MLMUG Book Review

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A Book Review
by Linda McNeil

Unwired Book Title: TechTV's Security Alert:
Stories of Real People Protecting Themselves
from Identity Theft, Viruses, and Scams
[...and Plenty of hands-on suggestions for how
you can protect yourself and your loved ones.]
By: Becky Worley
Published by New Riders, Aug 1, 2003; Edition: 1st.
Price: $24.99
Media: Book
ISBN: 0735713529
Pages: 288
Interest: All areas
Copyright: 2004

Criminals today use computers and technology to get past defenses and exploit the vulnerabilities of emerging technologies. These new bad guys travel below the radar, nickel and diming the easy targets who would be too embarrassed or ashamed to publicly admit they got scammed.

It is not just a book full of informative stories of real people. It is a tool that anyone can use to prevent today's technological scams from impacting upon their life and those of their loved ones. Reading about the experiences of others allows the reader to avoid the mistakes made by others.

This is an easy to read text even though it has been printed entirely in black and white. The size of the book (6x9) is easy to hold while reading. The pages have a layout that effectively utilizes white space and variety of content. The use of sidebars to emphasize certain points of information is refreshing. The index is very comprehensive and easy to use when retrieving information. It is accompanied by Homework (the last chapter of the book) in which the author summarizes pertinent facts for the reader.

Here are some of the author's helpful hints:

Install a firewall and turn off file sharing.
To protect your identity put your social security card in a safe place, shred documents that include personal data, keep track of your credit report, and hide your passwords changing them frequently.
When buying online use only safe secure sites.
To protect against viruses install a virus program and be careful to keep virus definition files up to date.
Email scams: if it sounds too good to be true it probably is (This is called the "Magic Mantra").
Be selective with whom you interact online, and use caution.
Protect your family by teaching them about online dangers. Then disable html in your email program so you can control what images open and when.
Last of all, Google yourself and find out what is out there on the net about you.
Take control of your life. Don't wait until it is too late.

There were so many informative examples in this book it is hard to choose the most useful ones. One is: never check your financial data in airports or public libraries. The reason is that some nefarious person located on that local network may be monitoring you with a keylogging program (one that records your keystrokes), allowing them to steal your logon data.

Summary and Comments:
Although today's society has many problems it is not the world of Chicken Little where it is raining computer viruses, identity thefts, and online scams. It is, however, a world where knowledge is power. This book gives readers power to protect themselves by becoming an unappealing target for lurking criminals. When it comes to cybercrime, you must be proactive, not reactive. Take yourself off the easy victims list. Take heed.

Overall rating ***** Excellent

Linda is a Pa. media specialist. She has a master's degree in Library/Media and Curriculum development. She has administered an electronically networked library that contained state of the art equipment utilizing interactive video, digitized images, on-line searching, computer integration, etc. For the past 30+ years she has reviewed books and audiovisual materials for a Tri State YA Reviewing group in Southeast PA. In addition, Linda teaches several online and classroom courses to adults/teachers for the PA Dept. of Education. Linda is also a professional artist (22 lithographs, 120 etchings, graphics, and artist books) and she maintains her own website at www.brushcolor.com.

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