Protecting Your Child from Social Network Viruses

Social networks spread social diseases, whether of the biological or the computer kind. When your child's computer catches a social disease, like the Koobface virus that was running rampant on Facebook, it's more than embarrassing it's dangerous.

The social network virus will first try to infect all of your child's network friends. Then it installs a bit of software that can watch what your child searches for on the Internet's search engines and hijacks the child's browser. Your child can click on a good link and be taken anywhere the virus wants the child's browser to go. The computer has become a "bot", a computer controllable over the Internet, by anyone who knows how to talk to the virus.

Stealing your personal information is possible, but it's low on the list of priorities for the "bot" owners. More often, the infected computer is rented to send spam, to work with other bots attack a web site and flood it with traffic, or to store files on your computer without your knowledge. Your computer could be distributing pornography, pirated music or even more viruses without your knowledge.

Koobface and similar viruses exploit the friend factor to spread. You will never convince your child not to click on a link sent by a Facebook friend, and some of those links will be malicious.

Preventing Social Viruses: The Hard Way

If you are meticulous about installing and updating virus protection software, you might be able to keep the computers in your house safe. Any name-brand (Norton, Symantec, AVG, etc.) virus protection software will work, but you have to update it frequently. However, it only takes one lapse to leave your computers vulnerable.

Preventing Social Viruses: The Easy Way

There is a way to protect your household's computers from computer viruses without buying and maintaining virus protection software. Look at the list of operating systems affected by the Koobface virus and most other social network viruses: Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows XP, Windows Me, Windows Vista, Windows NT, Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000. Windows, Windows, Windows!

What you don't see is Mac OSX or any of the Linux distributions. They are, by design, less vulnerable to viruses. Maybe it's time to abandon the Windows operating system for something that isn't as vulnerable to viruses. If your budget won't handle a new MacBook, you can replace the Windows operating system on your current computer with Linux for free.

Linux? Isn't that geeky and hard to use? No, Ubuntu Linux (www.ubuntu.com) is not just free, it's easy to install, has a point-and-click interface, and comes with piles of free software for home, office and Internet. Your child can write school papers, and visit Facebook friends without running the risk of catching a social networking virus.