Information sharing, Internet and security

Are you protected ?

We are using more and more information on the Internet or on enterprise servers. These holds data that we want to share or that we compile together with other people in our community or company. We expect access to all information everywhere, working without problems and without limitations.
We want to feel secure and and have privacy when we are using computers and the Internet.
But there are a lot of evil and destructive software around.
If you are using Ms-Windows you are quite vulnerable, much depending on your choice of software and protective measurements, so be sure to use good, secure, protective software.

The simplest thing to do is to use some other web-browser and email program than Ms-Internet Explorer and Outlook or OutlookExpress, Mozilla/Firefox and Thunderbird are good and more secure alternatives.

Firewalls can be a separate box or just software, and are a way to stop programs and computers from accessing your computer. The quality of firewalls are different and they have different functionality. Use a good one! If you use Ms-Windows Xp, install an independent firewall and turn off the one that came with your system.
New computers are often delivered with a trial version of some virus checking software, that usually are time limited. When they expired you no longer have any virus protection. Check my software pages to find good replacements.

If you have children that access internet you should also have active internet filtering software,like cyberpatrol or the free Dansguardian (linux and bsd) alternative which can run on your firewall/router if you run a Linux based box.
Sit down with your children, talk about what they are finding on the net and if they are more experienced with the net than you, start learning. If they are using messaging software as Msn, Icq or Yahoo, install it for yourself, get an account, add your child's id, check out what they are doing.

How to Hack

Have you ever wondered how a hacker might get control over your computer? You need a lot of time and a fair bit of knowledge about the "thing" you want to hack, but if you are a bit technical and want a practical tutorial on how to hack!
The Tao of Windows Buffer Overflow - hacking tutorial