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Social networking sites are online communities where people meet to chat, send instant messages, post pictures and videos and blog. You might know these sites better by these names:
MSN; Windows Messenger; Myspace; Facebook; Bebo; Youtube; MSN Spaces
Networking Safety Tips
Safety on the internet is important. You can have fun while keeping safe on Myspace. You can chat and meet new friends while you're parents don't know what you are doing. There are some dangerous people online, the good news is that you can protect yourself.
When you are in a chat room, talking to a friend on MSN or on your Myspace profile make sure you follow these important networking safety tips:
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Set your profile to 'private' which allows only trusted friends to view your information. Still, be careful what you post.
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Only visit profiles of people you know. You should do this because someone might hurt your feelings and it protects your computer from viruses and malware.
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Never post suggestive pictures or comments about people on your profile. This may offend them and other people might get the wrong idea.
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Don't put false information about other people. Even if they might seem funny it might hurt their feelings. Watch out because someone may do it to you!
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Never post anything on your profile that you wouldn't say in public. Your profile isn't private. Colleges are watching what you're doing online. You may even be rejected from your top school. You can also break up relationships.
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Not everything you read online is true. Someone can pretend to be someone else and tell you the wrong information.
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Never share personal information such as your name passwords, addresses, phone numbers etc. They may try and track you down. Again, it may not be your friend or relative.
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You should talk to your parents before meeting someone you met online. It is very dangerous. They might do something to you that may make you feel unhappy or possibly even worse.
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If you feel unsafe or see images that make you uncomfortable tell a trusted adult such as a relative or teacher.
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Always check your profile and make sure you don't have any personal information eg. name, address, home number.
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On your myspace, use a nickname so that people don't know what your actual name is. Only your friends and family would know.
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Only talk to people you know. It's much safer. If someone you don't know adds you to be one of their contacts don't let them. You never know who it might be. If you have agreed with your friend they would probably tell you their e-mail so when it asks you if you want to be on their contact list you will know it's them.
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If someone sends you an attachment don't open it unless you know who is the sender. If you don't know them, they may be trying to send you viruses to stuff up your computer. The best way to avoid viruses is to delete emails and links that you did not expect to get.
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Never use bad or mean words online.
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If someone online says something that makes you feel upset or scared turn of the monitor or log off and tell a trusted adult.
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How to block users
- If you don't want to receive messages from a particular person follow these steps to learn how to block this person:
- To do this you right click on the name of the person in the contact list which should give you a range of options, and one of these is Block. It will mean that you will not receive messages from this person anymore.
- Block is sometimes called ’Ignore’, and if right-clicking doesn’t work, have a look in your Preferences for this function.
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How to report users
- You can report people to the Messenger provider if they are breaking the rules, i.e. being mean to you or sending you unwanted stuff. Follow these rules to stop them from doing it.
- Keep a copy of the conversation that you want to report.
- Look for a way to contact your Messenger provider by clicking the Help tab.
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How to save a copies of your conversations
- Saving your conversations can provide useful evidence if you come to make a report about something or someone.
- Some versions of Messenger have an option to save conversations which is easy to switch on, check your preferences or privacy options in the Messenger toolbar for example, under Tools.
- For others that do not offer this option, you can still highlight the conversation with your mouse and copy and paste conversations into a Word document which you can save.
- Only give your email address out to people you already know and trust. Don't give your email address to people you have only met online. Be careful that your email address is not in your profile or on other websites where people you don’t know can find it.
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More Internet Safety Websites
- Chat Danger
- Guide To Myspace & Social Networking
- Cybercafe
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