Important Advice for internet users
http://www.cybersmart.gov.au
- Privacy and security are real issues for
internet users and social networking sites frequently change and update
their policies to address this. Checking security settings is important to
see if options have changed.
- Users need to be careful who they accept as a
’friend’ on any social
networking site.
- Some people impersonate others or create whole
new identities for themselves, either for fun or with malicious intent.
- Some of these frauds are obvious while other
imposters are well disguised.
- Criminals may also obtain information from
other sources, such as stolen mobile phones, enabling them to imitate
real friends. They can then use access a social networking profile to
gain more information and steal that user’s identity.
- When somebody asks to be a friend on Facebook,
users can check their identity by asking them to answer a question that
only the real friend would know or go to their profile and look at their
photo's to make sure you know them.
- Users are advised to generally aim to keep
private information private. This is especially important for users who
have a large network of friends that they don’t know in the real world.
- Children and young people are particularly
tempted to build huge lists of friends and are less guarded about their
privacy.
Parents can:
- Set rules—make sure your child knows what information they can
share or post online and which websites they can visit. Ask them to tell
you before they post any personal
·
information
online, including their full name, mum or dad’s name, their address or school. advise
children to set profiles to private so that only people they want to see it can
·
Encourage
children to think before they put anything online. Information posted online
can be there indefinitely
·
encourage
children to be careful when making new friends online— they might not be who they say they are—and
never arrange to meet an online friend unless a trusted adult is with them
·
report to the
ACMA any material suspected of being prohibited
·
report abuse or
inappropriate content to the website administrator and show children how to do
this
·
Help your child
to create screen names or IDs that do not communicate their gender,age, name or
location.
- Help your child understand that what they say
and do online is important. Encourage your child to use the same manners,
communicate with others in the same way and report others who aren’t being
nice, just as they would in the offline world.
- Advise your child not to respond to any negative messages and to
report any negative messages they receive to you or another trusted adult.
