As the internet and other digital technologies take an increasingly firmer hold upon many aspects of our lives, it’s important to think about your security in this new ‘digital continent’. There have been plenty of Catholic.geek pieces in the past talking about the need to protect yourself with anti-virus applications as well as tools for spyware and malware detection and removal, not to mention firewalls. And these are all important pieces of the online security puzzle.

But of even more importance (arguably) are your passwords. With a few exceptions, your password is the only thing between your personal data and nearly 2 billion other internet users. So why is it that so many of us have such weak passwords? There will be some of you reading this that have your personal financial data protected by some variation of ‘Password1′. There will be others who have their entire email archive – as well as the ability to impersonate them by sending email from their address – protected by nothing but their last name, or ‘1234′, or some other equally weak variation.

Such passwords are crackable in seconds. But complex passwords are hard to remember. So, what to do? Well, how about some divine inspiration? Even a simple bible reference makes a much stronger password than ‘Password1′. ‘Corinthians 1:10-16′ makes for a pretty strong password. Even better is a concatenated, first letter Bible quote. Take, for example, ‘Itb,Gcth&te Gen1:1′, which is the first letters from Genesis 1:1 – ‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth’ – with an ampersand and the reference at the end.

And, as an extra bonus, every time you log on to your email, you’ll be reflecting on God’s word – now that’s a holy password!

As a new parent of a budding little Catholic Geek it doesn’t take long to figure out that the internet is teeming with websites to help you with your new baby. You can get totally stocked up without even having to leave your computer – great for geeks! A couple of the most popular sites are www.kiwibaby.co.nz or www.kiwibaby.com or www.winkalotts.co.nz. Between those sites you can get almost anything… You can use www.priceme.co.nz to make sure you get the best deal. And most places do free shopping if you spend more than $100 (which sadly isn’t hard). There are frequent specials on so it pays to plan ahead and keep an eye out on price so you can pounce when the price is right, rather than being forced to pay full retail.

Plunket is New Zealand’s biggest well child provider – and a household name. Their site www.plunket.org.nz has information ranging from their services (which include courses for parents), age specific resources and safety guidelines. Two of Plunket’s key sponsors, Huggies and Watties also provide a great deal of useful information for first time parents on their websites www.huggies.co.nz and www.forbaby.co.nz, in addition to all the expected product information. And when you’re ready to travel with your little one then you can find out great information about child restraints on both www.childrestraints.co.nz and www.safe2go.co.nz – giving you the low down, so you buy what’s best for you and your littlie.

For your new child’s stimulation, Sparc has information up about a fantastic programme called Active Movement which helps parents help their littlies develop. Go to http://www.sparc.org.nz/education/active-movement/overview to download their brochures.

The list goes on and on – so remember to look around and ask around to keep your eye out for good information and great prices!