This week Assist Computing are pleased to announce the release of the new website for Excalibur Marine Ltd. The customer wanted a website that had a fresh and modern feel, the website was to be used a a simple base for customers to visit for information and contact details.

We went for a brochure website with a bespoke design and a brand new logo by Assist Computing. We also stuck to the customers choice colours of blue and red. The website is hosted and maintained by Assist Computing.

www.excalibur-marine.co.uk

This week Assist Computing are pleased to release the new website for UK drummer, Greg Pringle. Greg wanted a site which captured his personality, had a simple navigation system, was modern and had editable content to keep his gallery and gigs up to date.

We designed Greg a bespoke WordPress Theme which allows for easy customer editing, the ability to blog and to grow the site at any point and comes with a years free hosting through Assist Computing.

www.gregpringle.co.uk

Greg also wanted a matching Welcome Page for his Facebook Fan Page – Assist Computing were happy to design a Custom Facebook Page that shows upcoming performances by Greg.

www.facebook.com

It’s normal now for children to be using the internet from a very young age. With such joy available from learning games featuring their favourite characters – such as the activities found on the cbeebies website attracting children as young as 2 years old.For any age the internet can be a daunting place – yet a place full of knowledge and excitement at the same time. It’s therefore important for parents to know how to safeguard their children online. Here you will find useful tips on Internet Safety for younger and older children / teenagers, some useful links and advice on agreeing some important family computer rules.

Before we begin on the rules for children, here are a few important rules for parents:

• Prevent Viruses on your Computer – Use an Anti-Virus Software to protect your computer from Viruses, Spyware & Malware, make sure it is regularly updated. There are many on the market to choose from, we recommend Microsoft Security Essentials which is free to download.
• Put Parental Controls in place.
• Give your child their own log in for the family computer and turn off all ‘adminstrative rights’ on this log in.
• Talk to your child about safe computer use and safety on the internet as soon as they begin to use it – there’s no need to bombard younger children with information but they will learn from the way you practice and talk about your decision making online when enjoying the internet together.
• Set up the Google Safe Search function or use a child friendly browser such as: Ask Jeeves for kids – Yahoo for Kids – Kids Click or DibDabDoo. Alternatively or for younger children use software such as Kidos, Kido’z, Kidzui or Buddy Browser that have full child friendly interfaces for learning, email and visiting websites that have been pre-approved by you.

Internet Safety for Younger Children:

• Ideally internet use should be with adult supervision however you can promote independent use by using specialist software like Kidos, Kidzui, Buddy Browser or Kidoz on your family PC – these ensure your child will only visit your pre-set websites and will also ensure great fun learning!
• Try out any software before handing over to your child – that way you can be sure that you have found the right one for your family.
• Download ‘Hector the Protector‘ to your computer – if your child sees something they don’t like they can click Hector. You should also encourage open speech about anything that occurs whilst using the computer.
• Talk to your child about decisions you make when online – why you didn’t click the pop-up box or why you only open emails from people that you know in real life.

Internet Safety for Older Children and Teenagers.

• Talk about why rules are needed for internet use and agree some that work for your family – see example below.
• Agree which sites you feel are suitable before use – add these to your bookmarks for ease of use. Check the history in your browser regularly. Set up Parental Controls and Google SafeSearch.
• If you have agreed for your child to use any social networks, blogs or youtube then make sure that all privacy settings and sharing controls are set to ‘private’ or ‘friends only’ – regularly check these settings. Advise your child not to accept ‘friend requests‘ from anyone they don’t know in the real world.
• Advise your child about the dangers of clicking on pop-up boxes or advertisements (even if they are causing them a distraction), agree that if they appear to ignore them or to call a responsible adult to help. These are especially a distraction if your child enjoys playing online games.
• Promote responsible communication – advise not to say in a message anything which you would not say directly to the person.
• Ensure your child is aware that not everything that they read online is accurate – especially for homework ensure that they know to check the facts before using them – also advise your child that copying and pasting from a website is breaking the copyright agreements.
• Talk about strangers – advise your child that strangers on the internet are still real strangers! They should not accept a friend request from a stranger or respond to a message or email from a stranger. Help them to understand that a person could be someone different from who they claim to be.
• Talk about the dangers of arranging a meeting with someone they met online – if they insist on meeting ‘a friend’ go with them!
• Advise your children against opening unknown attachments in emails or file sharing with anyone (eg music ) – these could contain viruses.
• Explore programmes like MSN with your child and become their ‘online friend’.
• Talk with the parents of your childs friends – discuss their rules and your rules and see how you can work together.
• Limit your childs time online – encourage them with non-computer based activities.
• Encourage an open relationship with your child – ask them to talk to you if they fear that someone they know is being bullied online.
• Have a rule that webcams may only be used in family / communal rooms.
• Set up a family email address for registering with websites or shopping online, encourage your child to use this instead of personal email.
• Advise your chid to never indicate their age, gender or full name in their chosen screen names. Make sure your child knows what personal information they should not give out online – name – address – school.
• Promote the safeguarding of passwords – advise your child to always unclick the ‘remember me’ box when entering log in details and to always ‘log out’ of sites after use – especially on shared or public computers eg at school or at the library.

