Monthly Archives: May 2014

Articles, Cyber Bullying, Digital Parenting, Identity Theft Prevention, Online Security

Skype Safety Tips for Kids and Parents

By: jayneandd

The internet is a dangerous place especially for kids who are not tech savvy enough to realize a potential threat lurking on the web. Skype is a free video chat and instant messaging service widely used for family and friends to keep in touch with each other. Parents and kids often use the service as it was intended, but sometimes kids and parents get a rude shock.

Skype users have been affected by such items as a video of a naked person, inappropriately touching themselves, tasteless messages sent to young unsuspecting individuals, and compromised personal information. Online safety is a priority to keep both children and parents out of harm’s way.

Skype Safety Tip #1

Always monitor your child while they are using Skype. Know who your child is chatting with and make sure nothing inappropriate is happening in the chat room. One of the best ways to do this is to make sure that the computer or tablet being used is in a common room of the home.

Skype Safety Tip #2

Make sure personal information is kept private by updating privacy settings. First, make sure to use a long, unique password that uses a combination of numbers, letters and characters to prevent the account from being hacked. Next, update privacy settings on Skype to limit communications and protect your private information. Teach kids not to put personal information in a Skype profile because some of it could be made public.

Skype Safety Tip #3

Teach kids about “stranger danger” and what to do if they are approached out in the real world and what do to if they are approached online by a stranger.  Teach children to tell a trusted adult immediately if they are approached by a stranger on Skype or any other internet chat service.

Skype Safety Tip #4

Protect your computer by making sure an antivirus or anti-malware program is installed. Skype users can be subject to viruses and malware that can cause computers to run slowly, corrupt data, and cause vulnerabilities.

Skype Safety Tip #5

Report any incidents to local authorities.  Take a screen shot of the chat and save everything of importance to give to police.  This includes the username of the other party, the time and date of the conversation, and any other pertinent details about the conversation.  The incident will be investigated.

 

Articles, Digital Parenting

Eraser Challenge Draws Concerns from Parents and Schools

By: Pink Sherbet Photography

A dangerous game called “Eraser Challenge” has gone viral and is fast becoming popular with teenagers. The game challenges teens to use an eraser and rub it back and forth on their arm between the wrist and the elbow while reciting the alphabet. Teens come up with a word for each letter that they rub onto their skin with the eraser.  Opponents compare the wounds of the game after they reach the letter Z.

Bethel Middle School got wind of the game when several students started showing up in the nurse’s office with marks on their arms from playing the game. Students confessed to the game and after some investigation the Principal of Bethel Middle School Derek Muharam said a random collection of a dozen students were found to be playing different games as part of the challenge.

“They’re saying the alphabet but they’re creating a word for it,” Principal Derek Muharem said. “So it’s a for apple, b for boy.”

Muharem also reported that students were sharing erasers which makes the game not only dangerous but also unsanitary.  A letter was sent home to parents regarding the challenge which can be read in full here.

There were approximately a dozen students in various grades participating in the game when it was originally reported in March.  Since that time many Youtube videos have begun popping up with the “Eraser Challenge” as a featured element. Some of the videos have anywhere from 5,000 up to 30,000 plus hits.

Some of the wounds experienced by students playing this game include pain, severe irritation, bleeding, scarring and possible infection.

“I don’t understand why kids are mutilation themselves or doing things to hurt themselves,” said parent John Luhrs whose daughter is in sixth grade at Bethel Middle School.

The school has notified parents and said that no student will be reprimanded for their actions. The goal of the school and the parents is to make sure that kids stop attempting to hurt themselves by succumbing to peer pressure that looks cool on the internet.

 

 

Articles, Digital Parenting

Simple social media etiquette guide

By: Jason Howie

Our lives are filled with social interactions online and offline. These social interactions are often guided by instincts and social conventions placed upon us by the cultural we live in. Many of us in the 21st century are painfully aware of how much of a role technology plays in our social lives. There are entire media sites devoted to helping us enhance our social reach. There are some basic social etiquette rules that are a good idea be followed both online and offline.

