The on again off again potential collaboration between Microsoft and Yahoo seems to be on again.  Of course, the merger of giant internet companies is nothing new to the vast world of cyberspace business.  And ever since Google pretty much took over the world in regards to online activity, both these two huge companies have been playing footsie about merging, buying each other out or working together in some fashion.  The idea is to mount some kind of counter offensive against the mighty Google.  And it looks like that counter offensive may be about to shape up.

Of course, there are a lot of obstacles to very large internet companies like this getting together.  The first obstacle was a tough one when Microsoft set out to buy Yahoo outright back in 2008 for just shy of $45 billion.  Yes, that is billion with a "B".  At that time, Yahoo was not prepared to play ball with Microsoft.  But with a few high level changes in management, both companies have found common ground and a deal has been forged that could do be just the thing for Yahoo and Microsoft to get back in the ball game when it comes to who calls the shots in cyberspace.

Both companies walk away with this partnership with something that will benefit them both. For Yahoo, who has been hammered by the superior search engine design that Google has, they will be able to implement the Bing search engine logic into Yahoo searches. It is hard to remember now but there was a time when Yahoo dominated the internet as the premier search engine of choice for a lot of people.  Google stole that crown away from Yahoo and all other competing search engines in a big way.  But Bing has been an up and comer in the search engine wars ever since Microsoft launched it.  So that would put Yahoo back on the map when it comes to competing for lucrative web searching traffic.

Microsoft stands to win because Yahoo still retains a lot of brand recognition as a premier web site for a lot of services.  By empowering them to become serious competition to Google through the power of the Bing search capabilities, Microsoft can share in the explosion of internet advertising revenue that will come their way.  The deal has been in place for some time but for the two internet giants to work together required approval by regulatory agencies in American as well as in the EU.  In February, the roadblock of that approval was resolved so Yahoo and Microsoft can now roll up their sleeves and get busy with their plans to implement their partnership.

The regularity roadblock was no small issue especially in regards to getting approval from the EU commission.  There had been some long running disagreements that have been going back and forth between Microsoft and the EU that had to be overcome to allow this very large merger of two internet giants to go forward.  With the approval of the EU in hand, the lights are all green for both Yahoo and Microsoft go get moving making the power of their combined innovation to begin putting them back in the game in the internet search engine online competition.

There is definitely work to be done.  As of January of this month, Bing had grabbed control of just over 11% of internet search activity in cyberspace. Yahoo had fallen to a low of retaining just 17% of that business.  By comparison, Google continues to command a dominant position by holding on to an amazing 65% of the internet search activity that flows through ISPs all over the world. 

Yahoo and Microsoft will have the challenge of somehow displacing a company whose name has become a byword for finding information online.  You have to know that anytime someone on TV says the phrase, "I will just Google that", the heads of Yahoo and Microsoft are reminded of the tough job they have ahead of them to unseat Google as the dominant player in internet access and search activity.

In terms of how much this merger will be bad for competition, that point seems to be somewhat moot.  With Google dominating all interent search activity, any move to arrest some of that business away from one company is good for competition.  That may be one of the reasons that the EU and other regulatory commissions saw the value in approving this partnership. 

From a consumer point of view, having two giant companies keeping over 80% of the internet search engine business to themselves hardly seems like robust competition.  But in terms of the amazing products and services all three of these companies have brought to the internet community, there is something to be said for the big, rich and powerful companies doing a lot of the innovation that drives the internet.

For people who can remember the glory days of Yahoo, this deals seems to spell the end for the Yahoo approach to internet search logic.  Both Yahoo and Microsoft openly admit that the demise of how Yahoo used to operate a search engine is going away to be replaced by Microsoft's logic that has made Bing realize some of it's early success.  But in light of the fact that such a huge percentage of internet users have turned away from the old paradigm of internet searching, there is no room for nostalgia when there is such a need to create a new competitive dynamic. 

It remains to be seen whether the Microsoft and Yahoo combination can really challenge much less bring down the mighty Google.  It will take the better part of this year to implement the changes and for both companies to find their place in the partnership so that the power of their combined internet offering uses the best of what each can do.  Google is not the kind of company to sit still either so it is certain that they will be continuing to surge ahead capturing more cyberspace real estate which will compound the challenge of taking on Google's in interent technology.

The Microsoft and Yahoo partnership still needs approval from some markets such as in India, Japan and other big markets.  There are some real opportunities in some large markets like China where Google is in trouble.  But these approvals are not the war and they don’t even represent the first battle to take back some of the internet traffic that has been lost to Google.  But it is a start.  We will all just have to watch to see if Microsoft and Yahoo can pull off the coup against Google that they hope to achieve.  It will make for an interesting conflict.

It is virtually impossible to operate a home computer that is connected to the internet without being aware of the dirty and damaging programs that can infect your computer that we call viruses.  The term "virus" has been associated with a lot of different malicious programs that are downloaded to a computer without permission of the owner to do bad things.  To understand how to deal with a virus, the first thing is to understand what they are and then to develop a plan to defend yourself against this continuous threat to any internet.

An internet virus is not a living thing.  It is essentially a small computer program that performs some secret operation that may harm your computer or compromise your online security in some way.  The variety of bad things that a computer virus might be designed to is pretty amazing.  Some typical types of evil computer programs that could infect your computer might be…

• Programs that do harm to your computer such as to erase your hard drive or slow down your computer so badly that you cannot use it online or for any of your local applications. 
• Programs that spy on your activity online, capturing your security access codes and then uploading them secretly to a criminal so he can execute an identity theft.  These kinds of programs are often called spybots.  They do not interrupt your online activity in any way because they want to stay hidden.
• Programs that pop up advertising on your computer as you work online or on a local application.  These forms of computer nuisances are sometimes called adbots.
• Programs that hijack your browser and change your home page.

