uKnow.com’s co-founder, Tim Woda,
offers advice to help parents keep their kids safe from digital dangers
including child predators and cyberbullying while using social
networking components in online games
Even
the most vigilant of parents are struggling to keep up with advancing
technologies that allow kids to be online without parental knowledge...
According to a 2012 study by TDG Research, 80 percent of an expected
190 million households (approximately 148 million households) with next
generation video game consoles will have this console connected to the
Internet. Unfortunately, many parents do not know the risks associated with social gaming including cyberbullying, sexting and child predators.
“Even the most vigilant of parents are struggling to keep up with
advancing technologies that allow kids to be online without parental
knowledge,” says Tim Woda, a Digital Safety Expert and the co-founder of
uKnow.com, a provider of parental intelligence systems. “Parents need
to know that any time your child is online, they are at risk for such
issues as identity theft, cyberbullying,
sexting and online predators.
Additionally, Internet-connected gaming
devices are now a popular way for cybercriminals to place malware and
viruses in a home network.”
Tim offers the following advice to parents trying to manage their child’s gaming console:
Set the rules up front. Make sure you child knows that under no
circumstances are they ever to give out any personal information via the
gaming consoles, such as their address, passwords, parent’s credit card
numbers, etc.
Agree on downloads or game purchases. Nearly all games are
identified by a universal rating similar to movies (“E” for everyone,
etc.) Make sure your child knows what ratings range he is allowed to
play within, and stick to consequences should they stray.
Stay in safe zones. Just as you teach your child that they
should check both ways before crossing the street and to never walk
alone at night, kids need to understand how to avoid dangerous places
online. And, if they do find themselves in a risky place, tweens/teens
need to know what to do: never engage with someone they don’t know,
never forward/share explicit conversations or pictures, delete any
unpleasant content, and most importantly, talk about it with your
parents.
Ensure your child understands that people aren’t necessarily
who they say they are in cyberspace. We don’t want to scare our kids,
but it is imperative that they understand that stranger danger exists
online as well. Johnny316 may not be the 13 year old boy from the next
town, but instead, a 45 year old convicted sex offender. Parents should
read “11 Signs That Your Child is being Targeted by a Child Predator” to fully understand the issue.
Understand what your child is doing on their gaming system.
Many parents do not even know their child’s gaming system has a social
networking profile that can be public to anyone with an Internet
connection. A service like uKnowKids (and the new uKnowSearch™
service), can identify, monitor and report a child’s activity on a
gaming device (or social networking account or mobile phone).
About Tim Woda
Tim is an Internet and child safety
advocate, public speaker, author, and co-founder of uKnow.com. He has
made protecting kids from digital dangers his life mission after his own
child was targeted online by a child predator. You can get more useful
safety tips at TimWoda.com or on Twitter at @TimWoda.
About uKnow.com
Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Arlington, Va., uKnow.com is the only company that offers a parental intelligence system
available for both private-label and consumer use. The company powers
the world's leading Parental Intelligence Systems including
uKnowKids.com, KidSafe.me, SafeCyberKids.com, SocialFirefly.com,
aBeanstalk.com, MySocialScout.net, and p911Safety.com, among others.
uKnow.com works with companies and organizations to help parents
protect their kids from child predators, sexting, and cyberbullying with
a special focus on the social networks and mobile phone. uKnow.com’s
technology provides parents with a bird's eye view of what is going on
in their child's digital world so that they can keep their finger on the
pulse, and when necessary, take action to protect the safety and
privacy of their kids. You can find uKnow.com on Twitter at
twitter.com/uKnow_com, on Facebook at Facebook.com/uKnow.com, and on
their Parenting Blog.
Monday, August 6, 2012
How to Improve the Internet Speed for Online Gaming
Slow Internet speeds can ruin a user's enjoyment of a good game. Too
many gamers have had easy victories slip through their fingers because
of a lagging connection. The speed of your Internet connection can vary
greatly depending on which game you are playing, the computer you are
running the game on and the type of Internet connection you have, as
well as transient conditions that may affect your connection. Even so,
you can follow a few basic guidelines to keep your game running
smoothly.
