Protecting The Apostolic Internet Experience
In today's high-tech world where any and all information is available to the seeker at just a few clicks of the mouse on the Internet it is vitally important we take necessary measures to ensure the safety and well-being of our families. Even though the Internet can be a great resource at times, it has also been described as “the most dangerous playground in America” for the unaware.
Anyone sitting in front of an unprotected, Internet connected, computer is placed in a very dangerous position. It doesn’t matter how close you are to God, just one miss-guided click on the Internet can send before the user a vast amount of lewd, perverse, and un-Godly content that can stumble one headlong into despair. This and virus/spyware attacks occur on a daily basis and need combating. Online safety can be acquired through the use of Internet filters, anti-virus programs, and spyware protection software of which will be discussed in this article.
Internet Filters
 As recommended by the UPCI (Computers and the Internet), to filter and monitor your family’s Internet access, Tacoma UPC highly encourages everyone with a computer in the home to install BsafeOnline. This fabulous tool will not only keep your home protected from the many cyber predators present, and will also allow you to control the availability of Internet usage in your home. Visit http://www.bsafeupci.com/ to learn more about this tool.
Another filter available for use is the A+ Hedgebuilders program which was unapologetically designed with Christians in mind. Added free is an option for accountability and reporting that provides an undeletable 3 day history of your Internet activity for your accountability partner to review at any time. Visit http://www.hedgebuilders.com/ to learn more about this tool.
Anti-Virus Programs
 Protecting against viruses is an area of defense that you don’t want to take for granted if you have computers connected to the Internet. This day and age there are dozens of available anti-virus programs out there that will all get the job done. However, you don’t have to pull your hair out trying to figure out which one you would like to use for your online anti-virus protection. There is AVG Anti-Virus FREE Edition, which I have to say, “works just as well, if not better than any other anti-virus program out there”, better yet, it’s free! You can’t go wrong here, visit http://free.grisoft.com to read more and to download.
There is also BitDefender, McAfee, and Norton to name a few of the other top name anti-virus products out there. Of course these all require an annual fee that once all said and done does basically the same thing AVG Anti-Virus FREE Edition does. So you do the math…free or not, its your choice.
Spyware Protection
 Next to anti-virus protection, in order of importance is some good olé spyware protection. This type of protection guards against malicious code from hijacking your Internet browser causing unwanted pop-ups, undesired redirects, un-commanded home page changes, and many more unwanted problems. There is only one program recommended for use in guarding your computer against spyware; Ad-Aware. This program is also FREE and will keep you protected quite efficiently. Visit http://www.lavasoft.com/ to read more and to download.
With a computer using a good combination of an Internet filter, anti-virus program, and spyware protection program you can rest assure that the computing experience of yourself and your family will be protected from digital, spiritual, and psychological damage that can come from using the Internet if certain precautions aren't taken. Below are two more articles that will expand upon the information you have gained from reading Protecting The Apostolic Internet Experience.
- 6 Simple Tips for Online Safety
- Safe Surfing - Protect Your Familiy
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