WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT SOCIAL NETWORKING? PART II

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To
start with in this article, we would like you to tick which of the following
items rank more important to you.

•      
  My privacy


•       
  My time


•     My reputation


•     My friendships

Now which issue above
did you rate number one – the one that’s the most important to you? That aspect
of your life, as well as the other three, could be at risk if you use a social
networking site. Now the question is: should you have a social networking
account? Like any use of the internet, social networking can have its benefits
– and its pitfalls. In the previous article, two areas of concern were
discussed: your privacy and you time. In this article, we’ll take a look at
your reputation and your friendships.

YOUR
REPUTATION

Guarding you reputation
means being careful not to give others valid reason to think badly of you. To
illustrate, imagine that you own a brand-new car; it doesn’t have a single
scratch or dent. Wouldn’t you like to keep it that way? How would you feel if
because of your own carelessness, your car was wrecked in an accident?

Sometimes a similar thing
can happen to your reputation on a social network. “With one thoughtless
picture or post”, says a girl named Cara, “your reputation can be ruined.” “Sometimes
a person I’ve thought highly of will have pictures of himself or herself
appearing to be drunk”. – Ana, 19. “I know girls who pose in ways that
accentuate their bodies. They look so different on their social network page
from the way they look offline.’ – Cara, 19.

Do the photos and
comments that you post really matter? Yes! “At school, that’s been a big
topic,” says a teen named Jane. “We’ve discussed how employers will look at an
applicant’s social networks page to judge his or her character”.

In the book Facebook
for Parents, Dr. B. J. Fogg says that he does just that when hiring. “I
consider this part of my due diligence,” he says, “If I can access an
applicant’s Profile, and I see junky things, then I’m not impressed. I won’t
hire that person. Why? Because people who work with me need excellent judgment.”

WHAT
YOU CAN DO

If you use a social
network, look at your posted pictures and ask yourself: ‘What do these photos
say about me? Is this really how I want to present myself? Would I be
embarrassed if my parents, a Christian elder, or a prospective employer were to
see these photos?” If your answer to that last question is yes, make changes.
That’s what 21-year-old Kate did. “A Christian elder spoke to me about my
profile picture” she says, “and I was grateful. I knew that he wanted to
protect my reputation.”

Also, carefully review
the comments you’ve posted – as well as those that others have posted on you
page. Don’t tolerate “foolish talking” or “obscene jesting”. Sometimes people
post comments with bad words or double meanings says 19-year-old Jane. “Even
though you’re not the one who said it, it reflects poorly on you because it’s
your page.”

Now the bottom line is:
Set boundaries as to whom you will invite or accept as a friend, just as you
would off-line, (or in real world environment). For example, a young woman
named Leanne says: My policy is this: if I don’t know you, I don’t accept your
friend request. If I see something on you page that makes me uncomfortable,
I’ll delete you from my ‘friends list’ and not accept further request.” Others
have set similar boundaries.

Note that Awake! neither endorses nor condemns any
particular networking site. 

As culled from Awake
magazine.

Feel free to write out
what will be your ‘friending policy.’

WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT SOCIAL NETWORKING? —PART 1

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“I have friends
in other countries, and the best way I can keep in touch with them is by social
networking. I love being able to talk to them even though they’re far, far
away.”—Sue, 17.

“I think social
networking is a waste of time, a lazy person’s social life. Face-to-face
interaction is the only way to maintain friendships.”—Gregory, 19.

Which of the above statements comes
closest to reflecting your view? Either way, one thing is certain:
Social networking has become hugely popular. Consider this: It took 38 years
for radio to reach 50 million users, 13 years for television to attract
the same number, and 4 years for the Internet to do so. The social networking
site Facebook gained 200 million users in one recent 12-month period!

To start with a social network is a Web
site that allows those who have an account to communicate with a selected group
of friends.

What’s the appeal of social networking?
The answer is simple: Humans are hardwired to interact with humans. And that’s
what a social network is all about. Consider why many might be tempted to join
one.

1. Convenience.

“Keeping up with
your friends can be hard, but when
they’re all on one site, it’s easy!”—Leah, 20.

