How To: Understanding the Network Advertising Initiative and How to Opt Out

The Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) develops standards for online advertising. It is an industry trade group which was formed in 1999. This group was created by advertisers because of concerns from the Federal Trade Commission and consumer groups that online advertising was harming user privacy. The NAI creates guidelines for participating advertisers and advertising networks… Read More


How To: Google Search Results and Your Privacy

Like all search engines, Google’s search results contain information that is publicly available on the Internet. Google cannot remove content directly from the Internet. While it’s possible to remove content from display in Google’s search results, this would still leave the original content as it exists on the Internet. If you want to remove something… Read More


How To: Configuring Your Firewall for Optimal Security

Firewall software is a group of security protocols designed to keep malicious code and hackers out of your computer. A firewall protects your laptop from Internet traffic entering in or information leaking out. While antivirus software scans emails and files, a firewall acts as a guard dog, keeping your system safe from unauthorized entry. It… Read More


How To: Installing Patches and Automating Updates

Patches are software that fix problems or issues with a computer program. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, and improving the usability or performance. Most software, browsers, and operating systems have features that allow them to be updated automatically when connected to the Internet. When an Internet connection is established, these programs prompt… Read More


Ask the Expert: What You Should Know About Google’s Privacy Policies

Google’s new privacy policy changes have many privacy advocates up in arms. It begs the question: does our personal information belong to us or the corporations that collect it? Instead of being forced to adhere to these data collection rules in order to use a popular product, shouldn’t we insist that companies give us the option to allow or deny them permission to track and store our personal information? What happens if hackers get ahold of this information?

Read on for more information about Google’s new privacy policies.



How To: Job Search Sites and Your Privacy

Make sure you protect your privacy while conducting an online job search. The following sections describe what steps you can take to ensure your privacy. 1. Don’t include a lot of personal contact information (name, address, phone numbers) on your resume This might make it a little more difficult for an employer to reach you,… Read More


How To: Managing Your Email Security

Most if not all of us use email as our primary means of communication. Unfortunately, email accounts are also highly vulnerable, so email security is an important issue for all of us. This article discusses some steps you can take to ensure that your email account is secure. Email Threats Below are some of the… Read More


How To: Managing Your Foursquare Security

Anytime we use any social networking website such as Facebook, we give up some of our privacy. But this is especially true when we use a social network, such as Foursquare, whose primary purpose is to tell our friends where we are. This article discusses some of the security issues users should be aware of… Read More


How To: Managing Your iPhone Security

Smartphones, like the iPhone, have become increasingly important to our modern lives, and accessing account and professional content is shifting more towards mobile devices. The iPhone has security options that you can use, which are listed below. Use a Passcode Make sure that you are using a passcode onto your iPhone, which is the easiest… Read More