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Nov 27, 2018
by Larry Magid The period between Thanksgiving and New Year's eve is a time of giving. One reason is, of course, the holiday spirit. Another is that many charities reach-out during this period, beginning on "Giving Tuesday" — the day after Cyber Monday — and extending till New Year's eve. Another reason, for many tax payers, is that it's the last chance to get a tax deduction by giving to a federally recognized tax-exempt non-profit. For families, consider getting everyone involved. Your children may not know the name of a good charity to support, but they may have a cause or interest that is promoted by a legitimate charity that you can research together. You might want to divide your donation budget into smaller chunks and give to more than one charity or you might want to encourage your children to donate some of their own money to to raise money for a charity through something like a bake sale. You can also donate and raise money via social media, subject to the cautions below. There are some very good causes that advocate political action which are not tax-exempt. That doesn't mean they're not worth giving to, but you won't [...]
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Nov 27, 2018
The period between Thanksgiving and New Year's eve is a time of giving. One reason is, of course, the holiday spirit. Another is that many charities reach-out during this period, beginning on "Giving Tuesday" — the day after Cyber Monday — and extending till New Year's eve. Another reason, for many tax payers, is that it's the last chance to get a tax deduction by giving to a federally recognized non-profit. For families, consider getting everyone involved. Your children may not know the name of a good charity to support, but they may have a cause or interest that is promoted by a legitimate charity that you can research together. You might want to divide your donation budget into smaller chunks and give to more than one charity or you might want to encourage your children to donate some of their own money to to raise money for a charity through something like a bake sale. You can also donate and raise money via social media, subject to the cautions below. Make sure the charity is legitimate and will use your money wisely You will undoubtedly get a lot of pitches via email but, before you donate, make sure they [...]
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Nov 22, 2018
by Larry Magid (this post has been updated for 2018 from previous posts) With the holiday season underway, a lot of people will be shopping online this year. For the most part, it's pretty safe but there are some basic precautions worth remembering. One risk when shopping online is to be sure you're dealing with a legitimate merchant who is not only honest but also exercising a reasonable amount of security. One option is dealing with merchants you know. But event that's no guarantee when it comes to security. Big names and trusted small businesses Big names like Macy's, Amazon, Target and Walmart have reputations to maintain and policies in place but — as millions of people who shopped at Target's brick and mortar stores in 2013 learned, being big doesn't mean they can't suffer from data breaches. Don't necessarily shy away from smaller and less known merchants, who sometimes offer extraordinary customer service and unique products. Plus, you're supporting small businesses. But if you are dealing with a business you've never heard of, do a little research by typing their name into a search engine or customer review site to see what people are saying about them. If they [...]
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Nov 21, 2018
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/connectsafely/2018/11/21/holiday-tech-gifts-for-kids--whats-fun-and-appropriate.mp3 Whether it's "Black Friday," "Cyber Monday" or any other day during late November and December, parents and other adults are looking for holiday gifts to give to children and teens. And this year you'll find plenty of tech gifts from tablets to interactive toys to smart phones or smart speakers. But just because you can get a tech gift for a child or teen doesn't mean you should. Parents and family members need to think about what's age appropriate and how these tech gifts will be used not just during the holidays but throughout the year. There is a lot to think about but, fortunately, Larry Magid and Kerry Gallagher have given this a lot of thought. Larry is CBS News Tech Analyst and CEO of ConnectSafely.org and Kerry is ConnectSafely's Director of K-12 Education and the Assistant Principal for Teaching and Learning at St. John's Prep in Danvers, Massachusetts. Both Kerry and Larry are also parents. Larry's "kids" are young adults and Kerry has two elementary school-aged daughters. Subscribe to ConnectSafely Podcast
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Nov 13, 2018
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/connectsafely/2018/11/13/internet-safety-expert-john-carr-on-protecting-kids-from-inappropriate-content.mp3 listen to Larry Magid and John Carr talk about children's online privacy rights in the UK ConnectSafely's CEO Larry Magid and Secretary of the British Children's Charity's Coalition on Internet Safety's John Carr talk about internet safety for kids in the UK and newly regulated laws to protect children from inappropriate content and the proper education methods to seek information. Subscribe to ConnectSafely Podcast
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Nov 13, 2018
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/connectsafely/2018/11/13/internet-safety-expert-john-carr-on-protecting-childrens-privacy-online.mp3 listen to Larry Magid and John Carr talk about children's online privacy rights in the UK ConnectSafely's CEO Larry Magid and Secretary of the British Children's Charity's Coalition on Internet Safety's John Carr talk about internet safety for kids in the UK and newly regulated laws to protect children from inappropriate content and the proper education methods to seek information. Subscribe to ConnectSafely Podcast
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Nov 04, 2018
My sons are just as smart. On both occasions they deliberately made mistakes entering their passwords and on the first occasion stalled the attackers long enough so as to raise suspicion. When a passing neighbor shouted out across the street, "Everything all right lads?" the thieves fled.
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Nov 02, 2018
Software/apps Microsoft: Controls for Windows 10 & XBox Apple: Parental controls for Macintosh Apple: Parental controls for iOS (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch) Symantec: Norton Family Netnanny: PC, Mac, iOS and Android Google: Android parental controls for Play store Google: Family Link for a parent-controlled Android phone for kids Qustodio: Windows, Mac OS X, Android, iOS, Kindle and Nook. Devices Circle with Disney - Parental Controls and Filters for your Family's Connected Devices Gryphon parental control router Google Wi-Fi router *More resources: Reviews: PC Mag: Lists and reviews of parental control software and apps Fatherly: The Best Parental Control Devices for Safe Internet Browsing Analysis: Internet filters have their place, but not for all kids (from ConnectSafely) ConnectSafely is not responsible for the accuracy of content from external sites
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Nov 01, 2018
Podcast | K-12 Education Director Kerry Gallagher talk about products aimed at families of young children, including the Relay screenless communication device that Kerry and her two young children are using like a walkie-talkie to stay in touch.
