Internet

Dear to my heart is the OpenDisc (and the closely related OpenEducationDisc) project which aims to introduce Windows-users to the many benefits of Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS). Dozens of high-quality programs are available for easy distribution via a single CD (or simple download from the OpenDisc website). On the disc is a screenshot and description of each program so you get a feel for each program before installing.

If you have children old enough to use the Internet, hopefully you've warned them of the dangers of sharing their personal information online. But what if you're the one sharing personal information?

How can you know whether the person behind a personal ad, or at the other end of an e-mail is who they pretend to be? Are you providing perfect strangers your phone number, address or other details of your personal life?

What if the person you're giving that information to is a stalker, a sexual predator or worse? How would you know? Several local women have learned the hard way that sometimes you don't know, and they have become victims of a man whose tactics have exposed at least one woman and her family to very real danger.

In the course of gathering information for a story about this man, I also became his victim. Although I am no longer the lead reporter on the Times-Union's story about this man, which is still being developed, Lt. William Gaden of the Clay County Sheriff's Office has asked me to write a public service announcement warning you of the dangers you may unwittingly be exposing yourself and your loved ones to.