More than this, you should feel secure online if you regularly keep your computer’s operating system updated with the recommended patches and also on a regular basis update the anti-virus software. This is crucial as hackers and spammers are always finding new ways to penetrate computers, and it will be only wise to be ahead of them.

On a wireless network, you can feel safe when using the Internet if you use encryption, Wi-Fi protected access, have switched off SSID broadcast and of course a password to access the wireless access point. With these measures in place, freeloaders, hackers and eavesdropping can be kept at bay.

Being safe online does require some effort but not many people are aware that they need to do all these to protect themselves from online criminals and have a safe online experience. A random check with friends and family revealed that many go online without giving much thought about Internet security.

While the tech savvy may be aware, there is a need to educate and constantly remind other users to take responsibility and be safe online. Perhaps, just like the road safety campaigns, we ought to have online safety campaigns to constantly remind the naive and careless. In the United Kingdom, Nov 12 to 16 is Get Safe Online Week. It is organised by GetSafeOnline.org which is sponsored by the British government and leading businesses.

The aim of the programme is to make people realise that they have to take responsibility and do their bit to stay safe online. The Get Safe Online campaign will be travelling around the UK offering independent, expert advice on how users can stay safe and secure when using the Internet. As the saying goes, better safe than sorry.

Source: NST

Technorati Tags: shaztraz, safety, online, spyware, virus

The Zeitgeist for Malaysia – the most popular and fastest-rising search terms that people have been typing into google.com.my in 2007 – is calculated by looking at the aggregation of the most popular and fastest-rising search queries being typed into the google.com.my search box.

Following are the full results:

TOP SEARCHES IN 2007
1. friendster
2. youtube
3. berita harian
4. myspace
5. harian metro
6. utusan malaysia
7. wikipedia
8. airasia
9. maybank2u
10. jobstreet

FASTEST RISING SEARCHES IN 2007
1. youtube
2. facebook
3. firefly
4. esnips
5. mobik
6. veoh
7. transformers
8. friendster layout
9. heroes
10. tudou (largest video sharing in Mandarin)

Top Searches for Famous People/Celebrities
1. siti nurhaliza
2. paultan
3. paris hilton
4. britney spears
5. akon
6. avril lavigne
7. nurin jazlin
8. jeff ooi
9. megan fox
10. altantuya

Top Searches for Destinations
1. genting
2. langkawi
3. singapore
4. penang
5. bali
6. cameron highland
7. melaka
8. port dickson
9. bukit tinggi
10. kuala lumpur

Top Searches for Online Entertainment Activity
1. Friendster (social networking)
2. youtube (video site)
3. myspace (social networking)
4. games (free online games)
5. naruto (Japanese anime)
6. metacafe (video site)
7. facebook (social networking)
8. imeem (music, photo, video site)
9. photobucket (photo & video site)
10. lowyat (Malaysian tech enthusiast resource community)

Top Searches for Football
1. soccernet
2. epl (English Premier League)
3. manchester united
4. arsenal
5. liverpool
6. chelsea
7. uefa (Union of European Football Association)
8. fantasy premier league
9. fantasy football
10. fam (Football Association of Malaysia)

Top Searches for Movies/TV program/Radio
1. gsc
2. tgv
3. transformers
4. heroes
5. radioblog
6. era
7. prison break
8. cineleisure
9. hitfm
10. high school musical

Top Searches for Games
1. miniclip
2. barbie
3. maplesea – cartoon games
4. pokemon – cartoon games
5. sudoku
6. gamespot 305 – source for games from playstation, xbox, wii, etc
7. runescape
8. utopia
9. ghost online
10. animax

Top Searches for Tech Gadgets
1. mp3 135
2. iphone
3. nokia 6300

Top Searches in Malay Language
1. jawatan kosong (job vacancy)
2. resepi (recipes)
3. akademi fantasia (local entertainment show)
4. mat rempit (illegal racers)
5. cuti-cuti malaysia (holiday packages by Tourism Ministry)
6. kamus (dictionary)
7. lagu (songs)
8. lirik (lyrics)
9. portal pendidikan (educational portal)
10. cerita (stories)

Technorati Tags: shaztraz, google, zeitgeist, malaysia, popular