The Family PC -- How to stay safe on the Internet

  As parents, we have concerns on Internet safety for all of our family members.  This morning I spent some time gathering some of the best published resources out there.  Most of these are non-technical and easy-to-understand.

Security is a two part process.  Part one is the technical protection associated with anti-virus software, firewalls, Windows Updates, Anti-Spyware, etc.  Part two is in the human behavior aspects, where security can be seen as SEC-U-R-IT-Y.  The "U-R-IT" part means that "You are it".  While the bad guys are the source of the problem, so is ignoring the risk.  For example, if you ignore speed limit signs or bad drivers on the highway, you'll soon run into trouble.  It's the same way with computer security.

The best advice I have for parents is "To Teach your Children well". Spend quality time with family members teaching them to avoid email/IM attachments and URLs, recognizing spam (there are no free lunches out there), and most importantly the bad people on the Internet (e.g., predators - which thankfully law enforcement is on the lookout for).  The knowledge of Internet risks and how to avoid them is as important as the technical safeguards we employ on our family PCs.

Below are some resources that might help:

SEARCH ENGINES -- There are numerous resources that can be found using Google, MSN, or other search engines:

http://www.google.com/search?&q=how+to+stay+safe+on+Internet
http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=how+to+stay+safe+on+Internet

GREAT FAMILY PROTECTION LINKS -- I particularly liked these sites for children and the principles also apply to all users:

http://www.staysafe.org/
http://www.sass.ca/safe.htm
http://www.safekids.com/
http://www.safeteens.com/safeteens.htm
http://www.bettybookmark.com/i/internetsafety.htm
http://www.staysafeonline.info/
http://www.chaminade.org/MIS/WebSafety/30ways.htm
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/display?theme=76&content=336
http://familyinternet.about.com/cs/internetsafety1/a/aa8safesteps.htm
http://www.wiredsafety.org/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cumbria/features/2004/03/internet_safety/index.shtml
http://www.bcentral.co.uk/technology/security/stay-safe-online.mspx
http://www.haltabuse.org/resources/online.shtml
http://www.hubbardtwppd.org/Homeland/online.htm

SAFETY QUIZ -- Below is a 10 question Internet safety quiz that your family members can take in just a couple of minutes:

http://www.iol.ie/~dromore/safety/quiz/quiz.htm

OTHER GREAT RESOURCES - I've always liked the work done by MS "at home", CERT, and Kim Komando:

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/default.mspx
http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/home_networks.html
http://www.komando.com/