Sigh of Relief.....

I am finally breathing a sigh of relief.  This class has been a struggle for me, not necessarily in a bad way.  It pulled me out of my comfort zone and made me realize how important it is to understand how my computer works.  Each week I was nervous to find out what we were going to have to do next.  The alternate OS system scared me to no end, but once I had it on my computer and was playing around with it, I realized it isn't anything to be afraid of.  I think that is how I felt throughout most of this class.  Once I started to research the topic or play around with the program I realized how useful it was and how I need to be more aware of available software.  I believe I am a naive computer user.  I know what I should do, I know what is available, but I only use what I am comfortable with.  In many ways I am like some of my students that stay in their comfort zone instead of reaching for something better.  I do think this class has made me more confident in my computer skills and makes me feel like I can actually talk computers with techie people (my dad, my husband, father-in-law).  I know I have learned things in this class that will be used int he upcoming classes and I can't wait to find out what we are going to do next!

Computer Security

Quite frankly, the idea of computer security scares me.  I know all of the dangers, but I am also know I am not 100% proactive about making sure I am protecting myself from these dangers. In class this week I have learned a few free programs I can use to find risks on my computer.  For example, we ran a security audit on our home computer and even though we have antivirus software installed on our computer we did have 1 risk we had to fix.  I also learned some new antivirus programs to use for free like, Avira, and AVG. 

I do know that I need to be better about running our antivirus scans, backing up our information, and not entering personal information on line.  We have recently purchased an external hard drive to have all of our videos and pictures on, "just in case".  I also have started to use drop box.  Even though we have these back up options I know I am not backing my information up daily therefore, I am not using them how I should be.  As I do my security plan, it makes me realize how much I am leaving up to chance.  Hopefully, if I follow my plan I will become more secure when serving the net, and more protected overall!