Security expert Linda McCarthy has written a 48-page book, Digital Drama: Staying Safe While Being Social Online, aimed teens and their families on how to manage online behavior to enhance safety, security and privacy. McCarthy is an author and computer security consultant with more than twenty years of industry experience in educating families, security auditing, consulting, training, research and development, and leading high-performing teams.
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In support of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, Microsoft has provided support to allow her to offer free downloads of Digital Drama from Amazon in both English and Spanish. The free offer is only available this week, from today through 3:00am (EDT) Saturday, September 28.
Kim Sanchez, who heads Microsoft’s Online Safety – Trustworthy Computing Communications efforts, interviewed McCarthy last week about her new book and it’s goals. “Digital Drama has something for everyone.”, McCarty said about who she write the book for. “Parents can read it and get ideas about how to talk with their kids about online safety. Even if you don’t have kids, you’ll find guidance that will help you, a family member, or a friend. So download the ebook and share it with everyone you know.”
Here’s how the book is described on McCarthy’s site:
Every day, millions of teens log on and make decisions that can compromise their safety, security, privacy, and future. If you are like most teens, you are already using social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook and have your smartphone super-glued to your hand. You tag your friends in photos, share your location and thoughts with friends, and post jokes online that later may be misunderstood. At the same time, you might not realize how that information can affect your reputation and safety, both online and offline. We’ve all heard the horror stories of stolen identities, cyber stalking, pedophiles on the Internet, and lost job, school, and personal opportunities. All teens need to learn how to protect themselves against malware, social networking scams, and cyberbullies. This book helps you learn crucial skills:
- Deal with cyberbullies
- Learn key social networking skills
- Protect your privacy
- Create a positive online reputation
- Protect yourself from phishing and malware scams
Microsoft (@Safer_Online) will hold an online Twitter chat at 3:00pm (EDT) on September 25 with Linda McCarthy (@ddramabook) and other online safety experts about how her ebook can help people talk with kids about digital safety. Use #ChatSTC to ask questions or join the conversation.