With Santa’s Community Blog getting hacked and many folks from MyBlogLog experiencing some weird problems, the concern of Internet security is now in the spotlight. Before you run to delete your MyBlogLog account…just remember that there is no such thing as perfect Internet security!

Our good friend Polliwog had some problems too and has decided to create a fresh blog from scratch…GO PAULA!!!! Her new blog is Six 4 Paula! How exciting…let’s support Paula and Santa!!! Paula says she’ll be posting pretty soon :smile:

MyBlogLog has been a fantastic source of traffic for me and probably most of you. If you think that Yahoo isn’t concerned about security, you are wrong. All big sites are big targets of hackers…that’s just how it is and it will always be that way. We don’t know what is really going on or who is to blame.

It is a shame that some scumbags are causing problems but I will stick by MyBlogLog and I know they will get something done…especially now. If you want to protect yourself, you will need to do a lot of it yourself! Actually…the greatest and most sought after hack would be Google…so be warned. It is inevitable that Google will be hacked. They are hacked everyday, it’s not like they don’t have problems…but eventually, they will get hit with something big.

What Can You Do For Protection?

First and foremost, get yourself good passwords! Some people still use the same password on every account they have. There are plenty of good extensions for firefox or any browser where you can use one master password to protect all of them.

I love GRC.com’s perfect password generator. GRC is owned and operated by Steve Gibson, the world’s foremost expert on Internet security. His password generator is at: Ultra High Security Password Generator. Some sites wont allow you to use a 64 digit password but Google will. Get yourself one, especially for your blogger account! Read the page while you are there.

Also, you can go to the homepage of GRC. Click shields up and go in. You’ll need to scroll down again and click Shields Up once more. This will check your PC for security holes. You’ll want to scan All Service Ports (the first 1056 ports). They should all be green or “stealthed”. If they are not, you need a firewall or a router. GRC offers a wealth of information about protecting yourself…so go read!

Get a Router

For crying out loud…GET YOURSELF A ROUTER!!!!! Even if you only have one computer, it should go through a router BEFORE it goes to your actual Internet connection. You should never plug a Ethernet cable directly into the back of your computer! It is child’s play to turn your firewall off from outside your PC if it’s not protected by a router!!!!!!!!

When you get a router, make sure you change the default password. For most routers, just type in 192.168.1.1 – this will take you directly to your routers interface. The address for most cable modems is 192.168.1.100 – this will let you look at the interface for your modem. Read the instructions on your router and set it up correctly. Let me know if any of you have any questions and I will help you.

Backup your blog OFTEN!!! If you have a blogger account, it only takes a minute to do. Most of this stuff is just rudimentary security, but most of you probably don’t do these things. What I write here is nothing new or special, but is a reminder to look out for number one…YOURSELF!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!!!