The number and variety of bad things people seem to think up to set loose on the internet world is quite amazing.  It would be nice to think that someday these kinds of evil computer viruses would stop being a threat do us.  But they have been around in one form or another almost as long as the internet was around.  So it is up to us to learn how to defend ourselves from the attacks of a computer virus and then to learn how to get rid of the problem once we become "infected" by some ugly little online program that means to do bad things to our computers.

Prevention is Essential.

As it true of any potential crisis, the more you are prepared to prevent and respond to an attack of a computer virus, the better you will do avoiding serious problems in your internet life.  Part of prevention is understanding how computer viruses get into your computer the most often so you can avoid "infection".

Generally a computer virus "rides" into your computer along with something else you are downloading.  A common method for a virus to infect your computer is as an attachment to an email.  Once you click on the attachment, the virus downloads and then you are infected.  A virus can also be downloaded to your computer as part of a file that you download like a music clip or a video.  So the first step of prevention is to be very careful what you allow to download to your computer.  If you do not open any attachment you don’t trust, avoid downloading things from the internet that are suspicious and stay away from risky websites, you will vastly reduce the chances of becoming infected.

Along with these precautions, finding and installing a good virus protection software package is a must.  Beware because there are plenty of virus software tools out on the internet that are not trustworthy.  Some of them are actually viruses themselves disguised as virus protection software.  To be absolutely sure, invest in one of the most trusted names in internet security such as Norton or McAfee.  These programs will be able to help detect any virus software on your machine and get rid of it and then block the download of viruses in the future as well. 

But you should also become aware of how to spot virus activity when it occurs.  Learn how to inspect what programs may be running on your computer.  Many viruses will teach your computer to start them when you log on to your windows profile and reside in memory to do their dirty work. Also learn how to search for files on your hard drive.  If the problem came from something you downloaded, you should know how to find that file and delete it so the source of the virus is eliminated.

Be an Alert Internet User

Even if you take all of the precautions, anyone can get a computer virus.  Be on the alert to the signs of a virus if it strikes.  If your computer mysteriously slows down or it seems there is a lot going on with your hard drive even though you are not causing it, that could be a sign of a virus or some other form of malicious software.  If advertising starts popping up all the time no matter what website you are on or even at times when you are not active on the internet, that is a sign of a virus or advertising software residing on your computer.

The first step in finding out if you have some form of malicious or sneaky software such as a virus is to activate your virus protection program so it can look for the problem.  Often a good interent security software package will update your computer regular with information on new threats.  So let it do that so if you are dealing with a newly developed virus, it can get rid of it.

If your virus protection software spots the problem, it will give you instructions on what to do.  Often it will go through several steps to eliminate the problem and at the end of each step, you will have to let the software restart your computer.  Cooperate with the cycle so that the virus repair procedure is completed.  

Your virus protection software should also have the ability to set up a scheduler so it can routinely update its databases with the most recent virus activity that is going on in cyberspace and perform full scans of your computer to catch any new infections that may have snuck into your PC.  By being on the alert and taking the right kinds of precautions, you can avoid the majority of computer virus problems.  And while nobody is immune from online attacks such as viruses and other malicious software, by being prepared and having quality anti-virus tools always active in your system, you can fight back against people who would invade your computer and threaten your online safety at any time.

Outsourcing the software development process is often the right decision for a business depending on what kind of in house technical resources you have.  If you have a software development project coming up, you may not wish to add an entire IT department to your staff with all of that overhead for a project that may only take a few months to complete.  It may make sense to turn over the development of the software to an independent software development company because they already have the technical expertise on hand that they can focus on delivering a quality product to you.

To have your software product developed or enhanced by a software development company, it is essential that finding a firm that is a perfect fit to your needs is given high priority.  In fact, as you lay out the systems development life cycle, the identification of the right software development company along with the subsequent process of building a business relationship with them should be given the same priority as any other of the phases of systems development from requirements definition through installation and documentation.

Know What You Need

Just as you would have a qualified project leader with any phase of software development, there should be an internal project manager who is charged with the selection process.  This project manager should have the authority to build the list of potential software development companies but not with the final decision. 

He or she should have the technical qualifications to fully understand the software specifications and to be able to interview software development experts and speak to them on their own terms.  But that project leader should also be someone who understands the business dynamics of negotiating a software development contract as well as the business requirements of the final product.

Before a search for a software development company is launched, the project should be fully defined, the needs assessment and requirements definition complete and the budget for the project is set.  By knowing exactly what you need, you are not going to allow a skilled software development company to expand your scope.  And by doing your project definition in significant detail, you will have an understanding of the technical abilities that any software development company you use must have mastery over including DBMS expertise, operating systems and languages, networking protocols and other technical issues that must be part of their proposal to develop the project for you.

Narrow the Field

Once you have your requirements for the project well defined, you can write an RFP.  A Request for Proposal will be sent out to qualified software development companies who you have identified as potential consultants to perform the work you need done efficiently, correctly and economically.  When you develop your initial list of software development companies who may be able to do the job, that initial list could be quite long.  But a number of factors may narrow the field.