  1. Texting an “I’m running late” message, canceling a date via email, or declining an RSVP by not RSVP-ing. First, every effort should be made to arrive on time. Yes, things happen like car accidents, road work, or a late baby sitter. A text just doesn’t suffice. Call the person and tell them why you are running late. It is just in poor taste to cancel a date via email. It is something that should be done in person. If an event calls for an RSVP there has been a lot of planning put into the event. Not sending an RSVP that declines the invitation is much worse than not sending back the RSVP at all.
  2. Turn off your phone, laptop, tablet, or other mobile device when you are on a date whether that is at the roller skating rink or at a quiet dinner. You are attempting to be social with another human being for the evening and it is rude to ignore them in order to text your friends about the amazing time you are having. The person your with will definitely notice that they are not being paid attention to. If you can’t shut off your phone at least turn off the sound or put it on vibrate so that it doesn’t interrupt the flow of the evening.
  3. Keep your personal grudges, arguments and conversations offline! Everything is saved online in one form or another and once it is out there in the big bad world of the internet it will be out there forever.  Once you put your grievances online, everyone will want to give you their two cents and it won’t help solve the problem, it will just stir the pot. If you don’t want anyone to see your dirty laundry, don’t share it where can be seen.
  4. Don’t break up or announce someone’s death via text. Some things are just meant to be hashed out face-to-face especially a break-up.  A death in the family should be addressed over the phone or in person.
  5. Engage in good eye contact and really listen to what the person you are with has to say.  Good eye contact doesn’t mean staring a hole into someone’s head, it means looking them in the eye more than anywhere else including down at your phone or off into space.  Good eye contact and eager listening can lead to great conversation and could lead to a deeper social connection offline than you would ever get online.
Articles, Consumer Protection, Credit Cards

NXT-ID claims Wocket™ is useless to thieves

By: bozontee’s golden zebra

Once upon a time, Dr. Seuss wrote a book called There’s a Wocket in my Pocket where a little boy talked to strange creatures living in his house. Nobody really knew what a Wocket was though. NXT-ID, Inc., a biometric authentication company, wants everyone to carry around a Wocket™ in their pocket. The company NXT-ID claims Wocket™ is useless to thieves has plans to launch the Wocket™ in New York City on May 28.

Wocket™ is considered the newest smart wallet heading to the e-commerce market. At the launch consumers and media will get the first look and feel of the smart wallet that claims to zeroize each sale immediately making the Wocket™ useless to thieves.

The patent-pending Wocket™ uses biometric solutions to secure consumers’ mobile platforms. The smart wallet is designed to replace all the cards in your wallet without the need for a smart phone. It will be 3.7”W x 2.75”L x .39”H. The smart wallet only becomes accessible through a unique combination of voice, PIN or pattern. It was designed to keep Wocket™ transactions separate from regular transactions in order to keep Wocket™ transactions secure by zeroizing each card after use.

Wocket™ isn’t the first smart wallet on the market. It is an evolution of the smart wallet’s already on the market. Google offered a smart, virtual wallet to help consumers’ keep their information secure. Google Wallet comes in the form of an app or a card that stores credit card and loyalty card information all in one place.

Security is the biggest concern for smart wallets since they were designed with consumer security in mind. The Google Wallet offers 24/7 fraud monitoring and Google Wallet Purchase Protection. If your phone or card is lost or stolen it can be disabled through a Google Wallet account.  The Wocket™ doesn’t offer a protection program instead it offers a guarantee.

According to the FAQ, the creators say, “while we can’t ensure that your card never gets stolen, we can guarantee that it’s worthless to anyone that gets a hold of it. Each time after the dynamic card is used, it is zeroized. Thus, it is merely blank piece of plastic to any ambitious thief.”

There are very few other smart wallets on the market. The Wocket™’s biggest competitor appears to be Google Wallet, but there are a few other smart wallets attempting to emerge on the scene including the PING wallet and the SmartWallit.