Instructions:
1. Shut down other Internet activities. Unless you've got a computer with
an ultra-fast processor, the performance of your machine will decrease
as you open more windows and run more tasks concurrently. Online games
consume quite a bit of bandwidth, so engaging in other
bandwidth-intensive activities such as streaming video, video chat,
instant messaging and browsing the Web with auto-refreshing feeds on
sites such as Twitter and Facebook will noticeably slow down your game.
2. Configure your firewall to recognize and allow your game to
run. It's easy to forget about your firewall since it runs in the
background, but often a slow-running game is the result of your firewall
interpreting the inbound connection from the game's servers as a
security threat. All firewalls have a menu option for setting "allowed"
or "trusted" programs. Make sure your game or your gaming platform (such
as Steam or Impulse) is included on this list.
3. Invest in a high-speed Internet connection. Adjusting your
usage habits and your firewall will only get you so far if your
connection is slow to begin with. Contact your ISP to discuss your
upgrade options or research other local ISPs to find the right
connection for you.
Friday, July 20, 2012
What is Online Gaming?
Online gaming can refer to any type of game that someone can play
through the Internet or over a computer network. Most of the time,
online gaming refers to video games played over the Internet, where
multiple players are in different locations across the world. Online
gaming also can refer to the idea of gambling over the Internet, through
an online casino or an online poker room.
Having an optimal online gaming experience typically requires a
high-speed Internet connection. Proper hardware will also be required,
whether it's a computer or a gaming console, such as Xbox® or
PlayStation®, that's connected to the Internet. Some online games
require a specific piece of controlling hardware, such as a joystick or a
game controller. Gaming software, which could be a CD or DVD that contains the gaming software or which could be available as a simple download through the Internet, will also be a necessity. With some games, the latest Flash software and Web browser versions will be needed.
In
terms of video games, online gaming is growing in popularity for a
variety of reasons. Gamers can easily find opponents of a similar skill
level when playing a head-to-head game over the Internet. Players also
can compete in massively multiplayer games, where dozens of players play
an ongoing game in a virtual world.
Often times, participants can communicate with other gamers through
text chat sessions during online gaming or, sometimes, players can
actually speak to other players, using special audio hardware.
Some online games charge a monthly fee for access to the video game
software. World of Warcraft (WoW) is one such game. A monthly fee might
also be offered to give players access to the network that helps them
find and connect to other gamers remotely. When joining a multiplayer
game, participants will have to agree to a set of rules, often called an
End User License Agreement (EULA)
that helps prevent conflicts between players and that defines the
required behavior for players. Those who violate the rules will be
banned from playing the game.
Online gambling is sometimes considered a form of online gaming.
This type of game, however, is illegal for residents of some countries.
Most online casinos or poker rooms are based in countries that allow
online gambling; it's up to the user to know his or her country's laws
regarding online gambling. When using an online casino, gamblers usually
will fund an account at the Web site from a credit card
or bank account, then gamble with that money. Online gaming can involve
almost any type of gambling, such as electronic slot machines,
electronic poker, and sports wagering.
Monday, June 25, 2012
25 tips to make your games run faster and smoother
All computers eventually start to creak in their old age, but with a
few quick tweaks and techniques, you can prolong their life for years –
especially if you're willing to lose a bit of modern glitz to play the
games that work them the hardest.
Here's our guide to enjoying the best entertainment, without necessarily spending a fortune on new hardware.
1. Clean your PC
Like
all applications, games benefit from a clean system. Before you even
think about buying new hardware, do some spring cleaning.
Even
Windows 7 benefits from a slash-and-burn reinstall every few months to
get rid of the cobwebs, memory-resident apps and other shackles that so
easily accumulate over time. If games are running slower than they used
to, it's a very good first step to take.
2. Install more memory
Any
major component of your PC can be a drag on your system if it isn't
powerful enough. Memory is one of the cheapest to upgrade, and the
easiest – you simply pop in new sticks and you're done.
If you
have 4GB RAM and a 64-bit version of Windows installed, you should be
good for anything on the market. If you're not sure what you should buy,
you can visit www.crucial.com and run its System Scanner tool. This will tell you both what memory to buy, and how much you need.