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Oct 31, 2018
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/connectsafely/2018/10/24/ncmecs-coo-michelle-delaune-on-how-facebook-combats-so-called-child-porn.mp3 Listen to podcast interview about this with Nat'l Center for Missing & Exploited Children COO Michelle DeLaune By Larry Magid I've been on the board of directors of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) for more than 20 years, and since I've joined the board, I've seen a steady increase in the number of reports to the organization's CyberTipline about online child sexual abuse images (child porn) and other crimes against children. Since the CyberTipLine began receiving reports in 1998, it has processed more than 37 million reports and received more than 10 million reports in 2017 alone. These reports are typically about apparent child sexual abuse images, but they can also be about online enticement, including "sextortion, child sex trafficking and child sexual molestation. The organization employs analysts who have the difficult job of reviewing abusive images and attempting to identify the victims. Over the years, these analysts have reviewed more than 249 million images and videos and have identified more than 15,000 victims, according to a fact sheet on the organization's website. NCMEC also works with law enforcement to help find missing children. It also runs a number of education and prevention programs including NetSmartz, which uses animation and other media [...]
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Oct 24, 2018
ConnectSafely CEO Larry Magid speaks with Michelle DeLaune, senior VP and COO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) about the center's work and new technology being used at Facebook to very quickly identify and remove child sexual abuse images, commonly referred to as "child pornography."
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Oct 24, 2018
Podcast | ConnectSafely CEO Larry Magid speaks with Michelle DeLaune, senior VP and COO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) about the center's work and new technology being used at Facebook to very quickly identify and remove child pornography.
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Oct 22, 2018
by Larry Magid We've all heard the stories about kids spending too much time with their devices or, worse, spending that time doing things online that they probably shouldn't be doing. It's been an issue since I started writing about kids and tech in the early 90s but with the proliferation of phones and tablets — sometimes now getting into the tiny hands of toddlers — the issue has the attention of the media, policy makers and the public. And, as AP writer Michael Liedtke recently reported, even tech luminaries like Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom worry about their kids' use of technology. "Obviously, like anything — whether it's food, or drink — moderation is key," Systrom told the AP. Liedtke interviewed Urban Airship executive Mike Herrick who, "sees his 13-year-old daughter getting lost in her smartphone and wonders: Is technology messing with children's brains, even as it enlightens and empowers them in ways that weren't possible when his generation grew up?" The message about the potential overuse and misuse of technology has reached the campuses of major tech companies including Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft — all of which have made some moves to help parents moderate their kids (and their [...]
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Oct 18, 2018
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/connectsafely/2018/10/18/kurt-beidler-of-amazon-freetime-on-products-for-young-kids.mp3 Listen to Larry Magid and Kurt Beidler discuss Amazon Freetime and it's features aimed at children Amazon FreeTime is monthly subscription that offers thousands of content titles for children ages three to twelve years old. To find out more about the service, its background and how it handles safety and privacy, ConnectSafely.org CEO and CBS News Tech Analyst Larry Magid spoke with Amazon FreeTime Director and General Manager Kurt Beidler
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Oct 18, 2018
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/connectsafely/2018/10/18/kurt-beidler-of-amazon-freetime-on-products-for-young-kids.mp3 Listen to Larry Magid and Kurt Beidler discuss Amazon Freetime and other Amazon products aimed at children Amazon has made a big push when it comes to products for kids. There are special kid-friendly versions of the company's Amazon Fire tablets and its Echo Dot speakers that offer parental controls, lots of extra kid content and even a special "no questions asked" two-year warranty" to protect them from child-induced damage. Amazon also offers FreeTime Unlimited, a monthly subscription that offers thousands of content titles for children ages three to twelve years old. To find out more about the products and services and how Amazon handles safety and privacy, ConnectSafely.org CEO and CBS News Tech Analyst Larry Magid spoke with Kurt Beidler Director and General Manager, Amazon FreeTime, Digital Products for Kids and Families.
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Oct 18, 2018
Podcast | Amazon has made a big push when it comes to products for kids. To find out more about the products and services and how Amazon handles safety and privacy, ConnectSafely.org CEO and CBS News Tech Analyst Larry Magid spoke with Amazon's Kurt Beidler.
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Oct 11, 2018
listen to Larry Magid and Paige Hanson talk about all things security In recognition of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM), ConnectSafely CEO and CBS News Tech Analyst Larry Magid spoke with Paige Hanson, Symantec's Chief of Identity Education about all things security. They not only spoke about the threats, but what people can do to stay safe online.
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Oct 11, 2018
Podcast | ConnectSafely CEO and CBS News Tech Analyst Larry Magid spoke with Paige Hanson, Symantec's Chief of Identity Education about all things security. They not only spoke about the threats, but what people can do to stay safe online.
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Oct 04, 2018
Podcast | K-12 Education Director Kerry Gallagher talk about products aimed at families of young children, including the Relay screenless communication device that Kerry and her two young children are using like a walkie-talkie to stay in touch.
