A friend has been encouraging me for months to join the Internet online dating scene; she met her current boyfriend through an online dating site, and he is a genuinely nice man. She knew that I was looking for a little companionship in my life, and even once hooked...

Picking the right security software to protect your computer from the dangers of the Internet can be a challenging task. It's a bit like shopping for a lawyer or doctor: you never really know if they're any good until you win or lose your case in court, or learn that...

I was in high school when I first read George Orwell's novel 1984, a depiction of the totalitarian society that he suspected would dominate the world's future. Written in 1948, the book describes a government dedicated to the proposition that, in order to protect the...

"Privacy is dead; deal with it." So said Sun Microsystems co-founder Scott McNealy in the year 2000. McNealy is no doubt privy to more than a little inside information, as his company has long been a traditional supplier of powerful computers to big businesses and big...

Computer geeks are indeed an odd and esoteric bunch, puzzling and sometimes frustrating to people who’ve never studied the intricacies of hard drive failures or Internet Protocol stacks. Nowhere are the oddities of computer geeks more openly on display than at the...

When I bought my first computer in 1984, I immediately realized the need to easily and quickly move the entire system from one room to another. So, being the do-it-yourselfer that I was raised to be, I constructed a 30"x30" wooden platform, and mounted the Commodore...

Websites are not safe. Just last week, I accidentally infected one of my own computers with some nasty spyware by clicking on the wrong link on the wrong creepy website; at least, I think that's what happened. Some websites host what are called "drive-by infections,"...

The next area to be fixed in our quest for better Internet security is network file/print sharing. When a user attempts to share folders and files from a Windows XP machine, he is met with the following warning: "Network sharing and security. As a security measure,...

There are numerous operating system and program settings that can be tweaked in order to better your security profile. True system "hardening" is not for the impatient or faint of heart, and may be discussed in a future column; this column will cover only the basics....

Instant messaging (IM) is rapidly becoming a favored attack vector for the bad guys. Too many IM programs allow anonymous connections by default. This is a very, very bad idea. You don't want anonymous Internet creeps pinging you to become your "buddy." Anonymous IMs,...

Antiadware/antispyware software is a basic security requirement. Forget buggy resource hogs like Windows Defender; there are two free programs that, when used together, will do a good job of cleaning up any problems that might invade. Download and install Lavasoft's...

Certain software items must be in place and properly configured before you can have decent security. Your first consideration should be choice of operating system. If you are using Windows 98 or ME, it's time for a new computer, as those are not safe machines for...

Continuing from last week's article, I've noticed that without proper education, users and their computers are just accidents waiting to happen. If a user cannot correctly answer the following questions, then I guarantee you that their computer will eventually become...

Most computer users have been lulled into a false sense of computer and Internet security, due largely to over-blown marketing hype from the computer industry. They think that if they’ve got the latest security “suite” installed, or are using the latest “Wow”...

We've looked for the pas two weeks at some security problems related to Instant Messaging (IM). In this last part of the series we'll look at how to secure AOL Instant Messenger. The Big Three IM programs are AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), MSN Messenger (now replaced by...

We looked last week at some security problems related to Instant Messaging (IM). The question was also posed, "Do software manufacturers have a responsibility to teach the safe operation of their products? As automakers are responsible to inform their customers about...

Love it or hate it, Instant Messaging (IM) has become an important tool to many Internet users. The ability to instantly send tiny email-like messages to friends and family without any fussy face-to-face or even voice-to-voice personal interaction has become a...

Much ado was made over the Labor Day weekend about a University of Oklahoma football player stealing gas from a local convenience store. Seems that he was caught after hours with a key to open the gas pump, allowing him to enter an access code into the pumps...

Earlier this week I received an email from a rather forlorn customer asking, "I cannot stand the spam; what is a good spam blocker?" Outside of the delete key, I have very few recommendations when it comes to "spam blockers." Spam (or, "unwanted email") is one of the...

Just like many people are oblivious to the world around them while they’re driving a car, most people don’t have a clue regarding the savage battle that rages across the Internet as they merrily open dangerous email attachments, click on malicious website links and...