C ybersafety

  According to recent statistics nearly 70% of the Australian population are Internet users. A significant proportion of those are children and teenagers. The Internet is a wonderful resource for study purposes and for all forms of research whether it be school-related, social interaction or for entertainment.

However, web site content can be an issue due to the large number of sites containing inappropriate content. Chat rooms can be a problem if the person is ‘meeting and talking' to strangers on-line. There are a considerable number of documented cases where children and teenagers have been persuaded to meet with on-line ‘friends' which have had traumatic and upsetting outcomes.

In order to minimize the risk of using the Internet there are a few basic actions that can help:

• Locate your home computer in a family area rather than a bedroom.
• Educate the family about the risks of Internet use, particularly chat rooms.
• Use pretend names when communicating with people other than friends, family or school.
• Never give out any personal information such as address, school or age.
• Do not download anything that is not from a legitimate web site.
• Never click on flashing boxes that promise anything, as more often than not they will download spyware on to your computer.
• If you keep getting pop-up boxes all over your screen then you should immediately disconnect from the Internet and run anti-virus and anti-spyware programs to clean the malware from your computer.
• Do not open emails if you do not know or trust the person who sent them.
• Use anti-virus software, anti-spyware software and a personal firewall to prevent your computer being infected with viruses, worms, spyware or any other malicious program.
• Always disconnect your computer from the Internet when not in use.
• Ensure that each user of the computer has a separate account and password.
• Be serious about not sharing passwords.
• Encourage all family members to have effective passwords (see below).

  Guidelines for selecting an effective password:

• It should be a minimum of eight characters
• It should consist of a mix of numbers, letters (both cases) and punctuation
• Choose a line or two of a poem or song and use the first letter of each word, that way you won't forget the password regardless of its length
• Where the first letter of the word is I or O use the numbers one or zero instead
• Use a combination of first letters and numbers to represent words, such as 1 (won), 2 (to, too), 3 (free), 4(for), 8 (ate), b (be, bee), c (see, sea), q (queue), r (are), t (tea), u (you), y (why)
• Do not use obvious keyboard sequences, names or words in any language, names or words in reverse or with a number before or after.

 Reporting Concerns

To report inappropriate or offensive online material or spam, go to the Australian Communications and Media Authority website at www.acma.gov.au

To report suspicious online behaviour that you think involves the sexual grooming, abuse or exploitation of children or young adults call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or go to the Western Australian Police website at www.police.wa.gov.au

These are just the basic steps to take. Education and awareness of the issues are the most important factors contributing to safety on the web. The web sites below are just a few of the many aimed at protecting Internet users. They contain tips, strategies and real life stories of incidents that have occurred to children and teenagers.

Sue Kennedy
School of Computer and Information Science
Edith Cowan University
(member of Mount Lawley SHS ICT Committee)

Links from the Cybersafety Presentation:

The videos on the following site are excellent for both students and parents:

http://www.wiseuptoit.com.au/     

You will find the latest booklets from NetAlert here: http://www.netalert.gov.au/advice.html   

You will find free content filters here:

http://www.netalert.gov.au/   

This site has some good leaflets on how to be Cybersmart and how to be Phonesmart:

http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_90161   

This site contains some of the links above but also some other interesting material:

http://www.netalert.gov.au/programs.html

Think U Know is an Internet safety education initiative and forms part of the NetAlert's Outreach program.

It is being developed in partnership with the Virtual Global Taskforce and Microsoft .

http://www.thinkyouknow.com.au/

  Links for students:

Cyberwise for teens:

http://www.cyberwise.ca/epic/internet/incyby-cybj.nsf/en/home

Top ten cyber security tips for teens, their teachers and families:

http://www.cybersmart.org/downloads/pdf/cyber_security_tips_poster.pdf

Information for kids, tweens and teens:

http://www.wiredsafety.org/youth.html

Cyber safety for teens: What every parent and teen should know:

http://www.ignatius.edu/counseling/docs/cybersafety.pdf

Wired Kids: On-line safety for Kids and Teens:

http://www.wiredkids.org/

On-line safety rules:

http://www.safety-council.org/info/child/webrules.html

The Cybercitizen Awareness Programme:

http://www.cybercitizenship.org/

Internet safety for kids and teens.

http://dmoz.org/Kids_and_Teens/Computers/Internet/Safety/

Netsmartz Workshop – information for teens

http://www.netsmartz.org/netteens.htm

Links for parents and guardians:

http://www.wiredsafety.org/parent.html

Cyber-safety: What parents should know:

http://www.aw.org/s_cross/p_nielsen/Cyber-SafteyWhatParentsShouldKnow.htm

Netsmartz Workshop – information for parents & guardians

http://www.netsmartz.org/netparents.htm

Links for teachers:

http://www.wiredsafety.org/educators.html

Model acceptable use policy

http://www.cybercrime.gov/rules/acceptableUsePolicy.htm

Cybersmart: Lesson plans and activity sheets: (up to year 8)

http://www.cybersmartcurriculum.org/lesson_plans/

Free stuff and online resources for teachers:

http://www.cybersmartcurriculum.org/more_free_stuff/

Netsmartz Workshop – information for educators

http://www.netsmartz.org/educators.htm

Safety in Cyberspace ( Canada )

http://www.safety-council.org/info/child/cyber.html

Cyberethics web sites: Internet safety, Internet security, Internet responsibility

http://www.cybercrime.gov/links1.htm