All throughout October, the computer and Internet industries observe Cyber Security Awareness Month. More of a reminder than a celebration, everyone with a computer is encouraged once again to change passwords and check up on their antivirus subscriptions, Internet protections, and firewall strength. Everyone gets the friendly reminder to take active steps to prevent falling victim to phishing scams, cyber attacks and identity thieves. But now, the issue of child online safety and security has become a big part of the cyber awareness campaign, especially the ideals of teaching kids how to navigate the web safely and not giving out too much personal information.

My little spiel and reminder to everyone to buck up on their cyber security focuses on two areas and two products: the ability to track harmful changes to your home computer and recover lost data, and having the knowledge that your children are safe when they go online. These are two areas where computer monitoring software and data recovery tools fit perfectly, and can often save the day.

There are too many bumps and hiccups you can hit, on purpose or by accident, that can affect your PC's performance and, potentially, your safety. For example, if you accidentally delete the wrong file, or in some cases just move it to a different folder, your system can become seriously corrupted. Or, if certain settings get changed or if the wrong files get deleted, you may find yourself in a worse situation like being locked out of online banking accounts or opening your private passwords and personal information for anyone that cares to look.

Here's another scenario, if you spend a lot of time working at home, or if you're a professional that is constantly on the go, or if your machine sees activity by multiple users, monitoring software can be a lifesaver if an important document is lost, deleted or becomes corrupted. Being able to track files and having a record of activity like online banking, bill paying, software installations or system upgrades may come in handy when unexpected situations arise, like losing a presentation or payments not going through properly or your OS becoming corrupted. Computer monitoring software lets you replay everything that happened on your machine… like going back in time. What could be better than having 'security tapes' to review of all action on your machine? Everything will be there.

Another weapon in the arsenal that can be handy in this situation is a data recovery tool like Pandora Recovery, which lets you find and recover lost or deleted files on just about any type of drive or memory stick. You can get it for free as a download, or buy a mobile version that comes on a USB Flash Drive for use on multiple computers. It's an essential tool for any home or business that will help you retrieve those important documents or files that go 'missing' - whether it was by accident or on purpose.

That's for the adults' mishaps… now what about the kids. True, younger users may be more prone to accidents and mishaps on the computer, but they're also more likely to engage in illegal activity online. From downloading pirated music and movies to bullying others (which may include inappropriate and illegal photos of underage peers), kids are always finding ways to get into trouble. But guess what parents, it's the computer's owner that will have to answer to authorities.

So, when you toss potential illegal activity into the mix along with being active on social networks where predators can lurk, giving out too much personal information, and the rising trend in vicious cyberbullying tactics (all of which I have covered numerous times before), you have even more reason to be monitoring Internet activity of your children with computer monitoring software.

The title I fully recommend is PC Pandora, which records all activity on a computer. It takes sequential snapshots of everything that happens, so, in effect, it's like having a DVR on your PC. The replay of snapshots will allow you to see everything and show you who did what and when. Further details of user activity, such as websites visited, instant messenger chats, emails sent and received, peer-2-peer files shared, programs accessed, keystrokes logged, Internet search queries and more, can be seen in text-based files. There's also the IRIS feature that sends those text-based files to a parent's email - I don't think I need to underscore how valuable this is for working parents who can't always be home when the kids are online.

So, computer monitoring software gives you a full visual and documented record of everything that happens on the home PC, which, for parents, means not only the ability to find and fix problems quickly, but more importantly, the knowledge that their children are being safe when they go online. In some cases, PC Pandora will give you the evidence you need to hold your children accountable for their online activity; in other cases, it'll provide the sigh of relief you need.

The bottom line is that a secure home PC is essential in today's networked and web-connected world. Having the ability to know everything that happens on your machine can play a vital role in fixing system errors and keeping your kids safe online. So, for Cyber Security Awareness Month this year, take a look at two valuable security measures: computer monitoring software and data recovery tools.

A free trial of PC Pandora monitoring software is available at www.pcpandora.com . Pandora Recovery is available for FREE at www.pandorarecovery.com . Recovery Mobile can be purchased alone or within the Pandora PowerPack, which includes 4 licenses for PC Pandora - a great value for families and small businesses.