Computer Hope

Hello
In this topic, we are going to discuss Online Safety, and how it affects you.
Many people do not believe it, but there are people out there that will hunt you down.
Its not a 100% chance, and I am not here to scare the bejeebers out of you, but it is greatly possible.

If you are under the age of 18, you are more at risk.
I would like to set these rules, they should apply to every place on the internet:
·      You should never post your state, home city or areas around you, or your address
·      You should never post your real name
·      You should never post your school
·      You should never post any information about people you know
·      You should never post about your family (Locations)
·      When creating blogs and webpages like a Myspace, you should keep your profile set to Private, and only add people you know (Also see, Myspace Impersonators)
·      You should avoid posting your IP address, since it is traceable, but sometimes, this is unavoidable. (Most IP addresses only give an approximate location, and list where your ISP is)
·      Even if you think you trust someone online, never tell them where you live or agree to meet
·      Never post a picture of yourself

If you are under 18 years old, and you are going to create a profile on a site that will keep your information public, or someone/a group will be able to look at it, you may want to create an aliases of yourself, eg; Name: John Doe, Age 22, Walkersville, TX. Most websites will except a 55555 zip code, and a 555 555 5555 phone number, as well as city NA, and NA Address for address.

MySpace is a dangerous site when not used correctly. Make sure that your friends have a private profile, and that you have a private profile, so that online predators cannot try to find you.
Though it may not seem "cool" putting in a false city that sounds real (Walkersville, TX), is not a bad idea, this can lead predators astray.
MySpace Impersonators: Its very possible for a online predator to pretend to be someone else, but very real that they might not be. For example, look on MySpace for Bill Gates, you will find quite a few people that act as if they are the real Bill Gates, but they are not.
Someone on your Instant Messenger can go, "Hey, its your friend Jake, why don't you add me?" Jake is not an uncommon name, and you could have a real friend named Jake that you may easily confuse.

Even a ComputerHope user, perhaps person with many posts, can try and befriend you. Just because they participate in the online community doesn't mean that you can trust them.

Someone trying to get your personal information? Turn them over to the proper authorities, same as you would if someone were to hack into your website/server/

You have a right to privacy, and the right to remain anonymous.
Use it.

Want something added to this? Just reply. I am going to leave this topic open for a while.