As the main computer geek of Balboa Gifted Magnet, there are two questions I am often asked:

1. What's the best way to protect my children (and my computer) from potential threats on the Internet?
2. Why are your eyebrows so freaking huge?

The answer to the second question is easy: I was bitten by a radioactive caterpillar.

The first question requires a little more effort. (Kids: this will probably be pretty boring for you. Sorry. There's some fun stuff in the gray column on the right.)

There is really only one way to make sure your children and you computer are safe when they are on the internet. It's the same way you make sure they are safe in the real world: watch them. It is impossible to completely block out any potential Internet threat and still have a useful connection to the web. You are the only filter sophisticated enough to know what your child should and should not see.

Having said that, there is software available that can assist you in shielding your child and your computer. Most of this applies more to Windows-based machines than Apple computers, but there are a few things that are cross-platform.

Anti-Virus Software
For Windows-based machines, anti-virus software is a must. Norton and McAfee are popular choices, but there are others, including AVG AntiVirus, which is available for free for personal use. Norton Antivirus is available for free to all LAUSD employees.

Spyware Removers
Spyware programs actually do more than just spy on you. They can make pop-ups appear, slow your computer to a crawl, and even use your computer to attack other computers. Almost all spyware requires the user to allow the installation. When an ad pops up on a web site that says something like "your computer needs adjustment" or "get your local weather delivered to your desktop," it's really asking for permission to install software on your machine. Ignore the ads. You computer doesn't need adjustment. You can get the weather without installing anything.

Now, there are some exceptions to the rule. Shockwave, Flash, Quicktime, and Acrobat reader are all used on a number of websites. They are safe to install. If you really can't tell, email me and I'll check it out.

To further protect yourself, create an account that doesn't have permission to install software, and use that as your primary account. If your account can't install programs, spyware programs can't install themselves.

If your computer does become infected, there are several spyware removal programs available for free. The two most popular are Spybot and Ad-Aware. Also, some Internet providers have spyware removing software, and Microsoft Update also has a spyware removal utility. I would advise avoiding other spyware removal programs you find online. Some of them are legitimate, but others actually install spyware!

Web Browsers
Most people use Microsoft's Internet Explorer to access the web. Because of this, most spyware is written to take advantage of flaws in Internet Explorer- the larger user base means more infections are likely. A simple solution is to use a different web browser. In the lab at Balboa we use Mozilla Firefox. It's free, and it offers a lot of features that IE does not. Another free browser you might consider is Opera. The transition away from IE is relatively smooth, but not painless- some sites will only work if viewed with Internet Explorer, so there will be times when you will have to switch back.

Firewalls and Web Filters
A firewall is a piece of hardware or software that sits between your computer and the internet, stopping unwanted transfer of information. However, in most cases the need for a firewall is mitigated by preventing your machine's infection with viruses or spyware. For most people, using a firewall is like wearing a cast in case your leg breaks- inconvenient, and probably not very helpful.

There are also programs that will try to filter out offensive and dangerous sites. However, they all tend to block some sites that are actually safe, and miss sites that are offensive. They cannot be relied on.

Have you taken care of all that stuff? Good! Now we're ready to go on the Internet!

Email and Spam
Parents should have complete access to their child's email account. Some accounts use "white-listing," where every email received must come from an approved address. This is a good thing for kids, and even for some adults.

Almost every email account gets spam. You might wonder how spammers get your email address. There are a number of methods. They might get a list for a web site where you entered your email address into a form (you can sidestep this one by filling out web forms with a "junk catcher account," an account on a free email service like gmail set up specifically for filling out forms). They might have tried random letter and number combinations to try to find existing addresses. But there's another popular collection method. Have you ever received email from a friend that was sent to every single person in his or her address book, probably a joke or a chain letter? Spammers love those. To a spammer, that email is a list of potential money sources. Be very selective about what you forward, and encourage your friends to be very selective about what they send to you. If you do need to send mail to a group of people, put their addresses in the bcc: field. bcc stands for "blind carbon copy." Any address in the bcc: field will not be revealed to any email recipient.

If you do get spam, do not respond to it. A response, even a negative one, means your email account is active- which makes you a more attractive target.

Phishing, Lotteries, and 419 Scams
Some email is sent to try and get your bank or credit card information. 419 scams (sometimes called Nigerian Scams) try to convince you that you will receive large amounts of money for helping a stranger get a huge amount of cash out of a hostile country. Others may say you've won a massive lottery payout, but you have to pay the taxes on it first. The general rule: If someone is asking for money so the can send you money, ignore them.

A more nasty method of trying to get your bank account information is known as phishing. The scammer impersonates your bank (or your credit card company, or eBay, or anywhere else they can use your information to steal) and directs you to a web page that looks like an official bank page, but is actually owned by the scammer. Any information you enter on the site, including account numbers and passwords, will go directly to the scammer. To protect yourself from phishing, don't click the links inside any message about your personal accounts- instead, manually type the address of your institution into your web browser.

Search Engines and Family Filters
Search engines are designed to find everything on the web, not just the kid-friendly stuff. Almost every search engine has a "Family Filter" that will attempt to screen out offensive content- but just like any web filter, it will block things that are safe and miss things that are offensive. For younger children, you might want to "pre-surf." Look for information without your child, bookmark the sites you think are most appropriate, and only let the child view those sites. That probably isn't necessary for older kids, but regardless of age you should monitor your child's web travels.

Weblogs and Personal Pages
Your child may want to put up a personal web page using a site like Myspace or Blogger. I think that's awesome- but it should be done in a carefully controlled environment. No identifying personal information should be on the site. Obviously, that means his full name and address should not be there, but it also includes his school name, the name of any park or public playground he or she frequently visits, or pictures that identify the location of those places. Pictures at Disneyland are safe- pictures wearing a shirt that says Balboa Gifted Magnet are not.

Also, every weblog site allows bloggers to send messages to each other. For kids, that feature should be disabled, or strictly controlled by the parent. Any website a kid makes has the potential to attract unwelcome visitors.

Now that you've read all that boring, boring stuff, let me sum up how to protect your family and your computer in three rules:

1. Don't let people touch your stuff,
2. Don't put your private information in public places, and most importantly,
3. Monitor your child's use of the internet.

Questions? Comments? Zesty soup recipes? Send them to me! (Note: that address is my public, posted-everywhere address, so it gets a lot of spam. Make sure you mention Balboa in your subject line to help make your note stand out.)