Safety On The Internet
Basic Internet Safety
Learn the basics of Internet safety
Children use a variety of online services, and each of these services can have different safety concerns. However, there are some basic tips which you can employ no matter how your children use the Internet.
- Keep the computer in a high-traffic area of your home.
- Establish limits for which online sites children may visit and for how long.
- Remember that Internet technology can be mobile, so make sure to monitor cell phones, gaming devices, and laptops.
- Surf the Internet with your children and let them show you what they like to do online.
- Know who is connecting with your children online and set rules for social networking, instant messaging, e-mailing, online gaming, and using webcams.
- Continually dialogue with your children about online safety.
How to Stay Safe on the Internet
How to Stay Safe on the Internet
- Never give out personal information, such as your name, home address, phone number, the name of your school, pictures, credit card numbers, or the names of your parents without permission from your parents.
- Never meet in person with someone you met online.
- Never give out your password to anyone.
- Use a gender neutral username in chat roomsso you are less likely to receive pornographic material or other forms of harassment. If you do receive pornographic material, report it to your local police department.
Internet Privacy
- The Internet is not very private anymore. The world gets smaller as Facebook and Google continue to grow. To see for yourself, try "Googling" yourself (Google search your name). What you find is what everyone else finds.
- If you find your unwanted information online, double check all of your privacy settings for online profiles.
- Again, never give out your password to anyone.
- This article from The Guardian UK talks about using browser cookies to keep your privacy on the Internet.
Chat rooms
Chat rooms can be particularly dangerous. Even when chat rooms are specifically for teens, participants are not necessarily all teens.
Adult predators who have made up an identity to hide his or her age may lurk or hide in chat rooms. Always follow the general Internet safety guidelines in any chat room.
Keep your account on private. Don't share your location because people can follow you to find where you are. Don't follow people you don't know.
You can do many things to keep safe on facebook. You could keep your account on private so only your friends can see what you post. Don't communicate with strangers. Don't share your location through pictures. Don't tell others where you live.
Snapchat
Don't add people you don't know because you don't know what kind of people they can be. Don't have pics that can possibly show where you are if you do have people you don't know on your friends list.