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Oct 04, 2018
Click below to listen
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Sep 26, 2018
As part of the Kids Have Your Say project, coordinated globally by ConnectSafely, Insight , our U.S. partner, My Digital Tat2 convened a meeting of high school students in East Palo Alto, CA on September 19th to talk about what they want the internet to look like. Similar meetings are taking place around the world. If you want to participate, visit SmarterInternet.org for more information. The teens were initially handed a form to write-down their top issues and concerns but they quickly abandoned that approach, feeling like the issues were more nuanced, and instead just talked about their concerns. What emerged was the impression that the internet and mobile technology was working for them. They were getting a great deal out of being online. But, as you might expect, not all was rosy. The teens had their complaints about both institutional issues and online behavioral issues. Authenticity Chief among their concerns was a lack of authenticity, which manifests itself in numerous ways including the posting of incorrect information ("fake news"), being acting and posing in authentic ways ("people putting on a facade"), people saying things "even when they don't know what their talking about." The conversation around manipulating your image online to [...]
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Sep 11, 2018
As Hurricane Florence bears down on the east coast, it's important to make sure that your tech is ready and able to operate even in the event of a power failure. The same goes for earthquakes, tornadoes, impending fires and other disasters.
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Aug 29, 2018
Click Here For Full Guide (PDF) NEW! Click Here For Quick-Guide (PDF) Instagram is a social media app used by more than one billion people around the world to share photos, videos and messages. Whether it's through Stories, Feed, Live, IGTV (an app from Instagram that lets users share longer videos) or Direct, teens use Instagram to celebrate big milestones, share everyday moments, keep in touch with friends and family, build communities of support and meet others who share their passions and interests. It runs on the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch as well as Android phones and tablets. Instagram lets you follow people and be followed by them, but unlike Facebook it's not necessarily a two-way street. You can follow someone even if they don't follow you and vice versa. Users with a private account can control who can follow them. Unless you change the default to private, anyone can see what you post. Posting on Instagram Posting on Instagram is easy: You take a picture or up to 60 seconds of video and have the option to customize it with filters and other creative tools. Then you hit Next to add a caption and location and tag [...]
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Aug 29, 2018
Instagram is a social media app used by more than one billion people around the world to share photos, videos and messages. Whether it's through Stories, Feed, Live, IGTV (an app from Instagram that lets users share longer videos) or Direct, teens use Instagram to celebrate big milestones, share everyday moments, keep in touch with friends and family, build communities of support and meet others who share their passions and interests. It runs on the Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch as well as Android phones and tablets. Instagram lets you follow people and be followed by them, but unlike Facebook it's not necessarily a two-way street. You can follow someone even if they don't follow you and vice versa. Users with a private account can control who can follow them. Unless you change the default to private, anyone can see what you post. Posting on Instagram Posting on Instagram is easy: You take a picture or up to 60 seconds of video and have the option to customize it with filters and other creative tools. Then you hit Next to add a caption and location and tag people in the picture and choose how you want to share - [...]
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Aug 27, 2018
Top results from Google search for ‘Momo Challenge' by Larry Magid Several years ago, David Finkelhor, director of the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center gave a talk and wrote a paper called The Internet, Youth Safety and the Problem of "Juvenoia." His argument, based on his extensive knowledge of actual online risks to children, was that there is an "exaggerated fear about the influence of social change on children and youth," which manifests itself whenever new technology emerges. Back then it was the internet, the web and social media. It still is but now we can add games and mobile apps. The latest bit of hysteria is centering around two stories: a deadly game called Momo Challenge and another called Deleted that The Sun, a British tabloid, called "a chilling new online suicide game targeting kids." Momo Challenge According to the Times of India, "the Momo challenge was initially started on Facebook but is now spreading via Whatsapp." The article describes Momo as "a social media account on WhatsApp, Facebook and Youtube." The paper said that "several web security blogs describe the Momo game as a social engineering attack which may not necessarily be real, but [...]
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Aug 27, 2018
Top results from Google search for ‘Momo Challenge' by Larry Magid Several years ago, David Finkelhor, director of the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center gave a talk and wrote a paper called The Internet, Youth Safety and the Problem of "Juvenoia." His argument, based on his extensive knowledge of actual online risks to children, was that there is an "exaggerated fear about the influence of social change on children and youth," which manifests itself whenever new technology emerges. Back then it was the internet, the web and social media. It still is but now we can add games and mobile apps. The latest bit of hysteria is centering around two stories: a deadly game called Momo Challenge and another called Deleted that The Sun, a British tabloid, called "a chilling new online suicide game targeting kids." Momo Challenge According to the Times of India, "the Momo challenge was initially started on Facebook but is now spreading via Whatsapp." The article describes Momo as "a social media account on WhatsApp, Facebook and Youtube." The paper said that "several web security blogs describe the Momo game as a social engineering attack which may not necessarily be real, but [...]
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Aug 21, 2018
Fake sites with web addresses designed to trick people (Source: Microsoft) Microsoft's revelation that websites controlled by a group with ties to the Russian government is not only a warning to political operatives from both parties, but to everyone who receives email or goes to websites. Realistic looking URLs The sites in question used domain names that were similar — but not identical — to prominent conservative think tanks in an attempt to lure people into visiting those sites. One example of a fake site was "Hudsonorg-my-sharepoint.com," which included the the name and URL (web address) of Hudson Institute whose real URL is Hudson.org. Another is my-iri.org, a spoof site posing as the International Republican Institute whose actual URL is IRI.org. Here's Microsoft's blog post about what they found and their continued efforts to "help protect the democratic process." Look at web addresses carefully My warning: Look at the web address of any site before you click or provide any information. If you get an email asking you to visit a site, examine the URL before you click on it. Usually (though not always) the organization's name will be just before the .com, .org or .net. And most prominent organization's [...]