If you have a specific hardware and operating system requirement that calls upon the software development company to demonstrate proven expertise in writing software for that platform, that will narrow down the number of potential firms who can bid on the job significantly.  For example, if the software product will run on your IBM mainframe and not on a distributed system or on client desktops, you need specific knowledge bout how to write for that environment.  In that case, you would also limit the number of software development companies that receive the RFP so that you do not have such a chore going through the proposals when they begin to come back to you.

It is also necessary that the software development company you select have experience writing applications similar to the one you are designing and that they can include interfaces to internet resources, database access, network delivery and controls and any other function of what is necessary for the software product to perform correctly.  If a software development company does not have the expertise in every aspect of the systems development requirements definition, that may mean they will have to bring in outside consulting to fill in that gap. 

Along with making sure any software development company that "makes the cut" because of their technical experience and background with the software and the application, the company must have a good reputation in the industry and check out as a responsible business entity.  You should perform due diligence to assure that the company you are about to work with is a viable business that has been around for a while.  They should have references you can check and the software development company should not shy away from any questions about any aspect of how they do business. 

In fact, it would not be out of line to visit their development facility to inspect their development resources, to validate they have adequate hardware and software to build the software you need.  During that visit, you can interview their subject matter experts in software development to confirm for yourself that the company who is submitting a proposal to develop your software can back that proposal up with the talent and resources to complete the development on time and under budget.

When you receive the proposals for development of the project, make sure that everything that is needed to complete the job is detailed in the proposal.  The company that gets the job should have complete control over their costs so there are no "surprises" as the development cycle gets underway.  The final cost to you, the customer should reflect that there is nothing left out.  If there are costs of the development that are left to you to cover, that should be specified.

Even after you accept proposals, the cycle of interviews may go on for some time.  A local company may be preferred because there will be local references you can go visit and because it may cut down on costs.  In the end analysis, there is also room for what we call "gut feel" in making the final decision.  Don’t overlook the wisdom of gut feel because sometimes your intuition as a business person and a software developer will tell you to go with a particular software development company based on impressions that they know what they are doing and that they are an honest group of business people.

If you make the investment up front to do a thorough job of building your requirements and making absolutely sure the software development company you select is qualified to do the job, you will have a greater assurance that when the project is done, you will have a quality software package delivered on time, tested and ready to deploy.  If you can find a software development company like that and they can meet you requirements with confidence and without flaws, keep their business card.  That will be a software development company you will want to use again and again and again.

There is something perverse about an attacker who would fool us into downloading a very destructive package of malware and viruses by using our desire to make our passwords more secure as a way to make us less secure.  But the most recent internet attack on the broad population of Facebook users taps that desire people have to keep their Facebook profiles safe.  The malware that you can innocently be victimized by is called Bredolab and it’s a nasty one, to be sure.

Bredolab attacks internet citizens the way a lot of ugly things get spread around online, through an email.  This email appears to be coming from Facebook stating that as a security measure, they have reset your password for you.  This approach right away should set off alarms in the minds of users because…

1. Facebook doesn't reset passwords for people.  That is up to users to manage.
2. Security matters are not handled through email.
3. To get access to your new Facebook password, you are asked to open an attachment in the email.   Attachments are almost always suspicious because they are an open door for malware and other nasty code to enter your computer.

The attachment that is supposed to have your new password will have a file name that looks like this…

Facebook_details_ (random numbers).zip

And the message in the body of the emails reads…

Because of the measures taken to provide safety to our clients, your password has been changed.  You can find your new password in attached document.

Thanks,

The Facebook Team.

This all seems very innocent which is the idea.  By fooling you into thinking a trusted application like Facebook is looking after your best interests, that trust opens the door for this very ugly malware that functions as a Trojan downloader.  It is in that classification because once Bredolab lives on your system, it is very crafty as hiding out, avoiding capture by your security software and then downloading lots of other malicious stuff to do more damage on your system.

Bredolab wastes no time once it breaches the security of your computer because it gets busy downloading all of it's nasty friends.  Bredolab downloads a password stealer that captures how to get into all of your secure websites and sends your usernames and passwords to crooks.  But that is just the opening attack of Bredolab.  Just for good measure, an ugly virus is downloaded to your computer just to make your life miserable.

Bredolab is a very clever piece of virus software because, like a virus, it constantly evolves and changes how it looks in a computer.  A researcher at he University of Alabama at Birmingham documented 17 different variations on Bredolab had been sighted in just 24 hours which means that in a few short days, there would be thousands of more variations on the dirty program proliferating all over the interent.  This insidious malware knows how to "repack" itself which changes what is called its "signature" as a virus.  This makes it very difficult for conventional antivirus software to recognize where the dirty code is hiding and get rid of it.

This not just a random virus attack that is easily defeated by conventional means.  In the last month, companies that track the most potent cyberspace threats have given Bredolab a ranking of number six on the list of the most active and dangerous threat to internet users.  In terms of attempts to infect user's computers using email, Bredolab has been identified to be involved with as high as ten percent of malicious emails that are reaching computer users worldwide. That means that of all that spam that hits your email system, the odds are that you have seen a Bredolab attack come your way.

While the email that is being used to infect many thousands of user's computers says it is from Facebook, Facebook has nothing to do with this.  If you spend any time looking at how Facebook security is handled, they would never just change your password for you and they would never address a serious security issue with a user through email.  At very least, if a Facebook user were to get this kind of email from the system, the first thing to do is to go log on to the site.  When you do that and you realize your password was not changed, you know that the email is a lie and to delete it. 

