Warning Grandparents - Friday is officially not Black Friday, but Update Your Parents' Browser Day. Yes, it's that holiday when we spend time with our kids and grandkids, and the kids yell about keeping our computers up to date! Well, I say, Windows 95 and Internet Explorer 4.0 are good enough for me, by cracky! Teasing, teasing. If you're a grandparent blogger, like me, you're probably pretty tech savvy, have figured out all this newfangled blogging software, and so you're probably fine as far as keeping your computer updated.
But, let me put on my computer security hat for a few minutes and remind you: Update your antivirus (check on it today, even if you're sure automatic updates are turned on), keep your Windows Updates up to date (your computer should be doing this for you, but just in case, go here using Internet Explorer and make sure you're up to date, and please, please, please, update your browser to the latest version. You can do this by choosing Help and then going to the getting help with this browser area (it's worded slightly differently depending on the browser, but it should take you to a site that will allow you to update).
Another word of note as you're out cruising the Internet for great grandkid gifts: If you don't know the site really well (and by this, I mean, not Amazon or Walmart.com), please consider using a single-use credit card number for the transaction. Not all credit cards offer this feature, but if yours does, this will save a world of hurt if a site gets hacked. Word of note #2: Do not, repeat, do not use the same password for multiple different Web sites. This is probably the easiest way for hackers to get ahold of your credit card info, by hacking one site, getting your password, and then using it to access another Web site that has your credit card info. Can't keep track of passwords? Try Password Safe - it's a free app and very helpful for storing your passwords on your computer.
And now, back to being a grandma. Aren't they adorable?
P.S. The black furry one is not a grandkid.
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