Surfing online a fun pastime and a great way to connect with friends. From watching YouTube videos to playing games to sharing your favourite pics and articles with friends via social media \u2013 you can do it all! However, with access to information comes a new set of dangers. People and programmes aren\u2019t always what they seem. There are phishers, spammers, scammers, and criminals lurking around every corner, hacking information and catfishing their way into our online lives. Here are a few tips to help you enjoy the internet without any scary encounters:<\/p>\n
No, we\u2019re not talking literally about that weird-looking fish in dirty dams, these are a different kind of Barbels. A catfish is someone who poses as someone else online, usually by using fake photos and personal information \u2013 most popularly their age. For example, an older person might pose as a teenager to earn the trust of a younger crowd.<\/p>\n
The only way to fend off catfish is to stick to the rule of not talking to strangers. Never talk to someone online that you haven\u2019t met face-to-face (in the real world) also try to do some research on them first. Google is your friend here. If you can\u2019t find any other profiles, look at things like other followers \u2013 if they have very little followers or very random persons from other countries and no friends in common – chances are they are fake.<\/p>\n
If you catch a catfish, be sure to report this slippery sneaky fish to the relevant website administrators. If they ask you for photos of yourself or start making you feel uncomfortable in any way, alert your parents immediately and stop talking to the person<\/strong>. The most important rule to remember \u2013 and this one is\u00a0super<\/strong>\u00a0important \u2013 NEVER meet up with someone without your parents\/guardian\u2019s consent.<\/p>\n Contrary to belief, passwords can be hacked much easier than we think. Use longer passwords with capital letters and special characters to ensure it is strong and harder to hack.<\/p>\n Never, ever (EVER) use your birthday or something that will be easy to think of.<\/p>\n Also, prepare for the possibility that your friends are not always as friendly as you might think. Never give a password to someone else \u2013 it\u2019s just not worth the embarrassment. It can easily be used for cyberbullying. Keep checking online articles with tips on making your passwords stronger<\/a>. This is your chance to be creative!<\/p>\n Everything posted on the internet will ALWAYS be on the internet. Even if you delete it a few minutes after posting, chances are someone out there would have screenshotted it before you even thought of deleting it. It happens in a matter of seconds. It will always be on some server out there somewhere so before posting, ask yourself, \u201cwhat would my parents, teachers and friends say when seeing this?\u201d If the answer is negative for any of those three, you should probably not post it at all.<\/p>\n The worst mistake people make is to leave a computer or phone unattended, open on a password protected page, eg. Facebook. That is just asking for trouble, especially if you’re already a victim of cyberbullying. It only takes a few seconds for someone to write an embarrassing status on your Facebook leaving you red in the face. Another no-no is to leave your computer unattended when working in a public area, especially when you’re on an open public network. If you go to coffee shops or internet caf\u00e9s, you might want to check out our article on How to Stay Safe(r) on Public Wifi<\/a>.<\/p>\n Most online chatrooms aren\u2019t appropriate for children. If you are under the age of 18, ask your parent or guardian if it is okay to sign-up before chatting on the site. Safest is to rather not use these chatrooms, keeping in mind tip number one, catfish are everywhere!<\/p>\n Stay out of trouble by not clicking that \u201cdownload now\u201d button. If your parents didn\u2019t give you consent, then it\u2019s probably not a good idea. Whenever downloading something, even if you think it\u2019s a safe site, it always bears the risk of carrying computer viruses. These viruses can corrupt your PC\/laptop and wipe important data. Much like a human virus, it can spread then to your other devices when you use USB\u2019s or attach the download to an email, etc. Keep that computer vaccinated by NOT downloading without consent!<\/p>\n Don\u2019t share any information online; such as your address, ID number or anything that might be stolen or put you in danger. Not everyone can keep a secret and keep your data safe so watch out who you give info to.<\/p>\n Cyberbullying has become a bit lame. Nobody likes a bully in real life, so rather don\u2019t do it online either.<\/p>\n If your friends or someone else you know circulate images or messages on social media or on your messaging apps with nudity or something mean about someone else (or yourself), tell your parents and\/or teachers immediately. Cyberbullying is a serious thing and can really harm someone mentally. Don\u2019t do something without that person’s consent.<\/p>\n It might be a lot of information to take in but the golden rule is to always check with your parents\/guardian if you\u2019re unsure about something. Always remember, not everyone has good, honest intentions. Be vigilant and careful of everyone and everything.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Surfing online a fun pastime and a great way to connect with friends. From watching YouTube videos to playing games to sharing your favourite pics and articles with friends via social media \u2013 you can do it all! However, with access to information comes a new set of dangers. People and programmes aren\u2019t always what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":12073,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[461],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.webafrica.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/internet-screen-security-protection-60504.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdAWxt-38G","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.webafrica.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.webafrica.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.webafrica.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webafrica.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webafrica.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12070"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webafrica.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12083,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webafrica.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12070\/revisions\/12083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webafrica.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.webafrica.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webafrica.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.webafrica.co.za\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Passwords are key<\/em><\/h3>\n
The internet is forever<\/em><\/h3>\n
Don\u2019t leave your computer open on a page<\/em><\/h3>\n
Don\u2019t visit chatrooms if your parents\/guardians haven\u2019t given you permission<\/em><\/h3>\n
Do not download any photos or programmes without consent<\/em><\/h3>\n
Don\u2019t share personal information<\/em><\/h3>\n
Cyberbullying is so last year<\/em><\/h3>\n