Above all do NOT open the attachment!  Facebook is not the first major online application that has been used like this.  The bad guys of the internet know where the big traffic is going.  It doesn’t take a genius to know that a huge amount of people are using Facebook.  And it isn't hard to "harvest" email addresses from Facebook users.  Many of the "apps" that people play with on Facebook are really just scams designed to harvest emails for this kind of attack plan.

The use of a spam email to gain entrance to a user's machine demonstrates that even new and very potent malicious software like Bredolab is no better at getting to internet users than similar malware and viruses that have been around for many years.  While it is smart to have top quality virus and malware protection software on your computer, there is no substitute for being a smart internet citizen and knowing how these people attack so you can dodge their schemes.

It is a good rule of thumb to view with suspicion any email that comes in that you did not solicit, even if it "seems" to be from a service you use.  Many respectable online services have been targeted like this including MySpace, EBay and large online banking websites.  No respectable business would send out an email like Bredolab tried to use here.  And avoiding opening any attachments that you are not 100% certain of is always a good policy to follow. 

If you are careful and you can recognize a scam when you see one coming to you in an email, you can block even the nastiest virus from getting inside your PC.  It pays to stay informed though because fighting internet malware and virus attacks is something we can never relax about.  The bad guys are never going to quit trying to attack us so we can never stop defending ourselves either.

One of the most respected and recognized individuals who seems represent the epitome of how powerful the human intellect can be is Stephen Hawking.  This brilliant physicist has often been compared to Albert Einstein because of his powerful mind and because of his contributions to physics that has made huge leaps forward in the knowledge mankind has about our universe.

It can come as quite a shock if you actually saw a picture of Stephen Hawking or saw a video of him addressing large gatherings of scientists, which he does often.  Hawking is confined to a wheelchair and the "voice" that allows the tremendous knowledge and insight in his mind is a computer generated voice because Stephen Hawking is an invalid. 

He has been suffering for many years with the debilitating effects of Lou Gehrig's disease which has stalled out allowing him to continue to live and make his contributions to the body of knowledge we have about the universe.  And the thing that makes it possible for this genius to continue to make his contributions is a branch of technological research called assistive technology.

Not Just Prosthetics Any More.

When we think of medical technology that helps disabled people cope with their disabilities, prosthetics naturally come to mind.  While prosthetics have in many ways worked miracles to help people who have lost limbs live normal lives, assistive technology has gone far beyond that level.  Today, the scope and diversity of ways that assistive technology can help people who are medically challenged is truly amazing.

Using a wide variety of sophisticated research, assistive technology has as its goal nothing short of restoring full functionality to people who have lost a natural ability due to a disability.  To respectfully reference the Bible, assistive technology has been able to literally restore sight to the blind, to give hearing to the deaf and enable people who could not walk (the lame) the ability to leap, walk and even run in a marathon if they wish to do so.  This is done not through the miracle of religion but through the accomplishments of technology working in concert with medical science to achieve better lives for many thousands of people.

The areas of life where assistive technology has benefited people are tremendously diverse.  Athletes who could never have competed again due to a damaged or lost limb find themselves able to get out there and win trophies and gold metals with the best of them because of assistive technology.  Fathers who may have lost their ability to make a living and support their families are able to work gainfully due to the restoration of sight thanks to assistive technology. Soldiers returning home from battle and patients who lost functionality from life threatening illnesses or injuries do not have to live in grief because assistive technology gave them back those things that were taken from them.

Probably one are of life that is most encouraging and where assistive technology has benefited the most people is how it has helped young people be able to continue their education because important functions they needed to continue their studies were restored to them. 

The Assistive Technology to Fit the Need

Those who work in the field of assistive technology understand that there are varying levels of sophistication that assistive technology offers that depend on the need of the patient and the financial resources that can be raised to help people with disabilities get functionality back.  For example, the ability to write in Braille using pens that technology has developed that can lay down raised lettering in Braille format is a low assistive technology application. 

Assistive technology has made it possible for teachers who are not trained in working with the blind to "read" Braille reports and tests written by their students. Braille interpretation technology is available that will translate the dots to letters and numbers that any teacher can understand.  This simple but effective assisted technology teaching aid makes the barrier between teacher and student disappear so that blind students can function in a normal classroom with sighted students without difficulty.

Medium level complexity assistive technology would integrate voice recording so that a student could "write" a term paper easily by recording it and then using that recording as a feed into transcription to a printed copy later on.  Voice recognition technology has come along so dramatically in the last decade that this is an excellent solution for a student who has a physical handicap that makes writing by hand or on the computer difficult or impossible otherwise. 

For visually handicapped students, higher levels of supplication in assistive technology are becoming available so that such individuals will be able to use digital research and read the outcome in Braille.  Computer displays are becoming available that can actually raise the surface of the screen in pin patterns that correspond to Braille characters.  The arrival and development of the newest cyberspace tools like the Ipad hold great promise in giving handicapped individuals the same advantages others have in using the internet.

Assistive technology is moving ahead by leaps and bounds to facilitate handicapped persons to be able to function in the context of the rest of society.  No longer will there have to be special classes that are presented to persons with handicaps which stigmatizes them and separates them from the rest of the community. 

By bringing persons with disabilities into the classrooms and workplaces with everyone else, the feeling that they are somehow "special" and therefore less than others around them will be erased.   This is very good for persons with disabilities who before the arrival of assistive technology missed out on much of what most of us take for granted.  

