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"It sounds like the stuff of sci-fi nightmares - a stranger hacking your baby cam and shouting abuse at your toddler. Someone controlling your home's lights and power points via a system that should only respond to your smartphone. Criminals watching you and your family from your smart TV without your knowledge. But each of these has already happened, and mark the beginning of a cyber crime wave threatening business, governments and individuals around the world. The number of smart devices being connected online in what's called the "Internet of Things" will rocket from 13 billion to an estimated 50 billion by 2020. The problem, says LA security consultant Marc Goodman, is that they're all hackable."

"I'm pretty sure that we're all aware of computer hackers. The real shocker comes with just how easy it is for hackers to steal your information. Today's infographic lets us regular folk know just how easy it is for our information to be tracked and potentially stolen. I have personally been guilty of being too trusting of public routers.  Since I don't have internet at home, I'll spend HOURS surfing the net, and getting personal things done at Mcdonalds, where the internet is free for the public to use. But not after reading today's infographic! It's crazy to realize that this entire time someone could have been cyber stalking my information! I'm going to have to beef up my antivirus and keep my internet time to a minimum. Seriously, for your personal and financial safety, read today's infographic and be protect your computer. The facts in today's infographic are too scary to ignore!"

Cloud to take up 90% of IoT data by 2020, says IDC. IDC's FutureScape report reveals the latest findings and predictions on the Internet of Things (IoT) between 2015 and 2020. CBR highlights 10 need-to-know predictions from the report's findings. 1.

"The Internet is your permanent record" The joke in classrooms used to be that your bad behavior would become part of your Permanent Record. There was no such thing in the old days, but there is now, and it's called the Internet.

"What you're about to lose is your privacy, and the cause is the internet of things (IoT). Actually, you are not just going to lose your privacy, the very concept of privacy may be rewritten under your nose. That's because while the IoT is going to add a lot to our lives, it's probably going to take our privacy in payment, whether you want it to or not."

"Fear comes in many forms, and on Halloween things get creepier and crawlier than usual. But for some of us, the scariest thing of all has nothing to do with snakes and spiders - and everything to do with cybersecurity. Lax attitudes towards online accounts have led to major digital break-ins for years, which is why content security software Trend Micro realized we should all be a little bit more scared of password protection and less scared of heights and elevators. The company found that one in four of us use the same password, or a variation, for all our accounts. One in four people in the U.S. also don't bother to back up files."

The scary aspects are how young these hackers are, and how little remorse they show. It might seem like an American thing, or a gaming thing, but it's also a global citizen thing.

"95% of Millennials claim to have taken action to protect their online privacy, which is good. Everyone needs to be looking after themselves, especially on the internet, since identity theft is a thing. That still blows my mind. Someone can take your life away over the internet. At least 95% of the Millennials are safe, right?"

"Nowadays, kids want to use smartphones. Of course, most parents aren't willing to actually buy their kids a device, but plenty have no problem letting them play with one. Of course, when a child uses a cell phone they can potentially be exposed to all kinds of dangerous things that aren't meant for young eyes. But the risks aren't just for the children, but they can affect you, the parents, too. Kids could make unwanted in-app purchases, make calls to people you don't want to talk to, they could even share photos you don't want the world to see, and they can do plenty of other bad things. So what can you do? Check out the infographic below for the answers."

"There are days I just hate technology. Just when I think I'm ahead of my kids, up pops another ridiculously stupid app like Yik Yak. The latest app to make news, Yik Yak allows users to comment anonymously-because you know, who needs to take responsibility for their words, right? I've read a couple of blogs about it, too-great takes from Portrait of an Adoption,  Baby Sideburns and Tween Us. And then there's the schools, at least locally, trying to get the app disabled. Good luck with that. Because here's the thing. The app developers only care about one thing-and it's not your kid."

Recently, two teenage girls in Gainesville, Florida made a video (note: NSFW) in which they spewed a truckload of racist comments. They posted the video on YouTube and subsequently ruined their lives. It took all of fourteen minutes. (Actually, probably twenty, if you account for the time it took to upload the video.) When the video went viral, these girls' lives changed radically -- and not for the better. They have received numerous death threats, have been forced to drop out of the high school they'd been attending, and have become the latest poster children for social media stupidity. (As of this writing, at least one of the girls has publicly apologized for her remarks.) These are just the immediate repercussions. What consequences they will face in the future remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: it will be a long time before these girls can escape the shadow cast by this regrettable and truly disastrous #socialmediafail.

"Researcher danah boyd is obsessed with how teenagers use the Internet. For the legions of adults who are worried about them, that's a good thing."

"Wickr is a free app that provides: ·military-grade encryption of text, picture, audio and video messages ·sender-based control over who can read messages, where and for how long ·best available privacy, anonymity and secure file shredding features ·security that is simple to use"

mmm ... apparently this app has been around for some time - 2 years at least. Spoke to my son who works in the IT industry and he is very sceptical about it - since email is sent to a server, then deconstructed and sent as packets and then reconstructed on a server and then sent to a user - when does the message self-destruct? If it is only at the end point then the digital footprint is still there. Military grade encryption - what does this mean? There is no such thing as a free lunch on the Internet - I would be careful about what I send and certainly not trust something that is touted as "free" - there is always a cost! :) BC

"Respect each other online You can use phones, tablets and computers to do awesome stuff. But things can turn nasty if you use them to disrespect each other. Treat each other with respect and Keep It Tame." This site has links to a range of support services and comes from http://www.youngandwellcrc.org.au/ 

PLNs or Personal Learning Networks are one of the lifelong learning strategies that are enhanced through the internet. Will Richardson is a well-known commentator on digital education and this short clip and blog entry are a useful resource for talking with students about developing a PLN.