Spiked Security

Hey!  I’m Spike your furry little security adviser!  That’s me hanging out at my desk in my cage.

Why does my blog exist?

Well every time I leave my cage I run into ordinary people doing un-safe or un-secure things.  No I did not say “insecure,” which I hear way to often, and makes me crazy ,like “NO that computer is not insecure it’s un-secure, it feels good about itself and the way it looks but it has poor security”, but that is the topic for another blog.

So back to why I am typing away today and into the future….  So these ordinary people are doing things that put their financial and personal future at risk and completely compromise their privacy and they don’t even know they are doing it.

The world of corporate and private computing has become so complex that trying to make even the most basic security decisions are scary, fraught with peril, or just plain impossible.  Well I decided to help if I could.

My job outside of my cage is has been as security and systems administration, security manager, security and risk consulting, and now as the Director of Risk Management at InfoGROUP.  My job is to protect the information we use and sell, and to help keep its security in good shape.  Even working with a group of excellent professional IT people this job is not easy. 

I, as many IT people, spend time assisting friends and relatives with their computers and security.

So I decided to help a larger audience.  I worked with the High School Youth Group of my church for a number of years and was constantly horrified when the kids would come up to me and say “Hey, look at my new webpage”.  Now these were good and smart kids but what they put on their web pages gave me the willies.  So I created “the talk” a lecture for youth on safety on the Internet and with electronic media, which included topics like “What are you wearing in that picture?”, “You posted what?”, and “Why do I know where you live?”.  The talk was soon requested beyond my little church group to schools and other churches in the area and even off to a entire school district in another state.  So of course the parents began asking questions too. And the next “talk” was created which was how to keep your self/family/house/life safe on the Internet.  I continue to do that talk at churches, business groups, and organizations around my home. All of that led me to this blog.  This is my way to try to help people navigate the Internet safely.  The comments and advice you will find in this blog are intended to help you, the reader and ordinary person, increase your security and help make your experience on the web safer and more fun.  I hope you find this informative as well as entertaining!  Happy computing from the security cage!

And yes Mom this is my BLOG that I was telling you about …. Not my BLOB as you told my cousins to watch for!!!

The Internet is full of snakes; don’t let them eat you!

- Spike