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Aug 17, 2018
1. What's protected by copyright and what isn't? The U.S. Copyright Office says that copyright "protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture." Copyright does not protect "facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation," although it may protect the way these things are expressed. The fact that the war in 1812 started in 1812 is not copyrighted, but a specific article or paper analyzing the war could be. Anything published, recorded or filmed prior to 1923 is no longer covered by its original copyright. 2. What does someone have to do to protect a work with copyright? Create something. Original works are protected by copyright automatically, once they are created and put in tangible form. You don't need to register them with the U.S. Copyright Office, but you can if you want a public record of your ownership of the copyright to exist. A copyright mark © is not required. 3. What is ‘Fair Use' and how does it protect the right to use certain copyrighted material? In an educational setting, "Fair Use" often permits students or educators to use portions of someone else's copyrighted work [...]
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Aug 16, 2018
By Larry Magid When I was in high school, the only way to copy someone else's work was to painstakingly retype or re-write it from a book, periodical or another student's paper. Today it's as simple as copy and paste. That has many publishers and educators worried. Educators worry about plagiarism, lack of integrity and loss of learning opportunity by those who take the lazy way out by stealing other people's work. Publishers, along with those in the music and video industries, worry about the theft of their intellectual property and potential loss of revenue. But unlike most of the ink in books and newspapers, it's not all black and white. There is such a thing as "fair use," that actually protects the rights of students, educators, journalists and others to use copyrighted material without having to ask for permission. There are also works that are not copyrighted or licensed specifically to be reused. I say this not to encourage the mere copying of other people's work, but to point out that one cannot only be legal but also creative by using material from others to add value to what they create. My nonprofit, ConnectSafely.org, has just published a free [...]
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Aug 16, 2018
By Larry Magid When I was in high school, the only way to copy someone else's work was to painstakingly retype or re-write it from a book, periodical or another student's paper. Today it's as simple as copy and paste. That has many publishers and educators worried. Educators worry about plagiarism, lack of integrity and loss of learning opportunity by those who take the lazy way out by stealing other people's work. Publishers, along with those in the music and video industries, worry about the theft of their intellectual property and potential loss of revenue. But unlike most of the ink in books and newspapers, it's not all black and white. There is such a thing as "fair use," that actually protects the rights of students, educators, journalists and others to use copyrighted material without having to ask for permission. There are also works that are not copyrighted or licensed specifically to be reused. I say this not to encourage the mere copying of other people's work, but to point out that one cannot only be legal but also creative by using material from others to add value to what they create. My nonprofit, ConnectSafely.org, has just published a free [...]
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Aug 16, 2018
By Kerry Gallagher, J.D., Larry Magid, Ed.D. and David Sohn, J.D. To print, click for Full Guide (PDF) Whether they're working in class or at home, students are accessing, viewing, creating, and sharing media as part of their day-to-day academic experiences. All of this is made possible by near ubiquitous access to digital devices and internet in schools and homes. While teachers are conscious of plagiarism when student products are in the form of research papers, the complicated areas of copyright, fair use, and open access creative works (such as Creative Commons or public domain) are less familiar but are just as important. Now that our students are creating and remixing audio, video, text and images to "show what they know" it is essential that they are doing all of this with a clear understanding of their own rights and the rights of other creators or owners of content. There was a time when copyright issues were only of interest to media professionals with resources, back when very few people had the capacity to create professional quality video or audio or even printed documents. Now, anyone with a computer or a smartphone has the tools to create, edit and share professional [...]
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Aug 16, 2018
By Kerry Gallagher, J.D., Larry Magid, Ed.D. and David Sohn, J.D. To print, click for Full Guide (PDF) Whether they're working in class or at home, students are accessing, viewing, creating, and sharing media as part of their day-to-day academic experiences. All of this is made possible by near ubiquitous access to digital devices and internet in schools and homes. While teachers are conscious of plagiarism when student products are in the form of research papers, the complicated areas of copyright, fair use, and open access creative works (such as Creative Commons or public domain) are less familiar but are just as important. Now that our students are creating and remixing audio, video, text and images to "show what they know" it is essential that they are doing all of this with a clear understanding of their own rights and the rights of other creators or owners of content. There was a time when copyright issues were only of interest to media professionals with resources, back when very few people had the capacity to create professional quality video or audio or even printed documents. Now, anyone with a computer or a smartphone has the tools to create, edit and share professional [...]
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Aug 14, 2018
This is a test post
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Aug 14, 2018
Tips and advice Tips for Dealing with Teen Sexting Advice on Sexting, Sextortion and Revenge Porn FAQ on ‘Sexting' and ‘Sextortion Articles: Panic over teen sexting is overblown Sexting & the plummeting teen pregnancy rate Researcher sets the record straight on teen sexting
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Aug 05, 2018
Come back soon for some exciting news
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Aug 01, 2018
Facebook has announced tools to enable both Facebook and Instagram users to better manage the time they spend using those apps. That will include an activity dashboard, a daily reminder and enhanced ways to limit notifications. In a post, Ameet Ranadive, Product Management Director at Instagram, and David Ginsberg, Director of Research at Facebook said "We have a responsibility to help people understand how much time they spend on our platforms so they can better manage their experience." They added, "t's not just about the time people spend on Facebook and Instagram but how they spend that time. It's our responsibility to talk openly about how time online impacts people — and we take that responsibility seriously." How to access controls: These tools are being rolled soon and, once implemented, you can access the tools from the setting page on either Instagram or Facebook: On Instagram. tap our Activity," and on Facebook, tap "Your Time on Facebook." At the top, you'll see a dashboard showing your average time for that app on that device. Tap any bar to see your total time for that day. Below the dashboard, you can set a daily reminder to give yourself an alert when you've [...]
