Internet Safety

For Everyone

Did you know?

Millions of people are now going online to…“Surf” the millions of websites on the InternetPost and read messages in newsgroups,

forums or blogsExchange email and instant messagesPay bills and check bank accountsShop at online storesSearch for jobsUse the library to search for books

Did you know?

Children are more likely to be online than adults.

Internet Access Is Available Almost Anywhere

At…HomeA friend’s houseSchool or collegeThe libraryCafésFast food

restaurants and bars

The Internet Can Be Accessed With

ComputersMobile devices

such as PDAs, iPhones, and cellular phones

Game consoles such as Xbox, PS2, PSP

What’s the Big Deal About Internet Safety?

There are no censors on the Internet

ANYONE can create a website with ANYTHING on it

Because of this, you need to use caution

Who Is at Risk?

There are risks for kids, teens and adults.

But, teens are more likely to go online without supervision and are more apt to talk about personal issues.

What Can Happen?

Exposure

You might be exposed to material that is sexual, hateful, violent, or encourages activities that are dangerous or illegal (such as viewing gang related items, child pornography, or hate related items).

You might seek out this material or inadvertently come across it on the Internet via websites, chat rooms, email, or instant messages.

Physical Molestation

You might be asked to provide information or arrange an encounter that could risk your safety or the safety of family members.

In some cases child molesters have used chat areas, email, and instant messaging to gain a child’s confidence and then arrange a face-to-face meeting.

Harassment & Bullying

Like bullying at school, you might encounter messages via chat, email, or your cell phone that are belligerent, demeaning, or harassing. Bullies often use the Internet to bother their victims.

Viruses & Hackers

You could download a file containing a virus via email, or from a website, that could damage the computer (with things like spyware or adware) or increase the risk of a “hacker” gaining remote access to the computer; jeopardizing your family’s privacy and perhaps safety.

Legal and Financial

You might be asked to give personal information such as your social security number at an unsecured site, and be a victim of identity theft.

You could do something that has negative legal or financial consequences such as giving out credit-card or bank account information.

What Can You Do?

Protect Your Computer

First Thing: Install Anti-Virus and Internet Security Software

What is anti-virus and Internet security software?Anti-Virus Software is a program that can find

and remove viruses from your computer. Examples are Norton, McAfee, NOD32

Internet Security Software helps prevent viruses and hackers from breaking into your computer when online. Examples are Norton, McAfee, Panda, BitDefender

Secure Pages…

Believe it or not, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) – where you get your Internet from – CAN view what you are doing when you’re online. Are they? Probably not.

But, when you are asked to enter a password, credit card number or other important secure information, which no one else should have access to, you should make sure you’re on a secure page.

Secure Pages…

On a secure page, the information is encrypted – meaning it’s in code – so no one can see what you’re doing unless they’re looking over your shoulder.

Secure Pages…

A normal web page has the beginning address of http://

When a page is secure, the http gains an “s” (for secure), so it looks like https://

Secure PagesA menu will come up (unless disabled) that

tells you the page you are going to is secure. The menu looks like:

If you are shopping online and are about to pay or are about to input personal information such as a social security number, make sure the page is secure.

Social Networking…According to

Netsmartz411, social networking is an online community where people from all over the world can meet and share common interests.

MySpace, Tagged, Hi5, and Yahoo360 are a few examples of social networking.

Social Networking…

A few good ways to protect yourself on social networking sites – or any Internet site - are:Do not use your real picture. Instead,

use an avatar or cartoon image.Do not put too much detailed

information about yourself.

Social Networking

Instead of saying you live at 1234 Anywhere St. in Houston, TX only say you live in Texas or Houston.

Be careful meeting online friends in person. Be sure to tell a real-life friend about the meeting and meet them in a public place.

For kids and teens, don’t meet online friends in person without first telling your parent or guardian.

Email Most viruses get on computers from email. When

checking your email, make sure you only open attachments from people that you know and trust.

If you receive an email from someone you don’t know, don’t open it.

If you receive an email from a person you know with an odd subject line, for example “Fw:FW:FW:FW:your pic” or “See Jennifer Lopez Naked” DO NOT open it because it most likely contains a virus.

Open more than one email account. Use one email address for personal business and another for sites you don’t trust.

Child Pornography

There are areas on the Internet that contain illegal child pornography. If you or your children come across this type of material, report it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) CyberTipline® at www.cybertipline.com

Tips…

Never give too much information about yourself to a person online or to a website.

If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.When chatting with people online, keep in

mind that the 13 year old girl who you’re chatting with could very well be a 45 year old man.

Just because it’s on the Internet doesn’t make it true. If you’re doing research, verify your data.

Tips

You can contact your ISP about services they offer to block offensive or harmful sites and spam.

You can get filtering software that will block your browser from going to most offensive and harmful sites.

Many people make the mistake of using common passwords such as birthdays, children’s names, “love,” “money,” “sex,” and “password.” Always use hard to guess passwords that contain letters, numbers and symbols.

For Parents… Talk with your child about what

is appropriate and what is not. Parental involvement and supervision in your child’s online activities is the number one thing to reduce risks on the Internet.

If your child tells you about an upsetting message, person or website they encountered while online, don’t blame your child. Work together to avoid future problems.

For Parents…

If you do not know how to approach this, seek out the advice and counsel of teachers, librarians, and other Internet and online service users in your area.

Maintain open communication with your children.

Use computer resources, and get online yourself, which will help alert you to any potential problems.

For Parents…

Some search engines have a “childsafe” option that you can activate to prevent your child from viewing inappropriate sites.

Check out filtering, blocking, and rating applications.

For Parents

Share an email address with your children and keep track of files they download.

Keep the computer in a public room instead of a child’s bedroom.

Be aware of your child’s online friends.

Putting It In Perspective

There have been some highly publicized incidents involving exploitation on the Internet and there are dangers involved with the Internet.

The fact is most users don’t experience serious problems on the Internet.

By exercising caution and being knowledgeable about the Internet you will be safer going online.

For More Information

http://www.hcpl.net/about/internetsafety.htm

http://www.netsmartz.orghttp://www.netsmartz411.orghttp://www.getnetwise.orghttp://www.wiredsafety.orgLibrary staff is available to give

guidance and assistance in using online resources.