Internet Safety – Example Family Rules:

• The computer is to remain in the family room / communal area with the screen facing towards the room.
• We do not register to join a website without first discussing it with our parents.
• We use our family email address when joining websites.
• We do not put our age or gender in our screen name.
• We stick to agreed time limits when using the internet.
• We do not give out our personal details online – these include; our name, our school and our address.
• We remember that online strangers are still strangers – we do not accept their friend requests and we do not respond to their emails.
• We remember that not everyone is who they say they are on the internet.
• When we log in we remember to unclick the ‘remember me’ box and to log out when we are finished.
• We do not open unknown attachments in emails and we do not share files eg music, movies.
• We only visit websites that the family have agreed are safe.
• We do not click on pop up messages or advertisements.
• We always check if what we read on the internet is true before repeating it. We do not ‘copy and paste’ from websites.
• We don’t write anything online which we would not say to a persons face.

If you would like to contribute a similar article, blog or review please email Whizz Kids here

Some useful links:

• Google SafeSearch – the ability to customise your search results.
• Cyber Mentors – Helping to beat bullying online.
• Think you know – info on everything web related for kids, parents and teachers.
• Mums Net – forum and tips on just about everything for parents.
• CBBC – advice on staying safe aimed at kids.
• Direct Gov Click Clever Safe campaign – the UK council for child internet safety.
• Direct Gov Kids – Games and info on staying safe online.
• Know it all – info on everything web related for kids.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of our customers.

We would like to thank you all for your continued custom and support throughout 2011 and are looking forward to seeing everyone again in this coming year. As usual, Crissi, Oliver and the team are available for support or advice no matter how big or small.

So, what is available in early 2012?

Private / One to One Computer Tuition

Throughout January and February 2012, Assist Computing will be offering 3 hours private computer tuition for the price of 2, whether taken in our Verwood office, or in your home (within our local region). To book under this offer, please email crissi@assistcomputing.co.uk and quote the code: TUTORME2012, or call us on 01202 901630

Group Computer Tuition

Group tuition will be re-commencing from March 2012, with courses aimed at beginners and basic users including- introduction to the computer, Internet & Email and Photo Editing. We will also be holding a ‘meet and greet’ tuition taster morning in early February. Dates to be announced shortly.

Phishing email messages, websites, and phone calls are designed to steal money. Cybercriminals can do this by installing malicious software on your computer or stealing personal information off of your computer.

Cybercriminals also use social engineering to convince you to install malicious software or hand over your personal information under false pretenses. They might email you, call you on the phone, or convince you to download something off of a website.

What does a phishing email message look like?

Here is an example of what a phishing scam in an email message might look like.

• Spelling and bad grammar. Cybercriminals are not known for their grammar and spelling. Professional companies or organizations usually have a staff of copy editors that will not allow a mass email like this to go out to its users. If you notice mistakes in an email, it might be a scam. For more information, see Email and web scams: How to help protect yourself.
• Beware of links in email. If you see a link in a suspicious email message, don’t click on it. Rest your mouse (but don’t click) on the link to see if the address matches the link that was typed in the message. In the example below the link reveals the real web address, as shown in the box with the yellow background. The string of cryptic numbers looks nothing like the company’s web address.Links might also lead you to .exe files. These kinds of file are known to spread malicious software.
• Threats. Have you ever received a threat that your Hotmail account would be closed if you didn’t respond to an email message? The email message shown above is an example of the same trick. Cybercriminals often use threats that your security has been compromised. For more information, see Watch out for fake alerts.
• Spoofing popular websites or companies. Scam artists use graphics in email that appear to be connected to legitimate websites but actually take you to phony scam sites or legitimate-looking pop-up windows. For more information, see Avoid scams that use the Microsoft name fraudulently.Cybercriminals also use web addresses that resemble the names of well-known companies but are slightly altered. For more information, see Protect yourself from cybersquatting and fake web addresses.

