Resources
Online Resources To Help Keep You Safe
Online Resources and Information
- National Cyber Security Alliance - Provides free and non-technical cyber security and safety resources
- Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) - A partnership between the FBI, the National white Collar Crime Center, and the Bureau of Justice Assistance
- Snopes.com - Urban Legends References
- FTC National - Do Not Call Registry
Identity Theft
- Federal Trade Commission - Identity Theft Website
- United States Department of Justice - Identity Theft and Fraud
Child Internet Safety
- The NetSmartz Workshop - An online educational resource to help teach child Internet safety, for parents and guardians, kids, and teens
- National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
- CyberTipline - Online reporting tool for child sexual exploitation, reports can also be made at 1-800-843-5678
Recycling Electronics
- E-Wastes Electronic Waste Recycling Center - Free electronics recycling of computers, notebooks, monitors and TV's. E-Wastes is a state certified electroncs recycler and provides a full range of recycling services for consumers and businesses including electronic waste, ferrous and non-ferrous metal (Steel/iron, aluminum, copper, etc.), office and corporate recycling programs.
- E-Cycle Washington - Washington's own free, convenient, and environmentally responsible recycling program. Accepted products include computers, monitors, laptops, tablet computers, televisions, portable DVD players, and e-readers
- King County Solid Waste Division - Information on recycling electronics through the Take It Back Network and fluorescent light bulb recyclers
- Best Buy - Offers electronics and appliance recycling for a wide array of devices for non-commercial entities
SECURITY SOFTWARE AND ONLINE TOOLS TO KEEP YOUR COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SAFE
Every Windows computer needs to run a firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware software. A computer without a firewall is left unprotected and can be hacked in 17 minutes on average. The damages viruses and spyware can inflict include corruption of your data, theft of your financial information and popups and computer slowdowns to the point that your computer is unusable. Only one firewall and one anti-virus program should be installed but multiple anti-spyware programs can be installed.
Anti-Spyware - Top Rated Subscription Programs -worth the small investment
Anti-Spyware - Free programs for non-commerical use
- Microsoft Windows Defender (scheduled scans and real-time protection)
- AVG Anti-Spyware (scheduled scans, no real-time protection after 30 day trial)
- Lavasoft Ad-Aware (manual scans, no real-time protection)
- Spybot Search & Destroy (scheduled scans, no real-time protection)
- Spyware Warrior - List of Rogue/Suspect Anti-Spyware Products & Web Sites
Anti-Virus - Free programs for non-commerical use
- AVG Anti-Virus
- Alwil Software avast!anti-virus Home Edition
- Avira AntiVir
- Spybot Search & Destroy (scheduled scans, no real-time protection)
Firewalls - Free programs for non-commercial use
Firewall Security Test
Online Scanning Tools
- TrendMicro HouseCall, Virus and Spyware scanning on both Windows and MACs
- TrendMicro HijackThis, scans for settings changed by malware
- Sophos Threat Detection Test
- Sophos Application Discovery Tool
- Kaspersky Online Virus and Spyware Scanner
- Panda ActiveScan with TruPrevent for viruses, spyware, and malware
Anti-Root Kit