The Internet can be a lot of fun and very useful if you need to find something out.
Take a few precautions and you can make sure that you are safe on the internet and enjoy your time surfing.
Think of the internet as being like any community ........ most of it is safe but there are some areas it is best not to visit and some people it is best not to talk to.
One major drawback with the net is that most of the time you can't see or hear a person you are communicating with so that 16 year old student from Miami could just as easily be a 70 year old from down the road!
Stay Safe ......... follow these guidelines.........
- Think before you click! Don't even go somewhere you think might be dodgy.
- If you do find yourself at a website you should not be viewing get out then tell a responsible adult - remember even if you delete your temporary internet files the files will stay on your computer until they are over written by something else.
- Be careful in chat rooms - never give out your real identity especially your name, email, telephone number and address.
- Never arrange to meet a person you have met on-line - be very suspicious of people who want to meet you.
- Make sure that your computer is protected by a virus checker and keep it up to date.
- Do not download things onto your computer without checking with a responsible adult first.
- If anyone says something to you on-line that makes you feel uncomfortable tell your parent, carer, youth worker or teacher - if you can't do this you could always ......"Ask Ali" our own or contact CEOP (The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre)
