Fun video contest for Net users (& producers) 13+

Hey, aspiring filmmakers and video producers (in Canada and the US), here's a project for you: Produce a two-minute video about Internet safety with your videocam, cellphone, or Webcam, and enter it in TrendMicro's "What's Your Story?" contest (you have to be 13 or older). Choose from one of four topics: "Keeping a good rep online" (and avoiding TMI), "Staying clear of unwanted contact" (e.g., dealing with bullies), "Accessing (legal) content that's age-appropriate," and "Keeping the cybercriminals out" (ID theft, scams, phishers, etc.), my ConnectSafely co-director Larry Magid reports at CNET. The grand prize is $10,000 and the deadline is April 30. Humor's just fine. Here's the official site where you can upload your video. Because TrendMicro is one of our supporters, I get to be one of the judges, so have fun!

Drive-by downloads & kids' media literacy

Current events and computer security increasingly have a lot in common. Put top news stories like the death of Michael Jackson and Web surfing habits into family discussions or dinner-table chat, and it's win-win for everybody. Kids gain a little in media literacy, and family computers avoid infection. "How can that be?" you might ask. More and more Web sites – including those of the best media companies and nonprofit organizations – are getting hacked and "booby-trapped," the San Jose Mercury News reports. "A human isn't required to click on an email link or to agree to install any software. Instead, the sites automatically download software onto visitors' computers" - called "drive-by downloads." Where do big news stories or Michael Jackson come in? Cybercriminals target the sites that get the most traffic. Computer security firm TrendMicro tells us that "this past week, we did see a lot of cybercriminal activity designed to take advantage of the rush to the Web, and search for information and posting of tributes to Michael Jackson. We tend to see this a lot for celebrities and big events (elections, Olympics, you name it). Where the people go, so do the pickpockets." A particularly egregious recent example - specifically targeting kids - happened on the discussion boards for Neopets; FoxNews reports. It's called social engineering: "The ploy is simply using normal human behavior (curiosity + rushing to the Web to popular places for info) against people," TrendMicro adds. Users click around unthinkingly. "It's like driving by an accident - our urge to satisfy our curiosity actually could put us in danger ourselves on the road." Drive-by downloads = valuable new-media-literacy lessons. Mindful surfing, downloading, and uploading can be taught again and again in different ways, with the top news stories as talking points and teachable moments.

Conficker worm help (aka April Fool's worm)

It has been all over the news today, so a quick summary on what to do if you're concerned about family computers getting infected: You can see if your computers are ok by checking if they have MS08-067 installed. How? The exact steps depend on what version of Windows is on the particular PC, but they go pretty much like this: Go to Start > Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates. If you see among them "Security Update for Microsoft Windows (KB958644)," your machine's all set. That update was issued last October, so if your family's doing automatic security updates, everybody's fine. If you don't see that update in the list, go to Microsoft.com, search for the MS08-067 security update, and install it. Here's CNET's live blog on the Conficker worm, TrendMicro's guide, Symantec's guide, and ConnectSafely.org's Larry Magid talking about it on NPR's Talk of the Nation.

Xbox Live hackers, Koobface worm

This is something for Xbox Live gamers to think about, especially if they also have computers connected to the home network. If the Xbox Live users at your house are particularly feisty or contentious, they could get booted out of games by hackers who have figured out how to get the offending gamer's IP address. They then use that address to launch a kind of denial-of-service attack that blocks your gamer's access to the game, the BBC reports. It could also affect other Internet connections on the network. "Microsoft is 'investigating' the use of the tools and said those caught using them would be banned from Xbox Live. One preventive measure is try to get Xbox Live users at your house to "play nice." If they do and they still get booted, those are really malicious hackers. Definitely contact Xbox Live customer support! Another security issue this week is the reemergence of the Koobface worm in Facebook and MySpace. Brian Krebs of the Washington Post cites TrendMicro as explaining that what happens is, social networkers get an invitation from a friend or contact, inviting them "to click on a link and view a video at a counterfeit YouTube site." Then they're told they "need to install an Adobe Flash plug-in to view the video," but what they really download, if they fall for it, is a Trojan horse program that lets attackers take over their computer.