What is Cyber-Stalking?

In recent years, new methods of stalking have popped up due to increases in technology. This has led to new threat to law enforcement officials known as cyber stalking. This is use of information and communications technology, particularly the Internet, to harass an individual, group of individuals, or organization. The behavior can include false accusations, monitoring, the transmission of threats, identity theft, damage to data or equipment, the solicitation of minors for sexual purposes, and gathering information for harassment purposes. Doesn’t sound fun, does it?

How many of us have a Facebook or Twitter page that we update religiously? Our aim is to keep our friends up to date on what’s going on with us. But in doing so, we give people the perfect resource to be able to find us at any moment. I realize this sounds a little paranoid – who is really going to take the time to check my Facebook status so they can find me? But if someone is intent on it, it just gives them better access. And if we think about a person who would be considered a back at the definition… he or she would be pretty intent.

Here’s an even more paranoid one for you, and it’s real… Did you know that most cell phones have GPS locaters in them? And that that locater can be accessed? So that tiny device that is permanently attached to our ears and thumbs can allow people to find you who you would prefer could not.

So next time you go to update that status – think before you type. How much do you really need the world to know about where you are?

Until next time… For the Glory, Know the Code!

Drugs are not mixers...

Did you know that the government ranks alcohol-drug combinations as the leading cause of drug related deaths in the United States? How about that the overwhelming majority of all poisonings and overdoses that take place each year are accidents? This means that most of those people who die from a drug overdose didn’t intend to cause serious damage. They were just unaware of the consequences of mixing alcohol with drugs.

These statistics are frightening, but real. They are also all too common. Even now you might be thinking, “Well that won’t happen to me because I don’t do drugs.” Please don’t think that these horrible scenarios are only caused by mixing alcohol with recreational drugs. Even those over the counter drugs you might take for a headache or cold can cause serious repercussions. Read the labels. Many of them say on the box that they should not be taken with alcohol. That’s there for a reason.

Mixing any drug with alcohol has consequences that could be dangerous. If you take antidepressants or stimulants and then drink alcohol, you’re giving your body mixed messages. The drugs are fighting within your body for dominance. No matter which one wins, you lose in the end.

On a related note, be aware that prescription medications are only legal to take when your name is on the prescription bottle. Using someone else’s medication is never ok, and never safe.

So be more cognizant about what you’re putting in your body. And maybe when you’re not feeling well enough to drink, your body’s trying to tell you something. The question is- Are you listening?

Until next time, “For the Glory: Know the Code.”