Maya

Maya
Cyber Defender & Databank Supervisor

Because of her unquenchable thirst for knowledge, Maya started out as a librarian. While she loved her job, she wanted to do more to help protect people.

Since Cyber Villains such as Ms. Information and Elvirus can corrupt websites and the information on them, Maya teaches people to protect themselves by using caution when visiting websites and avoiding sites that are not trustworthy.

Favorite Quote:

Give me a fish and I eat for a day. Teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime
- Chinese Proverb

Favorite Food:

Anything chocolate

Interests:

Browsing bookstores, baking

November 25 2008

Using the Web: Online Shopping Reliability

With the holidays coming up, it's a good time to start thinking about gifts. I prefer to do all my shopping online because I can find a wider variety of items and don't have to battle with the crowds of people at the store. You usually need a credit card to buy things online, so be sure to have a trusted adult with you and take measures to protect your personal information.

Here are a few tips that will help you be a better, safer online shopper:

  • Try to stick with stores you know, especially ones that have actual, real-life locations, as well as Web sites
  • If it's a new store, try to find reviews from other customers about their experiences with it. You can look on sites like the Better Business Bureau and BizRate for reviews and complaints
  • Look for companies that have a customer satisfaction policy and try to fix customer complaints or difficulties quickly and fairly, without charging them money
  • Make sure the site has contact information and an acceptable privacy policy posted
  • If the site requires you to register an account to buy something, use a strong alias and password
  • Before registering, read through the privacy policy to make sure it says they will not share private information with others without your consent
  • Check to see if they belong to any privacy seal programs that help ensure they won't do anything bad with your personal information or credit card data. Some common ones are BBBOnLine and TRUSTe
  • If site has credit card transactions, make sure they are encrypted and secure. You can check for a security seal like Verisign, or see if the URL on the payment screen starts with HTTPS, indicating it is protected by a Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL
  • Remember to print or save any records or receipts related to your online shopping

posted by Maya
topic: Using the Web, Finding Reliable Sites

November 14 2008

Research Challenge: When in Rome...

The name November comes from novem, the Latin word for the number nine. But November is the 11th month of the year in our calendar, not the 9th month, so why is it called that?

November actually was the 9th month in the year in the Roman calendar. Rumored to be created in 753 BC by Romulus, the founder of Rome, the first Roman calendar had 10 months and March was the beginning of the year. This calendar only had 304 days in it and was based on the lunar cycle.

The months of January and February were added to the calendar in 713 BC, bringing the total number of days in a year up to 355. This cycle was eventually replaced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC with a more-accurate 365.25 day year that began in January, called the Julian calendar.

Though some countries still use the Julian calendar, the calendar used throughout most of the world today is the Gregorian calendar. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII adjusted the Julian calendar to bring it back into synchronization with the seasons and, with the inclusion of a leap year, to hopefully keep it there.

Cadets, your research challenge for the month of November is this: How many other things in our everyday lives were first created by the Ancient Romans? I think you'll be surprised to find out!

posted by Maya
topic: Research Challenge

November 11 2008

Cyber Terminology: What is a WiFi Hotspot?

WiFi is short for Wireless Fidelity. It is a technology used all around the world that uses radio waves to connect devices without using wiring and cables. A WiFi hotspot is a location where a wireless network is available to connect to.

If the network allows public access, anyone within range of the access point who has a wireless device, such as a laptop or PDA, can use the hotspot. Devices like mobile WiFi scanning cards can help you locate a WiFi network. Many cities are working on turning the entire city into one large wireless hotspot so you access the Internet anywhere.

Some hotspots are secured and you need a password to access them, but many are unsecured. They allow anyone access to them but are also more vulnerable to cyber criminal attacks.

In general, wireless networks are less secure than wired ones. Be careful what you use them for and follow the same safety guidelines for using a public computer outlined in October’s Ask Omni feature: What should I be concerned about when using public computers?

posted by Maya
topic: Cyber Terminology