Internet Safety
By Abby York
Passwords
Definition: Passwords are secret words or phrases that are used to gain admission to something. To create a good and strong password you need to include symbols, capital and lowercase letters. Make sure it's at least 8 characters long to be sure it is secure.
Identity Theft
Ways you identity gets stolen: stolen wallet or credit cards, documents or receipts left in the trash, phone or email scams, and unsecured computers or wireless networks.
Cyber Bullying
Definition: Communication through the use of electronics to bully a person, typically by sending messages of intimidating or threating material.
If you are being cyberbullied or know someone that is being cyberbullied, here are some tips. Don't respond, save the evidence, talk to a trusted adult, block the bully, be a friend not a bystander, and be civil.
Online Predators
Definition: A person who looks for other people through the internet in order to use, control, or harm them in some way.
Tips to stay away from online are don't share personal information online, keep your pictures to a minimum, don't talk or chat with anybody that you don't know, don't get on chat rooms, and tell your family everything.
Personal Information
Definition: Information that defines who you are and that should not be given out unless absolutely needed for something important.
Tips to help keep your personal information private are beware of scammers, secure your browser, keep your passwords private and don't overshare on social media.
Online Friends
Definition: A person you know exclusively through the internet.
Tips to make sure your online friends is safe are get to know the person, talk to your parents about this person, make sure all the facts about themselves are 100% true, and don't meet with them unless you know who they are.
Hacker
Definition: A person who uses computers to grain unauthorized access to data.
Tips to protect your self from hackers are use a different password for every account, make sure your passwords are strong, don't revel too much on social network sites and secure your wireless connection.
Profiles
Definition: An online description of someone containing characteristics of the person.
Make sure that you do not post things online you will regret later in life, just know that things can come back to haunt you even if you think they are gone, just like in this video.
Viruses
Definition: A piece of code that is capable of copying itself and typically has a detrimental effect, such as corrupting the system or destroying data.
To keep away from viruses you can do these things, install anti-virus software in your computer, don't open email attachments unless your expecting them, keep your computer updated, and use a firewall.
Wireless Network
Definition: A system of accessing the internet from remote machines such as laptop computers that have wireless connections.
Some tips to be sure your wireless network is safe is to use a VPN, check for HTTPS which means its secure and forget any network that is unsafe.