Staying Safe in Cyberspace

Are you interested in online chatting? Make sure you stay safe, check this out, and see precisely how you can protect yourself online and stay safe!

Every day, the internet grows a bit. It could be with more people getting internet access, and it could be from someone making a new website, or a new app is released. And while it’s growing steadily, that means there are lots of opportunities to communicate with others online.

Communication is one of the primary uses of the internet. You can connect with someone across the world in real-time! You can create lasting relationships with people by talking to them, playing games, or sharing content with them. And since the rise of all kinds of apps and social media, it’s never been easier to connect with anyone you want.

But it’s not all fun and games, and if you’re not careful, you can run into someone who may want to cause you harm. Not to worry, though, there are still lots of ways to stay safe and prevent any bad things from happening to you. Most of the methods are accessible, especially since many chatting systems have security and safety features built-in.

So let’s dive into how to keep yourself protected online, with whatever you’re doing, whether it be browsing, posting, chatting, and much more!

Giving away information

You might not even notice this one if you do it. Often, someone who wants to cause you to harm may appear as your friend and try to get information about you slowly. After they get what they want, they could turn to stalk you. It will start online, they find your social media accounts, but slowly, after time, they may uncover where you live and become a real stalker.

So how do you avoid this? