Today, businesses and government agencies should prepare for all of these looming disasters. Each should have an individual plan for disaster recovery. In today’s information-driven world, further disasters can result from power outages and network failures. There should still be time for every business to adjust and respond to risks. In any possible event, there should be uninterrupted and continuous access to either personal or corporate data.

There should be a system for disaster preparedness. For any company, it is a well-known fact that its most important assets are its people. Unquestionably, for these people, their most important asset is their family. Is there a company or agency plan on how to move its people, including their families, if the need arises? Another consideration is to make a communication plan that is timely, clear and honest.

Every company and agency has a host of information that is vital to the uninterrupted course of activities. There should be a data back-up plan which should be verified and validated, and situated out of harm’s way. It should also be accessible to the recovery location. To ensure better data privacy, cloud service is now available for the storage of key data.

There is no certainty as to how long catastrophic events could last. Some may last for days, others for weeks, and still others for months. There have to be options if the facilities, network, technology and people could not be available. It is also very vital to think about those other businesses associated with “parent” companies. Their preparedness has a direct effect on any company or agency because jointly, they form a chain or network. There is more impact if not only one, everybody else involved is well-prepared.

But why are these privacy advocates reacting negatively on the proposed law? The reason is that such legislation would turn each person who uses the internet into a victim. They argue that this law, if passed, would oblige all internet service providers, or ISPs, to track all on line activities of every user and save the information for 18 months. As an additional requirement, ISPs are supposed to store this data together with the user’s name, home address, bank account and credit card numbers, and their assigned IP address.

An argument raised says that tracking all of the user’s internet activities is not the solution to the problem on internet child pornography. Compared to the millions of internet users, there are only very few child pornographers who are hiding online. So why place everyone under “surveillance” where all internet users would become suspects of a crime that most of them would not even think about? Its final effect would be detrimental to freedom of speech and threatening to the online privacy of every American.

Even if someone is not yet under investigation, the law would allow the tracking of that person. The simple reason of doubt would be sufficient enough so that his or her internet history can be accessed by the police. One state representative said that the law would create several risks that far outweigh the benefits that it would give. He is not convinced that it would have a major positive effect in protecting children. But since these are only arguments, it is still possible that the law could be the real solution to the problem of online child pornography.

There are many parents out there who do not realize the need to child-proof these devices. These open the world of the web for children to explore. Parents should make sure that their kids do not stumble upon the unpleasant side of the internet. Kids have vulnerable young minds and there are a lot of “bad” sites online that could cause them permanent harm.

Children who are left without protection might open a Pandora’s Box with their tech toys. The world online contains millions of x-rated web pages, violent videos, websites with disturbing topics from gambling to guns, and many more. Parents should take this seriously and they should look for software that could help sort out the good from the bad.

Parents can make use of available internet safety software for kids. They can choose from those that are made for PCs and Macs, or those for specific mobile devices such as iPods, iPhones, and iPod Touch. It is alright to give tech toys to kids as gifts this Christmas. The thing is that parents have to consider the safety needs that they have to provide for their kids when they surf the net.

You can make your kids happier this Christmas by fulfilling their digital wishes. But before finally wrapping up that tech toy, you should set up the software that will keep him or her safe. After all, kids today cannot stay away from being connected to the internet. Maintaining a healthy relationship between parents and children can help the kids understand why they need online protection. They have to realize that some sites on the internet are not suitable for them.

The same is true with parents who care less about being involved with their children’s online activities. Children nowadays own gadgets that enable them to get connected online at anytime, even in their bedrooms. If kids are just left on their own, these tech gadgets could lead them to become victims of cyber bullying, cyber sex, identity theft, and the likes. It is best if parents, especially mothers, have a thorough understanding of what kind of technology their kids bring into the home.

When a child asks for a new device, game, or phone, parents should get some information from him or her. Before finally giving in to their child’s request, they need to ask some questions. They can start by asking their child about what the device can do. In doing so, they can get an idea about the device and have a “feel” for it. From here, they can decide whether they would be comfortable letting their child have it. It would help a lot if parents can do their own research on the device.

This can take some time for parents to do, but it is worth the effort. The cyber world adds enormous benefits to the lives of children. But it also has its own limitations when it comes to child safety and security. This is one responsibility of parents that cannot be taken for granted. Parents need to exercise parental control over their children’s internet access. They should not be overwhelmed by technology. When this happens, they cannot do their job of protecting their children on line.

The provisions in the 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) contain special requirements for websites that permit the access of children under age 13. These websites must get a parent’s permission before they can collect, use or disclose a child’s personal information. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposes to revise the definition of personal information. The proposal states that this definition should include geographical location data and other identifiers, such as cookies.

There is also a divided opinion as to the extension of coverage of COPPA, specifically the one covering teenagers. Privacy advocates are saying that Congress should include special protection for teens in order to broaden its privacy legislation. There are representatives from at least two states who proposed a more radical legislation. They would go as far as barring websites from tracking children while they are online.

In addition, the idea of a “web eraser” was again brought up. This is an older proposition, wherein businesses used to provide the mechanism for teens to erase their online tracks. With this, any personal information teenagers leave when they browse, especially in social networking sites, would be deleted once they log out.

At their age, teenagers usually commit the online mistake of giving too much personal information on the sites that they visit. They don’t know that these mistakes can haunt them months, or even years, later. The premise of a privacy advocate group is this: kids need more protection than they have right now.

