6 Things You Really Need To Do Right Now

I am not a nostalgic “oh, the old year is ending, sniffle, sniffle” kind of person nor am I one who makes resolutions which I will never, ever keep. I am, however, a realist who believes in protecting her data as much as possible, so 

Here are 5 things I'm doing and I hope YOU'RE going to do right NOW to help yourself be safe online:

1. Updated your virus protection program. Yeah, I know. It does it for you. Do it manually anyway. You never know when a program has missed something and cybertheft is all too common. Run it NOW.
   
   
   
   
2. Check your privacy settings on social media. Make sure they're set so that the minimum numbe of people and companies have access to your personal information.
   
   
   
   
3. STOP posting that your location on social media. Why not just hang a “Burglars: Empty House” sign on your front door? Sites get hacked all the time and that “friends of friends” setting on Facebook still means that plenty of people can see your postings. Don't advertise that you're not home.
   
   
   
   
4. Pictures of your kids showing their names, schools, etc. on ANY website. It's far too easy for predators to find their prey. Criminals do all sorts of nefarious things with kids' photos. Just don't post pics of your kids, especially ones showing their regular locations.  And if you have posted, try to take anything that can lead a predator to their location down. 
   
   
   
   
   
5. Back-up your files, pictures, etc. NOW. Seriously. Think about how difficult and heartbreaking it would be to lose all that data and all those precious pictures. Ideally, back up to three different sources and do it regularly. And consider about WHAT you're backing up BEFORE you do it.  I don't back-up anything with social security numbers to the Cloud because any site can be hacked at any time.  
   
   
   
   
6. Check the apps on your phone and see what permissions they've asked for that you've given. Consider whether that clock app really needs access to your files photos and if the convenience is worth compromising your privacy for.

These six simple little steps are probably the LEAST you can do to try to maintain some security on the web. For more on keeping your personal information safe, visit http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0272-how-keep-your-personal-information-secure. 

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful New Year!

THE CIRCLE: Is THIS What The Future Holds?

I could NOT put down THE CIRCLE!

What would happen if Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Paypal, Twitter, the United States government and every other entity that has a piece of your online presence were merged into one picture of you which you could not opt out of and would be harnessed for profit? That’s the premise in the delightfully chilling, modern-day Orwellian book, The Circle by Dave Eggers.

 

The Circle’s mottoes, instituted via methods akin to brainwashing, include “Sharing Is Caring,” “Secrets Are Lies,” and “Privacy Is Theft.”

Mae Holland is hired to work for this thinly-disguised version of Google. At first, it seems utopian as The Circle links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency. Quickly, she finds herself “required” to attend company events, take surveys so companies can collect her “likes” and “dislikes” and post online to bump up her ratings in the Circle community. The Circle’s mottoes, instituted in methods akin to brainwashing, include “Sharing Is Caring,” “Secrets Are Lies,” and “Privacy Is Theft.”

Mae becomes part of The Circle’s movement toward “Completion” in which every piece of information about the individual, including those of one’s ancestors, is made available to the company. Will she lose her soul to this cult-like organization which is quickly gaining Internet supremacy?

The book is fascinating because every day this Dystopian reality looms larger.

  

It asks the reader to consider what the consequences are, good and bad, of further centralization of information services and social networking with the voluntary surrender of privacy spun in totalitarian terms as the ultimate act of honesty. Online, every thought, transaction, action and experience we have is stored by some corporation. The Circle resonates because this scenario is completely plausible as we actively give away our information (and that of our children).


Author Egger’s protagonist isn’t the brightest or most well-developed character. There were times that I truly did not like her. She submits to the forces of The Circle far too willingly without thought to the repercussions even as she feels a part of her resisting. Similarly, parts of the book are far too “preachy” – I get it. By being online, we, too, may be giving away part of our souls.
Still, I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! It is so thought-provoking, suspenseful, and creepy. At times, it made me consider shutting down my social media accounts while forcing me to question the positive value of having data on the Web – forever.

Is THE CIRCLE right? Is Privacy a form of theft because others cannot learn from our experiences?

Read it and see if The Circle doesn’t compel YOU to deeply consider your online presence!

 

Please note that this review first appeared on TheGeekParent.com.  

Just Another Reason NOT To Post Photos Of Your Kids On Social Media

I've written before on The Geek Parent (where this article first appeared)  about how parents should never post pictures of their kids on Facebook (read that article here and The Washington Post also has this great article on why this should be on your social media list of “no-nos"). But it goes further than just Facebook. Another issue, this time shedding light on Instagram, has been discovered:

THE PRACTICE OF ROLE-PLAYING WITH PHOTOS OF CHILDREN THAT ARE STOLEN FROM SOCIAL MEDIA SITES

Here's how it works:

Social media users, many of them teenage girls, steal images of babies and kids off the Internet (primarily off Instagram), give the children new names and claim that the kids are theirs. Others comment on the photo as the new “parent” gives details of the child's life with some obsessing over breast-feeding and potty training. Individuals even pretend to be virtual adoption agencies where prospective “parents” can request babies and kids they'd like to adopt (for example, “I'm looking for a little 5-year boy, with olive skin who is of slight build and is feisty.”). The fake adoption agency then finds the person a photo, without the permission of the child's real parents.

