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Responsible Internet Tips
Internet safety is about being responsible and being careful when you surf the Internet. Internet safety must be considered at all times, regardless of whether you are shopping online, attending to business, talking with others by way of chat lines or simply enjoying some recreational time.
Internet Safety Tips
Whether you are new to the Internet or are a seasoned pro, always make it a number one priority to be safe whether you are surfing, chatting, or shopping. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
- Always guard your passwords and keep them private. Do not allow anyone else to be privy to them, whether you have only one or many.
- Change your passwords often and never use passwords that are easy for others to figure out such as the names of family members, birthdates, names of pets, etc.
- Never give out personal information such as your name, your address or your telephone number over the Internet unless you are assured that you are on a secure site or it is a site that clearly shows the Trust E privacy policy symbol.
- Never give out your banking or credit card information unless you can verify that you are dealing with a secure website.
- Avoid spam by using a Hotmail, Yahoo or other “disposable” and free e-mail providers when you choose to post to either a bulletin board or join an e-mail list.
Viruses
- If you receive an e-mail attachment that is not familiar to you, delete it immediately without opening it as it could contain a harmful virus. The most common dangerous e-mail viruses are programs where the file name will show as *.exe. This is the easiest way that viruses are transmitted from one user to another.
- Make sure you have a good virus scan on your computer and update it regularly as new viruses emerge all of the time.
- Be as careful as possible when you download programs by way of the Internet. It is always good practice to scan the program first before you attempt to download it with your virus scan. Another thing to make sure of is that the site that you are downloading from is reputable and familiar to you.
Stalking
- Keep in mind that anything you post to the Internet, whether it be on a website, a bulletin board and so on is permanent. It may not always be front and center on a given website but it will be archived somewhere so do not post comments or pictures that you may regret later on!
- If you feel that you are a victim of stalking online then get off of the site you are on.
- If you are being stalked both online and offline then get in touch with the police.
- If an individual is threatening you through e-mails or on the chat lines then find out who you can report it to online and if it continues then make another trip to your local police station to file a report.
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