on the internet per day? Can you live without the Internet for a week? How many times have you complained about your internet connection speed? As teenagers, you are all exposed to many things powered by the internet. Whether it is socializing, playing games, reading sports news, shopping, etcc. The internet has given you one of the most powerful tools that your parents, during their teenage years, did not have. Because of this, do you not think that is also important to wield this powerful tool properly? Without proper training a swordsman can easily injure himself when wielding a sword; the same could be said for you whenever you use the internet. ONLINE SAFETY AND SECURITY The internet truly is a powerful tool. It can be used to promote your business, gain new friends and stay in touch with the old ones. It is also a source of entertainment through games, online communities, and everything in between. But the most things in this world, there is always the “other side of the coin”. The internet is one of the most dangerous places, especially if you do you do not know what you are doing with it. But there is no need to worry ; it is never that late. Hopefully, you are able to consider how you go about your use of internet. The internet is defined as the information superhighway. This means that anyone has access to this highway, can place information, and can grab that information. Any information, even things that you have set privately, can be accessed one way or another. This is why social networking sites like Facebook continue to improve their security features. The threat of cybercrime is very real. While you may not experience the threat now, whatever information we share today could affect our future. TIPS TO STAY SAFE ONLINE The internet is a public place and it is up to you to protect yourself. Here are some tips to help you stay safe when using the internet. 1. Be mindful of what you share online and what site you share it to. 2. Do not just accept terms and conditions; read it., 3. Check out the privacy policy page of a website to learn how website handles the information you share. 4.Know the security features of the social networking site you use. By keeping your profile private, search engines will not be able to scan your profile. 5. Do not share password with anyone. 6. Avoid logging in to public netwoks/WI-FI. Browsing in “incognito (or private) mode”, a feature of the browser, will not protect you from hackers. 7. Do not talk to strangers whether online or face-to-face. 8. Never post anything about a future vacation, It is similar to posting. “Rob my house at this date,” 9. Add friends you know in real life. 10. Avoid visiting untrusted websites. 11. Install and update an antivirus software on your computer. Use only one anti-virus software to avoid conflicts. 12. If you a Wi-fi at home, make it a private network by adding a password. 13. Avoid downloading anything from untrusted websites. You are most vulnerable in peer-to-peer downloads(torrent) as the download is most likely not monitored by the site owner. 14. Buy the software do not use pirated ones. 15. Do not reply or click links from suspicious emails. Most people would dispute that there is no such thing as private over the internet and they may be right. There are hackers who can find a backdoor even if your profile is already set to private. You have no control of whoever is looking at your friend’s screen whenever they open your profile or chat with you. You have no control over people getting access to your friend’s account and seeing your private stuff.
