New to the internet? Got lost yet? Join the club!
Welcome to all of the wonderful people who have recently found the internet. Excited? Great! Anxious? You should be. The internet can be a huge fishnet that can ‘trap’ you in its clutches. Case in point. I am listening to Leo Laporte on Twit.tv and they are talking about a list of companies that are doing something called ‘passive charging’. This is where a company will entice you to their web site, and once your there they will have some really attractive buttons that ask you to take a survey, or take their version of an IQ test. Once you take the survey or IQ test they ask you just a few more questions, for example, your phone number. At that point, they can and probably will bill your cell phone for a monthly fee.
Let’s keep in mind that some of these companies seem very credible, professional and believable. If you want to listen to the excellent podcast, just go to: www.twit.tv and look for episode 222 on the Twit show. It is named 3 Dollah coffee pot. About 7 to 10 minutes into the podcast, Leo names some of the companies that you have to be very careful doing online business with.
The internet is an opportunist. It’s just waiting for you to visit unscrupulous sites. However, now that I have scared you into not going onto the net, don’t be too hasty to write off the internet completely. We bank online. My wife regularly changes her passwords, and is very careful when she is online. Just like driving a car, I personally think that before folks go on the internet, they should take a course on internet security, negotiating and properly using the web. Terms like malware, spyware, trojans, worms and viruses should be at the top of your personal learning list before you venture out into the inter-web.
Have fun on the internet. Enjoy your new found freedom. I have included a great video below that shows you how to put together a free security suite for your computer. Just click on the blue link below and it will take you to the tutorial. Enjoy, Rick