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Aug 01, 2018
Facebook has announced tools to enable both Facebook and Instagram users to better manage the time they spend using those apps. That will include an activity dashboard, a daily reminder and enhanced ways to limit notifications. In a post, Ameet Ranadive, Product Management Director at Instagram, and David Ginsberg, Director of Research at Facebook said "We have a responsibility to help people understand how much time they spend on our platforms so they can better manage their experience." They added, "t's not just about the time people spend on Facebook and Instagram but how they spend that time. It's our responsibility to talk openly about how time online impacts people — and we take that responsibility seriously." How to access controls: These tools are being rolled soon and, once implemented, you can access the tools from the setting page on either Instagram or Facebook: On Instagram. tap our Activity," and on Facebook, tap "Your Time on Facebook." At the top, you'll see a dashboard showing your average time for that app on that device. Tap any bar to see your total time for that day. Below the dashboard, you can set a daily reminder to give yourself an alert when you've [...]
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Aug 01, 2018
by Larry Magid A new smartphone app, Goya-Move is "designed to get children off their mobile devices and moving again." The company says that its app allows parents to: Set a daily or hourly step goal for their children. Block specific apps that will be timed out until the desired step goal is reached by the child Set block-out times Set and enforce "fun or challenging" goals The founders of Goya-Move said their "goal was not to punish our children by taking their phones away, rather teach them about screen time moderation and accountability." They further say (and I agree) "by taking our children's phones away as punishment, we have now lost the ability to communicate with our children, track our children and give them access to a secure way to communicate in an escalated situation. By the way, if you do track your child's phone or any of their activities, talk with them about it first. Never do it in stealth mode because, if you have to follow up, you don't want that conversations starting with their surprise that you've "invaded my privacy." There is both an iOS and Android version.
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Jul 31, 2018
Asiseeit/iStock. By Kerry Gallagher, J.D., Larry Magid, Ed.D. and David Sohn, J.D. Click Here For Full Guide (PDF) Whether they're working in class or at home, students are accessing, viewing, creating, and sharing media as part of their day-to-day academic experiences. All of this is made possible by near ubiquitous access to digital devices and internet in schools and homes. While teachers are conscious of plagiarism when student products are in the form of research papers, the complicated areas of copyright, fair use, and open access creative works (such as Creative Commons or public domain) are less familiar but are just as important. Now that our students are creating and remixing audio, video, text and images to "show what they know" it is essential that they are doing all of this with a clear understanding of their own rights and the rights of other creators or owners of content. There was a time when copyright issues were only of interest to media professionals with resources, back when very few people had the capacity to create professional quality video or audio or even printed documents. Now, anyone with a computer or a smartphone has the tools to create, edit and share [...]
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Jun 29, 2018
It's been obvious for awhile that we're starting to experience a tech backlash, with an increasing number of people expressing skepticism over whether our devices and social media are doing us harm. Some of this skepticism can be healthy when, for example, it leads to people tightening up their privacy settings or putting down their phones and stepping away from their computers for quality time with friends and family. But, as a couple of recent surveys have found, it's also starting to cause people to think more about regulating technology companies.
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Jun 22, 2018
This post first appeared in the San Jose Mercury News by Larry Magid Two recent news stories about cell phone location services recently caught my eye. One was a positive development and the other quite negative, until it was at least partially fixed. The positive story is that Apple's iOS 12 operating system for iPhone will enable users to "automatically and securely" share their location data with 911 call centers and first responders. The negative story revealed that cell phone carriers were selling real-time customer location information to data brokers who sold that information to law enforcement and others, without necessarily going through those annoying and time consuming formalities such as court orders. In response to the controversy, the major carriers are stopping the practice. Locations disclosed without consent or court order In a letter to AT&T president Randall Stephenson, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said that he "recently learned that Securus Technologies, a major provider of correction facility telephone services, purchases real-time location information from major wireless carriers and provides that information, via a self-service portal, to the government with nothing more than a pinky promise." Wyden also went after Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint. So far, Verizon, AT&T and Sprint have announced that they will [...]
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Jun 07, 2018
By Larry Magid This post first appeared in the Mercury News As the founder of SafeKids.com and co-founder of ConnectSafely.org, I've written volumes about parental controls that help parents limit what their kids can do online or with mobile devices. Apple already offers optional parental controls for iPhones and iPads, but with the upcoming release of its new mobile operating system, iOS 12, the company is enhancing those controls and — more interesting — extending them to adult users. Don't worry grown-ups, you still have control over what you can do with your devices, but with a new feature called Screen Time along with updates to notifications and Do Not Disturb, the company is doing a lot more to encourage breaks and help users understand how much they are using their devices and apps. Google also offers parental controls on its Android phones and, in May, introduced its own set of "wind down" features for adults. What sets Apple apart is that the tools for parents and children are similar to the ones for adults. The main difference is that the parental version allows parents to monitor and limit their kids' usage. I applaud Google and Apple for helping us put a [...]
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Jun 01, 2018
By Maureen Kochan and Larry Magid, Ed.D. Click Here For Full Guide (PDF) If your kids love to play online games, one of the names you may be hearing about a lot lately is Roblox. Launched in 2006, Roblox's popularity among gamers 8-years-old and up has exploded, and it is now one of the top online entertainment platforms for kids and teens, according to comScore. But Roblox isn't actually a game. It's a platform that allows anyone to create their own online games by using its game design tool known as Roblox Studio. In a way, Roblox is similar to YouTube - it gives people the tools to create digital content and a place to share and enjoy content from others. Creators have published millions of games on the platform, which is available on Xbox One, personal computers, iOS, Android and Kindle Fire devices, as well as virtual reality headsets. The most popular games attract hundreds of thousands of players each day. Top games like Jailbreak can attract more than 100,000 concurrent players at peak times. Entertainment Platform for Play Roblox games are social, multiplayer experiences. In fact, Roblox could be your child's first experience with digital socializing. Players can [...]
