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Staying Safe Online - for Teenagers & Adults

Postby Fergal » 17 Sep 2016, 18:13

Please carefully consider and abide by the tips below and remember that they apply to public posts and private messages. The importance of staying safe online cannot be overestimated. Always keep in mind that there are lots of dangerous people online. Many of them are very good at pretending to be someone else and winning your trust.

Please read the SMART Guidelines below, for useful tips on staying safe online. If you are concerned about anything you may have done online, please talk to a parent or trusted adult.

Secret
Secret is the first and one of the most important rules for online safety. Keeping personal information secret should become second nature to online users.

Never give out your name, address or phone number, because it's like giving out the keys to your home.

Never give out your password, because if someone knows your password they can often use it to find out other personal details.

Meeting
Using chat rooms and message boards is a great way to find out fun things and meet new people, but people you meet in chat rooms can also be dangerous.

Someone who appears nice online, may be very different in person. So arranging to meet in 'real life' is not a safe thing to do.

Children should only ever meet strangers with their parents' permission and when they can be present.

If an adult goes with a child to meet a new chat buddy, always meet in a public place such as a café or shopping centre. You should never meet with anyone who won't accept this rule.

Accept
The majority of viruses and files could have no effect on your computer if you don't open them or let them get on there in the first place.

Accepting files or opening e-mails from people you don't really know or trust can get you into trouble.

They may contain viruses or nasty messages that you don't want to read. So don't open or accept files or e-mails you are not expecting.

Remember
People you meet online may seem very nice to you, but that doesn't mean that they are telling the truth.

Many people are not who they say they are online and are pretending to be someone else. You wouldn't trust someone you knew in real life if they lied, so don't get tricked in the online world.

To avoid awkward moments, just stick to the public areas in chatrooms and if you feel uncomfortable at all, then just leave!

Tell
Many things can happen online that make children feel ashamed or secretive about what they've seen or experienced. Encourage children to tell you about anything that makes them uncomfortable.

Fear of a parent or guardian being cross is often more frightening than the uncomfortable experience they've had online, but that is what some nasty people will count on.

Talk to your children about what they are doing online and encourage them to use the SMART rules at all times.

Consider placing the computer in a shared room of the house so its use does not become secretive and hidden. Make your online use a family affair.

Source.

Additional Tips
  • Be careful what you post - if you would not be comfortable with a parent, boss or someone you respect viewing your post it is probably best not to post it. Remember that content posted on the web is often copied by other sites and used elsewhere, so you never know where it shows up
  • The Internet is permanent, even if content is removed from one site, it may be archived permanently by another site
  • Use a nickname rather than your real name or email address
  • Passwords - use different secure passwords on every site you join
    Don't post personal information uch as your address, phone number or email address
  • Photos and videos - do not post photos of anyone under 18. Avoid photos of your home, school, work or other places associated with you personally
  • People aren't always who they say they are - unfortunately people lie about their age, sex, occupation and other things online. Always be conscious of the fact that a person you are communicating with online, may not be who they say they are.

If you are made feel uncomfortable, worried or scared by anything you see or experience on the Internet, please tell one of your parents or a trusted adult about it.
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Re: Staying Safe Online & ForumCoin - for Teenagers & Adults

Postby Fergal » 17 Sep 2016, 18:14

Please feel free to reply to this topic with any suggestions or tips you have for staying safe online.
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Re: Staying Safe Online & ForumCoin - for Teenagers & Adults

Postby nangk08 » 18 Sep 2016, 07:15

@Fergal, thanks a lot for such an insightful article about online behavior. Although, I am always quite careful about my own online behavior and about sharing information with strangers online etc. there were some things that we often take for granted, I am no exception. But reading your post has opened my eyes and has made aware of the fact that I need to be more prudent and careful. I will certainly use this post as an online behavior guide and recommend to others as well. :clap:
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Re: Staying Safe Online & ForumCoin - for Teenagers & Adults

Postby suny » 18 Sep 2016, 07:37

@feragal - I have often wondered whether providing our information like age, address and phone number while registering on website is safe or it could be misused in one way or the other? Thanks for all the information in your post!
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Re: Staying Safe Online & ForumCoin - for Teenagers & Adults

Postby germainebull » 18 Sep 2016, 07:53

@Fergal
Your reminder is spot on. I'm particularly interested in the bit about not sharing my personal information online. I'll thus have to review my onlien footprint and make necwsary amendments.
Thanks for reminding us.
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Re: Staying Safe Online & ForumCoin - for Teenagers & Adults

Postby Gina145 » 18 Sep 2016, 12:10

I've always followed most of these rules, but I still wish I'd seen this list when I first started using the internet because in the early days I used my real name at a couple of sites I joined and there's nothing I can do to change that now. One thing I decided early on, however, was not to use a photo of my face online. Even my profile picture on Facebook is of an inanimate object.