3. Change your video card
If
you didn't buy a dedicated gaming PC, or your PC is a couple of years
old, the graphics card in it is likely to be mediocre to terrible. Any
3D game relies on having a powerful graphics card to crunch the numbers,
but buying one isn't necessarily as easy as just plugging one in.
Graphics
cards can be incredibly big, and your case needs both the space and the
cooling to handle that. They also need to be connected to your PC's
power supply, and if that's not powerful enough, the card won't work
even after you fit it.
Be sure to check all the specifications
before ordering. Given a choice between ATI and Nvidia cards, we
currently recommend Nvidia.
4. Update your drivers
It's easy to forget, but the best video card in the world will struggle without the most up-to-date drivers.
If
you have trouble with a game, updating the drivers should always be the
first step – it'll expect you to have everything ready for it. This can
be a pain, but a necessary one.
5. Boost your CPU
If
you don't have a decent video card, there's little that any CPU will do
for you on its own. However, it still plays a key role in determining
how fast your system performs.
Dual-core is fine for the
overwhelming majority of modern games, but quad-core is obviously better
if you can afford it. You don't realistically need anything more than
that at the moment, though.
6. Forget about overclocking
It may sound like heresy, but overclocking your CPU is unlikely to make
any real appreciable difference to most games – a difference, yes, but
generally one that will be measured in a few extra frames.
If you
plan to try it anyway, make sure your cooling can stretch that far.
Generally, though, overclocking has become something you do because you
enjoy overclocking, and it can safely be avoided if you're not
comfortable getting your hands that dirty.
7. Clean up
On
the other hand, if you don't mind a little dirt, this is a great time
to check the state of your case. If it's full of dust and the airways
are blocked, it won't be getting cooled properly, which can seriously
affect the performance of your components.
To clean it out,
switch the power off and use a can of compressed air to clear away the
dust. This is especially important if your PC is on the floor.
8. Consider solid state drives
With
all the pieces in place, it's time to look at your hard drive. This is
the perfect time to look at a solid state drive for both Windows and
your game files. They're smaller than regular drives, but the
performance more than makes up for that.
We recommend having two
drives, the second one a nice, big, traditional terabyte model to hold
things like videos and photos, leaving the main drive entirely for the
applications it does so well. You'll want a large one though – modern
games are incredibly big, and they're only going to get larger as the
graphics improve.
9. Cut back
If your
games are still running slowly, it's time to start switching things off .
Be aware that when you do this, you're going to notice the effect of it
much more.
A lack of something like anti-aliasing is incredibly
obvious when you're intentionally staring at a jaggy object. When the
bullets are flying, you're unlikely to notice as much. As a case in
point, many console games don't bother with it at all.
10. Check your PC's v-sync settings
Now
for the mysterious v-sync. This is vertical-synchronisation, and when
it's switched off , you can encounter problems if your graphics card is
churning out data faster than the monitor can display it.
This
gives an effect called 'tearing', which can make it look as though the
game is stuttering or lagging when it's actually performing above and
beyond. Leave v-sync alone.
11. Turn off filtering
Anisotropic
filtering is similar. It looks good, but it's the kind of looking good
that you don't really notice in the middle of a game. It does slow down
rendering, though. Switch it off for an immediate performance boost. 12. Remove reflections
Real-time
reflections are one of the most intensive graphical effects around, but
you won't lose much by switching them off. We're all so used to water
being just a coloured plane that you're more likely to notice an
effective reflection for being good than to chafe at its absence.
13. Tone down shadows
Shadows
are a fundamental part of many games' atmospheres, and it's a shame to
lose them. Instead, you normally get to tone them down to something
easier for the game to render – for instance, switching off soft edges,
or replacing the carefully rendered shadow with something simpler, like a
blended circle.
14. Turn down your effects
Before
you start switching things off, try turning them down. We don't
actually recommend losing all anti-aliasing if you can avoid it, but you
probably don't need it at 8x power. Try dropping down to just 2x and
seeing if that makes any difference.