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May 31, 2018
This post first appeared in the San Jose Mercury News by Larry Magid A new survey from Pew Research found that Snapchat is now the social media app that teens use most often, followed closely by YouTube. A slight majority (51 percent) still uses Facebook, but that's down from 71 percent compared with Pew's 2014-2015 survey. The report, Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018 is based on a nationally representative sample of 1,058 parents and 743 teens. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, is growing among teens. It's now used by 72 percent, up from 52 percent in 2015. Nearly seven in 10 (69 percent) of teens use Snapchat, up from 41 percent in 2015. But the more interesting statistics aren't so much the number of users of each service but the number of teens who use them most often. Facebook was once the dominant platform for young Americans, but that honor now goes to Snapchat, which 32 percent of teens say they use most often. It's followed by YouTube, which is the most commonly used app by 32 percent of teens followed by Instagram (15 percent) with Facebook at 10 percent and Twitter a distant 3 percent. Although many teens [...]
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May 31, 2018
By Larry Magid This post first appeared in the San Jose Mercury News Listen to Larry Magid's CBS News Radio interview with the study's lead author, Monica Anderson A new survey from Pew Research found that Snapchat is now the social media app that teens use most often, followed closely by YouTube. A slight majority (51 percent) still uses Facebook, but that's down from 71 percent compared with Pew's 2014-2015 survey. That's probably no surprise but what I find amazing is that nearly half (45 percent) of teens say they are online "almost constantly." When you add in the 24 percent that say they go online "several times a day," the survey reveals that 89 percent are heavy users. Girls are more likely (50 percent) to be online constantly compared with boys (39 percent) and the report said "Hispanic teens are more likely than whites to report using the internet almost constantly (54 percent vs. 41 percent). The report, Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018 is based on a nationally representative sample of 1,058 parents and 743 teens. Instagram growing Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, is growing among teens. It's now used by 72 percent, up from 52 percent in 2015. [...]
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May 28, 2018
The FBI recommends "any owner of small office and home office routers power cycle (reboot) the devices." It's in response to a malware threat called VPNFiler that can render routers inoperable and potentially steal information, according to the bureau. There is also the risk of your home or business network infecting other networks.
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May 27, 2018
Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) kicked in on Friday, May 25th, and its impact will be felt not just in Europe but around the world — especially in Silicon Valley, where many tech companies are based. That's because the GDPR's rules affect any company that touches data from European citizens, which is pretty much every tech company. It could also have a negative impact on some European teenagers.
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May 17, 2018
by Larry Magid This post first appeared in the Mercury News I'm about to report on some interesting numbers from Facebook regarding inappropriate material it deleted from its service, but first I'd like to warn users about the types of materials you may be providing not just to Facebook but to third-party developers. Beware of apps bearing ‘insight' You have undoubtedly heard about the scandal where data from tens of millions of Facebook users were collected by a researcher, via a personal quiz called "thisisyourdigitallife" and turned over to Cambridge Analytica for the benefit of the Trump campaign. And now, according to New Scientist, another personality quiz app called myPersonality exposed personal data of 3 million Facebook users, including "the results of psychological tests." I'll give you the same advice that I give my friends and family. Don't take these tests and quizzes, regardless of whether you find them on Facebook, in the Apple or Android app store or on the web. It may be fun to find out what type of animal you resemble or who among your friends is a true soulmate, but there is a reason that developers of these apps have invested in something they're letting people use [...]
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May 10, 2018
By Larry Magid This article first appeared in the San Jose Mercury News. The common expression "too much of a good thing" can apply to almost everything that we enjoy, including the internet and mobile devices. My grandparents understood that, but apparently, many of my contemporaries don't when it comes to tech. I'm guilty as well. I can think of many occasions when I've sat down at my computer or started gazing at my mobile phone, only to realize hours later that I've just wasted the better part of an evening. Of course, the companies that make those "good things," want you to use them as much as possible, but — whether because of pressure or because of a newfound awareness, Google has gotten the message and soon will offer Android users tools to check how much time they're spending in apps, how often they're unlocking their phones and how many notifications they receive. Android users will also get a more robust "do not disturb" feature, including a "shush" gesture that automatically puts the phone into do-not-disturb mode when you turn it over. Android also gets a "wind down" feature that "gets the phone ready for bed," by either activating [...]
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May 07, 2018
Guidance for parents and young people on cyberbullying, including advice for ending (or preventing) the cycle of aggression. For a more comprehensive look, see A Parents' Guide to Cyberbullying. For kids and teens Know that it's not your fault. What people call "bullying" is sometimes an argument between two people. But if someone is repeatedly cruel to you, that's bullying and you mustn't blame yourself. No one deserves to be treated cruelly. Don't respond or retaliate. Sometimes a reaction is exactly what aggressors are looking for because they think it gives them power over you, and you don't want to empower a bully. As for retaliating, getting back at a bully turns you into one - and can turn one mean act into a chain reaction. If you can, remove yourself from the situation. If you can't, sometimes humor disarms or distracts a person from bullying. Save the evidence. The only good news about bullying online or on phones is that it can usually be captured, saved, and shown to someone who can help. You can save that evidence in case things escalate. Tell the person to stop. This is completely up to you - don't do it if you [...]
