July 8, 2004

Local author writes book on Internet safety for teenagers

By Shari Kaplan
Editor

Dan Appleman of Blossom Valley knows that if you want the attention of teenagers, you have to think like teenagers. And so, when the former teacher and current youth group advisor decided to write a book on how teens can practice “safe computing,” he blended two things nearly all young people appreciate: humor and technology.

Although one can’t judge a book by its cover, its title is another matter, and Appleman has that covered with the memorable “Always Use Protection.” Subtitled “A Teen’s Guide to Safe Computing,” the 266-page soft cover book contains information on computer security and Internet safety directed specifically at the 13- to 18-year-old set, in language that’s relevant and friendly—especially the chatty, witty asides in the many footnotes.

The book’s issues themselves are no laughing matter, but they do vary in terms of seriousness. Appleman likens this to a spectrum. On one end are problems like computer viruses, worms and Trojan horses, which can enter computers via infected CDs and disks or from infected e-mail attachments sent by friends and spammers alike.

“These are the most common but the least dangerous to your safety,” he says.

On the other end are the kidnappings and assaults that occur—albeit less frequently than alarmists may think—when young people arrange to meet in person with strangers they’ve befriended on the Internet. “This is the least common, but obviously the most dangerous,” Appleman says. In the middle of the commonality-danger spectrum is identity theft, which can happen when people reveal personal information like credit card or social security numbers on non-secure Web sites or on “spoof” sites that look like reputable businesses but actually are fraudulent.

The technical part of the book was the easiest for me,” says Appleman, who holds degrees in information and computer science and electronic engineering. “I did research on online safety issues, and like everyone else, I get a lot of spam, as well as scam attempts, in my email. There was no shortage of samples to use!”

For the more personable part, Appleman recruited members of his youth group, as well as friends of his tech-savvy nephew, Luke Duncan, age 15, to keep him current on what teenagers do with their computers, online and off. In fact, one of Appleman’s inspirations for the book came in mid-2003, when one of Luke’s friends fell prey to an online hacker. At the time, Curtis had neither an anti-virus program nor a security firewall installed on his computer, which left him doubly vulnerable whenever he went online.

Luke and the other teens, all of whom Appleman thanks personally in “Always Use Protection’s” acknowledgments page, also reviewed the book’s rough drafts and, in some cases, advised Appleman what to rewrite.

“My main concern was, am I clear? And second, is the tone right? I didn’t want to be condescending. I also didn’t want to sound like school or like someone’s parents,” says Appleman, also the co-founder of high-tech publishing company Apress and the president of Desaware, Inc., a developer of add-on products and components for Microsoft Visual Studio.

“At first, I was skeptical about the book,” says Luke, a Campbell resident and Westmont High School student. “If teens read it, I think they’ll like it, but I don’t know how many will buy it. A lot of them might not realize they’re in danger or that they have problems.”

“For the most part, I’d try to get it through their heads that they really need to know this stuff! And once they start to read it, it’s easy and fast,” adds Luke, who recently completed a computer repair class at school.

One of Luke’s greatest concerns is not that his friends are going to arrange a meeting with an Internet “friend,” but that approximately half of them have poorly protected computers with no security firewalls or anti-virus programs—or they have anti-virus programs that haven’t been updated in a long time. He hopes his uncle’s book will change these things. “This is basic information; once you know it, it’ll stick with you,” Luke asserts.

“I think there’s a desperate need for a book like this. It’s such a disaster out there [on the Internet]. If I can solve a problem for even 10 percent of computer users, it’ll be worth it,” Appleman says. “I think a lot of sales will be parents buying the book for their kids. Although a lot of adults have bought it for themselves, and they’ve said, ‘Why do you say this is just for teens? It’s helpful for me, too!’”

“Always Use Protection: A Teen’s Guide to Safe Computing,” is available at most major bookstores and online booksellers. Appleman has already held book signings and talks in San Jose and Campbell and is now on an inter-state promotional tour.

For more information about signings or sales, or to check for recent updates or corrections to book information (“kind of like software patches for Windows,” Appleman says), visit www.alwaysuseprotection.com on the Internet.