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Joanne has young and teenage children and they all have internet access via the family computer placed in the dining room. She can see what is happening and keep tabs on their actions but is worried because she doesn't always fully understand what is on the screen. She wants to know if there is a site that points out security pitfalls and solutions she should be aware of. Most sites she has seen, such as Netnanny, peddle products or are US specific - she needs something more tailored to her Kiwi family.

A perfect site - Netsafe - exists courtesy of the Ministry of Education, the police and several other internet-savvy authorities. Because all these important bodies are working together for a change, a clear, reasonably unbiased, accurate picture of current internet security issues, pitfalls and solutions pertinent to New Zealand can be found within the site. It covers the complete sphere well and in a short time can give you an expert understanding of all safety concerns you should be aware of.

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I can't seem to access the Westpac site to do my internet banking.

Lindsay's computer crashed last week and, after reinstalling Windows 98, her attempts to access Westpac's site resulted in total failure and a message touting 128 encryption, or something to that effect. She wants to know if the site is having problems or whether the problem is at her end.
Most bank sites use high-security, 128-bit encryption to protect any information, such as passwords or logins when travelling between your computer and the bank servers. Older versions of Windows don't have a recent enough version of the Internet Explorer browser to successfully access the current 128-bit sites. Since they were designed in the days of less complex security, subsequent changes have rendered the original versions inadequate. Run Windows update so both Windows and Internet Explorer can be updated to current standards. Without this security, those sites would regularly be compromised and soon lose the trust of the bank's customers.