Dave and Bill  

Show Notes

• Archived Blog Post

  Date / Time: 6/6/2008 2:31 AM UTC

  A Fortune 50 Expert Sniffing Packets...What's A Packet?
  

  Sometimes this is just too much fun. It's always a pleasure to have a guest that you know could run circles around you when it comes to Internet security issues. Especially when they walk the talk and are knee deep in the trenches. I'm talking about G. L. Sheerin a technical architect with a fortune 50 company that develops and deploys new technologies to automate and streamline customer interaction. Gary Sheerin ensures best practices in security and networking capabilities for his company's business units.
  
  Bill and I believe to combat the nefarious levels of organized crime and the deviants that run amuck on the Internet threatening the innocence of our children, some of us have taken up the mantel and are doing something positive.
  
  Our battle is not focused on organized crime, cybercriminals, predators, and/or hackers but, on the complacency of the people who use the computers and do little or nothing to secure their children or families from these threats. We believe that complacency needs to be replaced with "Responsible CyberCitizens" and Gary Sheerin an IT professional with more than a decade of experience in network design and security has bridged the gap in his "Peter's Packet" Series, whose first volume, "Virus Game" introduces children to the world of computer science and weaves technology into his kid-friendly story in a fun, informative way. What better way than to influence the upcoming tech-savvy Net-Generation than to become Responsible CyberCitizens. Eighty percent of the Internet is made up of people like you and me; we dominate the internet. The more responsible cybercitizens the less likely we will be victimized and the more difficult it will be for predators to groom our children to become victims.
  
  Granted even though Peter Packet's Series may have your children interested in computer science and understanding that "packets" are what delivers information in the computer world, and also delivers malware but, this doesn't take away the fact that kids are still kids and susceptible to the perils of the Internet. However, the influence of both children and parents as responsible cybercitizens will diminish the number of victims.
  
  G.L. Sheerin alluded to a "Peter Packet School" that would enhance math and technology. That would make for an interesting theme based school.
  
  The "Virus Game" introduces Peter Dempsey who hates computers and all the peripherals associated with PCs. However, as fate has it Peter is hit by a bolt of lightning that gives him the ability to see and communicate with the lives that live within our computers.
  
  Peter befriends the "packets" and from here the secret world of the internet and all the characters that live within the "Packet World" are revealed to Peter. Peter becomes privy to a new super virus that will shut down the Internet and the Packet World forever if he doesn't help to stop the nemesis; Terry Williams.
  
  Besides sharing with us the Peter Packet series, Gary also discussed with Bill and I some safety issues that are important in securing your children's online habits, especially now that summer is here and many children are left unsupervised and free to surf the Internet. This would be a great time to introduce your child to the Peter's Packet Series and grab a copy of the "Virus Game".
  
  Once again, The CyberHood Watch was affirmed of its direction and the services being offered to its members. We asked Gary to share his thoughts on what he felt about monitoring your children's online activities and what he thought about a managed security service for everyday people like us. Be sure to listen in to CHWradio.com and get ready for some interesting and fun conversation.
  
  One of Mr. Sheerin's expertises was the ability to sniff out and recognize malware that had attached itself to a packet; hence, sniffing packets. Malware encompasses viruses, Trojans, Worms, spyware, etc.
  • Tags:
  • Peter's Packet Serie
  • G. L. Sheerin
  • Monitoring Software
  • Responsible CyberCit
  • Virus Game
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