But it is also good news for non handicapped persons who miss out on benefiting from relationships with persons who have handicaps because of the artificial separation that their disabilities have imposed on society.  Assistive technology can "level the playing field" so nobody has to be excluded.  And when we see how wonderful assistive technology has benefited mankind in the case of a phenomenal genius like Steven Hawking, these technological breakthroughs will bring great things to everyone in society as well.

You don’t have to go very long watching TV before you will see an advertisement for some allegedly phenomenal software utility that is supposed to be able to make your computer run hundreds of times faster.  The images they use hit home.  They often show someone complaining that their computer used to go at lightening speed but now it is sluggish when it starts or when it is using the internet.  The "phenomenal" software would like you to think that it can work some magic to take your older PC and make it zip along like a machine with twice its power.

The truth is that most of the steps that amazing software will do are things you can do to make your computer more efficient and make it run better.  If your computer is not running well, the problem might be that it simply needs a good old fashioned spring cleaning. There are some very basic steps that you can take and that you should take a couple times a year to tune up your computer so it can run at optimum efficiency.  Here are a few tips.

What is All that Junk in Your Start Up Bar?

One symptom of a computer that is sorely in need of a good cleaning is when you log on to your profile and it takes forever before it can really do anything.  It seems like the computer has business it has to do other than wait on your every command.  It seems that way because the computer is doing a lot of background "stuff" which means it cannot give you its undivided attention.

You can get rid of a lot of that "junk" that your computer has to do to free its computer "brain" up to do the business you have in mind.  The culprit is that little bar at the bottom of your screen which shows things that start up automatically when you log on.  Your profile knows that it has some things it must run every time it starts.  Some of that stuff like starting up your internet security software is absolutely essential.  But a lot of that stuff in the list of start up options do not have to run every time you are using your computer.

The reason the start up menu gets filled up with unessential tasks is that people who write computer applications want to know that their software is so important that you must run it anytime you are logged on to your machine.  So many times when you install a new program either that you bought or that you downloaded from the internet, that start up process will force an entry into the start up menu so that program starts every time.

If you are not going to use Adobe for everything you do on your computer, it doesn’t have to "live" in your start up menu.  If you are going to spend time with your computer without watching a video or listening to a sound clip, you don't need those applications waiting eagerly in the start up menu.  So get rid of them.  Get your start up menu cleaned up and your computer will run much faster.  One way to do that is to use a simple free utility called Starter from Codestuff.  You can download it for free and it works great.  There is no advertising and when you are done with it, it goes away. 

Taking Out the Trash

The next area of computer efficiency that can do a lot to make your PC run like a top is simply to clean it up.  Start with your desktop.  If you have dozens of icons on your desktop, each one has to be loaded when you log on to your profile on your computer.  That takes time.  So take a look at your desktop and get rid of any icons you don't use all of the time. 

It also pays to clean up your hard drive.  If you click start and then control panel, you will find some maintenance activities listed as "Performance and Maintenance".  One of those steps is to clean up your disk drive. This is a good utility to run every so often.  When you surf the internet a lot, there are a lot of tiny little temporary files that stack up on your hard drive.  This control panel step will clean them out and just generally tidy up your hard disk. When your hard drive is free of debris, it will run better and faster because your computer won't have so much "junk" to sort through to find the files you want to work on.

In addition to useless or redundant data that is good to get off of your system, you can also clean out old and unneeded programs.  You might have old games or other programs you played around with for a while but that you no longer use.  These old programs clutter up your computer and make it run slower. 

On your control panel, there is an icon called "Add or Remove Programs".  If you click on it, it will show you every program you have on your system.  Take an hour and go through that list.  You will be shocked at first how many useless old programs are lurking around on your system.  Then it will be a good feeling to clean things up so your computer can do a good job at what the chores that are important to you.

Spies and Other Nuisances

We know about viruses but there are other little programs that like to sneak onto your computer to do things behind the scenes.  A spy program might load into your system and "watch" what you do, gather information on you and send it off to some one to suit their evil purposes.  Other little programs will hide on your computer and launch advertising from time to time.  You think you are getting pop ups from the internet but really they are coming from inside your computer.

There are some excellent utilities that you can use to get rid of these little nuisance programs.  One that many people like is called "Spybot Search and Destroy" and another is "Ad-Adware".  These are free utilities that you can download to help get rid of nasty little invaders who will just junk up your computer memory and make everything run slower.  And they are safe utilities that a lot of people use so you can trust them to do their job and not give you additional problems like some free software does.

Running a clean computer is like running an efficient house.  And like your house, if you keep a clean PC, it will be a happy PC.  By creating some routine maintenance activities that you run on a frequent basis, you can keep the amount of clutter down and clean out of your system things that could make it run slower.  Not only will you have a faster computer, these steps will keep your computer safer as well.  That is a good one two punch that make you a better and happier computer owner as well.

When it comes to the interent, it is a constant job for parents to keep an eye on what your kids are up to.  Sure, there are a lot of great things about the internet.  But there are bad people in cyberspace too and it is the job of parents to protect their kids from bad people. One analyst said that letting your kids wander around the internet unsupervised is as bad as taking them to the worst part of town and letting them walk the streets there alone.  The difference is that the internet is right there in your home and your kids can do all kinds of things in their rooms in privacy that you might not approve of.

Perhaps the one thing that has captivated the youth and many adults as well more than anything else in cyberspace is Facebook. It is easy to watch your kids on Facebook and think it is perfectly safe. But more and more, experts are warning us that we need to be aware of what is going on with Facebook and our children. 