Beware of phishing phone calls

Cybercriminals might call you on the phone and offer to help solve your computer problems or sell you a software license. Neither Microsoft nor our partners make unsolicited phone calls (also known as cold calls) to charge you for computer security or software fixes.

Once they’ve gained your trust, cybercriminals might ask for your user name and password or ask you to go to a website to install software that will let them access your computer to fix it. Once you do this, your computer and your personal information is vulnerable.

Treat all unsolicited phone calls with skepticism. Do not provide any personal information.

For more information, see Avoid tech support phone scams.

Report phishing scams

If you receive a fake phone call, take down the caller’s information and report it to your local authorities.

You can use Microsoft tools to report a suspected scam on the web or in email.

• Internet Explorer. While you are on a suspicious site, click the gear icon and then point to Safety. Then click Report Unsafe Website and use the web page that is displayed to report the website.
• Hotmail. If you receive a suspicious email message that asks for personal information, click the check box next to the message in your Hotmail inbox. Click Mark as and then point to Phishing scam.
• Microsoft Office Outlook. Attach the suspicious email message to a new email message and forward it toreportphishing@antiphishing.org. To learn how to attach an email message to an email message, see Attach a file or other item to an email message.

This week we are pleased to announce the release of the new business website for AT Property Management Services in Dorset.
The customer wanted a website that looked professional, has a content management system and can grow with his business.
Our WordPress Premium package was ideal.

www.atpropertymanagementservices.co.uk

Features:

• Custom WordPress Theme
• Content Management System for easy editing
• Blog / Case Studies / News Page
• Contact Form

This week Assist Computing are pleased to announce the release of the new look website for Cats Whiskers Day Nursery in Bournemouth, Dorset.

Cats Whiskers Nursery combines learning and care for babies and children in spacious and attractive surroundings, working from a converted house, they have the benefit of lots of space, in a non-clinical, homely environment.

As Cats Whiskers is a family run day nursery, we worked with everyone involved to give them a new site which ticked all the boxes. Assist Computing will also provide the Website Hosting.

www.catswhiskersdaynursery.co.uk 

Features:

• Custom WordPress Theme
• Content Management System for easy editing
• Private / Password Protected Pages for Parents
• Contact Form

This week Assist Computing are pleased to announce the new website for a well known domestic services business in Verwood Dorset. Stellas Cleaning and Stellas Ironing Service works throughout Verwood, St Ives, St Leonards, Ashley Heath and Three Legged Cross.

Stella wanted a basic brochure website that enabled her potential clients to find her contact details fast. The site that we have designed and are hosting is search engine optimised and has one page.

www.ironing-verwood.co.uk/

Assist Computing are pleased to launch the new website for Anna Knowles of Limelight Choreography. Anna is an experienced dancer and choreographer and offers one to one dance lessons as well as specialising in Wedding Dance Choreography.

Anna wanted a site that reflected her business and her personality well. She opted for the WordPress Plus site which allows her to grow the website as well as taking care of her own editing and gallery management. Assist Computing will host the new bespoke website.

www.limelight-choreography.co.uk

Features:

• Custom WordPress Theme
• Embedded feed from Facebook & Like Button
• Content Management System for easy editing
• Contact Form

This week we are pleased to announce the release of the shiny new website for Made 2 Measure. After moving into their new showroom, Made 2 Measure felt that their internet presence needed to be brought up to date in order to promote their luxury fitted kitchens and fitted bedroom ranges.

The website is built using WordPress as the Content Management System therefore allowing the use of payment and gallery options as well as the ability for the client to add and edit the website at their convenience

The site is a bespoke website design by Assist Computing and will also be taking care of the hosting.

www.made2measureltd.co.uk

Features:

• Custom WordPress Theme
• Content Management System for easy editing
• Contact Form