I logged into Google a few weeks ago to access my… well, most of my everything.

And on this particular day the home page at Google was very, very odd…

Apparently, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of PacMan, Google introduced it’s first interactive “doodle”- which quite a few online folks thought was extremely annoying.

It is a game, Google said. Games have sounds. “We want the &!^%* sound off” the masses screamed.

Countless bouts of ranting and raving and “I’m switching to Bing” ensued for hours.

But 48 hours later when the Google/PacMan brouhaha was all over, and everyone got back to business – I started thinking a lot about Google and the substantial impact it has on our daily lives.

I use Google a lot.

And what if Google wasn’t around anymore? Or what if their many online offerings were no longer free?

5 Things I Would Miss Most About Google

1. Gmail

With email forwarding, POP3 and IMAP access, built in spam filtering, virus protection and a host of additional features, Gmail is one of the most full-featured free email services around.

2. Best Search Engine Ever

Surely, I’m not the only person who believes that Google is simply the most efficient and blazingly fast Search Engine there is. (Am I?)

3. Google Calendar

Google Calendar is an online calendar (free, of course) that lets you keep track of your appointments, events, etc. You also have the ability to share your calendars with others, and send reminders to yourself – via text to your cell phone or as email.

4. Google Voice

Google Voice is an online based  phone and virtual pbx service (yes, free) which gives you a local number, forwarding, and a myriad of other cool features.

5. Google Analytics

I design, install, and manage a lot of websites and Blogs.

And one critical aspect of running any site is analyzing it  – determining who your site visitors are, how they got to your website, etc.

Google Analytics is simply the most powerful free web analyzing tool I’ve seen. The application has so many report features – you’ll probably never even use them all!

So that’s my Google Love List (for today).

What do you think about Google?

What did you think about the PacMan/Google Home Page thingy?

What would you do without Google?

Fearful Link Clickers. Say it 3 times -- as fast as you can. (I love tongue-twisters).

Here’s the thing: I’ve been getting a few calls about my Post “5 More Tips For Protecting Yourself Online”.

Seems Item #4 got a few people very jittery about clicking email links – for fear of being “lured in” to a phishing scheme.

I’m glad that at least some of you are now being much more careful about what you click – but I didn’t mean to frighten you!

A phishing scheme revolves around cyber-criminals who send “fake” emails to unsuspecting consumers for the purpose of getting personal information from them.

Let’s let this not be you!

Remember: Crooks are looking for personal information.

Always be sure who you are providing personal information to.

If you must provide it online, make sure you go directly to the website by entering the URL in your address bar (and never from an email link).

What type of information are crooks looking for?

• Credit Card Numbers
• Bank Account Information
• Social Security Numbers
• Online Passwords

Here is a video about Phishing Scams which explains how criminals work to extract personal information online.

And please, do not fear your email inbox. Just be careful with it!

Check out Part One here.

1. Use A Firewall

A firewall is a hardware and/or software configuration designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted transmissions from the Internet. It will screen out viruses, worms, and hackers which may try to infiltrate your computer system and compromise your personal information when you are online.

If you are running Windows XP (or higher) on a PC or OSX on a Mac – you are set, since a firewall is built into your operating system.

As an added layer of protection, you may also want to use a router that has its own firewall features built in.

2. Get an excellent Anti-Virus Program and keep it updated.

There are so many anti-virus programs on the market today – it’s hard to figure out what is a good product and what is not. (I’ve used several of them that are far from good!)

But now I use AVG. You can download the most recent free version here.

Other well rated anti-virus programs include Avast and Kaspersky.

3. Keep your Web Browser updated.

If you read my Blog on a regular basis (you do, don’t you?) then you know that I love Mozilla Firefox.

But if you like Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari or something other – just make sure that you keep your browser updated.

4. Do not click links in emails from sources which you cannot verify as REAL.

Fraud-based emails can use real company logos – to trick you into believing that their email message is legitimate.

Clicking links within these emails can lead you to fake sites which may ask for your personal information.

So do not click these types of email links!

These are known as “phishing schemes” ( “fishing” for your information) – phony emails pretending to be real.

5. Do not give detailed Personal Information in ANY Email Message.

(I use a FAX machine for sending private/sensitive information as necessary).

Be wary of email messages directly asking for your personal information — or which asks you to “update” or “confirm” personal information.

Instead, call the business (use a verified phone number, not the number in the email message you received) to determine if the message is legitimate or not.

Legitimate businesses will not ask you to compromise your personal information by sending it via email.

As cyber-criminals become more sophisticated, it is becoming a bit more difficult for us to tell whether an email message or Web site is fraudulent or not.

By doing business with reputable individuals and companies – and always being mindful of your online actions – you can protect yourself from the bad guys!