Online safety calendar keeps computer users safe and on track
Computer pop-ups are a pain. But now, there's a pop-up you can ask for that's designed to make you safer when you go online.
It's called the online safety calendar.
Linda Criddle is one of the top Internet security consultants in the country who just happens to live in the Puget Sound area. She spends a good deal of each day trying to protect people who go online from the bad guys in cyber-space.
Working with Microsoft, her company, iLookBothWays.com, has developed a clever new way to fight the crooks and make you a smarter computer user.
The online safety calendar is a monthly pop-up that reminds you of important things you should do.
"And there's a section for anyone, any age, if you're an Internet user, you need to be thinking about these things," Criddle said. "There's a section specifically for parents or caregivers as they're trying to take care of kids. And we have a section that appears some months, where there's an event you should be doing, whether it's time to change a password again, it's time to check your credit history, and so there's a reminder that comes up for you on these."
In September, the online safety calendar might tell you to adjust parental control settings or prune your list of friends and followers.
In October, it will ask if you have up-to-date security software, and will also urge you to make sure firewall is turned on.
Come November, you'll get tips on holiday shopping and avoiding charity scams.
Criddle says the idea behind the calendar is to give you small things to do on a regular basis that help you get safer throughout the year.
"Sometimes it's like swallowing an elephant to do all these things at once. But by taking it month by moth, thinking about what might be particularly relevant to you going into the holiday shopping season, here's what you should be thinking about before Valentine's Day and the romance scams, here's maybe how you should be thinking about it," Criddle said.
It's called the online safety calendar.
Linda Criddle is one of the top Internet security consultants in the country who just happens to live in the Puget Sound area. She spends a good deal of each day trying to protect people who go online from the bad guys in cyber-space.
Working with Microsoft, her company, iLookBothWays.com, has developed a clever new way to fight the crooks and make you a smarter computer user.
The online safety calendar is a monthly pop-up that reminds you of important things you should do.
"And there's a section for anyone, any age, if you're an Internet user, you need to be thinking about these things," Criddle said. "There's a section specifically for parents or caregivers as they're trying to take care of kids. And we have a section that appears some months, where there's an event you should be doing, whether it's time to change a password again, it's time to check your credit history, and so there's a reminder that comes up for you on these."
In September, the online safety calendar might tell you to adjust parental control settings or prune your list of friends and followers.
In October, it will ask if you have up-to-date security software, and will also urge you to make sure firewall is turned on.
Come November, you'll get tips on holiday shopping and avoiding charity scams.
Criddle says the idea behind the calendar is to give you small things to do on a regular basis that help you get safer throughout the year.
"Sometimes it's like swallowing an elephant to do all these things at once. But by taking it month by moth, thinking about what might be particularly relevant to you going into the holiday shopping season, here's what you should be thinking about before Valentine's Day and the romance scams, here's maybe how you should be thinking about it," Criddle said.
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