Thursday, December 30, 2010

Protect Yourself and Fight Back (all at the same time)

It's really true. Just when you think you're caught up on the latest smart phone/laptop/plasma TV, a new one comes out. Do you then upgrade? Do you steal software? How do you keep up?

Take some time to go to reputable sources, and it does pay off. For trauma survivors, it's also useful because of global networking with other survivors. There's the good and bad side to it.

The good side is creatively use your tools to share content, tipe and more that we can all use. The bad part? Some who say they're ______ actually aren't. Not all but some support sites for survivors have pedophiles as administrators.

How do you trust anyone? We're not sure. We used to use some forums, but we stopped because of lots of horrible experiences. We followed their Terms of Service. Then, in at least 3 cases they turned out to be nightmares.

What are the reasons for this? Budget cuts. Not enough people have the time to work on these. But also, keep in mind online security. While it's obviously good to try and get the help you may need, you also have to protect yourself.

A few basic ideas:

Don't leave any obvious clues that be connected to find you.
If your current browser or O/S isn't working, consider upgrading or switching.
Use encrypted email or multiples IP addresses to cover your tracks.

All of these are out there and can be used (a lot of it for free). You just have to know where to look.

Getting help is great. But protecting yourself at all times is even better.

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