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INTERNET SAFETY. PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Created by: Lori Poythress, ITRT. For the first time ever, you and your friends know more about a critical life skill than your parents’ generation:. using computers and the Internet !. This makes you privileged, but also makes you
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INTERNET SAFETY PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Created by: Lori Poythress, ITRT
For the first time ever, you and your friends know more about a critical life skill than your parents’ generation:
using computers and the Internet !
This makes you privileged, but also makes you responsible for the well-being of others. The Internet is a powerful tool that must be used wisely.
ETHICS OF TECHNOLOGY “ Just because you can doesn’t mean you should” Use this to guide you as you use the internet. Free…accessible...unmonitored…. Editable……. Make smart decisions and choices to protect yourself, your reputation and your integrity.
GENERAL SAFETY TIPS: • HOW TO MAKE YOUR COMPUTER SAFE: Use anti-virus software and update it regularly. Protect your computer with firewalls. Use hard to guess, strong passwords and do not share them.
Do not share files with strangers • and never give them access to your • computer. • • Regularly download security • updates and patches from the • software company that makes your • web browser. • • Disconnect from the Internet when you’re not using the web.
Back-up your computer’s critical • files to external storage -- like CD’s, • thumb drives or external hard drives • -- regularly. • • Get together with all the computer • users in your family every six • months to talk about computer • security and plan ways to make • your use safer and more secure.
DIGITAL FOOTPRINTS Did you know that things you post on the web can be found by anyone even years after you take them off your blog, diary or MySpace page?
DIGITAL FOOTPRINTS Years after you’re through with a posting and have long ago deleted it, your friends or maybe even a potential employer may be able to find that information. Think before you post!
DIGITAL FOOTPRINTS A good rule is: Don’t post anything you don’t want your grandmother to see now or your boss to see five years from now. What goes online, stays forever online.
DIGITAL COMMUNICATION The Internet opens global access to a world of knowledge and information, providing a vast library of previously unavailable resources.
HOW TO STAY SAFE USING EMAIL Many young people use email, cell phone texting and IM regularly. It is a great way to keep in touch with friends and family. But, using these technologies can be dangerous to you and your friends.
Never respond to spam or email • from strangers. • • Never forward spam or email • from others you do not know • -- especially if they contain • attachments. • • Never forward email containing • things that are fake -- even as a • joke
Tell an adult if you receive an email that is threatening or makes you feel scared or uncomfortable -- even if it’s from someone you know. • Ask permission from an adult before emailing photos of yourself to anyone.
Ask an adult if your computer has all the appropriate filters and up to date antivirus software. • • Never send flaming emails – even if you mean them as a joke. • • Understand that once you send • an email it’s hard to take back or • unsend it. Cyber bullying Video
VIRUSES AND WORMS Viruses and worms are programs that are placed onto your computer without your permission, often through attachments to spam. They can be dangerous and may even cause your computer to crash.
SPYWARE, ADWARE AND MALWARE Spyware, adware and malware are like viruses, but they usually steal information about you that you do not want others to know. You may never even know that your information was stolen. They can also use your computer’s memory without your permission to do bad things to others or they can put annoying pop-up ads on your screen.
Spam is the junk mail of the Internet. It’s unsolicited email that you don’t want and never asked for. Be careful with spam. It may contain viruses, spyware or other dangerous attachments.
FLAMIMG Flaming happens when someone sends a hurtful email to another person. It can be easier to be mean in an email because you do not have to be there and see what harm your hurtful words can do. Flaming can cause the receiver to send a flaming email in return and may end up seriously damaging a friendship.
HOAXES Hoaxes, like urban legends, are stories or rumors that are not true. Not all information on the Internet is true. Many people send stories out to purposely hurt others. A hoax may tell you to do something that will harm your computer like deleting a file that you need. Some hoaxes tell you to forward the email to your friends and others promise false rewards.
DANGERS OF WEBCAMS These devices are very cheap and easily accessible today and can be set up with great ease as well. Webcams have their own address so even when not posted to a webcam site they can be found by search engines. Even when YOU set a protective password Trojan horse programs can hack into the webcam.
Keep computers with webcams in a common room. • • Use webcams ONLY to communicate with people you know. • • Unplug or place the lens cap over the webcam when it’s not in use. • • Do not do anything in front of • a webcam that you would not • want the entire world or your • family to see. • • Do not post your webcam • URL on the Internet.
CHARACTER The computer and the Internet can give one the feeling that “no one is looking.” Your character is defined by “what you do when no one is watching you.”
Cell phones are used for much more than just phoning. Especially among young people, various ways of having fun with cell phones are very popular, like sending text messages, downloading tunes and exchanging photos. Unfortunately, like the Internet, there are people that find ways to hurt others, even through cell phones. Harassment and any other form of violence are intolerable – the same goes for mobile harassment.
Do not answer missed calls from • numbers you do not know. • Do not ever answer an abusive • text or call because it will only • encourages the perpetrator. • Save abusive texts or • photographs. This can be very • important evidence if the case is • subsequently reported to • the police. • Give your phone number only • to family members and close • friends. Do not give it to just • anyone and make sure your • friends do not either. • If you receive text messages, calls or pictures that hurt you, do not hesitate to confide in an older person that you can trust. • Always ask permission to take pictures or make a video of someone with your cell phone.
TRUSTWORTHINESS Guard your privacy on the Internet. Protect your family by not giving away too much information about yourself, your friends, or your family. Build your reputation by NOT sharing other people’s private information.
