Mind Your Manners: 8 Tips for Web Safety
We expect other drivers to observe the rules of the road and the same is true as we travel through cyberspace. Social networks have their own customs and practices that you should get familiar with before you join up. Here are a few "netiquette" pointers to guide you through your networking.
- Don't include your home address and phone number in your signature file. Don't unwittingly give out so much information about yourself that a stranger can put your day together. Nothing is ever really private on the Internet; anything can be copied and pasted. And don't give out personal information about someone else. Look out for your friends and ask them to look out for you.
- Be cautious about what you reveal about yourself in blogs and social networking services, even in the comments sections. It's very likely that your words will come back to haunt you! Not only that, but your words and links often make it easy for others to track you. And, did you know that some teachers and employers are now looking at students' and potential employee's webpages?
- Log off when you leave your computer. If you don't sign out of a website, the next person on that computer can easily access your account and personal information.
- Never share your password with anyone. Change your password if you even think it has been compromised. Words or backwards words are not secure passwords. Mix cases, numbers, letters, and symbols.
- Don't publish your e-mail address or AIM screen name on your web page. Would you want a stranger reading your away messages and profile?
- Virtual appearances are deceiving. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you know someone after having "met" online. You know only what the person chooses to tell you.
- Don't respond to threatening or inappropriate messages. Report persistent abusers to your parents or guardian.
- Be ethical. Maintain the same behavior online as in real life. Sometimes people forget that there's a human being on the other side of the computer, and they think that a lower standard of ethics or personal behavior is acceptable in cyberspace.
|
 |
 |
|
Are you using MySpace or other social networking sites? How do you stay safe when you are meeting people online? Have you had any problems?
 |
|
|
|
|
Like what you see at TeenVoices. com?
Send in your writing or artwork and you could be published in Teen Voices or TeenVoices.com!
|
Main Page
Page 1 2 3 4 5
|
