Frequently Asked Questions

In the world of Anti-Virus the ranking is ever changing.

Windows Defender is Free, works without impacting the Operating System, and is pretty good.

If you are willing to pay I recommend BitDefender as it most consistently has the lowest rate of issues with other software, the Operating System and lower resource usage.

I typically refer to third party research which can be found using the following website:

https://www.av-comparatives.org/test-results/

As a parent you are responsible for what your child does. there are several cases where parents ended up in jail or prison for their child actions.

You need to know who your children are interacting with and how appropriate those interactions are so you can guide them into appropriate behavior as an adult.

I know parent of teen parents that have told me that if they only had monitored their child online activity they may have been able to prevent what happened.

Yes there are good options

⚠️ Remember to donate to these programs if you like them, this is the best way to ensure long lasting alternatives.

LibreOffice is my preferred choice.

https://www.libreoffice.org/

Another option is OpenOffice

https://www.openoffice.org/

Yes I think you should setup and email for them at an early point.

NO i do not believe they should have free access to it until the parent  feels comfortable with them, and even then it should be monitored.

Why set up an email early?

With all of the devices and electronics targeted at children's learning it won't be long before they have a device that you are setting up for them. You need to have a separate account for them that you can use to manage their stuff more effectively and not accidentally allow them more access to things than they should have..

There have been studies that show that when people have to change their passwords frequently they become less secure.

A password should be a MINIMUM of 12 characters which then becomes a Pass-Phrase.

I recommend having a set of passwords that you re-use, Yes I know that we are told to never re-use a password but hear me out. When you set up a password for example Th3^Gr@55^15^Gr33n

Length ✅

Complexity ✅

You can remember it ✅

Where this would be compromised would be when the account host is Hacked or you respond to a malicious email where you give them it yourself.

Having a couple variations of the Pass Phrase will allow you to remember it and have

1 for medical sites

1 for a bank account

1 for online shopping.

1 for Etc. . . 

If you hear of the company being compromised you can alter it by changing the phrase and then update the rest as you go.

With this methodology you will even be more likely to guess what you password was before you forgot it.

1. Don't allow connected electronics in the rooms with closed doors.

2. If you have a main Computer for the family put it in a common area so everything is seen by everyone.

3. I do have an office (sort of) but I keep my door open

4. If time for testing or recording is necessary a time frame should be established before the door gets closed.

If this is for a Business, Church or School I would say Absolutely Yes.

Fortinet make a very good Appliance that can keep you safe from known malicious sites, And you can manage users online time, site content Etc. Fortinet has continued to surface to the top as highly recommended and reasonably priced. When I have contacted them they put me in contact with someone to work with me and answer my questions even prior to any purchase. This individual recommended I buy a used appliance from eBay to play with.
https://www.fortinet.com/

I have contacted Arista (The makers of the Untangled Next Gen Firewall) and they would not provide me even basic information without proof of purchase or account information. This was tremendously disappointing and I will not be recommending their services based on this interaction.

Your Windows, Mac, and other appliances have built-int Firewalls that block ports, so an appliance that does the same thing is mostly a waste of money.

Any appliance that does more than  just blocking ports will have a licensing fee as they have to maintain the current known sites, maintain the virus definitions and should allow you to see metrics of use.