content filtering

2 posts

Millions tricked by 'scareware'

Business Systems Support Cyber Security

Great article on BBC this morning detailing the “security” software forced on unsuspecting computer users. Fortunately, two simple solutions will stop this dead in it’s tracks.

Use OpenDNS when configuring your home or office network. Your web browser will not go where a name cannot be resolved to an ip address.

Use a UTM device for your firewall. Unified Threat Management should be the choice of any educational or business entity. This year, UTM is now affordable to home network users.

If all else fails, buy your security software from a reputable manufacturer.

Content Filtering and Censorship

Business Systems Support

Look at the area above “Popular Articles” at the top right on my home page. Do you see a green advertisement for Mozy, the world’s largest online backup service or do you see a small block with a red “X” in it, like the picture here?

If you see the red “X” then welcome to Internet censorship. I’ve known about and installed website content filtering for years. However, Internet censorship hit home with me when I browsed to my blog to check out a tool listed on my resource page. I could not access the tool. I was on a free public hot-spot preparing to help out an associate with the “questionable” and consequently censored tool, a basic online backup service.

I even lost access to my online whiteboard.. at a public hotspot.. where I needed it for a meeting.

Somehow, this does not feel right on many levels.

What are your experiences with censorship and what do we need to do about it?