There are bad people on Facebook too.  Some of them are looking for ways to capture private information for identity theft or other scams.  There are also stalkers on Facebook who have bad intentions toward young women and young men. There are plenty of reports on television about  young girls who get seduced by someone who created a fake identity online and lured them to a meeting with tragic consequences.  While this kind of crime is rare compared to the huge population on Facebook, it is a wake up call that it is up to parents to learn how to help their kids use Facebook safely.

Warnings Are Not Enough

Parental involvement in what your kids are doing online and on Facebook is a must. Kids will resist your interference but that is just something parents of teenager have to get used to. It starts with having an open talk with your kids about how they will use Facebook. To kids, Facebook becomes an extension of their friend network where they can continue to share with each other when not at school or gathered physically.  There is nothing wrong with that motivation and most parents approve of that use of technology as long as it is done safely.

Your warnings should focus on people who would abuse Facebook to commit crimes or hurt your kids.  Your kids may be skeptical that such things really do happen.  That is where it pays to gather news articles or TV specials that reveal crimes that have been committed against families or against kids because of a lax attitude about Facebook security. Many times this kind of thing will get a kid's attention and make them more open to your help to be able to enjoy all that is good about Facebook while avoiding the dangers.

To really be able to know how to guide your kids well in using Facebook, parents must know the world Facebook as well. That means you have to use it. Yes, that means that mom and dad should start up Facebook profiles and learn how to get new friends, add pictures and perform every function on the service that your kids do.  You might be surprised how much fun it is. In addition to learning to check your Facebook profile, post status messages and learning to poke and how to "like" groups and other functions, you will be able to connect to your kids as their "Facebook friend".  That is a crucial step in giving yourself the tools you need to monitor and protect your kids when using this wildly popular social network.

Use the Tools Facebook Provides

One thing having your own Facebook profile will teach you is that you and your kids have some tools you can use to protect yourself in using the service.  Facebook gives you the ability to restrict who can see your private information and other thigns on your profile.  One mistake that many youth make in using Facebook is putting their phone number, address and even email addresses on their Facebook profile.

Be very selective about what you put on your Facebook profile and what you allow your kids to put online as well. There are lots of ways that crooks can break into a profile and steal that information. If that crook is a stalker, you don’t want your kids to divulge too much of how they could be found by someone with an evil interest in your boy or girl. 

When you get your Facebook page up, spend some time learning how the privacy controls work.  These controls can enable your kids to keep anyone they don’t know from seeing their profile or even their pictures.  You will get a feel for how the process of adding friends works.  Nobody can become a friend of your son or daughter without their consent.  So help your youngster understand the need to know who they are including in their social network.

Too often kids do not use any wisdom about who they allow in their friend group.  Many kids love to get as many friends as possible and they will accept any friend request to get that number up.  If a youth has hundreds and hundreds of friends on Facebook, realistically they probably don't know every one of them well.  In fact, if your child has more than three or four hundred friends on Facebook, the chances are good that at least one of them is not who they represent themselves to be.  That means you are going to have to use some hard rules your kids won't like such as…

You Are Their Friend or No Facebook

This is an excellent rule that simply stipulates that you must be allowed on your child's friend list or they cannot use Facebook.  In fact, some parents take it to the next level and require that they have access to their kids passwords so you can log onto their account at anytime and clean up their friends list if you suspect that they are entertaining someone evil there.

That is a judgment call.  By having a friendship relationship with your kids online, you can watch who they add and review their friends list routinely.  If you suspect something is not right, you can talk to your son or daughter about it and help them stay safe in the exciting world of Facebook.

It is a constant effort to keep up your with kids, especially if they are teenagers.  But by being part of their Facebook world, you will feel a lot better about what is going on in how your kids use the interent.  It will also give you a peek into their world and what is on their minds.  And who knows, you might even have a little fun online. As long as you stay safe when you are in Facebook too, no harm in that.

It almost seems like the world of social networks exploded into full maturity in the last few years.  In fact, social networks have been around for some time.  Probably the one that began to really get a lot of media attention was MySpace. 

One reason for the tremendous popularity of MySpace was the feature that allowed you to build a large network of contacts.  Not only was this fun for individuals, it became tremendously useful to businesses and entrepreneurs to use for marketing purposes.  It was the world of MySpace that saw the music industry really begin to tap the power of social networks when new musical "stars" gained their early fame entirely through their MySpace networks.

But it was when Facebook burst on the scene that social networking really began to dominate a lot of discussions that had anything to do with the internet.  Today it almost seems inconceivable for anyone who is the least bit "plugged in" to not have their own Facebook account that they keep up with pretty much every day.  So when Twitter arrived with much fanfare and excitement, it seemed that we were watching the rapid evolution of social networking and that Twitter would steal the thunder from Facebook the way Facebook did to MySpace.

But the social networking world seems to have said, "Not so fast."  There is no question that Twitter has had some significant success.  It was only a few months ago when Iran was going through what seemed to be the beginnings of a revolution that Twitter became an important tool for those who were seeking freedom in that country to communicate with supporters around the world.  In fact, Iran finally had to shut down Twitter in the country because it was doing so much to further the unrest.

While that moment in history will always be associated with Twitter, it appears that in terms of long term success and growth, there may be trouble in Twitterland.  The Twitter social network has not toppled Facebook as the premier network out there by any stretch of the imagination.  While it is true that the Twitter network grew by leaps and bounds and it has gotten plenty of notoriety, the level of actual participation of Twitter members has been sluggish at best.

