Internet Safety Awareness
The Internet is a powerful tool; the more knowledge you have the better off you are. The purpose of these materials is to help you educate yourself about safety on the Internet. We hope you find this information useful.
Internet Safety for Parents
Internet Safety – Guidelines for Parents (adapted from safeteens.com and isafe.org)
The Internet is a powerful tool for our kids. As parents we should be reasonable and set realistic expectations for our kids and help them navigate online safely and effectively.
Tips for Parents
Keep the computer in a room other than the child’s bedroom, so you can monitor what your child is doing, and for how long. Set up an agreement and guidelines with your child about the use of the computer, including appropriate schedules and durations. Understand the services that your child uses online. If you do not understand them, have your child teach you about them.
Investigate blocking and screening services offered by your ISP or by other web sites or software providers. Spend time online with your child so that you can set a good example for online behavior. Never respond to threatening or offensive messages, and encourage your child to do the same.
Encourage your child never to give out any personal information. When discussing your child’s day, be sure and ask about time spent online. Remind your children never to meet anyone they have met online without your permission and without your presence. Make sure to learn about everyone your child meets online, and discuss these relationships with your child.
Useful Websites
ALA Resources for Children and their Parents
Social Networking Sites: Safety Tips for Teens and Tweens
Maintained by the Federal Trade Commission, a collection of useful tips for safely using social networking sites.
SafeTeens A family guide to making the Internet and technology fun, safe and productive.
GetNetWise Information about filtering tools, kid-safe search engines and more.
SafeKids A family guide to making the Internet and technology fun, safe and productive.
FBI Parents Guide to Internet Safety Informational pamphlet published by the FBI about online safety and cyber-crime awareness and prevention.
NetSmartz for Parents Online and offline learning activities for parents to facilitate discussions with their children and teens about Internet safety.
Go beyond simply addressing safety issues with your kids, and learn with them! Remember that the library is a great source for electronic information, with online databases, recommended sites and librarians who can help you find exactly what you are looking for.
Tips for Kids
Basic Rules of Online Safety (adapted from isafe.org)
Four “R”s to Remember
RECOGNIZE
Recognize risks and techniques used by online predators and identify thieves to obtain information.
REFUSE
requests for information, requests to keep your relationship secret, face-to-face meetings, and refuse to open or read mail or messages from a cyber bully.
RESPOND
to inappropriate communications by exiting the program or logging off.
REPORT
suspicious or dangerous contact, report cyber bullying, report suspicious activities.
Tips for Teens
Internet Safety – Guidelines for Teens (adapted from safeteens.com and isafe.org)
Email and Messaging Tips
Be careful when responding impulsively. Sometimes when we respond to email or other messages without taking the time to consider our response, we can end up saying messages that are hurtful, or even threatening. If you write something in the heat of the moment, it’s a good idea to save it for later, and then reread it before sending it on to make sure that it’s really what you mean to say.
Never send threatening or offensive email to others, no matter what they may have sent to you. Besides heating up what may already be a tense situation, such messages may in themselves constitute harassment or another crime.
Social Networking Tips (Adapted from the FTC Guidelines)
Think about how different sites work before deciding to join a site. Some sites will allow only a defined community of users to access posted content; others allow anyone and everyone to view postings.
Think about keeping some control over the information you post. Consider restricting access to your page to a select group of people, for example, your friends from school, your club, your team, your community groups, or your family.
Keep your information to yourself. Don’t post your full name, Social Security number, address, phone number, or bank and credit card account numbers- and don’t post other people’s information, either.
Be cautious about posting information that could be used to identify you or locate you offline. This could include the name of your school, sports team, clubs, and where you work or hang out.
Make sure your screen name doesn’t say too much about you. Don’t use your name, your age, or your hometown. Even if you think your screen name makes you anonymous, it doesn’t take a genius to combine clues to figure out who you are and where you can be found.
Post only information that you are comfortable with others seeing and knowing about you. Many people can see your page, including your parents, your teachers, the police, the college you might want to apply to next year, or the job you might want to apply for in five years.
Remember that once you post information online, you can’t take it back. Even if you delete the information from a site, older versions exist on other people’s computers.
Consider not posting your photo. It can be altered and broadcast in ways you may not be happy about. If you do post one, ask yourself whether it’s one your mom would display in the living room.
Flirting with strangers online could have serious consequences. Because some people lie about who they really are, you never really know who you’re dealing with. Be wary if a new online friend wants to meet you in person. Before you decide to meet someone, do your research: ask whether any of your friends know the person, and see what background you can dig up through online search engines. If you decide to meet them, be smart about it: meet in a public place, during the day, with friends you trust. Tell an adult or a responsible sibling where you’re going, and when you expect to be back.
Trust your gut if you have suspicions. If you feel threatened by someone or uncomfortable because of something online, tell an adult you trust and report it to the police and the social networking site. You could end up preventing someone else from becoming a victim.
Cyber Bullying
Cyber bullying can be considered a form of harassment in most states; punishable by law as a misdemeanor and in some cases a felony. Most schools have their own bullying plan in place with penalties that can range from detention to expulsion. Depending on the information, posting someone’s private and personal information on the Internet without their permission can result in punishment by federal law.
Be strong and stop it early. Don’t stoop to their level and lash back.
Don’t suffer in silence. Tell an adult. Keep telling people until someone takes action. Don’t open or read messages from cyber bullies. If the problem continues, alert the local police department.
Tell your school if it is school related. If your cyber bully attends your school, contact a teacher or your principal. Don’t erase the messages. Log all dates and times. Put them in a folder and hold them as evidence. Change your email address or screen name. If it’s happening with text messages, change your cell number.
Take screen shots of your chat room pages. Save URLs email addresses and profiles of the bully. Never agree to meet a bully face to face. Block the bully if you are in a chat room or IMing.
Top Cyber Security Practices
The following practices are from the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA):
Protect your personal information.
Know who your dealing with online.
Use anti-virus software, a firewall, and anti-spyware software to help keep your computer safe and secure.
Be sure to set up your operating system and Web browser software properly, and update them regularly.
Use strong passwords or strong authentication technology to help protect your personal information.
Back up important files.
Learn what to do if something goes wrong.
Protect your children online.
Where to Report a Problem
Reporting cyber crime can seem confusing because of the global nature of the Internet and the many levels of law enforcement. Please note: If you feel that your or another person’s life is being threatened, please contact your local or state police immediately! Otherwise, a good starting place for reporting a problem is the:
Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)
The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) was established as a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C) to serve as a means to receive Internet related criminal complaints and to further research, develop, and refer the criminal complaints to federal, state, local, or international law enforcement and/or regulatory agencies for any investigation they deem to be appropriate.