“I can post
a comment and it’s as if I’ve just
e-mailed every one of my friends at
the same time.”—Kristine, 20.

 2. Peer pressure.

“I’m always getting requests
to join someone’s list of friends, but
I don’t have an account, so I can’t.”—Natalie, 22.

“When I tell people
that I’ve chosen not to have an
account, they look at me like, ‘What’s
wrong with you?’”—Eve, 18.

 3. Media pressure.

“There’s this belief
fostered by the media that if you
don’t stay superconnected with people, you
will have no friends. And having no
friends is like having no life. So
if you’re not social networking, you are
nothing.”—Katrina, 18.

 4. School.

“My teachers use a
social network. Some post messages to
tell us when we have a quiz coming
up. Or with math, for example, if
I don’t understand something, I can post
a message on my teacher’s Wall and
he’ll help me solve the problem online.”—Marina, 17.

 5. Work.

“People looking for
employment use a social network to connect
with others. Sometimes this helps them
find a job.”—Amy, 20.

“I use a networking
site for my work. It allows clients
to see current graphic-design projects I’m
working on.”—David, 21.

The fact is, social networking—like
virtually any use of the Internet—has its dangers. If you use a social
networking account, how can you avoid those dangers?

Safe “Driving”

In some ways, using the Internet can be
compared to driving a car. As you’ve probably noticed, not all who have a
license are responsible drivers. In fact, many people have got into horrific
accidents because of their carelessness or neglect.

In this article we will now discuss two
aspects of social networking that deserve your serious consideration—your
privacy and your time. 

YOUR PRIVACY

Privacy might be the last thing on your
mind when it comes to a social network. After all, isn’t the whole idea to reach
out to people? Nevertheless, not taking precautions can lead to
disaster.

To illustrate, suppose you had in your
possession a large amount of cash. Would you display it for everyone to see as
you walked down a public street with your friends? That would be foolish—you’d
be asking to be robbed! If you’re smart, you’ll hide your cash where it
can’t be seen.

Think of your personal information as
your cash. With that in mind, look at the list below and check off the items
that you would not feel comfortable advertising to a complete stranger.

..... my home address

..... my e-mail address

..... where I attend school

..... the times when I am at home

..... the times when nobody is at
home

..... my photos

..... my viewpoints

..... my likes and interests

 

Even if you’re
the world’s greatest extrovert, likely you’d agree that there are at least some
things on the above list that shouldn’t be revealed to just anyone. But many
young people—and adults— have unwittingly shared such details with strangers!
How can you avoid such a pitfall?

Always remember that when it comes to
the Internet, “privacy” is merely a relative term. Why? “Large Web sites back
up their databases,” points out Gwenn Schurgin O’Keeffe in her book CyberSafe,
adding: “What we put on cyberspace never
truly goes away. We have to consider it permanent because there is likely a
copy somewhere; to think otherwise is foolish.”

YOUR TIME

Not only your privacy but also your time
can be compared to a large amount of cash. In a sense, then, you need to budget
your time. And that’s one of the greatest challenges when it
comes to any use of the Internet, including social networking.

 “I was addicted.
Every time I got home from school,
I would spend hours checking what some
people said about my posts and looking
at their posts.—Cara, 16.

“I could access the
site on my phone, so I’d look at
it on my way to school, at school,
and on my way home from school.
Then, after I got home, I’d go
on the computer. I knew I was addicted,
but I didn’t want to stop!”—Rianne, 17.

The Bottom Line

There’s another factor about social
networks that you need to consider. To help you grasp this aspect, put a • next
to the option that you feel best applies.

A
social networking site is primarily . . .

(A) ..... a
business.

(B) ..... a
social club.

(C) ..... a
form of entertainment.

The correct
answer? Believe it or not, it’s Option A. First and foremost, a social
network is a business. Its objective is to make a profit, mainly through
advertising. And to advertisers, the value of the network increases as more
people join and those members’ posts are more
widely shared. After all, the more time you or anyone spends
networking, the more ads will be viewed.

Knowing that
helps you to realize that a social network really has little to lose—and
advertisers have much to gain—if you share your information too widely or if
you spend too much time online. By all means, then, if you use a social network
at all, protect your privacy and monitor the amount of time you spend on it.