A recent study conducted by an e-mail and Web security company called Barracuda Networks Inc. has come up with some pretty striking findings.  One statistic that jumps out is that only about 21% of the people who have Twitter accounts use them on a regular basis.  That means that there are a lot of inactive accounts out there.  It also creates a false impression of success for Twitter.  The odds are the actual membership of Twitter may be almost as large as Facebook's.  But with such low participation, the traffic they can document is far lower than they would like.

Other statistics from the study are just as revealing including these numbers…

• Over a third of the users of Twitter have not sent out a "tweet" since they set up the account.
• 17% of Twitter citizens have no followers.  This is quite an accomplishment considering it is hard not to pick up at least automated marketing followers.
• Even more shocking is that 61% of Twitter citizens have less than five followers.
• 74% of people who have Twitter accounts have less than 10 followers.
• 51% of Twitter users follow less than 5 people

These are telling statistics and even more so because they have not changed or become more extreme over the last couple of studies.  It also runs against the image that Twitter is such a dominant internet presence and that it is taking up a lot of time for a lot of internet users.  Perhaps one reason that perception is so strong is because the media and Hollywood has embraced Twitter in a big way.

There are a number of big Hollywood celebrities who collect thousands and thousands of followers on Twitter.  So one of the most well known uses of Twitter is for fans to follow every action and movement of their favourite stars.  This is even more of a trend in young people as they seek to follow their favourite movie or musical celebrities.  In that way, Twitter is more of a marketing device than a social network.  When Miley Cyrus or one of the cast of Twilight Tweets a message every hour to hundreds of thousands of fans, that is the equivalent of a very active fan publication more so than a social network where there is interaction between the parties and interaction between members of a network.

If these statistics are not distressing enough to the Lords and Ladies of Twitterland, there are signs that even the young people are turning away from Twitter.  Some young celebrates have deleted their accounts and have made statements encouraging youth to abandon Twitter and even to get out of the social networking world entirely.  The influence of these celebrities will make a difference in that it is clear that many young people use Twitter almost exclusively to follow their favourite celebrities.

At this time, the decline in usage and interest by members of Twitterland do not seem to be having the same effect on Facebook.  While Facebook has its own problems, the way people can connect to each other seems to be stronger and able to keep people connected to the network and interacting with each other.  Twitter has worked hard to try to keep up by adding ways to display photos and to make their service resemble some of the post popular aspects of Facebook. 

Of course, to users, they have no reason to switch to Twitter when Facebook is satisfactory to them.   So, for the time being, Facebook continues to dominate the market with no signs of losing that hold on their vast population. 

This doesn’t mean the Twitter experiment will be a failure. Twitter has made a splash in the social networking world and one can easily foresee Twitter becoming absorbed into Facebook, into the new effort by Google to compete in the social networking world, Google Buzz or by some other upstart effort.  The people who have invested in Twitter will be rewarded.  And while Twitter may not survive for a long, long time in its current form, some of the catch words that we have come to associate it like "tweeting" will probably continue to be popular in internet culture for a long time to come.

If you like to use social networks like Facebook and Twitter, you already know that you will sometimes get a contact that is a little strange.  It might be a friend request from someone you don’t know and that nobody else you know is in contact with.  Many times it is some marketing scam that you just ignore.  On some occasions, it is a hacker who got into a friend's account and is trying to hack further. 

One word the kids use for people who lurk around networks like that is a "creeper".  But there may be a new kind of creeper snooping around your account who is not just someone with time on his hands.  It might be a spy.

The vast networks that Facebook, MySpace and Twitter represent are probably just more than the feds can resist.  According to some reports that are just now coming out, the Obama administration has under advisement a plan that would let clandestine federal agencies go undercover in all of the popular social networks.  And these spies are not coming in there for tips on how to play Farm Town.  They are there to do some serious spying.  This is not spying on the Russians, the Chinese or the Iranians.  These agents are there to spy on us.

This invasion of our cyberspace hang outs is being granted to a number of spy agencies in the government including US Marshals, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.  If you are not thrilled about these creepers lurking on your Facebook profile, you better get used to it. 

Now, this is not the first time a government agency began to drool over all of the public information on social networks.  You would have to expect the IRS would want to be able to search these web sites to find out what they can about taxpayers that they are investigating.  But the IRS did have the discretion to limit their use of information available on social networks to research only.  They were not ready to create a fake ID and represent themselves as a social networking citizen to see what they could learn.  The spy agencies this most recent ruling sets loose on us do not have such scruples.

This kind of spying that allows agents to pose as something other than what they are has been used in other kinds of cybercrime situations.  It is a very common technique when trying to crack a child porn ring for agents to create identities on porn forums and post links that offer illegal child porn to the smarmy under life that they interact with on those sites.  Then when one of the poor souls clicks on one of those links, that is all the spy agent needs to make a bust.  It’s a slick operation when it works to catch a pervert.  But one has to wonder if we want them using these skills in the much larger worlds of Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

Now, the spies have one minor ethical problem that gets in the way of them staging a full scale undercover raid of social networks.  Most of the most successful social networks require that you sign a "terms of service" agreement before using the site. This is a legal document that most of us never read.  But one stipulation that is in those terms of service documents states the user agrees not to create a fake profile that has a name on it that is not the true name of the user. 

Well that kind of rule can put a real crimp in the style of any self respecting spy.  After all, they are not going to get very far with a profile of "Bond - James Bond" and a profession of "spying on innocent citizens on Facebook."  They won't get a very big friends list that way.  If a government agent agrees to the terms of service and then creates a decent profile that hides who he is, that breaks the law which is not that great an idea if you are in law enforcement.  Not only that, it violates their relationship with the social networking site who is hosting them.  A lawbreaker and a bad guest may run into some trouble before they can make their first bust. 

