Links
Web Sites You Should Bookmark
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http://www.digizen.org/ is an excellent site for information on best practices for Internet safety and to report cyberbullying.
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http://www.childnet.com/sorted is a simple to understand site written by an 18 year old. Here you will find useful information on spyware, malware, viruses, and even legitimate web sites (over 200) where you can legally download music.
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http://www.missingkids.com/ is a site that everyone should have bookmarked. Here you can report inappropriate communications or online solicitations to minors.
Identity Theft Protection and Law Suite Protection Services
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Pre-paid Legal offers some of the best protection you can get. For as little as $12/month you can get identity theft protection and for as little as $38/month you get 70 hours of protection from a top rated lawfirm in the event you are ever sued, traffic violation protection, IRS audit protection, and a comprehensive will that is updated every year.
Free Anti-Virus Programs
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Avira Anti-Virus is currently rated the best free anti-virus program by Consumers Reports 2009.
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Avast Anti-Virus is another quality software package which has always received high ratings for effectiveness.
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Comodo Anti-Virus offers not only anti-virus protection, but a nice built in firewall for that added layer of protection.
Free Firewall Software
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ZoneAlarm is probably one of the most popular free firewalls available today. To download the free version, just click on the "Download & Buy" menu item, then choose "Free Downloads".
Free Web Content Filtering Software
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BlueCoat K9 Web Content Filter allows a parent/guardian to restrict web sites by categories, such as sites that may contain pornographic, racist, or even hate speech content. There are many different categories and the makers of this software offer it FREE of charge for personal use and non-profit organizations.
Free Web Reputation Based Filters
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McAfee Site Advisor is an excellent program that works with many different Internet browsers and will display color coded marks next to each web site to let you know how safe the site is.
GREEN = Safe Web Site
YELLOW = Suspect Web Site
RED = DANGEROUS Web Site
Free Maintenance Programs
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Defraggler is a wonderful utility you can use to schedule automatic defragmentation on your hard drive to keep your computer running at its optimum.
The Best Commercial Security Suites
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ESET NOD32 Security Suite is currently the best security suite according to Consumers Report 2009. The price is very low compared to it's major competitors.
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Kaspersky Security Suite is extremely aggressive when it comes to protecting your comptuer, but some users complain that it is a little too intrusive into their customer experience.
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McAfee is one of the more popular anti-virus products out there and is a comfortable option for some users, but still pricey compared to ESET NOD32 and Kaspersky.
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Symantec is probably the most popular anti-virus product on the market, not to mention trail editions are installed on almost any new computer you buy anymore. Once again, solid product but pricey compared to ESET NOD32 and Kaspersky.
