The latest in Internet, website, gadget, and electronic trends.

Do You Have a Reputation?

by Mika Ortega

November 8, 2006

Most adults can safely say they’ve made a few mistakes in their lives. From the generations before the World Wide Web, however, they need not fear being remembered for idiotic moments in time since, most likely, they don’t have a trail on the Internet for strangers to view. Today, though, children are more involved with Internet activity than ever before and their attachment to blogs, postings, and websites may threaten their future careers. Understanding this possibility, ReputationDefender.com offers a service to virtually erase such archived memories.

With the ever-growing use of the Internet for research, employers have begun to use search engines to learn about potential employees. What my have seemed like harmless fun to you can appear to your employer in a negative light, especially in regards to postings on interactive websites like MySpace, FaceBook, and Xanga. With two easy steps of searching and destroying information, ReputationDefender.com aims to protect children’s “safety, reputation, and future,” as their site comments, and is available for adult searches, also.

This web service comes with a low monthly fee and delivers detailed and accurate searches. Fix your reputation and improve your image with ReputationDefender.com, and no longer fear what your boss may find.

Sources:

http://www.reputationdefender.com/

http://wired.com/news/technology/0,72063-0.html?tw=wn_technology_internet_5

The latest in Internet, website, gadget, and electronic trends.

Web Rebels

by Mika Ortega

November 7, 2006

Blocking websites has proven to be a challenge for most school districts. With massive amounts of web tunnels available to students, educators struggle to keep their students on task and off of non-educational sites. MySpace.com, perhaps the most problematic site for teachers, is still excessively accessed during school hours despite it being blocked by most school computers. With over 700 posts on Yahoo Answers regarding how to log onto MySpace while at school, students are finding hidden ways to access the site and other similarly blocked sites like it.

One post in particular asked, “Can someone tell me what do I do to get on myspace at school?” Before providing a list of ways to view MySpace at school, a responder remarked, “Don’t listen to these old folks they don’t know anything about web proxy's. Where there's a will there's a way. Trust me they work unless they have already been blocked.” This confident attitude amongst students, although somewhat disrespectful, is backed by knowledge that school officials lack. These “old folks,” regardless of their college degrees and honorary awards, are pretty behind in matters of the Internet, and should probably take a lesson from their students.

To begin, educators might want to dig a little deeper for web proxies and “anonymizers.” Sites like http://www.freeproxy.ru/en/free_proxy/cgi-proxy.htm list and explain how to surf sites anonymously, making it quick and easy for students to bypass school blocking systems. Some web proxies listed include www.unblockmyspace.com, www.boredatschool.net, and www.pimpmyip.com. While you’d expect these college-graduate-adults to be sharp and on top of such sites, it seems that these days, students are keeping educators on their toes.

The technology savvy generation of students continues to challenge the school board, especially in the matters of Internet use, and these web rebels just may win.

Sources:

www.Answers.Yahoo.com

www.freeproxy.ru/en/free_proxy/cgi-proxy.htm