As culled from the Awake Magazine

TIPS FOR REMOVING VIRUSES FROM CLIENT MACHINES

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It's inevitable that clients will infect
workstations, PCs, and laptops with spyware and viruses. Regardless of
preventive steps, from gateway protection to automated scans to written Internet Use Policies, malware threats sneak through even layered defenses.What makes the situation worse is that
many clients aren't willing to invest in standalone anti-spyware software, even
though they understand the need for minimal antivirus protection.

Some IT professionals advocate simply
wiping systems and reinstalling Windows, while others suggest that's akin to
giving up and letting the bad guys win. The truth lies somewhere in between.
After making an image copy of the drive (it's always best to have a fallback
option when battling malicious infections), here are the measures I find most effective.

1.
ISOLATE THE DRIVE

Many rootkit and Trojan threats are
masters of disguise that hide from the operating system as soon as or before
Windows starts. I find that even the best antivirus and antispyware tools --
including AVG Anti-Virus Professional, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, and SuperAntiSpyware -- sometimes struggle to remove
such entrenched infections.

You need systems dedicated to removal.
Pull the hard disk from the offending system, slave it to the dedicated test
machine, and run multiple virus and spyware scans against the entire slaved
drive.

2.
REMOVE TEMPORARY FILES

While the drive is still slaved, browse
to all users' temporary files. These are typically found within the
C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Local Settings\Temp directory within Windows
XP or the C:\Users\Username\App Data\Local\Temp folder within Windows Vista and
Windows 7.

Delete everything within the temporary
folders. Many threats hide there seeking to regenerate upon system startup.
With the drive still slaved, it's much easier to eliminate these offending
files.

3.
RETURN THE DRIVE AND REPEAT THOSE SCANS

Once you run a complete antivirus scan
and execute two full antispyware scans using two current, recently updated and
different anti-spyware applications (removing all found infections), return the
hard disk to the system. Then, run the same scans again. 

Despite the scans and previous
sanitization, you may be surprised at the number of remaining active infections
the anti-malware applications subsequently find and remove. Only by performing
these additional native scans can you be sure you've done what you can to
locate and remove known threats. 

4. TEST THE SYSTEM

When you finish the previous three
steps, it's tempting to think a system is good to go. Don't make that mistake.
Boot it up, open the Web browser, and immediately delete all offline files and
cookies. Next, go to the Internet Explorer Connection settings (Tools |
Internet Options and select the Connections tab within Internet Explorer) to
confirm that a malicious program didn't change a system's default proxy or LAN
connection settings. Correct any issues you find and ensure settings match
those required on your network or the client's network.

Then, visit 12 to 15 random sites. Look
for any anomalies, including the obvious popup windows, redirected Web
searches, hijacked home pages, and similar frustrations. Don't consider the
machine cleaned until you can open Google, Yahoo, and other search engines and complete
searches on a string of a half-dozen terms. Be sure to test the system's
ability to reach popular anti-malware Web sites, such as AVG,
Symantec, and Malwarebytes.

5.
Dig deeper on remaining infections

If any infection remnants persist, such
as redirected searches or blocked access to specific Web sites, try determining
the filename for the active process causing the trouble. Trend Micro's
HijackThis, Microsoft's Process Explorer, and Windows' native Microsoft System
Configuration Utility (Start | Run and type msconfig) are excellent
utilities for helping locate offending processes. If necessary, search the
registry for an offending executable and remove all incidents. Then, reboot the
system and try again. 

If a system still proves corrupt or unusable,
it's time to begin thinking about a reinstall. If an infection persists after
all these steps, you're likely in a losing battle.

OTHER
STRATEGIES

Some IT consultants swear by fancier
tricks than what I've outlined above. I've investigated KNOPPIX as one
alternative. And I've had a few occasions in the field where I've slaved
infected Windows drives to my Macintosh laptop to delete particularly obstinate
files in the absence of a boot disk. Other technicians recommend leveraging
such tools as Reimage, although I've
experienced difficulty getting the utility to even recognize common NICs,
without which the automated repair tool can't work.

What methods do you
recommend for removing viruses and spyware from clients' machines? Post your
suggestions in the discussion below.