I've once been a victim of one of those online threats. In fact, even up to now that nightmare is still far from over just yet. That's why I'm eager to let others know about how they can be safe amidst all dangers that lurks in the dark corners of the internet.
So check out my 10 Internet Safety Tips!
1.) Never Share Your Personal Information - This is good rule of thumb in the times when old friends wants to reconnect with us, acquaintances who wants to get to know us more, relatives who just wants to maintain the same kind of relationship we have with them from reality to the online world and strangers who seems intrigued by our existence. The problem there is that these people may not be who we think they are. Your so acquaintances, relatives and friends may be posers who wanted to take advantage of you. That's why we have to be cautious and verify their identities as well, how much more with strangers who we barely know. I think it's a no-brainer not to share personal info such as your finances, address, contact number and above all personal conversations. This brings us to a solution in number 2.
2.) Don't Talk to Strangers - You can always verify if your relatives and friends are really the one's you're chatting to. You can call them or ask them directly if you see each other or even during chat I'm sure your instinct will know if it's really them or not. Chatting with strangers is another story though. When you were a child I'm sure your mom taught you not to talk to strangers. That's actually a good first line of defense but apparently it's not the only one. And that brings us to number 3. Again, don't talk to strangers - most especially if you really don't have a good reason to do so.
3.) Set Up Your Privacy - Setting you privacy will do so much in Social networks. You can filter to which set of people or specific people can you share your thoughts and activities online. This will make you feel safe from unwanted prying eyes. But not if you're in an internet shop which is the case of the next tip.
4.) Avoid Public Computers - Your computer broke down! Your life is a mess so you went to find life somewhere else. Then you're back online, but this time, in an internet shop and you're using an old public desktop computer with other people around. The dangers of using public computer does not only include the probability that people surrounding you may have bad intentions (to you) but the softwares installed on that computer may actually put your identity in danger. Public computers might be infected with spywares, malwares and even viruses that can track your activity and hack your password. This leads us to the 5th tip!
5.) Install Antivirus - You should check if an antivirus software installed on your computer is still working or if there's even one. You see, antivirus is a necessity for your online or basic computer needs. It stops viruses, spyware, and solves all the problems in the 4th tip. Well, it depends on what you mean by a 'broken down' computer and an Antivirus cannot move internet shop bystanders away from you. The next time you use a public computer always check if they have installed an antivirus.
6.) Cancel Auto-Downloads - I know most of you love torrenting movies and tv shows. But I hope you understand that when you download you have to consider that whatever it is you downloaded is a potential threat to the health of your computer. And that's gonna lead us back to number 4 and 5. There are websites though that you can trust when it comes to download but you must be aware that there are pages in the internet that automatically downloads stuff on your computer. In the event that you'll open one, your browser may prompt a dialog box about the download and be sure to cancel it.
7.) Copyright Do it Right! - This has nothing to do with the 5 previous tips but most people upload and share a lot of their original photos, thoughts in the internet and it is best to keep them within the bounds of the privacy users set. But if you post it somewhere, like a blog or your public facebook page, then you must take great caution as some people can just steal your ideas, photos and videos online. Always remember that the internet is one big public domain. And everything you have publicly posted online can be credited to search engines and stolen from you. There are some laws, however, that states we are protected by a certain copyright law which starts the moment our crafts has been created. But it's always safe that we take precautionary measures on this line by placing watermark on our photos and videos and a disclaimer about our ideas. Remember, getting Sotto-ed is a pain in the ass!
8.) SHAMELESS PLUG - This tip is as simple as reading my post about avoiding the 20 kinds of websites I hate! If you do you will not only be saved from online threats but from headaches as well.
9.) Avoid Joining Heated Public Online Debates - This tip is actually for everyone. Behind every facebook page you like, behind every forums you join and public threads you comment on there are page administrators and moderators. These people most commonly referred to as 'admins' can be as ruthless as Hitler and when one side crosses the line harsh moves will take place and result to the other one being cyber-bullied. Exercise Freedom of Speech only when necessary!
10.) Strong Password and No Hints! - Just because you want your relationship to be strong - by showing trust - you're gonna give away the log-in details in all of your cyber accounts. That's the trend recently whenever you're in a relationship. Passwords, when discovered by others, may result for your virtual life being destroyed.
So that's it! If you don't really want something to go around the internet, don't post it! It's as simple as being responsible and I hope you are and will be after this blog post.
