How to Stay Safe Online:

Limit Personal and Professional Information

Your home address or relationship status isn’t relevant to potential employers or customers. Only your level of expertise and professional background is of importance to them. Never expose your personal information to billions of people online. 

Be Careful with Your Posts

The internet never forgets. There is no going back once you click on that send button. Images and comments stay online forever. Always remember that we are living in the screenshot era. And what’s worse, certain platforms like Twitter don’t get rid of other people’s copies. You can never take back that embarrassing selfie, that nude or that mean comment you said to another person.

Never leave anything that you wouldn’t want your employer or mom to see online.

Don’t feed trolls 

Trolls want attention and reactions from their victims. Emotional reaction and attention make them thrive. They are like wide animals, the more you feed them, the more they want. If you react, they will try to bait you into their “joke”. If you don’t feed their ego, they will soon find someone else to attack.

Expose them 

Anonymity is what makes trolls comfortable. They fear no repercussions because their identity is hidden. What they don’t understand is that they aren’t invisible. Just do a little digging and you will find out their real identities. Pull off that anonymity veil and let everyone know the kind of person they are. They will take off running like the cowards they are.

Report them

Trolling and catfishing are a violation of many sites’ terms and conditions. Most platforms don’t tolerate harmful behavior. Report a troll or a catfish if you came across one. Just click the “report” button and watch them deal with the consequences of their actions.

Staying Safe in Online Chat Rooms

Online Chat Rooms present us with scenarios where true love is just a few simple clicks away!

But while online dating saves us the hassle of having to deal with creepy strangers from time to time, it is far from being a walk in the park. The virtual world comes with its risks; catfish, hackers, doxing, trolls, you name it, they are merciless predators on the prowl, looking for unsuspecting victims.

The person may seem super-sweet, just like your perfect dream partner, but it’s quite easy and extremely convenient for them to hide behind a screen and take on a fake persona. For all you know, you might be giving the strangest spook a seat at your table, unknowingly. Research has proven time and again that people lie and take on mock-up personalities online all the time. 

Even the smartest or most skeptical e-daters and web users can fall prey to online “ghosts”. Trolls, catfish, and hackers are not only annoying but they are becoming increasingly infuriating with the rise of online dating. You’ve probably come across them already if you are a fan of the world wide web.

Use complex passwords

Yes, complex passwords are life-saving. Complex passwords are harder for hackers and thieves to figure out. Most people choose simple passwords that they can easily remember. What they don’t realize is that passwords are one of the weakest links in internet security structure.  

• Cybercriminals will have a hard time guessing a complex password.
• A strong password mixes special characters, letters, numbers and is usually 15 characters long.
• Always update your antivirus program
• Make sure a site is secure before you make any purchases off of it.
• Use a secure VPN when you are using public Wi-Fi.

Back up your data.  

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it highlights some of the most important ways to stay safe on the internet.

Why is it important to stay safe on the Internet?

You need to protect your devices from malware because they often contain more personal information than your PC. This information would be invaluable to anyone seeking to exploit your web presence or gain access to your financial or personal information.

Why is internet safety for children important?

Internet safety for children is a top priority when browsing the internet. It is important to safeguard them from dangers such as obscenity, malware, scams, phishing, identify theft, and cyberbullying. In this digital age, kids’ online safety has become a challenge.