Good Computer Advice as to how to manage children online
By Stephanie Heck
There are too many people opening infected e mail attachments, and getting virus infected machines as a result. Too many young children are using computers without proper supervision.
The rules and guidelines for internet security are fairly simple, and in most cases common sense. I have attempted to tailor these guidelines for members of the non technical community. people should remember that common sense principles, and concepts, are sometimes applicable in dealing with computer security in cyberspace, as well as the real world. These guidelines are tailored toward e mail, and Internet use for children and adults. It is intended for non computer professionals. I will use parable, and analogy, when it is needed to illustrate a point. Effort has been made to try to put things in a common sense context for those who are computer novices. Advice for supervising minors online is included.
1. You should not download e mail attachments from strangers, for exactly the same reason that you should not sleep with strangers.....you do not wish to get infected with some exotic virus in cyberspace, or in the physical world. Virus code in e mail is analogous to a digital version of disease. Downloading data is a form of digital intimacy between machines, where one machine injects data into another machine. A wise man prudently treats his machine as though it were his well protected electronic daughter, with respect to such digital intimacy. Our machines are analogous to our electronic children in the cyberspace world, and we are justified in defending them with good judgment in cyberspace, in a similar matter to the way we protect our real children in the physical realm. Avoiding virus code in cyberspace is a matter of digital hygiene for your computer.
2. Good hygiene and behavior is required of civilized people in cyberspace, as well as in the physical world. The concept, and mature judgment required, are the same in all worlds.
3. When you delete an e mail, you are formally declining to accept the unknown data that the alleged sender has offered to put in your machine. You have an absolute right to decline the data. If you do not know the entity who sent you the e mail attachment. Delete it at once without guilt. Your e mail box will be more tidy, and we do desire to maintain good digital hygiene. Your computer is part of your household property, you have a right and obligation to keep everything in your house clean. This is true of your cyber house, as well as your physical residence. The same concept is applicable.
4. In the event of strange e mail attachments. If the e mail attachment comes from someone that you know, send a reply mail, without attachments, to confirm the attachment is legitimate. If you do not get a positive reply promptly, do not open it. Delete it. Virus code in e mail can sometimes claim to come from a friend, but this is a digital trick. Do not be deceived..
5. Domestic long distance tele-phonics are cheap, if a mail with an odd looking attachment arrives from a friend claiming to be legitimate, pick up the phone, and call your friend to confirm. If the friend has no idea of what you are talking about, delete it. At worst you will be closer to your friend from the telephonic consultation. Intelligent people do believe in consultation in dealing with issues concerning the security of thedigital property. Polite telephonic, or e mail consultation, with the friend who is the possible, but uncertain sender, will never get you in trouble, and may well spare you some profound grief. Principles of polite consultation are usable in
cyberspace as well as the real world. Rather than open a strange attachment that looks like a friend has sent you something that is suspected to be fishy, call your friend and ask them.
6. Trust your instincts, and USE the common sense that God gave you. If the mail looks too good to be true, or looks suspicious, delete it.
7. If the well known sender of e mail does not customarily send attachments, you then have no probable cause to believe they have changed, and no right to assume so. Deviation from established patterns of behaviors is a red flag that something is not right. Look for things that are out of character for the known sender. Delete if not satisfied. A true friend will be glad you are protecting yourself.
8. Remember that sending and receiving e mail, is predicated on a covenant of trust between the sender and the recipient, you are well advised not to trust spammers or open the spam for that matter. Virus mail breaks the covenant of trust in a malefic and destructive manner. The prudent use of the delete button can prevent us from experiencing evil results.
9. From time to time you will get a bounced message telling you that your mail has been rejected for viral content, even though you sent nothing to that address. This happens because someone with an infected computer has your e mail address in the infected machine. It is not a cause for alarm. It is not your fault, and nobody is out to get you. Feel free to ignore it, because this is happening all over the global internet.
10. Virus code sometimes steals confidential data from the recipients machine. If other members of your family use the computer, you have an obligation to refrain from careless behavior from a digital perspective. Therefore you have an obligation to protect your families digital privacy, with a prudent use of the delete button. Good digital security, and internet safety, begins at home, and with the good common sense that the creator gave us all to greater and lesser degrees.
11. If you are in doubt about what to do in computer science matters, ask a computer professional for advice in computer science issues.
12. It is morally justified to be intolerant of spammers who beg you to buy things that you do not want, because they are too lazy to get a real job. In actuality they are mooching your time without compensation.
13. Never send out a virus warning to other people online unless you are a computer professional with credentials in the field. There are many hoaxes that can make your Internet Service Provider very unhappy with you if you give unqualified advice to their users.
14. Never forward a e mail that demands that you "pass it on" to many friends. Your Internet Service Provider will see it as an unsolicited mail, and then shut down your account for sending chain letters that are illegal in some places. Such mails are the result of too much idle time on ones hands.
15. Internet petitions cannot be validated for purposes of legal signatures in hard copy, and are therefore worthless as a means to petition a government entity. These internet petitions are a great way for spammers to gather e mail addresses. Refrain from participation in such schemes and you will not get as much spam.
16. Never allow a child to have an unsupervised e mail account if they are under the age of fourteen. It is just too dangerous out there for kids online. ALL kids under the age of 14 need to be supervised in the use of the computer. Your children are the only thing you leave behind in this world. Be very careful as to what you expose them to. Without the guidance of a parental mentor, children will go astray due to immature judgment. Teenage boys are prone to look at pictures that they should not. Girls are prone to talk to those "boys" who claim to be fifteen but are in reality 35 year old creeps. Social network websites such as myspace are no place for unsupervised children.
17. Never let a child use a computer that you are not prepared to replace, simply because the children do not have mature judgment yet. Use an older machine for the kids, and keep a better machine for adult use if you can. If a child has a top level machine, he will become a couch potato with video games. An exercise regimen is an excellent cure for too much time spent online.
18. If your child spends too much time online, it is the parents fault for failing to enforce moderation. Children need a firm hand to let them know that it is the law of God and Man, that children SHALL obey parents, and the law of God and man is not optional. Parents have not only a right, but a mandate, to set limits for children. Reasonable restrictions are not abuse. It is unfortunate that some parents allow the computer to replace the television as a babysitter, when a child needs the example of adult human interaction to grow in character.
19. Remember your computer is a scientific tool, and not a plaything, it can be used for good or evil. Children should be taught to see the computer as a scientific tool, in an era where science is growing exponentially, and that teaching may one day yield fruit for the knowledge of the world.Stephanie Heck