SOCIAL NETWORKING Social networking (SN) websites are virtual communities where you can meet others who share similar interests and activities. Many of these sites (like Facebook and MySpace) offer many ways to interact, like chat, messaging, email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging, and discussion groups.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT You and a few friends decide one afternoon to take some fun pictures of each other. You try on clothes, fix your hair, spruce up your makeup. Then, you take turns being the photographer and the model. The pictures turn out great. Wouldn’t it be fun to post a couple on your MySpace page? But…think before you post.
Social Networking Things to Think About • Only upload pictures that you’d be happy for your mom to see –anything too sexy to be passed around the dinner table should NOT make it on to the web, as it could encourage sexual predators to contact you.
• Don’t post your phone number or email address on your homepage. Think about it – why would anyone actually need this info when they can contact you privately via • MySpace or Bebo? • Don’t post pictures of you or your friends wearing a school uniform. If people see your school name, they can figure out where you are and come and find you.
• Don’t give too much away in a blog. Yes, tell the world you’re going to a party on Saturday night. But don’t post details of where it is. Real friends can phone you to get details, and strangers shouldn’t be able to see this kind of information. How to Delete Your MySpace Page To delete your MySpace account, log in to your account and click the Account Settings link next to your photo on your profile page. You will arrive at the Change Account Settings page. Right below the page title you will see three tiny links. Two of them, View My Profile and Edit My Profile, are in red. The third link – Cancel Account, is in gray, so it is not easily noticeable. The link forwards you to a page titled Cancel MySpace Account. It’spretty easy to figure out from there.
Social Networking Ethics Many young people believe that if something is truly not good, then someone would have already done something about it. Therefore if it’s on the Internet, it must be okay because if it wasn’t, someone would have removed it. The good thing about the Internet is the free exchange of information. But that aspect can also be a bad thing. There are no Internet police. Just as you don’t believe everything you see or hear on television, you should treat the Internet similarly.
Surfing the WEB Your teacher gives you a research paper assignment. What’s the first thing you do? Probably a Google search on your topic. Often the first hit will be from Wikipedia(which, of course, is the free encyclopedia anyone can edit). This is an excellent place to START exploring your topic. However, because Wikipedia is not an objective source like a newspaper, magazine or scholarly paper, you should not use it as a primary source of information.
You should always be careful about presenting someone else’s ideas as if they are your own. This is easy to do with Web material because you can cut and paste large blocks of text. Many students think that if you change a few words and then identify the source, you are not cheating. Unfortunately, you are still cheating if most of the words are not your own and you don’t change the way the ideas are presented !
You see a $5 on in your teacher desk draw, but you wouldn’t consider taking it because that is stealing. But what about copying something from the internet and claiming it is yours ! How about borrowing a movie or CD and copying it ????? This is called counterfeiting and it is illegal !
Keywords for Surfing the Web Blocking Software software are programs that allow you or your parents to block access to certain websites and kinds of information. Browser A browser is a software program that connects you to the web. Popular browsers include Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape, Safari and Opera. Cookie cookie is a small text file that other websites put into our computer’s memory to track sites you have visited. Cookies are used mostly by business sites to recognize customer preferences.
ISP An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a company that provides access to the web--America Online (AOL) is an example. Filtering Software software can be installed on your computer to search site material using keywords in order to block access to undesirable content. Search Engine is a web-based program that searches a large number of websites based upon the use of key words to help you find information. Google and Yahoo have two of the more popular search engines. URL (Uniform Resource Locator) (URL) is a website’s address.
Video Gaming Gaming is a huge phenomenon, with 70% of children in the playing online games. World of Warcraft alone boasts 8 million registered players. According to Wikipedia, “a computer game is a computer-controlled game where players interact with objects displayed on a screen for the sake of entertainment.” Games can be made for a variety of platforms: PCs, consoles (e.g. Nintendo Wii, Sony Playstation 3), handhelds (e.g. Nintendo DS Lite) andmobile phones.
SAFETY ISSUES Contact: Most game environments now include chat elements, and many have additional forums and other communication tools. There is little or no control over the age of players. Also, 3D environments mean that avatars can be used for virtual physical harassment of other players.
Appropriateness: Games, like movies, are appropriate for different age ranges and can contain violence, sex and abusive language. Labeling systems such as PEGI can help young people and parents to understand which are best for them. Virtual theft and cheating: Virtual items (e.g. special weapons) are incredibly valuable to players and are now being sold on websites such as eBay at profit. This encourages in-game cheating and theft, which as yet is not well protected by the law
DEALING WITH GRIEFERS Griefers are the Internet equivalent of playground bullies, who find fun in embarrassing and pushing around others.Typically, griefers will taunt others, especially new players (or newbs), cheat, use inappropriate language, and use the game to harass playersor bring unwanted negative attention to their characters.
1. Ignore them: most griefers will actually go away if you ignore them. 2. Do something else: if a griefer will not stop, try playing a different game or take a break from that game. 3. Change game options: play games with changeable options to help prevent griefer behavior. 4. Create a private game: most of the new games will let players to play their own exclusive game that will only allow their friends to play.
ETHICAL DECISIONS Often people make choices about what’s right and what’s wrong by answering these questions:
However, when using technology sometimes it’s difficult to see what the consequence of a particular behavior might be. The lack of visible consequences may lead you to believe (or rationalize) that breaking into a computer system is not at all the same as breaking into a house.
TECHNOLGY ITSELF IS NOT BAD; THE MISUSE OF TECHNOLOGY IS BAD