SOME DEVIANT ROLE-PLAYERS INDULGE IN FANTASIES ABOUT PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL ABUSE

Sure, many of the comments on the photos are innocuous (“Aww, how cute!”), however, some of the role-players are downright disturbing. The website EssentialBaby.com reported that one Canadian mother found pictures of her baby in a role-playing game and comments were about how the child looked “ugly and disabled.” It gets worse. Some deviant role-players indulge in fantasies about physical and sexual abuse.

So think your photos are safe because of your security settings? Think again. Most IT security people agree that there's only one way to truly ensure that your Internet content stays safe: don't put it out there in the the first place!

THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE SURE YOUR PHOTOS ARE SAFE IS TO NOT UPLOAD THEM TO THE INTERNET IN THE FIRST PLACE

To read more about the practice of role-playing with stolen baby photos, read this article from FastCompany.com which also gives Instagram's response to this truly creepy practice.

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Note:  The Geek Parent's Editor, Kat Mahoney, left a fascinating comment to my article:

"On a side note, there are also safer ways you can post photos of your children without feeling like the whole world is watching. First and foremost is that you can have a private account, which does not allow any followers or viewers unless you approve. This is for any social media network. I have many friends in the security industry that work at Microsoft and if someone is smart enough to hack into your account via private settings, they aren’t interested in your children, they are more interested in bank accounts, loans, and credit fraud. Also, it is wise to talk to your kids about social media and posting photos. For instance, I have control of my kids accounts and they are not public. They share it amongst their friends. - All in all, it is wise to be safe, but you can’t stop your kids from socializing forever in this new generation and the best way is to teach them and to teach them is to talk to them and lead by example. If a parent can’t do that, then their kids will, if they are not already, smarter than them in the coming technological era."

She brings up some interesting points, however, I can't imagine how truly violated and ashamed I'd feel if someone stole my kids' photos and used them for deviant purposes.  I would guess that my children, too, would feel disgusted and embarrassed by those pics as well.  Granted, you can't fully control how others will use photos of your children, but if I can do anything to grant my kids some photographic privacy (never mind that I blog about them without using their real names), I will take those measures even if it means that friends and family can't see those photos online.  

Parents, obviously, the choice is yours.

Thank you for reading!

What Happens To Your Online Life Once You Die?

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We all have digital lives and, obviously, those lives continue as long as we do. But what happens to our online presence once we die?

Check out this great graphic from webpagefx.com which answers just that question:

WE’RE IN CHARGE OF NOT ONLY OUR DATA, BUT THAT OF OUR KIDS. WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE PHOTOS, VIDEOS, AND INFORMATION ONCE WE’RE GONE?

Interestingly enough, there is now a law in Delaware that authorizes executors, guardians, etc. to access the online accounts of the deceased, much like fiduciary trustees can access monetary and medical records “subject to a will, trust, or power-of-attorney.” Individuals can also specify that their heirs “never open or change their digital assets.” For more on that law, click here.

Until the whole country adopts or copies Delaware’s law, it might be something to think about the next time you make out your will or update your existing will.  And if you haven’t considered making out a will, read here for why you should.

Our online presence is important while we’re alive. We, especially as parents, who are in charge of so much online information for not only ourselves, but our children, need to think about what happens to it and who will have access to it once we’re dead.

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 Please note:  This article first appeared on The Geek Parent. 

Why Mom Is On Social Media

I've written before about how much fun I'm having with the DonateAPhoto app (you can read about it here), so recently I took the plunge and joined Instagram. (my user name is momscrayon). When I told my 14 year old about it, he asked, “Why does my Mom need more social media than me?” Excellent question, Kid!

First of all, no one needs social media in the sense that, we can survive, physically, without it. Those of us who lived through a natural disaster like a hurricane or tornado, something which knocks out electricity, know that. But for someone who writes for a living, having many venues to showcase my work is important. At present, I'm on Twitter, Facebook, Bloglovin, and now, Instagram, so it's easy to see what I do and sponsors look for you to be on multiple sites.  

Second, you see your friends almost every day. You Skype with them for hours at a time and have plenty of social interaction. I work from home where the only individual I see regularly is the mailman. He's a nice guy, but I think he's getting tired of hearing me blabber on; I mean, the guy has a job to do.  Social contact is important for everyone and social media allows me to have a modicum  of that.

Third, I get quite a bit of my news from Twitter. I learn maintain contact with friends, close and far, via Facebook. Now, I'm getting a visual glimpse into various worlds via Instagram. As you know, the Web is contains a universe of data and it's important to stay current on local and world events. 

Lastly, you, my friend, are 14. You are still developing the social radar you'll need to determine who might be a threat, what you should/should not say, what to believe and what to discount, whether information is valid, etc. You have nothing to sell, no agenda to promote. Your world is largely contained to our house, neighborhood, and town. There is NO reason you need to be spreading yourself around on social media. Your book is unwritten, your time has not yet come.

Do I need social media? Professionally and from an information standpoint, I do. From an social perspective, less so; but it's useful. Someday, I will be gone from this planet.

At some point, you may want to review my digital footprint to learn more about who I was while you were growing up, to touch me, virtually, when I am not here. Then, my beloved son, you will be happy that I was on social media. 

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Thanks for reading!