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May 07, 2018
"Sexting" usually refers to the sharing of nude or semi-nude and sexually provocative photos via mobile phones, but it can happen on other devices and the Web too. First of all, research shows most teens don't "sext." And most of those who do experience no negative consequences. But for teens who do sext, there are both psychological and legal risks, especially if coercion is involved and the images wind up being distributed beyond their intended audience. Sexting is certainly not just a teen issue, but these tips are specifically for teens and parents of teens. Scroll down for tips for both parents and teens. Various causes: The reasons teens "sext" vary widely. In some cases it's a form of flirting or a way of showing affection for a boyfriend or girlfriend or someone the teen is interested in dating. Sometimes it's impulsive behavior, perhaps at a party or when under the influence of drugs or alcohol. There are also cases where the teen is responding to peer pressure, bullying or even threats. In rarer cases, adults solicit images from teens. Some teens view sexting as a form of "safe sex" because, unlike physical sex, there is no risk of pregnancy or [...]
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May 07, 2018
Some 95% of Americans own cellphones of some kind, according to Pew Research Center - among 18- to 29-year-olds, the number is a whopping 100%. But no matter your age, there are some basic ideas for keeping mobile phone use safe and constructive: Share with care. Use the same good sense about what you post from your phone as from a computer. Once they're posted, text, photos, and video are tough to take back, can be copied and pasted elsewhere, and are up there pretty much forever. Think about the people in them (including you!). Reputations are at stake. Phones are personal. Letting other people use your phone when you're not around is like letting them have the password to your social network profile. They can impersonate you, which gives them the power to mess with your reputation and relationships. Lock your phone when you're not using it, and use strong and unique passwords for all your apps. Keep it kind. Because people socialize on cellphones as much as online, cyberbullying can be mobile too. Treat people on phones and the web the way you would in person, and the risk of being bullied goes down. Be aware, too, of people [...]
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May 06, 2018
Interacting with old and new friends Be kind online. It's OK to disagree, but don't be disagreeable. Be cautious about sarcasm and humor. Something that may be funny in person, could be misinterpreted online If you get together with someone you first met online, have the first meeting is in a public place. Know how to report abuse or block anyone who bothers you and others on social media Be weary of anyone who says you or a family member owes them money, unless you are sure they are legitimate. Security Use strong and unique passwords (more at connectsafely.org/passwords) Don't click on links in emails. They can be fake and lead you to malicious sites. Type in the web address yourself. When in doubt call the bank or other company that sent you the email. Make sure your phone is locked. Secure your smartphone with a PIN (4 digit number), password, fingerprint or other method. Don't respond to anyone who tells you your computer is infected with a virus even if they claim they're with Microsoft, Apple or your internet provider. Shopping, banking, donating and contests If it sounds too good to be true, it's too good to be true. [...]
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May 06, 2018
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May 04, 2018
The safest way to avoid a picture getting into the wrong hands is to never take it, allow it to be taken, or share it. Sadly, there are cases (sometimes called "revenge porn") where someone shares pictures meant only for them — sometimes after a breakup. Never take and send an image of yourself because you were pressured, even from someone you care about. If there is an inappropriate sexual image of you online, see if you can get it taken down. Many apps and services will remove such images upon request If someone sends you a sexual image, do not share, post or forward it. It's a violation of trust and you could be breaking the law. If it's an image of a minor, you could be committing a very serious crime. If the image isn't meant for you or you feel it's inappropriate or possibly illegal, delete it from your devices and any online storage. If a stranger (or possibly even someone you know) asks you to take a revealing picture, it could be a scam that could lead to further demands and threats ("sextortion"). Do not respond and consider reporting it to the police and, if it [...]
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May 04, 2018
A strong password is your first line of defense against intruders and imposters. Scroll down for a video based on these tips. Never give out your password to anyone.* Never give it to friends, even if they're really good friends. A friend can - maybe even accidentally - pass your password along to others or even become an ex-friend and abuse it. Don't just use one password. It's possible that someone working at a site where you use that password could pass it on or use it to break into your accounts at other sites. Newest advice: Use a pass phrase. Security experts are now recommending a "pass phrase" rather than simply a password. Such a phrase should be relatively long - perhaps 20 characters or so and consist of seemingly random words strung together along with numbers, symbols and upper and lower case letters. Think of something that you can remember but others couldn't guess such as YellowChocolate#56CadillacFi$h. that's relatively long - perhaps 20 characters or so — using seemingly random words strung together along with numbers, symbols and upper and lower case letters. Think of something that you can remember but others couldn't guess such as YellowChocolate#56CadillacFi$h. Avoid using famous quotations that might [...]
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May 03, 2018
In a statement, Twitter urged users to change their passwords after disclosing "Due to a bug, passwords were written to an internal log before completing the hashing process." Hashing replaces the actual password with a version that can't be read by a human being. The company said that it has "fixed the bug, and our investigation shows no indication of breach or misuse by anyone." The company offers the following password advice Change your password on Twitter and on any other service where you may have used the same password. Use a strong password that you don't reuse on other websites. Enable login verification, also known as two factor authentication. This is the single best action you can take to increase your account security. Use a password manager to make sure you're using strong, unique passwords everywhere. You'll find more advice at ConnectSafely's Tips for Strong, Secure Passwords & Other Authentication Tools
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Apr 26, 2018
by Larry Magid This post first appeared in the San Jose Mercury News Amazon is going after the little-kids' market, and I think that's just fine. The company has long offered a children's version of its popular Fire Tablet and now offers Alexa content aimed at young users. Amazon recently beefed up its parental controls for its FreeTime children's content service giving parents access to activity reports on their kids' internet use. It also allows parents to set time limits and educational goals and shares tips on how to talk to children about the content they access. On Wednesday, Amazon announced that it's bringing its FreeTime service to Alexa and will soon start selling an Echo Dot Kids Edition, which combines an Echo Dot voice activated speaker, FreeTime features and a year's subscription to FreeTime Unlimited. The Unlimited service offers premium content from Disney, Nickelodeon, Sesame Street, PBS Kids and Cartoon Network. Amazon calls Alexa "a kid-friendly DJ, comedian, and storyteller." I know several parents whose kids love Alexa not only for her ability to play music but to tell jokes (often pretty bad ones) and stories and turn lights and devices on and off. Someday kids might think of light switches the [...]