This scared the citizens of that era, around the 1950’s. They grew up in a time where they did not question authority, and this meant the government. This surrender of their will to their government would have made it easy for them to be controlled. Since at about this time  technology was going places that mankind could never have foreseen, Orwell’s fictional world seemed more imminent than ever. Ever since America broke off from the British rulers those decades ago, we have always had a healthy skepticism for any sort of government power. Although the government is not all controlling, people still are prone to views of it taking over and of martial law. The biggest problem and fear people have though is with privacy, and to this extent the government is the least of their worries.

The government has the power to invade our privacy, no doubt about it. Would they really use it though? Probably not. Although 1984 is an excellent novel and recommended reading for anyone and everyone, its ideas did not come to fruition. We have long surpassed the year 1984 and our society, even today, is nothing like Orwell predicted. What he nailed head on though is our dependence on technology, and for this we have to applaud him. Orwell described great systems where people could interact, but it would cost the public most of their anonymity and privacy; sounds like the social networking giants of today? To this end, it is not the government that is going to strip us of all of our privacy, it is ourselves. Instead of the cameras being on every street corner, watching passerby, they are on our web cams, projecting our faces to friends all over the world.

Why did Orwell pronounce these social aspects as a bad thing then?  He saw the dangers of OTHER PEOPLE seeing everything about our lives. This certainly rings true today: think of all of the kidnappings and other crimes that have stemmed from an overly revealing online profile! Unlike the conscientious writer, people do not think of their audience when they put up all of the stuff they do on their personal sites. Many, to complete strangers, leak many sensitive details of their life, and get burned for it later. These sites are arguably the best way for a criminal to find out about you and find out where to strike you. Your Internet site can reveal ways to get into your life that you would never think to tell anyone.

This is due to a principle where humans cannot limit the output they have in non-face to face contact. Nearly everyone suffers from this deadly syndrome, and strangely, no one seems to notice. No one ever seems to think before they post the information they want on their site; no mental screening process occurs. Only the criminals realize, and before you know it, you have just told them your address, and that you won’t be home for the weekend. When you get back, your stash of cash and other valuables might be with a new owner. Although Orwell wasn’t completely accurate in his message, there is still something to be learned. Big Brother is always watching, and alongside him is a crafty hacker, watching, waiting, biding his time till the opportunity for a strike presents itself. Be mindful, don’t give Big Brother your information, and he won’t pass it too the criminal.

Anonymous Proxy to avoid identity theft

Although we did not know it the abstract concept of a grassroots link between users would be manifested to the tangible, yet paradoxically intangible, Internet. This system allowed people to set up their own sites via the WWW service, and brought about many great things. Unfortunately, it is through the Internet that we find ourselves the victims of some of the most creative criminals.

The creation of MySpace, FaceBook, and other social networking sites where people can communicate to one another through personalized profiles and comment, blog, and rate each others own pictures brought about a social revolution. People became addicted to these sites, and soon enough criminals began to notice and try and exploit the general public’s naivete regarding Internet safety. Through the wonderful power of deceit the Internet provides, these ingenious crooks posed as friends of some people, and lured them into the real world to steal, abduct, etc. The more sophisticated criminals even earned themselves a special title of reverence: a hacker. These hackers manipulated computer infrastructure and security systems to go right into people’s documents or bank accounts and take whatever they want.

Some criminals have learned the enigmatic arts of intercepting online conversations, and using the possibly embarrassing information as a blackmail tool, to get the person to pay up or their sensitive secret is spilled to everyone. The zenith of criminal achievement through the hacker is by far identity theft. These hackers, by accumulating certain identifying and personal pieces of information from a person, can actually exploit the power of the Internet to, online, become that person. Very useful if they wish to buy a variety of expensive items online but do not have the money to do so themselves.

What the public doesn’t know and the hackers wish to keep a secret is the anonymous proxy server. This private proxy will enable you to surf the Internet incognito, and have high bit encryption services cover all of your tracks,, so that some hacker cannot get into anything of yours. Surf anonymously online through an anonymous proxy and circumvent even the most creative criminal!

Here are a few protective measures you can take to protect your privacy online.

1. Teach your children that it is dangerous to put personal information on the internet.  Home addresses, phone numbers and social security numbers are some of the very personal information uninformed children my give out that can result in identity theft.  It is very important to explain to your children the dangers of giving out information on the web and set boundaries.

2. Anytime a website is visited look to see if there is a privacy policy.  The privacy policy will inform you how information is collected and how that information is to be used.  It should state that all your private data will be secured and not sold to a third party.  If there is no privacy policy then there’s a good chance that any information you submit will be made available to the public.  So check for a privacy policy before you enter ANY information.

3. Make your passwords difficult, something it would be hard to guess.  Don’t use dictionary words, pet names, children’s names or birth dates.  A combination of numbers and letters are best and get into the habit of changing your passwords once a month for additional security.

4. Don’t fill out any forms online that are not secure.  Secure forms will clearly state that fact.  Unsecured forms will make your information accessible.

5. Keep anti-virus and anti-spyware installed and properly updated on your computer at all times to stop malicious program from collecting and sending private, personal information to a third party.

6. Think before you act and use common sense.  An email saying you’ve won a million dollars and all they need is your bank account number to send it to you is not a safe email.  Don’t let greed cloud your mind.  There are all kinds of scams out here that sound too good to be true, because they are.  Any email asking for personal information is suspect.  These kinds of letter are called “Phishing” letters.  They are fishing for your information.  Don’t bite.

7. Cache memory can be helpful to make your browsing faster, but it can be a potential source of information and tracking.  You should clear your cache often, including cookies, history and other electronic footprints you may have left behind.  This is especially important if you are using a public computer.

As we continue to use the Internet, there will be more online crimes.  Keep yourself safe.  Investing in IP changer software or using a secure anonymous proxy server is an even better way to keep your information and privacy protected.  The criminal element is out there, so stay vigilant.