High school – Internet Safety

To help you stay safe on the Internet, this page will show you safety information on how to protect yourself online.

Have a look below.

Basic Internet safety:

• You should be careful what you post on social networking sites, an embarrassing photo will come back to haunt you.

• You should be encouraged to use privacy settings so that only friends will be able to see what you have posted.

• When  you are going to meet someone you have met on the internet you should meet in a public place and bring a friend.

One of the big problems on the Internet is Viruses, Internet scams and hackers, so what are all these things.

Take a look below to find out.

Viruses

A virus is a small piece of software that sticks on real programs. For example, a virus might attach itself to a program such as a spreadsheet program. Each time the spreadsheet program runs, the virus runs, too, and it has the chance to reproduce (by attaching to other programs) or wreak havoc.

 

Here is a link to some of the worst computer viruses in history.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/worst-computer-viruses.htm

Internet Scams

Scams on the internet are referred to as computer fraud. 

Computer Fraud is using Internet services or software with Internet access to defraud people or to otherwise take advantage of them, for example by stealing personal information, which can even lead to identity theft.

A very common form of Internet fraud is the distribution of rogue security software. Internet services can be used to present fraudulent solicitations to prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent transactions, or to transmit the proceeds of fraud to financial institutions or to others connected with the scheme.

Internet fraud can occur in chat rooms, email, message boards, or on websites.

 

below is a link to information on the worst Internet scams ever.

http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/scamsandidentitytheft/ss/top10inetscams.htm

Hackers

a hacker is someone who seeks and exploits weaknesses in a computer system or computer network. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, such as profit, protest, or challenge.

 

This is some of the most Infamous hackers in history.

http://myhosting.com/blog/2012/01/infamous-computer-hacks-hackers-history/

links to more information

Viruses : http://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/virus-whatis.aspx

Scams: http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/fraud-az-microsoft-frauds

Hackers: http://www.tinhat.com/hackers/hacking.html

How do you stop Viruses, scams and Hackers?

Now you know a bit about what they are, what can you do to prevent them?

One of the easiest and most effective ways to protect yourself and the computer is to install…

Antivirus

It’s always best to have up-to date Anti-Virus software to protect you from viruses and hackers.

There are many different anti-virus software’s available for you to download, so choose which one is best for you.

Anti-virus software includes different features that ensure the best protection for you and your computer.

Some of the features include Internet Security which comes with a security toolbar, and Safe-Search, which it can help you find out which websites are safe for you to go and visit, and websites that are not safe.

PC Tuner is another feature which it cleans up your computer, if it slows down or freezes. It also helps get rid of any unwanted programs that you don’t use anymore.

There are many different versions of Antivirus software, there is Premium versions where you would get full-protection for your computer but you have to pay for it.

There is also a free edition software, which you would still get the same protection. Remember to choose the one that’s best for you.

Always update your Antivirus software regularly to keep your protection up-to date, your anti-virus software will do this for you automatically everyday, you can do the updates yourself if you want to.

Here is the best antivirus programs available today.

Paid Software:

Bitdefender Antivirus Plus 2013

Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013

Free Software:

AVG 2013 FREE

Avast 2013 FREE

What about Internet Scams..

Here is some top tips to help prevent Internet scams.

•  Never send money to unknown internet friends – Only send money over the internet if you have to and ONLY to people you know.
• Never give your personal information – Doing this helps prevents identity theft.
• Attachments in email – Never open attachments in emails without knowing who they are from and what exactly they are.
• Never believe in stories – Scammers will try and get you to believe a fake story to get you to give money.
• Never click unknowingly – Make sure links in emails take you to the correct place before you go there by checking the link address.
• Change your password from time to time – This make it harder for someone to steal your accounts.
• Lack of personal details – Ignore emails that contain no information about you, such as name, nickname.
• Internet shopping – Only buy things directly from shopping websites you know and trust.
• Never login to your financial account from unknown network – Financial companies will never ask for details about your account over the internet.
• Take help from experts – If you think you have been scammed get help.

Privacy

In order to understand why you need to safeguard your privacy and maintain Internet safety standards, it is very important to be aware of the dangers or the risks associated with insecure Internet access.

Here some of the common issues with Internet privacy:

• Unauthorized Network Access or Hacking.
• Phishing, Email Frauds and Spamming.
• Cyber abuse.

It is recommended that pupils do not share the names of the school, ages of other pupils, phone numbers or addresses of other pupils.

Opening an email from a stranger can be hazardous as the email could contain viruses which can damage the computer.

For more information on Internet Privacy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_privacy

Social networks

Social networks such as facebook, twitter and others social networks are popular with teenagers.

By using social websites there are potential risks, heres how to prevent them:

• Never share personal information with anyone.
  

• Have privacy settings set to friends only.
  

• Never send pictures to strangers or view pictures that strangers send to them.
  

• Call out Cyber-bullying if you see it. It will then be reported to people running the website.
  

• Think before you post anything on any social website.
  

Cyber-stalking and identity theft often begins by malicious users identifying the user through identifying information provided by YOU on social network sites.

It is important to remember that information posted online may be seen by more people than is originally intended.

Social networks make it simple to inadvertently share details about someone (address, phone number, birthday, etc.), so as a precaution, it is best not to input this type of information onto these websites.

Sometimes people accidentally leak some information, and with the use of search engines and some research it can be possible to get some pieces of information together to identify the users,  that it is why you should keep your profiles and information on social networks  available to people you trust.

Security

• You should change the passwords of your accounts often.

• You make sure password are strong so that they will be difficult to bypass.

• A strong password can contain at least 8 characters, both upper and lower case letters, numbers, symbols and does not contain dictionary words.

• Always avoid using easy to guess passwords such as: “password”, “123456”, “qwerty”, “abc123”, names, birthdates. Having a strong password, it is important to have different passwords for different accounts. This is to prevent access to all the accounts you may have.

• Have your anti-virus on at all time and have it updated when possible. The anti-virus software can automatically detect, prevent and remove computer viruses and various types of Malware.

• Have the one of the best anti-virus software installed on the computer that you browse the web to keep vital information safe. A variety of programs are available for purchase, but for high school pupils there are also many programs available for download for free.