then. Here is a list of 10 steps that will keep your machine running smoothly.

These tips can work on any Windows PC, home or office.

1. Microsoft Updates. Any computer geek worth their salt will tell you to run the updates from Microsoft. These updates contain security fixes and performance enhancements. Why wouldn’t you want that? If you go without obtaining these updates, you put yourself more at risk of catching that new virus going around the internet. I’ve been asked to remove many viruses that could have been avoided by simply running the Microsoft Update Service. So please, do the Microsoft Updates and do them again… then again… then again… until there are no critical updates left. Then set your machine to automatically download and install them. The default time is 3 AM…. Is your computer on at 3 AM? Mine is not, so I changed that time to a more appropriate time.

2. Use a strong password. If you are using a computer with no password, it’s like leaving your car with the keys inside. It’s leaving an open invitation for anyone to use! Use a password that is difficult to guess and change it often (every 4-6 weeks is fairly standard). Need help creating a password? Read this great article.

3. Disk Cleanup. Simply put, it helps remove any unused files from your computer; files that are just taking up space. It’s the equivalent of taking out the trash. It’s good to do this monthly, right before step 4.

4. Defragment. All hard drives fragment. That basically means files get out of order on the disk. Defragmenting on a monthly basis is one way to ensure that your hard drive is reading/writing to its full potential.

5. Virus and Spyware Scans. You should do this regularly even if you don’t notice a problem. Use whatever scanning software you have and run a complete scan on all fixed hard disks.

6. Remove Unused Programs. Similar to the disk cleanup (#3 above), you should remove any programs that you don’t use. Open the Control Panel and then use the Add/Remove Programs (Pre-Vista) or the Programs & Features (Vista/7) applet to remove any program that you are not using.

7. Use a Firewall. You may be behind a firewall at work or even home via your router already. However, it is wise to use a software firewall directly on your computer. Windows XP, Vista, & 7 have them built in. Make sure they are on by looking at the Control Panel and then the Windows Firewall applet. Another great firewall program (it’s free!) is ZoneAlarm.

8. Don’t Click on That! Many WebPages have advertisements on them, enticing you to click on them and see what they are selling. Those advertisement’s respective WebPages may ask to install Active-X controls or perhaps some type of media player so they can “display the site correctly”. Ever wonder what really got installed? It could be tracking cookies, trojans, or spyware (Oh My!). If you don’t recognize the software or if the advertisement is not from a respected company, Don’t Click on That!

9. Wireless Security. If you are using wireless, you need to use encryption. If you are already using encryption, make sure you are NOT using WEP encryption. An experienced hacker can crack a 128-bit WEP Encryption Key in about 10 minutes. Use WPA-2 as your encryption algorithm. If your wireless router does not support WPA-2, then it’s time to get a new one.

10. Backup your stuff. All hard drives have one thing in common. They all have a 100% failure rate. It’s unavoidable. Your hard drive will fail – it’s just a matter of time. If your hard drive crashes for any reason, you will have one of two reactions. Either 1) you will be devastated that you lost all your files, pictures, music, emails, etc or 2) you will be relieved that you have a current backup. In my opinion, the best backup strategy for a home computer is an online backup service. They are cheaper than buying an external backup hard drive, easier to install, and offer more features as well. Two online backup service providers that I recommend are Carbonite and Mozy.

And there you have it! Following these simple steps will help keep your computer running smoothly, securely, and with a backup. If you have a network administrator or equivalent, you should consult them before performing any these steps on your work machine – they may already have things in place and set correctly.

 

Kyle Greenup | Vice President
NovaCPU
www.novacpu.com

Email: kyle@novacpu.com
Office: 615.822.5454  |  Cell:  615.498.5789
111 Hazel Path | Hendersonville, TN | 37075

Posted in Tips | 1 Comment »