Internet safety

Internet safety or online safety is the security of people and their information when using the Internet. Numerous groups, Internet sites and governments have expressed concerns over the safety of children using the Internet. In the UK the Get Safe Online campaign has received sponsorship from government agency SOCA and major Internet companies such as Microsoft and eBay. Several crimes can be committed on the Internet such as stalking, identity theft and more. Most social networking and chat sites have a page about safety.

Contents 1 Issues 2 Tools 3 Organisations 4 See also 4.1 Groups and individuals working in the topic 5 External links 6 References

Issues

The main issues with Internet safety include:

• Avoiding 'net nasties' including: phishing, malware and viruses.
• Avoiding online scams and confidence tricks, Internet fraud and computer crime.
• Avoiding unwelcome sites, particularly pornography and other sites that may be unsuitable for children.
• Avoiding unsuitable and undesirable message exchanging on networking sites, perhaps with people who could be dangerous to unsuspecting children. There are over 3000 cases a year of people who have been cyberbullied, stalked and worse by strangers online, or have had their internet networking site pages hacked into.

Tools

• https allows websites to encrypt traffic between the browser and the server. This helps protect against stealing passwords.
• Filtering at the computer, with filtering software, such as Net Nanny or OnlineFamily.Norton from Symantec. See Parental controls.
• DNS filtering^[1]
• Website filtering at the ISP or country level

Organisations

Many organisations are involved in making the Internet a safer place. This includes governments,^[2], global associations such as Insafe, non-profits ^[3] and businesses that are affected by problems on the Internet, such as banks.^[4]

See also

• Cyber-bullying
• Identity theft, Identity fraud
• Incredible Internet
• Internet crime, Internet fraud
• Control software:

• Content control software - for high-level filtering, including workplace internet filtering
• Parental controls - for parents to control how a computer is used
• Accountability software - for adults who want to be accountable to another for how they use the internet.

• Internet security for information about protecting data and avoiding malware.
• Website reputation rating tools for information about website safety & trustability.

Groups and individuals working in the topic

• ThinkUKnow
• Tween summit
• Youth Internet Safety Survey
• AHTCC - Australian High Tech Crime Centre
• Sonia Livingstone

External links

• Digital Safety Conference London, June 19, 2009
• StaySafeOnline.org - National Cyber Security Alliance
• Cable in the classroom digital safety page
• Australian Government Cyber Safety Plan
• Australian Government Online Safety and Security, also Cyber Security
• Internet Safety Project
• Digital Mom Keeping Kids Safe Online
• Internet safety for seniors
• OnGuard Online - a US government website on Internet safety
• How to Stay Safe on the Bleeping Internet - a comprehensive, newbie's how-to guide on avoiding viruses, malware and other bad stuff
• Vodafone Parent's Internet Safety Guide

References

1. ^ For example, see DynDNS or OpenDNS
2. ^ http://www.staysmartonline.gov.au/
3. ^ see for example http://www.cyberethics.info/
4. ^ http://nab.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/nab/campaigns/561/1