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August 12, 2004
No matter what the main topic is, I always insert an additional 20 minutes or more to talk about Internet safety. I wouldn't have it any other way.
"BORING!" a local club officer told me when I explained my policy. He'd wanted me to talk about digital cameras. But when I told him I'd also be talking about viruses, hackers, cookies and file attachments, he called off the deal. The club members would find all that Internet safety stuff really boring, he said.
This has happened a number of times. I know the feeling. Computer users don't want to squirm.
I could be wrong about this. But something tells me we've made a mess out of Internet safety, especially in the way it endangers our children, because we don't want to deal with it. We buckle our seat belts when we get into the car and we wash our hands before every meal, but we're not interested in ways to keep our kids safe on the Internet. We're not tuned in when somebody talks about file attachments.
The computer companies need to share the blame, maybe. They still haven't figured out a way to make your Windows PC or your Apple Macintosh work like your TV. Or like your car. Computers are hard to use and even harder to fix when they go wrong.
Your cell phone is just as complicated as your computer, but it's much easier to use. Computers have a long way to go.
But the fact that something is hard to use shouldn't excuse the dangers of using it. You'd think that would make us even more cautious. But it doesn't. It just makes us even more careless, as if it makes no sense trying to deal with Internet safety since computers are too hard to figure out anyway.
We can do something about this right now. We can start with five simple changes.
1. If you have a cable or DSL Internet connection, buy a router that doubles as a firewall. The folks at your nearest computer store will know what you need. Hookup is very easy, and the cost is minimal -- $50 or less in many cases. Firewalls block unwanted Internet intrusion.
2. If you have children, don't let them use sexually suggestive e-mail addresses or instant-messaging names. Don't argue with them; make them do it. You're in charge, and you need to protect them from predators.
3. Don't allow your children to use a computer out of the sight of the adults in the family. There should be no reason to hide what's going on and no reason for closed doors in the room where the computer is.
4. Don't allow anyone in your household to open e-mail attachments they haven't specifically asked for. That's a very simple rule and works extraordinarily well at preventing most virus infections. If you didn't specifically ask for the file, don't open the attachment. Period. No exceptions.
5. Designate one adult as the sole person responsible for checking into suspicious e-mail; everyone else should leave it alone. Mail is suspicious if it fits any of these categories: You didn't ask for it, you don't know the person who sent it or you can't figure out why someone you DO know would send it. (Mail like that usually is spam, using the faked address of someone you know.)
Are there other steps you can take? Sure. But this is a start. Don't let it slide. Dare to be boring now and then. You can make a difference.
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