You Could Be A Computer Criminal

Imagine there's a knock at your door. "Police," they say. "You're under arrest for child pornography."

Are you a computer criminal? You could be a thief, a spammer, a spyware sender... and you could get arrested for it, all without knowing.

Take the case of substitute teacher Julie Amero. She was given a classroom computer that, according to reports, was completely unprotected, and when the machine displayed pornographic popups, she was arrested for child endangerment. Another article tells the story of a state employee arrested for having child porn on his work-provided laptop, which did not have functional antivirus software.

Most people have no idea whether their computers are truly protected from Internet threats. We pay token attention to antivirus, or trust that our company-owned computers are defended. Computer makers leave it up to the consumer to figure out how to install and maintain security software. What can you do to ensure you're not the next victim?

You don't have to be a tech expert, and it doesn't take much time. See this month's Tech Tip on How To Protect From Cybercrime.

And if you are ever in doubt, feel free to post your computer questions here (click Comments below any article) and I'll do my best to answer them.

Posted byTriona Guidry at 8:44 AM  

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