Internet Safety

For the Internet Safety assingment, I spent time reading over a couple of talks that were given and looking at various articles in the Diigo group.
The first article that I read was Elder Bednar's Things as they really are. I was impressed again by the importance that our bodies hold for us. It is vital that we treat them like the vital tool that they are. It is important that we allow ourselves the opportunity to experience life for what it is and not just satisfy ourselves with a virtual simulation. I can see how it is part of Satan's plan to minimize the value of our bodies by not using them to their full potential. I am saddened by the people that allow their lives to be consumed by online gaming and various other items.
http://lds.org/library/display/0,4945,538-1-4830-1,00.html
The next article that I read was entitled Just a Game. This article gave me greater insight into items that could be facing my future students. I imagine that I will have students that are involved in these types of games. That means that I need to pay attention and be able to potentially reach out to help such individuals. This article also provided me the opportunity to do some self reflection given that I enjoy a small amount of gaming. I am pleased to note that with the questions at the end of the article, I don't have a gaming problem. This article has further caused me to contemplate why I haven't taken my gaming online(I just have a console). The reason is that I don't want to tempt myself as I could potentially get addicted. As is, I can play a game and then not touch my console for weeks.
http://lds.org/ensign/2009/08/just-a-game?lang=eng
The next article that I read had to do with setting up a secure password. After reading this article, I have decided to implement some changes with my passwords. Personally, I feel that I have a strong password, but I have been using it for a while, so I just created a new password and changed it on my major accounts. My plan is to change passwords monthly. This way it makes it harder to crack. I can also see value in setting up this practice as I might need to be careful of students learning my password. It would be potentially harmful if they got access to the grades or other confidential information on a Teacher's account.

http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fgmailblog.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F10%2Fchoosing-smart-password.html?gname=teaching-with-technology
I also read another article that enlightened me about the dangers of hackers trying to figure out my password. This reinforced the idea of making a complex password with up and lower case. I liked the idea of coming up with a phrase that can be broken down into symbols.
http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.baekdal.com%2Ftips%2Fpassword-security-usability?gname=teaching-with-technology

For the second part of the activity, I talked with my mom who is in her late 50's. One of the major things that I talked to her about was the security of her password. I think like me, she has a good password, but has been using it for a long time and thus could use to come up with a new one to use. We also spent time talking about the messages shared by Elder Bednar in making sure that our pursuits are worthwhile in reality.