Online security essential

Information on preventing identity theft, recipes from Virginia, and ways to declutter your vehicle will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” at noon on Tuesday and 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Richard Bradfute is the chief information officer at Portales National Bank, and he’ll talk about identity theft, fraud alert, identity theft techniques, phishing, pharming, and tell how to protect yourself online. Bradfute lives in Portales.

Rowena Fullinwider is the owner of Rowena’s Foods and is also a cookbook author. Some of her recipes have been featured in the “Celebrate Virginia” cookbook, which embraces Virginia’s history and heritage. She’ll share some of these recipes. Her business is located in Norfolk, Va.

Author, speaker and professional organizer, Kathryn Porter shows how to de-clutter your vehicle so you can enjoy traveling as a family. She’s from Colorado Springs, Colo.

Information on free motion sewing and gluten-free cooking will be the featured topics on “Creative Living” at 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday and at noon on Thursday.

Patsy Shields, Sulky of America, will demonstrate several free motion sewing techniques, including thread painting, dimensional thread flowers, spun lace and 3-D thread trees. She lives in Sellersburg, Ind.

Cookbook author and celiac, Bette Hagman will demonstrate several recipes for people who are gluten-intolerant. She’ll also talk about substitutions that can be made in traditional breakfast foods to make them edible for celiacs. Hagman lived in Seattle, Wash.

Protect yourself online:

Keep your system patched (Microsoft Automatic Updates)

Use a firewall

Keep your virus definitions current

Install Anti-Spyware software and keep its definitions current

Don’t surf the web with an administrative account.

Secure your wireless network

Beware of USB devices and CDs

Never open e-mail attachments unless you are expecting them

Do not respond to advertisements on Web sites or e-mail unless you know they are legitimate

When a Web site prompts you to install software, do not! Go to the software site and download/install it yourself

Use strong passwords – alphanumeric, mixed case and special characters

Multifactor authentication

Don’t download and install software unless you KNOW it is legitimate (avoid screen savers, toolbars, backgrounds)

Use a content filter

“Creative Living” is produced and hosted by Sheryl Borden. The show is carried by more than 118 PBS stations in the United States, Canada, Guam and Puerto Rico and is distributed by Westlink of Albuquerque.