Topic 24 - Staying Safe Online

The Dangers of Disclosing Personal Information

• People could be anyone on the internet
• Not everyone is genuine
• Some are dangerous and seek to do you harm
• They could be stalkers or pedophiles
• You need to be wary of anyone who contacts you

• Do not give out personal details
• Do not give out other details by which you could be identified
• Do not post personal details on social networking sites
• Do not post images of yourself as these could be misused

Issues affecting children

There are a number of threats children can be exposed to when using the internet. These include:

• Pedophiles
• Unsuitable chat rooms
• Pornographic websites and pop-ups
• Addiction to social networking
• Gambling addictions
• Cyber bullying

• Against pedophiles- could use net nanny software, a good firewall, safety search (parent filter) on search engines, keep the computer in a common room in the house, don't allow use of webcams when in chat rooms, set social networking site to private
• Against pop-ups- use of pop-up blocking software, firewalls etc.
• Against cyber bullying- monitor text and emails, report any bullying to a social networking site admin, block msn or social networking sites full stop, do not give out personal details
• Against addiction- parental restrictions on internet usage, keep the computer in a common room