It's always horrified me just how much information some people (even adults) are prepared to reveal about themselves. I'm not even prepared to discuss politics online because I never know how other people will react.
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Re: Staying Safe Online & ForumCoin - for Teenagers & Adults

Postby IcyFirefly » 18 Sep 2016, 12:24

I am always trying to be careful when using the internet, and like @Gina145, I wish this list was available when I first got involve with online sites. But we learn through our mistakes, trials and errors. I won't use my cellphone for any activities involved sending, receiving, or downloading anything, but strictly for texting, calling, and checking emails.
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Re: Staying Safe Online & ForumCoin - for Teenagers & Adults

Postby Fergal » 18 Sep 2016, 12:37

Thanks everyone for your kind words, glad you found them helpful. You can never be too careful when it comes to online safety.
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Re: Staying Safe Online & ForumCoin - for Teenagers & Adults

Postby thisnthat » 19 Sep 2016, 17:27

Great post. These are important things to keep in mind.

Sadly, to earn online, we have to give out way more information than I am comfortable doing. That said, it's important to divulge as little as possible and learn something about those you are giving it to before doing so. Do your homework first.
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Re: Staying Safe Online & ForumCoin - for Teenagers & Adults

Postby Gina145 » 19 Sep 2016, 17:33

thisnthat wrote:Great post. These are important things to keep in mind.

Sadly, to earn online, we have to give out way more information than I am comfortable doing. That said, it's important to divulge as little as possible and learn something about those you are giving it to before doing so. Do your homework first.


Agreed. But there's a big difference between trusting the admin of a site and trusting those who visit it. That's why I no longer write under my real name.

I've been amazed to see people who will happily publish all sorts of personal information including their email address for the whole world to see. I also remember once reading a rant on Bubblews in which the author (not one of the regulars) said terrible things about someone and gave their full name and possibly even where they lived. That's just looking for trouble.
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Re: Staying Safe Online & ForumCoin - for Teenagers & Adults

Postby nela13 » 19 Sep 2016, 22:43

Thanks @fergal for remind us the importance of keeping our personal details and our children safe, you are right, we are never too careful when it comes to our security.
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Re: Staying Safe Online & ForumCoin - for Teenagers & Adults

Postby sprite1950 » 20 Sep 2016, 06:10

Something else I thought of. If anyone should decide to meet a person they found online, as in a dating site, always let someone know where you are going and take your phone. Have a friend ring you to see if you need help to get away. Not everyone is dodgy and some will argue that you are just as much at risk meeting someone you don't know down the local pub, but always let someone know where you are going.
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Re: Staying Safe Online & ForumCoin - for Teenagers & Adults

Postby vathsala » 21 Sep 2016, 09:16

I fully agree with what you say. I have learnt many lessons from my past experiences online . It is indeed very dangerous and problamatic to give our name , address and contact details to strangers online trusting them fully. Not all people online are trustworthy but at the same time not all the people online are bad either. I have some good and trustworthy online friends and we are maintaining a very good friendship since 9 years.
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Re: Staying Safe Online & ForumCoin - for Teenagers & Adults

Postby haripriyavkl » 21 Sep 2016, 17:57

This is really a great information @ Fergal :clap: . I have been using online for a year and I am mostly cautious when sharing any information online. But the SMART rules were wonderful and I would definitely keep in mind. Thanks for your concern :thumbup: :thumbup:
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Re: Staying Safe Online & ForumCoin - for Teenagers & Adults

Postby Fergal » 22 Sep 2016, 19:02

Thanks everyone for your positive response, delighted to see that our members are reading the suggestions.

sprite1950 wrote:If anyone should decide to meet a person they found online, as in a dating site, always let someone know where you are going and take your phone. Have a friend ring you to see if you need help to get away.

Thanks sprite1950, that's great advice, just to add to it slightly, you should also always meet them in a public place.
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