Our guest blogger is Jack McArtney, who manages online safety issues for Verizon. Jack has played a key role in the introduction of Verizon Safeguards and numerous parental control products and services for Verizon customers. He oversees consumer policies and industry guidelines for wireless and online safety as well as content and advertising standards.

 

By Jack McArtney

 

You’ve probably heard it. If Facebook were a country, it would rank third in terms of population just behind China and India, and the number of Facebook users continues to grow.

 

A great place to connect with family and friends, Facebook contains a lot of information about you.  So you want to be smart about sharing it.

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Today’s guest blogger is Tracy Mooney, McAfee’s Chief Cyber Security Mom.  A mother of three, Tracy shares her insights about keeping families safe online.

 

By: Tracy Mooney

 

As we near the end of another school year, there’s been a lot of excitement around my household. I’m looking forward to spending more time with my kids, and the kids are counting the days until they are “free.” I quickly realized though that I’m once again going to compete for the kids’ attention. They will want to spend a big chunk of their day on the Internet instead of doing family activities.

 

Don’t get me wrong; the Internet will have a lot to offer them during their dog days of summer, such as discovering new games (I try to sneak in some educational ones too!), music, and whatever else they think to search for, all the while chatting with friends. With all of the fun times to look forward to, there are bad things lurking too, such as viruses and spyware in addition to inappropriate ads, videos, music and other adult content.

 

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Editor’s note:  Verizon today (April 19, 2011) published the "Verizon 2011 Data Breach Investigations Report," an annual study about cybercrime.

 

Wade Baker, Verizon director of Risk Intelligence and principal author of the report, answers questions about its findings and recommends five steps that consumers can take to protect their data online.

 

Q:  For those that aren’t familiar with the report, what is it?

 

A:  It is an annual study into the world of cybercrime that analyzes computer forensics to uncover how sensitive data is stolen from organizations, who’s doing it, why they’re doing it, and, of course, what might be done to prevent it.

 

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{Editor’s Note} Our guest blogger is Brianna Carroll Boyle. Brianna works in media relations for Verizon Business. She is in charge of Security, IT Solutions, Storage, Application Management and Hosting.  She is a regular author at the Verizon Business Think Forward blog.

 

By: Brianna Carroll Boyle

 

The Internet can be a scary place, no doubt. In this video, my colleague Jonathan Nguyen offers four easy tips that each and every consumer can use while online.

 

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Today’s guest blogger is Tracy Mooney, McAfee’s Chief Cyber Security Mom.  A mother of three, Tracy shares her insights about keeping families safe online.

 

I love music and movies. I would venture to say that it is one of the things that brings my family together. But no matter how much I love Johnny Depp, Muse or even Lady Gaga, I just don’t search for them or their music or movies online very often.

 

So when McAfee released their 2010 Digital Music and Movies Report: The True Cost of Free Entertainment, I didn’t think it affected me. I mean, I don’t go actively searching for free music or free movies.

 

Then it hit me! I may not search for music and movies, but my kids might. They certainly have more time on their hands than I do. They also may be more likely to type “free” before whatever they are searching for, which can result in a 300 percent increase of landing on a website that could infect your computer, according to the report.

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With October and National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) coming to an end, we hope you’ve seen some of the online safety tips we’ve provided on Twitter as well as here at the Verizon at Home blog, NCSAM is a national public awareness campaign promoted by National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) that encourages all digital citizens to be safer online.

 

But being responsible online doesn’t end on Oct. 31.

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Today's guest blogger is Monica Vila, founder and Chief Technology Mom at TheOnlineMom.com. Monica is passionate about empowering families to make good decisions about the use of technology and is an advocate of parents embracing technology by understanding both its benefits and risks. Monica’s website, TheOnlineMom.com, provides parents with a wealth of information on how they can harness the power of technology while keeping their families safe in the digital age.  Disclosure: Monica Vila and The Online Mom are paid partners of Verizon Communications.

 

The Internet is a great resource for family entertainment and education. But barely a week goes by without hearing about a brand new virus that is attacking computers and networks all around the world, or the latest phishing scam that has defrauded thousands of unsuspecting individuals.

 

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Today's guest blogger is Cammie Moise, founder MomsMaterial.com and CyberSafeFamily.com. Cammie, a mother of two tweens, is an Internet safety advocate and speaks locally in her hometown of Houston to educate families on staying safe online and managing your online reputation. She believes your online reputation can create great opportunities or negative consequences. Her post offers some tips on how parents can help their kids become “cyber safe.”

Parents have a new responsibility for keeping our families safe online. Many parents are still embracing technology, while it is a part of our child’s everyday life. One of my goals as an Internet safety advocate is to educate families on both the good and bad of the Internet. Read more...

The Internet is intoxicating. We engage it and it helps us in ways we never imagined when it was born a decade and a half ago. We’ve grown comfortable in using it even as it has become much easier to use. Widgets and links, apps and tags, home pages and Twitter links put everything we need a click away.

And at home or work, when the PC, laptop, netbook or handheld go though a well-protected router, we’re confident that good behaviors will keep us safe.

But it’s vacation time. Evil lurks beyond the walls of our homes and offices. While we can feel safe online most of the time, it’s wrong to assume Internet access outside the home using Wi-Fi connections is safe. Read more...