Filtering the Internet

TIP OF THE DAY

Filtering the Internet

Filtering software is one of the most popular ways to keep children safe and employees out of mischief on the Internet. By carefully listening to everything that comes and goes across a computer's Internet connection, a filter can intercept and prevent the transmission or receipt of questionable materials ? such as profane words, provocative images, and politically incorrect language.

Several filtering programs are available on the Internet and these are all (at least) fairly good at what they do. Here are some of the more popular packages for you to consider:

• CyberPatrol: One of the oldest and most respected names in content control is CyberPatrol. One key feature is that it blocks access to certain Internet sites based on lists which are compiled by CyberPatrol themselves and updated daily. The advantage is that CyberPatrol is able to block offensive sites almost as quickly as they pop up. The disadvantage is that you have to pay extra for a subscription to their list service.
• ChatNANNY: ChatNANNY is very easy-to-use, inexpensive software that monitors all of the chatting and Web usage that occurs on a given computer. Anything offensive that occurs in any of these contexts is logged for later viewing.
• CYBERsitter: CYBERsitter is excellent filtering software. Like CyberPatrol, it features up-to-the-minute blocking lists available and maintained over the Internet. Unlike CyberPatrol, however, it requires no subscription fees.

Source: Dummies.com

To read an excellent article on options for improving eyesight, go to: http://www.smartmoney.com/consumer/index.cfm?story=20031107

Use Credit Cards for Online Purchases

TIP OF THE DAY

Use Credit Cards for Online Purchases

Miami Herald, November 4, 2003

Believe it: Net safe to charge

BY MARK GROSSMAN
Special to The Herald

You've probably heard that the Internet is a dangerous place to use your credit card. As the holiday shopping season approaches, you need to know that this is a myth. It's time to wake up and see the light.

The reality is that your credit card is the best way for you to pay for your online purchases. If you have a problem with your purchase, you will generally find your credit-card company quick to take your side by reversing the charge. By comparison, if you send a check, you have no convenient way to get your money back should a problem arise.

Federal law is protective of consumers when it comes to credit-card transactions. Say the hacker from your nightmares snatches your credit-card number as it traverses cyberspace (exceedingly unlikely, by the way); federal law limits your liability to $50.

Moreover, most banks waive that since they need your goodwill more than they need your $50.

The paranoia people have regarding credit-card use on the Net crosses the line into the irrational. I don't understand why they think it's OK to call 1-800-Send-Me-Some-Junk, talk to some anonymous person working for a no-name company located they know not where and blithely read her a credit-card number.

That's a much higher-risk transaction than sending your credit-card number over the Internet to ReputableMerchant.com.

I'm not saying the Net is a perfect place for credit cards. There are risks, but these risks are reasonable, ''reasonable'' being the operative concept.

When it comes to security issues, if you seek perfection, you're doomed to fail. In fact, if you require perfect, you'd never give your credit card to a waiter, who then walks away it. For all you know, he could be in the back room, running it through enough times to feed an army. You wouldn't know until you got your bill. Still, it feels reasonable to give that waiter your card. And it is reasonable.

It's likewise reasonable to give your credit-card number to a reputable website. While it is true that a hacker could intercept the number, that's an extremely small risk, and the law protects you, in case it does happen.

If your merchant uses a secure server, the risk is even lower, probably approaching zero. (One way to ensure that it is indeed a secure server is to look at the address bar in your browser. If it's a secure server, the website address will start with ''https'' instead of ``http.'')

Look at it this way: If you wanted a perfectly safe life, you'd probably never let your kids leave the house. I submit that if you let them walk the streets, you can suck up the courage to send your credit-card number to Walmart.com.

Mark Grossman chairs the Technology Law Group of Becker & Poliak off, P.A. E-mail him at techlaw@EComputer Law.com.

Verifying a Doctor's Credentials

TIP OF THE DAY

 

Verifying a Doctor's Credentials

The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) publishes a list of state medical boards. The list provides the address, phone, fax and Web site. Most state medical boards will respond to telephone inquiries about public disciplinary information. However, if you want to search across states, see the article, "Finding Licensing and Other Information About Doctors," as well as DocInfo and DocFinder. In addition, the American Board of Medical Specialties lets you conduct five queries daily for doctor certification information.

SEE, FSMB Member Medical Boards

ALSO, Finding Licensing and Other Information About Doctors

See More in Outlook

TIP OF THE DAY

See More in Outlook

Do you find yourself constantly flipping back and forth between your Outlook calendar, contacts and email?  Save yourself time by opening each in its own window.

Instead of clicking Calendar in the Outlook Bar (or the Navigation Pane in Outlook 2003), right-click it and choose Open In New Window from the pop-up menu. Your calendar will appear in a new window. You can then either tile it (right-click the clock in the Taskbar and choose Tile Windows Vertically) so you can see your email and calendar at the same time, or press Alt+Tab to cycle between the two windows (see 7/3/03 TOTD).

You can use the same technique with Contacts, Tasks, Notes, the Journal and any email folder, opening as many windows as works for you.

Source: Woody's Windows

Online Conversions

TIP OF THE DAY

Online Conversions

The Online Conversion site http://www.onlineconversion.com/ provides access to an extensive array of conversion tools that allow you to convert just about anything.  Need to know how many kilometers are in a mile, how many bits are in a byte, what day of the week a specific day will fall on, what time it is in other parts of the world?  Then check out this site.  You will also find tools that will allow you to convert currency, determine how much you need to be saving,  select the proper clothes size in different countries, calculate the adjusted cost base for stocks or determine the profit or loss from the sale of a stock.  This is a great tool for anyone needing to convert just about anything - the fun stuff section will allow you to find out how much you weigh on another planet, how old you are in dog years, what your name is in Morse code, and there are several MPO/transportation-related applications, such as calculating the driving distance between cities or flying distance between airports, and calculating the appropriate size for a meeting room based on planned attendance.