Q: I'm really worried about the Heartbleed Internet bug. What is it, and how I do to protect my data from being exposed?

A: You're right to be worried about the Heartbleed bug, especially since it's been in existence for two years and security researchers just discovered it this month.

Heartbleed is a flaw in OpenSSL, a data encryption program that's used by 66 percent of all sites on the Internet. When a website needs to transmit data that need to be protected, OpenSSL provides a secure line and scrambles the transmission so it appears as gibberish to anyone except the person receiving the data. And when two computers are communicating with each other, one of them will sometimes send a small packet of data called a "heartbeat" that requires a response, assuring the transmitting computer that its counterpart is still there.

But because of a programming error, hackers can now manipulate the program and send a hidden packet of data to another computer. The receiving computer thinks the data are legitimate and responds with data stored in its memory, data that may include all manner of things you don't want others to get their hands on — think passwords, user names, bank account and credit card numbers and much more.

The good news is that flaw has been fixed: the bad news is that many sites haven't yet upgraded to the software that is bug-free. But as sites begin updating, the problem should get better in the near future. You can check whether a site you're visiting has or hasn't upgraded to the flaw-free program by going to http://filippo.io/Heartbleed/. If the site in question is affected, don't log into it until it's been upgraded. If it has been upgraded, go ahead and change your user names and passwords, and that should keep your personal data safe.

Q: Is social media ruining marketing, and how can I avoid taking my business down the wrong path?

A: When companies large and small first discovered how to leverage social media to drive their marketing efforts, it was considered a watershed event in the history of the industry. Businesses could now vastly grow an audience, understand what motivates people to purchase product A instead of B and so on. But now, leading marketing consultants such as Alex Goldfayn — who counts T-Mobile, TiVo and Logitech among his clients — are doing an about face. Social media, he notes, has made marketers lazy and fooled them into thinking that it's a miracle cure-all for sales. And as such, those marketers have begun to ignore the old tried-and-true tools.

So how exactly is social media destroying marketing? For one, it places more importance on the quantity of followers rather than the quality. For another, it actually hurts the company-customer relationship because marketers think a Facebook or Twitter conversation can take the place of a real one-on-one exchange, and in reality it cannot.

Those shunning social media also point to the fact that it's useless for business-to-business companies, as any good executive doesn't make a decision based on what they see on social media but rather on referrals and reputations. Additionally, marketers who place too much importance on social media aren't using language effectively, instead boiling it down to a few quick words that get blasted out too quickly and too often.

So instead of putting all your eggs into the social media basket, concentrate on multi-platform marketing. It's OK to continue social media efforts, but give equal billing to direct communication, building face-to-face relationships and keeping your company's website up to date and looking sharp.

Terry and Clarence Low are co-founders of Byte Technology, a web design firm based in Monterey, Denver and Minneapolis. Their personal technology column appears on alternating Saturdays. Read more news on their blog at www.byte-technology.com/blog. Send questions to tlow@byte-technology.com, or write to Bits 'N' Bytes, 400 Camino El Estero, Monterey 93940.