Q: I have a question concerning your recent column in which you recommended turning off a PC once a day. Did you mean literally to turn it off, or to reboot it? If you meant turning the PC off, then how long would you recommend keeping it turned off? — Judy Gordon-Omelka
A: I do mean turning the computer off. But it doesn’t need to be off very long – even a couple of minutes is fine. That will flush stray bits of programs from the computer’s memory. But, unrelated to that, it’s a good idea to turn off your computer when you will be away from it for hours at a time, or when you are going to sleep for the night. Leaving it on 24/7 wastes electricity and can cause other problems.
Q: Here’s an observation and two questions. My wife’s XP machine, “protected” by AVG, has been infected by a significant virus twice in the past two years. That’s really disappointing. So now she has Windows 7 and uses Microsoft Security Essentials. My computer repair man says that Security Essentials is as good as the commercially available anti-viruses, and is likely better. What do you think? I have AVG on my Windows 7 machine, and I’m thinking of switching too. — Nelson Wallace
A: Despite the problem your wife had while protected by AVG, I still think that it is an excellent anti-virus program. I also think Microsoft Security Essentials does a good job. I can understand your computer repairman’s opinion that Security Essentials is as good as commercial anti-virus programs. It’s a reasonable argument. But I still think Norton’s commercial products are slightly superior to the free programs. Whether I’m right or wrong doesn’t matter much since I think most folks would be fine using either of the two free products we just discussed.
Please send questions to Bill Husted at tecbud@bellsouth.net.
I usually enjoy answering reader questions. But there’s one question that breaks my heart — a question I wish I could answer in a way that makes everyone feel good.
The question comes to me often: What software do you recommend for making sure my kids are safe online?
The answer is this: There is no software that will satisfactorily protect your kids online. Zip. Nada.
No program, no matter how sophisticated, can protect a child. That’s the parent’s job.
Look, I know, there are plenty of well-respected programs that monitor online use. And they include controls that let a parent put some areas off-limits, that log what kids say and what is said to them online. There are plenty of other fancy features in these programs. But I think programs like this are worse than useless, they’re dangerous.
They’re dangerous because they can give a parent a false sense of security — using them can cause a parent to believe that all that’s needed has been done and then drop his guard and increase the risk to the child.
I wish it wasn’t so. It’s a real problem, and it would be wonderful if you could pop in some software and protect your family. There’s no doubt that there are some real dangers out there, you’ve read the news stories so I don’t need to explain. So it’s great that parents want to find a solution and sad that fixing things isn’t as easy as buying a program. Let me attempt to explain why that is.
And I’ll make proving my point difficult — I’ll stack the cards against me. So, for the sake of argument, let’s say all these programs work perfectly. Let’s make all sorts of other over-optimistic assumptions. We’ll say computer-savvy kids can’t find a way around programs that block objectionable content. We’ll also make the same wild assumption with spy programs that record online chats. For now, we’ll say those programs are perfect and that even the smartest kid can’t find and defeat them.
Even if that were so, these programs can’t do the job.
There are so many ways to get online. There are cell phones that are virtual computers, friends with computers, iPads and tablets galore. A kid has too many options — a parent can’t block them all. Besides, if a child knows his parents are trying to block his options, that makes it all the more fun to find a way around that.
Protecting the home computer but ignoring a world crammed full of online devices is like installing locks on some doors in your house but leaving others wide open.
So — if software isn’t the answer — what is a parent to do?
There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Every kid, every family is different. For instance, do you have reason to believe your child has a problem or personality that makes him an extreme risk? Or do you just have a sensible concern that recognizes the dangers for any kid online?
If there are clues that lead you to believe your child is already flirting with trouble, you may need to get counseling for the child or to come up with ways to work on the problem as a family. You’ll need a detailed and specific battle plan geared to your child and the specific problem. You won’t find a blueprint for that in any newspaper column.
For kids who don’t demonstrate a problem there are safeguards — perhaps even including one of the programs I just slammed — that can help. But even here, these steps are general ones and should be modified based on the child’s age and by the parents’ philosophy. After all, it is the job and the right of the parent to make decisions on how to handle things.
These safeguards can include cutting off private access to a computer. Instead, the computer can be placed in a public part of the home like a den or family room. And, if it makes sense to the parent, that computer can even be equipped with programs such as Net Nanny. You can find it at www.netnanny.com. It is one of the oldest and best of the programs of this kind. I’ve already told you I have little faith in programs like this. But you are the parent, and if you feel it is a useful tool in a more comprehensive family plan, more power to you.
Maybe you see the irony here: A program can’t protect a child who is especially at risk, and such a program may not be needed for a kid who isn’t at risk.
There are also plenty of resources that offer suggestions for online safety. Some of these organizations think highly of computer programs designed to protect kids online, others share my opinion. All of them offer valuable information for the parent to consider and weigh. Here are several Web links to sites like that: www.familyguidebook.com/ ; www.netsmartz.org ; www.safekids.com/.
Most of those sites have links to still other sources of information about online safety. That’s a lot of homework for any parent, but it is useful information.
Read what’s out there, and talk to your kids. You are the parent. There is no computer program that can do that near-impossible job half as well as you can.
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