Internet Safety
By Lauren Thomas
Protection
Protection is very helpful when it comes to computers and other things, like; identity, passwords, viruses, hacking, and much more. Protection to all of your stuff will help it be safer than if you don't have any protection at all. Some types of computer protection programs are: Norton, Kaspersky, Ad Aware, AVG and some others. If you don't have any of these anti-virus programs then you should download it to your computer, phone, whatever it is you have, to have at least some protection over your stuff. Otherwise if you don't have protection, and something gets stolen, then your insurance might not pay for it.
Viruses
Viruses are bad for computers. They can ruin them. They are harmful towards you and your identity. Some people have encrypted codes that can get into your "most secret" places on your computer and can damage, ruin, steal, or destroy it. It can take your identity; name, number, security number, bank account, usernames, passwords, and other important things. It is important that you have a protection program because at least there is some protection against viruses. If you have a virus and it destroys your computer, or steals your important information, and you don't have insurance, then you might not get it back without a proper search. That's why it's important that you get a protection program on all of your devices. It's not that hard to hack or put viruses into technology nowadays. Now, everything is easy to get into and steal. Make sure you can get rid of viruses before you tell our computer to "save password and username."
Hacking
Hacking can be a good, or bad thing. It's mostly used in a bad way. The one way that it is good is for the government. To use it for if someone, like Isis, is using something to hack into the government for weapons. The government uses hacking to hack into the device that was used to hack into the government and trace it back to where they used the device to hack into the government in the first place. The bad reason is to... get weapons, information, or money. There is a private, and I mean PRIVATE, website that hackers can use to get into your bank accounts, social media accounts, credit cards, and other stuff like that. When someone hacks you, it's not good. They can mess up your accounts, do things that you wouldn't like, steal your identity, and some more outrageous things. The other good thing is that they can use it to stop things from happening. Like that show Leverage they hack into things and try to stop people from doing something bad and regretting it later.
Password(s)
Passwords. Why are passwords important? Well, that's a question that is pretty simple to answer. They are so that you can get on without anyone getting on your account, right? Well, that's semi true. Some people, like hackers, can get onto your account. They can also get onto your account if you leave the window, web page, open. They can also get on if your phone is stolen. Even if you have a password on your iPhone 6, they can still hack into it and get the information that they need, or want. Passwords are very important if you want to keep things at least at a safe state. The one thing that helps is that you chose something only you would know about. The DON'TS of passwords are; mother's maiden name, birthday, address, middle name, last name, first name, dog's name, sister's name, security number, and other VERY personal information. Because we are in the "Digital Age" anything is hack able. Your password could get broken down just like the snap of fingers. THAT FAST! That's why it's important to have a strong protection program, and a password that almost NOBODY, and I mean nobody: not your mom, dad, sister, or even DOG; will know it. Unless it is absolutely necessary for them to know, but that's their business and yours.
Predator(s)
Predators online are bad. They are almost as bad as viruses. Only predators are people, and viruses are codes. Predators are on the look out for unsuspecting people. They want your information, or to try and do something to you; meet up with you, get to know you, or other dangerous things. It's exactly like animals. The predator will look for something until it finds what it's looking for. Then it will leap and try to lure/capture it. The prey won't see what's coming, until the predator has the prey wrapped around its ugly little finger. But the good thing, is that police are online, pretending to be someone that they aren't, to try and capture those predators. Predators online are as bad as the ones you see on tv. So, be on the look out. The video underneath shows that people aren't always what they seem. It shows how, even though it's a scam, it teaches a valuable lesson.
Social Media
According to statista.com there are about 78% of people who use social media. There are over 20 million social media websites/apps. That's a lot! With all of the hours added up, that you're on your phone, you would've spent 23 DAYS (straight) on your device, every year. Now that's just crazy! Make sure you spend sometime with that old grandma of yours though! It's important to spend time with people. Yea, social media helps you connect with people that you aren't around regularly, but it doesn't mean that you should be on it every single millisecond of the day. Anyways, social media is a pretty important part of our life (now). But I wonder, what would happen if, all of a sudden, we didn't have internet. Would people "die" from no internet? Why are we SO obsessed with social media. It's taking over our lives. We need to gain back control.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is one of the most worst things that happen online. According to dosomething.org, 43% of people have been cyberbullied. One of the main reasons why people cyberbully, is because they think that they can get away with it, other than just regular bullying. Well guess what... WRONG! You can track a person that has cyber bullied, just as easy as a person who has bullied. That is not okay. To anyone who thinks it is okay to bully/cyberbully that... that is just wrong. NO matter what you think. I don't know why people do it; because they have come from bad homes, they've been cyber bullied themselves, their parents do bad things and don't care what they do to others, and some more. Whatever the reason, the only thing that can change is how you act, respond, speak, etc. This needs to come to an end. DO SOMETHING! If you witness cyberbullying, don't just stare there and do nothing. DO SOMETHING! There can be a good outcome if we let that good outcome happen.
Shopping
Shopping online is another dangerous thing to do online. If you aren't wary of things, then they can get out of hand, and I told you, up there, about what could happen if you don't watch out. Make sure you know you can trust the website, otherwise, if it's a website that you don't know real well, then, POOF! there goes your money. It is usually better to shop online than to go to the store. Especially if you don't have the store in your town. If you don't pay attention, then some thief can steal your money, item, or whatever it is that you bought. Be very careful when you order online.
Communicating
Communicating is one of the many important things in life. I mean we do it ALL the time. We send a text to someone to let them know about something that is happening, or if you wanna hang out sometime. Email is another type of communication. To be honest, I prefer either texting, or, if it's someone that is far far away, then I would rather do it via mail. We communicate so much that I'm sure that people will think that the most used way of communicating is text. When you text, make sure you know who it is. If you don't either stop texting them, tell them they got the wrong number, or ask them who they are. If they don't tell you, then just stop texting them and delete or block their number.
Streaming
We stream everyday. The most used site for streaming is Youtube, Pandora, and Netflix. We use them so much, that... it's just crazy. Youtube is mostly used for videos. There are music, videos, and vines on Youtube. Pandora is used for music. Except there are those occasionally annoying ads. Netflix is used for movies and other fun things like that. About 81 million people use Netflix. These apps are some of the top most used sites/apps. When you use these sites, though, be careful. There can be inappropriate things on it. Porn, intimate things, bad songs, and other horrible things can be found on these sites. So, be careful. ALWAYS be careful online.