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Apr 21, 2018
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Apr 09, 2018
Facebook is in the process of notifying users whether their personal information may have been accessed by Cambridge Analytica. Starting today, users will see one of two notices. The one on the right will go to people if one or more of their friends used the app This is Your Digital Life," which passed the information on. The notice on the left will go to other users to help them determine what apps they've used and what information those apps may know about them.
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Mar 30, 2018
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Mar 29, 2018
Few things stoke anxiety and confusion among parents like the topic of screen time. But experts are increasingly urging parents - and the people who work with kids - to relax, and focus not just on how much they're using screens, but how they're using them. High school digital learning specialist and ConnectSafely K-12 director of education Kerry Gallagher took this message to a group of educators recently at the ASCD Empower18 conference. Kerry focused on the changing research and education around screen time. Watch her presentation:
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Mar 29, 2018
by Larry Magid This post first appeared in the San Jose Mercury News Last week I wrote about Facebook's rather complicated privacy settings and, as I said at the time, "I wish it weren't necessary for me to write this column." I actually had two reasons for saying that. One is because I believe that Facebook should turn on more privacy features by default and second, because Facebook makes it too complicated to find and configure your privacy settings. I'm not sure if Facebook plans to address my first issue but, based on a statement posted Wednesday by Facebook Vice President and Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan and Ashlie Beringer, vice president and deputy general counsel, the company apparently agrees that "It's time to make our privacy tools easier to find." Egan and Beringer acknowledged that privacy controls are now "spread across nearly 20 different screens," and pledged to make things a lot easier going forward by making them accessible on a single page. Perhaps the most important part of their announcement is making it easier to "review what you've shared and delete it if you want to." It's always been possible to delete your posts, but there is a significant difference between possible and [...]
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Mar 26, 2018
Fake contests are almost as bad as fake news, but this one is real. It's called What's Your Story? and the Grand Prize is $10,000. Here's how to enter.
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Mar 21, 2018
There have been a lot of news stories about Facebook privacy, including personal information being collected and provided to political campaigns. Fortunately, there are ways to control your privacy on Facebook but it doesn't happen automatically. You have to take steps to make it happen. Unless otherwise noted, these instructions apply to the web. All of these controls are also available on mobile but the actual instructions may be a little different Controlling audience for your posts The first thing you need to do is to be sure that your posts are reaching only your desired audience. You do that on a post-by-post basis through the audience setting on the bottom of each post, just to the left of the Post button. On mobile it will be above your post and just below your name. If you click on button (it might say Friends or something else) you'll see several options including Public, Friends, Friends except (you can specify who shouldn't see it), Only me, specific friends or custom. This gives you an enormous amount of granular control. You could, for example create a list of friends or family members and send a specific post just to them. Note that [...]
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Mar 21, 2018
There have been a lot of news stories about Facebook privacy, including personal information being collected and provided to political campaigns. Fortunately, there are ways to control your privacy on Facebook but it doesn't happen automatically. You have to take steps to make it happen.
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Mar 21, 2018
There have been a lot of news stories about Facebook privacy, including personal information being collected and provided to political campaigns. Fortunately, there are ways to control your privacy on Facebook but it doesn't happen automatically. You have to take steps to make it happen.
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Mar 19, 2018
As you may have heard, Facebook has acknowledged that data from Facebook users wound up in the hands of Cambridge Analytica and then to the Trump campaign. Controlling data accessible to apps In this case, the culprit was a Facebook app which, like many apps on the service, gathers personal data as a matter of course. And while Facebook may be in the process of tightening its controls over how these apps operate, it remains essential for users to be aware of what apps they're using and what information they collect. You can view and control the data apps collect by going to the App Settings page that can can access as follows: Web: Click on down arrow to the right of your Facebook home page, select settings and select Apps from the left column. That brings up a page for your installed apps. Click on an app to see and edit permissions Mobile: Click on the 3 horizontal lines (upper right Android and bottom of iOS screen) to bring up the menu and scroll down and click Account Settings and then Apps. Tap on an app to view and edit its privacy settings.
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Mar 01, 2018
More than 200 students from Austin Independent School District were on hand February 6th for the official U.S. celebration of Safer Internet Day. The day began with welcome addresses from ConnectSafely CEO Larry Magid and National PTA President James Accomando followed by remarks by Austin Independent School District superintendent Paul Cruz. Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn was the keynote speaker. Another highlight was the "Youth & Tech Industry Issues in Perspective" panel, with representatives of Google, Facebook and After School along with two student leaders from Austin. Students and industry discuss social media privacy. Another session, "A Teen Who Doesn't Just Play Games - He Builds Them," featured Austin American-Statesman reporter Omar Gallega interviewing 19-year-old college student and Roblox developer Andrew Bereza, who — beginning at age 15 — has been earning substantial income and sharing his enthusiasm as a Roblox game developer. But the event was more than students listening to speakers. After lunch, everyone rolled up their sleeves for "You Are An Internet Activist," where students, in small groups, created their own media campaigns to spread awareness on the importance of media literacy. See the results of the students' efforts here. Students working on awareness materials about the importance [...]
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