Staying safe online

[TeenHelp]

Staying safe online
By Adam (Adam the Fish)

The Internet is a wonderful place, full of opportunities to meet new people, learn new things and connect with the world. Since the popularisation of the Web, it has become indispensable in many areas of our lives. Like all good things, however, there are some risks, especially when sharing your personal information online. These don’t normally outweigh the benefits of using services provided online, and can be managed effectively, but it is important to be aware of them.

Anonymity online
By far one of the most exciting things that the Web has allowed us to do is to interact with people from around the globe. TeenHelp relies solely on the power of the Web to do this and to provide its services, and there are numerous other services such as Facebook, Omegle and dating sites which are all specifically designed to allow you to meet and talk to people. This is really great, however the Web gives users anonymity on services like this and it’s wise to be prudent about the sort of information that you might be willing to give out to people who you've met online. Whilst it’s rare, some people may pretend to be someone they’re not and use things you say against you. In the space of just one year, CEOP - the UK's Child Exploitation and Online Protection center - received 18,887 reports of exploitation online.

Personal information and privacy
Many social networks allow users to share their personal information such as contact details, location, employment, and education. This can be another great tool for finding people (for instance, classmates or colleagues) and connecting with them, but there can be some risks involved if the data is not protected with adequate privacy settings. It’s always advisable to keep your personally identifiable information shown only to whom it may concern - and most things don't need to be shared with the public.
When posting - either photos or text - it’s always worth remembering that employers commonly look up potential employees on social networks during the recruitment process. It’s valuable to use a check of “Would I want an employer/family member to see this?” when thinking of posting something. The same is true when using services which connect to strangers online, particularly by video, as inappropriate footage could be used as blackmail material.

Meeting people offline
Whilst meeting people online is brilliant, going on to meet them offline is another matter. If meeting someone in real life from the Internet for the first time, it’s advisable to do so in a public place, with a trusted friend or family member. Alternatively, you might consider using a personal safety app which can send an emergency text message with your location to friends if you are not comfortable telling others you are meeting someone from the Internet in person. Most probably, everything will be fine, but it’s not worth taking a risk with safety.

Cyberbullying
Another risk of using the Internet to communicate is that people may often say things that they might not face-to-face. Insults or emotional manipulation (by peers, colleagues or anyone else) can be very hurtful and upsetting, so it’s worth being aware of how to deal with it. In addition to ‘Ignore’ and ‘Report’ features, which should be utilised, this sort of bullying is illegal in some countries - in the UK, organisations such as CEOP are set up specifically to deal with this. They have the power to recover messages sent via SMS and online from service providers and take action to prosecute cyberbullies.

Phishing
Phishing is a form of online crime where a victim is sent a message (usually by email) from someone claiming to be an official organisation, for instance a bank. The message will ask the victim to enter details (often bank details and/or passwords) on official-looking websites. These can then be used to steal money or cause other damage. As a rule of thumb, passwords should never be entered online except on the main page of a website - banks and other organisations will never ask for sensitive details online including by email.

Viruses, etc.
Malicious websites and email attachments can cause damage to computers, or steal details (“Trojan Horses,” for instance, forward the contents of a hard drive to a malicious intruder, whilst “keyloggers” can track every keystroke made and can be used to steal passwords). To prevent attacks from these, unknown attachments should not be opened, and anti-virus software should be installed. Additionally, the same password should never be used for multiple accounts, as this can make keylogging highly effective and profitable for malicious hackers.
It is recommended that passwords are changed regularly, making sure they include numbers, both upper and lower case letters, and special characters such as !, ?, #, etc.

This article covers a few of the main problems that the Web might pose, but if suitable precautions are taken, Internet use can be completely problem-free. ThinkUKnow provides useful information on similar issues, if required. Remember that the Web is a wonderful resource, as long as it’s used responsibly!

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