But if the agent puts the truth on their profile, that goes against the whole idea of a spy operation.  This problem is currently being kicked around at the federal level and they have to resolve it before they allow spies on our social networks.  Perhaps they can put a caveat in the terms of service clause that you cannot create a fake idea that adds, "Unless you are a spy, which is very cool".  That would work.

At this point, the plan to flood Facebook, MySpace and Twitter with spies is still in the development phase.  But those of us who are very active in these networks should be on the alert.  To be fair, if federal agents do go undercover in cyberspace, they probably will not be there to stalk law abiding citizens like you and I.  There have been a number of stories in the news in the last year or so about people who committed real crimes like robbing banks or running drugs and then bragging about it on their Facebook pages.  These will probably be the bad guys that will be the primary targets of law enforcement officials.

If the FBI or one of the other agencies suspects someone has information on their social networking pages that has more details about criminal activity, Facebook and the other sites are well known for being ready and willing to cooperate with law enforcement to turn over that information if the requests are made properly.  So spies in Facebook will probably never bother most people. 

But it still will be a good idea to continue to be careful who you allow on your profile and to lock down your private information.  You may already to doing that to keep your profile away from creepers, stalkers and your mum.  Now you can do it to dodge the roving eye of government spies when they try to poke their nose into your online life as well.

We spend a lot of time talking about how inept lawmakers are at passing laws that actually do something good for people.  So when they buy a clue and get one law right, its worth making some noise about.  They seem to be on a good roll with one particular piece of legislation called The P2P Cyber Protection and Informed User Act.  It’s a big, long and clumsy name for a piece of legislation that addresses one of the most problematic software utilities that people love to use on the internet which are P2P file sharing networks.

The law was introduced to Congress in February so it has some road to travel before it becomes law but when it does finally become the law of the land, it can go a long way toward neutralizing one more threat to computer security that is represented by P2P file sharing programs.  There are a number of features of The P2P Cyber Protection and Informed User Act that will go a long way toward improving the security of a network or even a home system. 

For one thing, the law would require that P2P file sharing programs could not be installed without the express consent of the user of the computer.  This would shut down the clandestine installation of P2P file sharing by hackers who would open up your computer to steal your private data. 

There is a lot of grey area about programs that can openly download code to your computer that begins to be executed without your permission.  This law is the first step in the right direction to actually make that kind of invasion of your virtual space illegal and punishable by law.  It may not stop hackers but at least they know they are criminals, which may cut down on the number of "casual" cyber criminals who just want to play around with other people's computers for the fun of it.

Another very helpful feature of this new law is that if a P2P file sharing program gets installed on a network or on a multiuser computer, it must send a notification if it makes your files available to the P2P network without your authorization.  By making it possible to deny access to your private files, that is a huge step forward in giving the power back to the individual to protect their digital information from hackers and identity thieves. 

P2P file sharing programs have been sited as the source of many of the serious security issues that plague internet users.  For one thing, piracy of music and video is easy to do using P2P file sharing networks.  People can get on one of these kinds of services and download entire catalogs of music or entire movies to enjoy for free on their home computers.  This kind of activity has created a genuine crisis in the music industry to the extent that major music labels and even big music artists have spoken out against P2P file sharing as the reason that the music industry is suffering with a huge drop in sales and profits.

This legislation doesn’t address illegal downloading of copy written material but it does isolate P2P file sharing programs as problematic and it puts these programs under some legislation.  As such, this bill could be considered the first warning shot over the bow to the P2P file-sharing world that the government is aware of the programs they cause and that action is going to be taken to rein in the havoc this kind of easy access movement of files can cause.

Another big problem that has been accelerated by P2P file sharing is the spread of computer virus software including spyware, worms, Trojan horse programs and Malware.  The design of P2P file sharing program is that it connects individual users or large amounts of users so that one user can download files directly from the hard drive of the other person's computer.  One of the most popular types of files that are spread this way is pornography, some of it of an illegal nature.  Because illegal files like this can move so quickly through file sharing, it becomes even more difficult for law enforcement to crack down on this kind of criminal activity.

Because P2P file sharing allows free and fast movement of unshielded data, it is a perfect venue for those who would like to spread damaging software like malware and viruses.  If someone opens the door to damaging or malicious software through a P2P file-sharing network, this legislation would send up a flare that the risk was present on your network or on your computer.  Businesses that run large-scale networks will benefit because they can isolate where the threatening software came from and eliminate the software and correct the behaviour of the employee who puts the company at risk downloading these kinds of programs.

This kind of legislation will be a huge help for companies running large computer networks that would be at significant risk from employees opening the door to the P2P file-sharing world.  It is far too easy for hackers to get into the file system of a large network and begin to "surf" from the point of entry to restricted directories where files containing passwords or financial data would be stored.  An unscrupulous person can do a tremendous amount of damage to a network with this kind of unrestricted window to a business network or to a personal computer system as well.  Unrestricted access to private access codes and financial links and information is an open invitation that yells "Steal From Me" to hackers who love to use P2P connections for evil purposes.

Some in the internet world will see The P2P Cyber Protection and Informed User Act as a restriction of privacy and the first step to shut down the freedom of the internet.  But freedom must be linked with responsibility.  The law only requires that if you are going to put the files and the network resources of a computer system at risk, the least you should be required to do is alert them of the risk.  This law simply makes that alerting mandatory.