Kids and adults alike are spending more and more time on social networks, and it’s important to stay up-to-date on any accompanying services that can be used in with the various social networks that are consistently increasing in popularity. For new members of the Avira Social Network Protection community, we have some reasons for why staying protected, safe and secure on social networks is not only awesome, but also very important in the ever-growing world of social networks and online communities. Check out the reasons we’ve shared below and add your own suggestions in our Comments section: It will help to maintain a….read more

A recent study by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) found that up to 88% of sexually explicit photos and videos posted by teens can be uploaded to “parasite websites” where they are made public, even if the original posted content has been deleted. If teens today didn’t already have enough reason to keep inappropriate photos off of the Internet, these websites often exist primarily for the purpose of housing this kind of content. For the purposes of its study, IWF analyzed approximately 12,000 images and videos posted online (social networks included) by teens and found that 88% of those….read more

Last week a Facebook milestone confirmed what most people probably already suspected – that social networking is here to stay. In a status update posted by Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook announced that there are now over one billion people actively using the popular social network every month. This number represents how popular Facebook is and how much people use it to connect online. This one billion mark means that there are more people to connect with than ever before, and therefore more reasons to have the….read more

Now that SocialShield is part of the larger Avira family, we're eager to introduce our users to antivirus software, coding and all things tech! To start, here's a coding problem recently posted by Noah Kindler, SocialShield founder and true Techxpert: Just for fun, here's a neat coding problem and solution. Problem: Implement the nth Fibonacci number recursively. Read just as far ahead as you need if it helps, and please let us know if you find bugs or better solutions! Solution: int finNum(int num) {...} This is a canonical recursive problem that can be encountered. Let's start this problem with a review of….read more

Many of you may have heard already, but we're excited to announce that SocialShield is now part of Avira, the leading provider of computer protection software to over 100 million customers worldwide. To welcome all of our current (and future) SocialShield users to the Avira family, SocialShield will now be a free service! For all current customers, there will be no more monthly charges to your credit card, and we will continue to monitor activity on your child's social networks and alert you to any inappropriate activity….read more

What promises to be one of the most powerful movies - true or fictional - to come out about bullying is BULLY, a documentary set to premiere in select cities on March 30th. The film explores how bullying has affected five different kids and their families. Filmed over the course of the 2009-2010 school year, BULLY shows how kids' lives are endangered, how teachers and administrators respond to different behaviors and incidents and how more and more parents and youths are trying to change how bullying is handled in schools and communities. ….read more

When was the last time you took a close look at the Suggested Friends provided on your Facebook account? I'm often surprised by some of the recommendations I get and wonder: how does Facebook make these? I have looked over some of the suggested names and see that there are some with whom I have a connection based off of "Friends of Friends" but what about the names that I don't recognize at all? Where do they come from? And even more important, who is Facebook recommending that kids become friends with? ….read more

Today Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, are launching the Born This Way Foundation, a national anti-bullying movement to empower youth. As stated on the foundation's website, the Born This Way mission is to "foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated." There is a keynote this afternoon at Harvard University featuring Lady Gaga and Cynthia, Oprah Winfrey and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius. The event will be live streamed from 1-2:30PM PST.   Noted on the site….read more

We recently checked out this infographic about bullying in schools, created by the law offices of Buckfire & Buckfire in Michigan. Researched and designed after the office began receiving frequent calls from concerned parents about their children being harassed at school, the infographic shows facts and statistics about student bullying. One of the most shocking numbers on there is that 160,000 students miss school every day for fear of being bullied. Equally as concerning is that 77% of students are bullied mentally, verbally and physically, and….read more

  Kathryn Rose is an award-winning author, speaker and social media strategist. She has  written 6 books on social media marketing, including The Step by Step Guides to Facebook, Twitter, SEO/Video Marketing and LinkedIn for Business, as well as The Parent's and Grandparent's Guides to Facebook. Kathryn also serves on SocialShield's Parent Advisory Council, and has contributed the below blog post to address the new Facebook Timeline. This past December, Facebook began rolling out yet another site redesign. This one is called "Timeline." In the updated versions of my….read more