Secrets from the Edge of the web
Oct 28, 2003
Must-Have Software: Google Toolbar
Have you been to websites that seem to POP UP windows with advertisements for products or services that you never even considered purchasing? I would be really surprised if you hadn't. Many main stream websites like excite.com, cnn.com and msnbc.com have taken to selling this ad-space to national marketing firms and that results in a Time Square-esque experience full of neon signs and a few of them are even highly inappropriate.
Well, I didn't bring this up to taunt you. I have a wonderful product that reads and works like Weight Watchers(tm) dessert. It's called the Google Toolbar. Once installed this product works with your Internet Explorer web browser to control the annoyances we were talking about above. It even counts the number of popups that are blocked.
As an added bonus, the best search engine on the web, google.com is the central part of the toolbar. I know the Google people may feel differently, but the search is just an accessory. The popup blocker is the star.
Now for the sales pitch... Its FREE! Download and install it today and receive more peace during your Internet research time.
Time Saving Websites: Wikipedia
We're homeschooling now. So I am always looking for new and thorough research websites.
I stumbled across this wonderful website while researching the concept of Pi. Now that I have confirmed myself as a geek, let me tell you why we're talking about Wikipedia instead of the mysterious transcendental value Pi. Wikipedia is a website that is one of the miracles of the Internet. It is a forum for you and I to share our knowledge of particular topics and contribute to the recording of all common knowledge. This information is combined to form a large Internet encyclopedia that, more importantly, is owned by no one, or maybe more particularly, owned by us all.
Look up your favorite topic and if it seems vague to you, add your knowledge and enlighten us all.
Wikipedia info
Wikipedia info on Pi
Buzz Words: Blog
Nope, this isn't a new swear word. Its short for Web Log. If you say it fast and drop off the 'We', you are left with just, 'Blog'. Now from a verbal exploration, that isn't all that interesting. As you visit web sites you may even see Blogs being used to allow commentary to address web site and topical issues.
What that does is truly empower the individual in a new way to become creators in information. We are in fact using this technology to publish this newsletter to our subscribers. It reduces the time to take a short idea like this one and format it for publication and even has a Spell Check function built in.
While there are many Blog tools on the web, I am using the one called Blogger.com. It has many layout formats and features that would be pretty interesting to see but a bit tedious to relate here. I will just share the websites lowest level of membership is FREE and might let you become the budding author you have always wondered about.
Blogger.com
Marketing Definition of Blog
Serious Links: Internet Security
If you watch the news and read the warnings about all the Internet viruses out there, you may at times feel a little overwhelmed. I know I do, but I normally trust Norton Antivirus 2003 (or whatever year is happens to be) to alert me to the growing problems that may come. Then a good friend of mine gave me a link to the something called the Internet Storm Watch.
The Internet Storm Watch monitors viruses across the globe and the swelling or decreasing numbers of attacks, just like a regular weather report. I can't always follow the very detailed info on some of the attacks but the related articles are in English and usually tell how to cope with whatever the situation may call for. If you like the site, we all have my good friend Chris to thank for it.
Another really nice site for regular tracking of the details is one of the hubs of the US Federal defense of our national Internet system. I have occasionally subscribed to their newsletters when part of my responsibility has been to be aware of the latest server threats and they always kept me aware of the latest required patches for my operating systems. If that is your cup of tea, please sign up and they will keep you up-to-date.
Internet Storm Center
Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) Coordination Center
Faith Online: Covenant Eyes
The Internet is a dangerous place. No one knows that better than an Internet professional, and from my first experiences with AOL that only ran on MSDOS in 1993 to the current time of always up DSL or cable modem high-speed consumer Internet access. It's been a wild ride. It seems like any technology that provides privacy allows us to be distracted by the worldly dark parts of our imagination. I have reviewed many technologies to filter, block or otherwise control the access to inappropriate information, but none seem to be as successful as I believe this product called, Covenant Eyes.
Rather than rely on the faulty control of reliance on hardware or software to keep our hearts from exposure to temptation, this wonderful product uses software to empower a better way. The software monitors all Internet traffic and sends a regularly scheduled report to someone else that will hold you accountable. No more secret Internet usage.
The website name comes from Job 31:1, "I have made a covenant with my eyes". This refers to the concept that I we are not enslaved to our sexuality and that we have a choice. Some books refer to it as "bounce". I can't control what images cross my path, but I can "bounce" my eyes off that and look at something else. A "covenant with my eyes" means that I intend and am planning to avoid dwelling on sexual immorality due to any incidental exposure to something that might arouse my attention.
Within the context of this website, this product is installed and monitors all Internet access on your computer. It then sends a list of inappropriate to your accountability partners. These partners would be people that would hold the user of the computer accountable. That accountability could take the many forms, but for me, I know I would rather take a beating than have to explain myself to my Christian brothers.
I don't want to seem preachy, because I am a very human person, but maybe this is just the product for someone out there.
Covenant Eyes info
Essay on "Every Man's Battle" regarding sexual integrity
--dedicated to the glory of God--
I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?
Job 31:1
I sent out a "Last Call..." note last night and the
enormous number of old and invalid emails
caused a lot of bounce traffic on the server this
morning. This tripped "load level" alarms
at my hosting facility and they temporarily placed
us on a "suspended" status.
Fortunately, everything is back to normal now.
Blessings,
Roger.
