Alicia Connected: Tricked with Treats Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway

A 2021 Family Choice Award winner, Alicia Connected: Tricked with Treats is the second book in the Alicia Connected series. You may read my review of the first book Alicia Connected: The Big Gift here. Now learn about the new book below and enter to win a signed copy!

About the Book:

Book Title: Alicia Connected: Tricked with Treats by Derek Fisher
Category: Middle Grade Fiction (Ages 8-12), 86 pages
Genre: Middle School Fiction
Publisher: Securely Built
Release date: July 2021
Tour dates: November 22 to December 10
Content Rating: G. Suitable for everyone.

Halloween is here, and it is Alicia’s favorite time of year. What's not to like about dressing up in a costume and getting free candy? But there is something even more exciting happening this year. For the first time, Alicia and her friends are throwing a virtual party in TullyTown!

Putting together a party in TullyTown isn't easy, and Alicia and her friends want to do the best they can to make sure it is enjoyed by plenty of avatars in TullyTown. For one of Alicia's friends, getting ready to throw a TullyTown party leads to looking for easy treats. But what if it's a trick?

Alicia has been using her tablet for a while and is getting more used to how to use the technology. However, there is always something new for her and her friends to learn.

My Review:

In this new installment of the series, Alicia has already become an experienced user of the tablet gifted to her in book one, as well as an advanced player in her favorite online game TullyTown. Her online life and her real one get intertwined now and then since she's been playing the game together with her friends from school. As she creates her DIY costume for Halloween with the help of her dad, she is also busy assisting her bestie Cathy to get her TullyTown house ready for their first-ever virtual party. After the free treats Cathy gets from a suspicious website turn out to be a malicious trick in disguise, Alicia has to come up with a contingency plan to save the day.

Middle graders continue to gain practical knowledge about online safety from this easy-to-follow, realistic chapter book. It suggests that etiquette applies to both virtual and real worlds. Rude comments, whether made face-to-face or behind the mask of an avatar, can be equally hurtful and inexcusable. Kindness and respect are very much needed in cyberspace as well. The harmful impacts of cyberbullying on a child's wellbeing should not be underestimated.

Through fun and vivid examples, the story teaches young Internet users about useful tips to help enhance their online security, such as how to make strong passwords that are not easily compromised, how to protect privacy by avoiding video chatting in the bedroom, and how to stay away from phishing websites soliciting personal and confidential information.

Written with light-hearted humor, the book depicts characters and scenarios that are believable and easily relatable. Besides its central topic of cybersecurity, it offers thoughtful implications about what may constitute a healthy friendship. While one is expected to be kind, honest, supportive to their friends and be sensitive to their feelings, being a loyal friend doesn't mean trying to please others by giving up your principles. Despite all the issues and concerns about security, the book does make technology sound fun and fascinating. It encourages youngsters to become tech-savvy while exercising caution, good judgement and self-control, and to consult their parents whenever they feel unsure about how to make a smart choice via their electronic devices.

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound

Alicia Connected: The Big Gift Blog Tour: Review & Giveaway

Does your child have easy access to the Internet, or even have his or her own electronic device? If so, are you concerned about their online safety? You may find some useful tips from cybersecurity expert Derek Fisher's new book Alicia Connected: The Big Gift. Enter to win a signed copy!

About the Book:

Book Title: Alicia Connected: The Big Gift by Derek Fisher
Category: Middle-Grade Fiction (Ages 8-12), 86 pages
Publisher: Securely Built
Release date: May 2020
Tour dates: June 28 to July 16, 2021
Content Rating: G for everyone.

Alicia has finally entered a new world of technology when her parents give her a tablet for her birthday. She has watched and listened to her friends who have already been enjoying the games and apps in a connected world that Alicia has yet to experience. Until now. But using technology can bring a set of challenges that are new to both Alicia and her parents. Understanding the different apps and games and how to use them properly can be tricky. Will Alicia know how to use it in a way that is fun and allows her to connect with her friends while being safe and secure? Both her and her parents will face the excitement and challenges together as she jumps headfirst into using her new tablet.

My Review:

Alicia Connected: The Big Gift is an informative and educational chapter book that follows a young girl named Alicia as she learns to navigate the digital wonderland under the close supervision of her parents. Alicia carefully drops hints at her parents about the one gift she really wants for her upcoming birthday: a tablet of her own. She can't wait to check out all the fun games and apps that her friends and classmates have been talking about once her wish comes true. But there is so much to learn, from setting a password for her tablet, to downloading and installing the apps, and to creating an account for each app. Luckily, her parents are always there to help. While she enjoys getting connected with her real-life friends in the virtual world, she learns some important lessons from one of her classmates, who misuses the tablet and gets too obsessed with social media and online popularity.

Cybersecurity is a very pertinent issue that concerns kids and parents as the use of Internet-ready electronic devices becomes more prevalent. Without proper parental control, children can easily fall victim to cybercrime, including but not limited to bulllying, hacking, fraud, and even abduction. Through Alicia's highly relatable experience, the book goes into great details about how to protect your identity and privacy over the Internet, such as choosing a username that is easy to remember but reveals no personal information, staying vigilant about friend requests from complete strangers, and asking for parental assistance or permission whenever you feel uncertain or uncomfortable about something. The story stresses the essential role that parents should play in providing guidance and protection for their young and inexperienced Internet users. It also sets up an admirable example for effective and agreeable parent-child communications. Overall, it's an easy and useful read for middle graders who look forward to venturing into the complex online world independently.

