Saturday, January 31, 2009

How to Protect your Teen from being Exploited!!

See, I have this teenager...

Oh, have I not mentioned this? This teen is "different" than my other two kids; this teen is open to vulnerabilities and attacks that the other two will never face. Never? That's right. This one takes up a TON of my time and is insistent on getting noticed, and is quite outspoken and social. At any time someone, or someone's teen, could exploit, steal from, or infect MY teen, and I wouldn't know until it was too late.

Yes, you guessed it. My teen...is named...Blog.

Yeah, I know. It's not an original name, in fact, I think it tops the list of popular names for 2007-2009, and I bet even 2010, as EVERYONE and their grandma has birthed a Blog! And these parents, of course, have the best, cutest, funniest, prettiest, etc. Blog out there.

Well, let me ask you a serious parenting question...

Are YOU protecting YOUR Blog?

Now I am no techie, but since I like to give out advice as much as I like to give out, well...advice... here's some for ya...

Take, for example, your awards. Your "Refreshing Blog" Lemonade Award, let's say. Do you realize I can run right over to your blog, and um...steal it, then say that I TOO have a "lemonade award", from, erm, someone.blogspot.com? Can you steal it off of mine? Go ahead, try...TRY!

One of two things happened:
1. You right clicked and I yelled at you.
2. You left clicked and it took you to the super awesome blog that awarded it to me...

Click my kids' picture...go ahead...

Unless you're some Super Hacker (to whom I say, what are you doing HERE??) what just happened? Did you go back in time? Was that a hiccup? No, I just link back to my blog on my pictures...except for that toilet one, or the bug ones...you can have those...heh heh.

Oh, any my little copyright clause at the bottom? Yeah...be afraid. Be very afraid...wait, isn't that from a movie? Maybe I should cite that...

Are you shaking? Are you wondering why this hasn't been covered on Oprah, or 20/20, or even subliminally through the Twilight series for that matter? Well, take note, as the things I will suggest will only protect from remedial attempts to harm your teen. Don't expect me to save you from, like, a nuclear disaster...I am simply sharing two little "tidbits of gold". Ready?

#1. Stop other teens from stealing from you!!!

If you don't then anyone, including other teens, could hop over and help themselves to your amazing pictures or blog awards, so...

-link back to your blog, or the blog that sent it to you, which I think is a very nice gesture. Very simple, see? OR

-email me for the right click code. If you know HTML you can even add your own threatening message (this is like putting a lock on the medicine cabinet with that green "yuck sticker" on the mirror. It may not be fool proof, but it will make it a pain in the butt to steal your Vicodin or Paxil...).

#1.a Note: Concerning your writing, will have to protect that on your own; my suggestion is to always have a backup somewhere other than your blog site, and utilize one of the threatening copyright sites to scare everyone off who might want to take your stuff without asking and post it somewhere else. You really can't stop them, but you can send Vinnie their way and make them think twice (this is like forcing your other teen to have a Chaperon on a date, making sure no one steals your teen's purity and posts it on some malicious bathroom stall, with your phone number...).

#2. Check your Blog for malware!

Face it, your teen has "bling", and adds every contact possible.

Go to this site and follow the directions to check if any of those buttons or widgets or HTML codes you've added just happened to add something else that you didn't want. I think of this like forcing your other teen's potential prom date to be screened for STD's (have you read the STD statistics lately?).

I am sure, that as an EXTRA good parent, many of you demand a "secret password" so when the high school dropout named Spam comes knocking on your door you don't let him in. And, many of you moderate comments, like you do your other teen's music and movie selections.

And who doesn't have a feejit counter! That's like installing a GPS Locator on your other teen's Blackberry, and demanding their MySpace password, but easier...

And of course, change your teen's passwords now and then. That's just obvious...but so is the need to change your underwear daily...not everyone does that, either...

Ok, so check my references, get all paranoid, create mass hysteria, and let me know if I said something that's not quite right OR tell me something I don't know...This is a PBC...a Parent/Blogger Conference for our teens...speak up, I can't hear you!!!



7 comments:

The Retired One said...

Ok...now you have me scared! I just learned how to put things ON my blog, and now I gotta protect them??? Yikes! It's like having that fake baby doll to take care of during a high school class instead of the real baby and then having it magically turn into a real baby. Well, now I know who to go to for advice!!!!

w said...

i have mayerware. what shall i do?

stop checking live feed! you must stop! along with house. stop watching house!

house makes everyone think everything is infected - especially teens. real or not.

Insanitykim said...

Retired One...
It's not so bad...anyone that can bang out Blackberry texting slang like you will have your blog armor-proofed in no time!

W - Mayerware sounds like a var-irus-tan. You can get rid of it by AXing it with your QI...or an OX...or, call your EX, JO and ask him...

"oy"

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tips - I signed up for google webmaster tools - it automatically does this (and other things)daily and generates a report.

How do I protect the pics?

I did have a copyrite thing in my footer.... but i lost my footer... that is what happens when one tries to play with code!

Insanitykim said...

Melissa,

I am not sure in your program, but you must have a link function. I simply click on my photo, then the link button, and add the http:// address of my blog, or whatever site I want the person to be brought to. I have my right-click disable code at the top...that way I won't mess with it! Good luck!

Anonymous said...

thx! will have to try that the next time i upload a pic of the kiddos!!

Insanitykim said...

Good! 'Cause you know I'll check!! ;)

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