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is a known hoax or not.

Additionally, before passing along a story or photograph it is always a good idea to check the hoax and scam debunking web-sites, such as Snopes: http://www.snopes.com, or Urban Legends and Folklore: http://urbanlegends.about.com/ .
There are many reasons to confirm the veracity of information before passing it along, not the least of which is to avoid making yourself look like a complete idiot when it is discovered that what you sent out as legitimate is in fact a hoax!

Computer Security & Awareness Training

As with any technical subject, computer security is something that must be reviewed on a regular basis. The U.S. Army provides an on-line computer security training course for computer users. This course is an annual requirement for anyone who uses an Army owned/controlled computer, but is available for free to anyone who wants to sign up and work through the course.

Computer Security Training (for Computer Users) -https://ia.gordon.army.mil/is s/default.htm

I recommend that anyone who uses a computer on a regular basis take advantage of this free on-line training.

Conclusion

The on-line world is not an evil and dangerous place, but like the physical world it does have its own threats, vulnerabilities and its own criminal element. The thing that makes the on-line world dangerous is that the computer average user isn't as familiar with the potential problems as he or she is with similar problems in the physical world.

However, by applying the simple privacy and security recommendation in this paper, you will have greater on-line privacy and security than most computer users. Having this additional security can offer you greater peace of mind, and allow you to get a greater benefit for your time in cyber-space.

References

Web-site s and Internet Resources Listed in the Text

Norton Anti-Virus - http://www.symantec.com/home_h omeoffice/products/index.jsp

Mc Afee Corporation - http://us.mcafee.com/root/stor e.asp

AVG Anti-Virus - http://www.grisoft.com/doc/pro ducts-avg-anti-virus-free-edit ion/ww/crp/0

Microsoft Corporation On-line Scan - http://www.microsoft.com/athom e/security/default.mspx.

Stop Sign Anti-Virus - http://www.stop-sign.com/

Webro ot Software Spyware Education Center - http://www.webroot.com/resourc es/spywareinfo/

Spyware defination at Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S pyware

Ad-Aware - http://www.lavasoftusa.com/

Spy bot Search and Destroy - http://www.safer-networking.or g/

Thawte Corporation (Digital Certificates) - http://www.thawte.com/secure-e mail/personal-email-certificat es/index.html

WildID Digital Certificates - http://www.wildid.com/

PGP International - http://www.pgpi.org/

PGP Corportaion - http://www.pgp.com

Fourmilab Switzerland - http://www.fourmilab.ch/javasc rypt/

Anti-Phishing Working Group - http://www.antiphishing.org/

U. S. Treasury (anti-phishing) - http://www.occ.treas.gov/consu mer/phishing.htm

Snopes - http://www.snopes.com

Urban Legends and Folklore - http://urbanlegends.about.com/

U.S. Army Computer Security Training (for Computer Users) - https://ia.gordon.army.mil/iss /default.htm

Non-Internet References

Chesbro, Michael 2000, The Complete Guide to E-Security: Protect Your Privacy on the Internet, Citadel Press, New York, NY

Chesbro, Michael 2001, Freeware Encryption and Security Programs: Protecting Your Computer and Your Privacy, Paladin Press, Boulder, CO

Learn more about this author, Michael Chesbro.
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