15. Tinker with your graphics card settings
If the game itself doesn't give you any options that you can tweak to improve its performance, your graphics card might.
The
ATI Catalyst Control Center, for instance, offers an option called
Overdrive, which lets you do basic graphics card overclocking on the
fly, without you having to open up your computer's case.
16. Tweak the resolution
This
is the easiest thing to turn down if you need a performance boost, but
also one of the most problematic. LCD screens are designed to work with a
specific resolution, and setting it lower will make your game smeary.
If you do crank it down, don't go too far.
17. Turn it down
Other options vary from game to game, but the standard advice is easy – if it can be lowered, try lowering it.
Games
aim for a mid-range system by default. Turning down texture quality is a
great way of speeding up games with lots of close-up action.
18. Shut down other apps
Before
launching your game, press [CTRL]+[ALT]+[DELETE] to bring up the Task
Manager and shut down any memory-hungry applications. Web browsers, mail
clients and office apps are a particular drain. Leave your antivirus
and firewall applications, though!
19. Software solutions
There's
a diverse range of applications out there that claim to be able to
speed up your PC, but most of them can safely be ignored. If you have
the basics covered, your performance will be fine. If you don't,
software tweaks won't make much difference.
20. Check for malware
Malware
could be getting in your way, without being as obvious as the viruses
of old. You should be running antivirus software, but if nothing else,
get something like Windows Security Essentials.
21. Online issues
In online games, the best PC in the world will struggle if it doesn't
have a good network connection. If you're wireless, make sure the signal
strength is solid, or look into upgrading your router/receiver. If you
still have Wireless G (or worse, B), it's time for Wireless N.
22. Wire it up
Look
into getting a wired internet connection. Depending on how your house's
electricity is wired up, you may be able to use a pair of HomePlugs to
create a wired network using the power lines, getting faster performance
and removing wireless interference issues.
23. Check your PC's ping
When
online, the easiest way to check your performance is to look at your
'ping'. The lower it is, the better. Under 100 is essential for fast
action games. If it's higher than that, you need to play on
better/closer servers, or check what else you have running.
24. Get a gaming router
Look
for a dedicated gaming router, or one capable of prioritising certain
types of traffic. This will give the lion's share of the connection to
any games, where every packet counts, while letting more laid-back
applications do their jobs as well.
25. Choose games carefully
If
you can't get games running smoothly, look for titles that are more
friendly. Casual games have low system specs and can still look and play
well. Check out PopCap's range or the indie Diablo clone Torchlight.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Gaming on the computer is a serious hobby and big business for many
people. Many computer games are now focused either as exclusively
online, or partly online using a built-in online tool to enable
multi-player games over the Internet. The level of graphics, speed and
complexity with which many games are now played requires a lot of
hardware and bandwidth, once only fantasized about by gamers.
Instructions:
1
Add more RAM. To be able to play any game well, but
especially online, you'll need a lot of RAM. Your computer's manual
should list what kind of RAM, how much you have and the limit of RAM
your computer can hold. Buy as much RAM as your computer will hold. The
faster the RAM type you can use the better. Open the computer case by
removing the side door with a Philips-head screwdriver. Add or switch
the RAM modules into the RAM slots on your computer. On laptops there is
a small square plastic cover on the bottom that is removed by
unscrewing one or two very small Philips-head screws. Remove this cover
to access and upgrade the RAM.
2
Upgrade your video card. Most games, even online games are
very graphic intensive. Newer video cards have a lot more memory built
into them than do their older counterparts. Use your computer's manual
to find out what kind of card slots your computer has and uses for
video. Purchase a video card that fits your computer and has as much
on-board memory as you can get. Unscrew the old video card from the
inside back of your computer case and slide it out. Insert the new video
card and screw it in. Close the computer and restart. The operating
system will ask for the video card drivers. Insert the driver CD and
browse to the CD to locate the drivers.
3
Upgrade your Internet service provider. For increasing your
speed at anything online, it is vital to have a fast Internet
connection. You will need some type of broadband connection to have any
chance at playing almost any online games. DSL, cable and other
broadband providers have several different services that can provide
basic, intermediate and very fast connection speeds.
