Yes, walking zombies. We were in New York when the Occupy Wall Street protests were in full throttle.

As we walked from the Staten Island ferry to the Empire State Building, the pulsating group of Occupy Protestors were always there. It was chaos but my kids were completely intrigued! “Why are they dressed up? Who are these zombies?”

I knew about the Occupy movement but as I was simultaneously navigating my way through the mob and Googling, I discovered a whole lot more.

The Occupy movement was assisted by a hacktivist group called Anonymous who took down the New York Stock Exchange’s website in support of Occupy Wall Street.

The concept of hacktivism was one I wasn’t overly familiar with. Hacktivism is a form of social or political activism that occurs online. Driven by a political or social agenda and a desire to make a statement, hactivists can create online chaos by taking over websites, gaining access to confidential information or closing down sites by instigating a barrage of requests that overwhelm the site’s servers, aka denial of service attacks [DoS].

Each year, McAfee Labs™ looks at cyber trends to make predictions about what kind of security threats they expect to see in the next year. Hacktivism is high on the list.

Now, I know you are wondering if consumers should be concerned. Hacktivists are more interested in pursuing their political or social agenda than focusing on mums and dads, though we may get caught up in the fallout of one of these attacks though the pilfering of personal details or inconvenience. In 2010, Anonymous attacked Australian Government websites in “Operation Titstorm” because of its stance on internet censorship, freezing Government websites sites and causing massive inconvenience to many Australians.

Be alert but not alarmed. Hacktivists can gain access to unsuspecting people’s computers to send spam email or execute attacks. It’s not just about having an up-to-date security suite. Only reply to emails from people you know, use strong passwords and only download from sites you trust. Never click on a link in a spam email – it might download an access point (or bot) onto your machine without you knowing!

Till next time,
Alex xx

Sometimes, when I am feeling completely strapped for time, I cut corners. I dry shirts in the clothes dryer to avoid ironing them, I use instant mashed potato and we have sandwiches for dinner.

Some of my shortcuts pay off while others don’t. The school shirts are (almost!) totally acceptable and the kids are thrilled to have sandwiches for dinner. The instant mashed potato – well, that’s always a big disaster.

But when it comes to protecting your collection of mobile phones, computers and tablets at home, taking a shortcut could end just like the instant mashed potato does – badly! Keeping your family’s personal identity and information safe when shopping, banking and interacting online is just not worth mucking around with.

So here are a few tips that may help keep your digital lives and devices safe in 2012:

1. Protect your data
The thought of losing my children’s precious baby photos just makes me feel sick. In a recent survey, Australian home Internet users estimated that their photos, contacts and entertainment (their digital assets) were worth almost AU$22,000! So find yourself a security solution that offers data backup and restore features and keep those treasured memories safe and protected.

2. Educate your family and always pay attention to your children’s online activities
Come on – be brave! Banish those computers from the bedroom and position the computer in a high-traffic area in the house. The kitchen is always a great option. And make sure you talk to your kids about what information is and isn’t appropriate to share online.

3. Don’t neglect your Apple devices
The popularity of Apple devices has led to a significant increase in threats which are currently growing by 10 per cent per month, according to McAfee labs. So please install security software that has been developed specifically for the Mac.

4. Mobile’s and tablets also need protection
Don’t assume your mobile and tablets are automatically safe – they aren’t! Threats to mobile phones are growing at a rapid rate with Android devices now the most targeted platform. Be careful when downloading apps and only download from a reputable app store.  Also remember that the Internet is the Internet regardless of where you’re accessing it from, so remember to stay protected and take the same precautions as you would on your PC.

With many kids using their mobile phones to trade games and music via Bluetooth, make sure you factor their devices into your security plan as well.

Now, I know that is a lot to digest. But in the spirit of avoiding an ‘instant mashed potato style disaster’, I think it is important you have all the essential tips.

But please don’t feel overwhelmed. It doesn’t have to be hard work addressing these issues. Just stay one step of the cybercriminals (and your kids!) and invest in active, comprehensive protection for all the devices you use to access the Internet.  See you next time.

Alex

After the craziness of Christmas, the annual January family holiday and the hectic ‘Back to School’ spending spree, I can finally take a breath. And then get psyched up to get organised for the year.

So, as soon as my children were deposited at school, I grabbed my pen and paper and started putting together my ‘To Do’ list for 2012. And like every family’s list – it was long. It looked something like this:

1. Download my holiday photos and videos from my camera and share with family and friends
2. Clean House (least favourite task)
3. Book Dental appointments for children
4. Organise boys’ after-school activities for the year
5. Sort through children’s bedrooms – with a strong focus on under the bed!
6. Buy big whiteboard and then compile family timetable
7. Cover even more school books (really dislike this one too)
8. Plan out the year: schedule in holidays, birthday parties and events
9. Back to Work: New outfit? Shoes, maybe? (probably not), haircut
10. Make sure all devices (PC, tablets and phones), old and new, are secure

I have no doubt your lists look quite similar. Most of the above tasks are, unfortunately, unavoidable. However I wonder how many of you have also added a number 10 to your list?

With tablets and phones at the top of many children’s (and adults’) Christmas wish lists in December, many Australian families would have already loaded their personal data, contact information, photos, and entertainment files onto their new devices by now, eager to enjoy their new toys right away.

But gone are the days where we can assume that our devices are safe. Even if you aren’t a big Internet surfer or a full time Facebook user it doesn’t mean you are home free. And don’t think that free security software will protect you. It won’t. It will typically only provide you with basic protection and is almost always offered to get you to buy more comprehensive products.

When your devices are unprotected, they are vulnerable to infections by nasty viruses and spyware, or scams by sneaky hackers designed to steal your personal information. And don’t think your Mac and mobile are excluded from this. Cybercriminals are widening their nets to target a variety of devices and platforms.

So what can you do to protect your ever-growing fleet of devices? How can you protect your entire family’s personal identity and information when shopping, banking and interacting online?

In short – you need to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals by arming yourself with active, comprehensive protection for all the devices you use to access the Internet. Why not check out McAfee® All Access, which lets you protect a wide variety of Internet-enabled devices, including PCs, Macs, smartphones, tablets and netbooks, for one low price for individuals and families. To learn more, visit www.mcafee.com/au/allaccess.

And once you have crossed that item off your list, you can sit back and enjoy the peace – till 3 o’clock, anyway!