Email Privacy

Email is not private. Anyone could be reading that private email you sent to a friend. Be careful what you send-if it´s really a secret, don´t send it. You should be very careful not to send personal information about yourself, including your address.

Email and Passwords

Never send passwords through email. Sometimes email goes to the wrong place or someone else can get into it.

Blocking Instant Messenger Contacts

If someone you don't know tries to talk to you on Instant Messenger, you can block that person from contacting you there again. Click Block on your program. You can also click warn, which warns other people he did something wrong when he was talking to you. Use this if a person says something that makes you uncomfortable-and then tell your parents about it.

Signing Up

Sometimes sites will ask you to join their site. Before joining, look around to find out if there is any reason for you to join. If there is, ask your parents to help you with the registration. Look for the word optional. This means you don´t have to fill that part out. Usually, it´s best not to tell the site more than you need to.

Entering Contests

Don´t enter a contest without your parent´s permission. Usually when you enter, you must give out personal information about yourself. You do not know who is getting that information. Ask your parents if it is a safe contest to enter. Don´t give the site more information than you really have to. Many sites ask a lot of personal questions, but don´t really make you put that information in. Never give your telephone number, since you might get many calls from sales people after that.

Chat Rooms

Most chat rooms are not safe for children. If you really want to chat, ask your parents to find you a safe room. Look for one with a moderator-someone in charge who makes sure everyone behaves. Your parents should ask about the rules and standards. When you are chatting, don´t use your real name or tell people where you live. No matter how nice your on-line friends seem, you don´t know they are safe. If someone asks personal questions or makes you uncomfortable, tell your parents. Most importantly, keep an adult in the room while you chat. Let them peek over your shoulder while you type. Online friendships should never be private.

Tell an Adult!

If you are surfing the internet and accidentally find something you know you shouldn´t see, there are several things you should do. First, hit the back button to get out of the page. Don´t stop and look at it for a while first. Then get an adult and tell them what you found and how you found it. Ask them to tell you how to keep from finding sites like this again.

Instant Messenger

Instant messenger programs can be a lot of fun to have. When you and your friends sign up for the same program you can send messages back and forth to each other while you are doing other things on the computer. You can choose whether to keep your login private or have it shown to others. If you show it to others, anyone can see that you are online and send you messages. Sometimes very scary people look for strangers to send bad messages to. Keep your login private. Only give it to people you know. Don't put your age, your last name or your city in your profile. Stay safe on the internet.