Buy the Book: Amazon | B&N | IndieBound | Author Website

CUJO Smart Firewall: Protect Your Home Network with Business-Level Security

Internet is such a wonderful invention that many of us can hardly live without it. From shopping and entertaining to learning and job hunting, there are so many things that we can accomplish online in the comfort of our homes. But staying connected via the Internet could make yourself more vulnerable to hackers, viruses, malwares, and other dangerous intrusions, especially when your network connection is left unprotected. The recent Equifax data breach urges us to be more proactive about Internet security. One of the actions you can take is to install an effective firewall like CUJO.

CUJO is a smart firewall for the connected home, designed to bring business-level security to the home network. Using machine learning, CUJO safeguards ALL smart devices connected to your wireless router against web threats. It detects and blocks malicious sites, viruses, and hacks, working like an antivirus software for your entire network.

I was very excited when Best Buy sent me a CUJO for review. My home is full of smart devices with WiFi capability, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, TV, thermostat and security cameras. I was seriously in need of help in the online safety department when CUJO arrived in this cute little box. Before starting to use the device, I was already impressed by its compact size and sleek design. It's lightweight too, easy to handle with one hand. My CUJO box comes with a 3-feet Ethernet cable, an AC Power adapter, a sticker, and best of all, FREE lifetime subscription with automatic software updates. Unlike any antivirus software I've purchased before, there is no need to pay any additional fees to keep my firewall protection up to date.

My kids think CUJO is super cool because it has a face with light-up eyes indicating its working status. When it's not properly connected, it will have an unhappy or warning face as shown in the picture above. The face will turn to a smiley one when things are all set. Both the upward and downward curves will be present when CUJO is working hard to get things right.

It was amazingly easy to set things up with CUJO. It took me less than 5 minutes to get the device up and running. Just plug in the adapter and cable, install the CUJO app on my phone and follow the prompts to complete installation and registration. As our router requires some special adjustment during installation, I received a call from a CUJO customer service representative guiding me through the process. This was the first time ever that tech support was being offered without me having to ask for it. Very impressive indeed!

Bitdefender Total Security 2013 Protects You Online & Offline

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bitdefender. All opinions are 100% mine.

Now that we enjoy the convenience of having things done electronically, from mangaing finances to organizing documents, it has become all the more important to have your personal information and digital assests protected by a reliable antivirus service, such as the Bitdefender Total Security 2013. Ranked #1 in Antivirus software, Bitdefender is the winner of both CNET Editor's Choice and PCMag Editor's Choice. The new version of Bitdefender Antivirus Plus has taken privacy and security to new levels with a considerable number of exciting and unique features!

Whenever you pay bills, manage bank accounts or make purchases online, Bitdefender Safepay™ , Bitdefender’s proprietary secured browser will safeguard your online transactions and home banking applications from all tampering attempts.

Are you ever annoyed by those pop-ups asking you to respond to possible security attacks to your computer? It won't happy with BitDefender Autopilot, which allows BitDefender to operates on its own, without constant interruptions to your computer experience.

My favorite feature of BitDefender is Social Network Protection. As a blogger and social media enthusiast, I'm more likely to become victims of identiy theft when I process information posted on social media. BitDefender guards you against hackers and spammers by filtering the links you receive from your Facebook and Twitter friends and monitorsing your privacy settings.

While I never allows my son to visit websites on his own, it may not be feasible for other parents to keep an eye on their children's computer usage all the time. The BifDefender Parental Control Options allows you to block inappropriate content, restrict Web access between certain hours, and remotely monitor your children's online activity – even on Facebook!

It's amazing that Bitdefender can protect your privacy and property even offline. The Bitdefender Anti-Theft feature can help you track lost or stolen devices!

If you're to buy a new antivirus software anytime soon, seriously consider BitDefender as your first choice and enjoy the peace of mind you need!

SafeSocial Launches Today!

As a parent, your children's safety is your first priority. But in today's digital age, what can a parent do to protect her kids online as well as off?

These days, your teens' "friends" aren't just the kids hanging out in your family room - they're also the hundreds of contacts on their online "friend" and "buddy" lists. Did you know that more than 50 million teens (ages 13-17) are online worldwide? Or that the average number of "friends" on a list is 130? The totals are much higher for many teens.

SafeSocial, a new AOL product that launches today, can help you protect your children, even if you aren't a social media expert. SafeSocial helps you:

· Find out where your child has online accounts
· Know who your child is "friends" with online
· Get notified if your child is in a conversation about violence, suicide or drugs
· See photos your child has posted online, and others' photos in which your child has been tagged

Another benefit? You can monitor all this activity without being a "helicopter parent." Your child will have to agree to be monitored, but you won't need to connect with them on the social media accounts, or hover over their shoulders in person. You may see SafeSocial in action in the video below.



"Overall, social networking is an integral part of many teenage lives and an opportunity for your kids to learn to express themselves in a creative and responsible fashion," says AOL Consumer Advisor Regina Lewis. "It's too big a trend to ignore. You can embrace it with SafeSocial on your side."

Interested in trying it out? Get your free 30-day trial of SafeSocial here.

Disclosure: By writing about SafeSocial, I'm entered to win a gift card from Global Influence, who also provided all the necessary assets for this post.