I can't imagine it if a throng of cops came pounding on my door and ringing my doorbell. I would be devastated if I heard that they had a warrant out to search my house, or to arrest me. I have two children. Where would they go if I had to go to jail? I am thankful to have great family that would probably take them, or some great friends that happen to be their god-parents. I couldn't imagine it if there were put in foster care, which could happen temporarily if the cops just stormed into my home with no prior notice. That's not what happened to one young man that was mentioned in tonight's ABC 20/20. He was too young to have any children, he wasn't even out of highschool.
Cops came pounding on his door, pointing guns at him - according to 20/20. He was accused of having child pornography on the family computer. He did admit that he had sneaked a couple of looks at some adult pornography, but the thought of him looking at child pornography appalled him. He even went through a lie detector test, which he passed, but the prosecutor wasn't letting him go that easily. He still said that there was evidence on his computer that made him look awfully guilty. This young man's parents hired a computer analyst to check the hard drive. She said that he couldn't possibly have done this. So just how did the filth get put there?
It is most likely that a hacker was able to upload his evidence onto this innocent young man's computer. No smart pedophile is going to keep incriminating evidence on his own computer - right? So he hacks into someone else's computer without them being any the wiser. He is able to access his disgusting sin remotely in this way. What computers is he targeting? It is possible that he (or she) is targeting your's or mine.
Can we keep up? When technology advances, so do the ways that those lurking into cyberspace hack into our home computers. Once they gain access there is little on the hard drive that is safe. In addition to purchasing an up-to-date virus package, it should also have up-to-date virus signatures, firewalls and anti-spyware. The signatures should be automatically updated - but like any honestly vigilant person, you should manually update this software. Furthermore, you need to enable the software. "Like an on-off switch if your software is not enabled it is not working," claims Paul Davis to 20/20. Site blocking is also highly recommended. It keeps us from going to places in cyberspace that are likely to expose our computer to hackers. It is important to scan our computers regularly. It is recommended at least once a week, if not more often. If your computer starts acting particularly slow, red flags should go up. Mr. Davis even goes so far as to say that we should check the spelling of sites. Some sites might try to imitate legitimate sites. We should be extremely cautious about downloading free software. If software is free it is most likely too good to be true. Any place asking for personal information should be looked upon with serious scrutiny. It's obvious that most sites asking for a social security number or a credit card number are places to avoid, but Davis even cautions against giving out your name or address. He suggests at least examining such sites very carefully. He says that "Brand recognition is key".
Speaking of Anti-virus software, which ones are the best? I am not really the authority on that. What I can say is that I agree with Davis that brandname loyalty is very important. Who's to say that these unknown names aren't "Trojan horses"? How would you know, unless you were as computer saavy as they are? I would suggest Norton or McAfee. Symantec is another company that has gained recognition. I wouldn't buy all three, or even two. Strength in numbers in not a virtue in the anti-software world. Two or more antivirus software packages can turn into a civil war - making both packages ineffective (meaning that they will fight each other off, instead of focusing on the real enemies: hackers). Apple claims to have an upperhand against PCs (you've probably seen their commercial on t.v.). Other places I saw offering antivirus software are www.pctools.com, TrendMicro.com,Panda Software and Avast; but I would proceed with caution regarding these packages. I don't recognize any of them.
Well, I am calling it a night now. I am locking my doors, as I always do each night. I have two very important people in this house besides me. I wouldn't want anything to ever happen to them. They are more precious than life itself. I am also locking my computer. I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I was put in jail. I wouldn't know what to do if I was no longer able to be the mother to them that I am today - free to love them everyday, free to bring them up into this world. I wouldn't want anyone else to take my place in their lives. Why are you going to lock your computer? Hopefully I've convinced you to do just that.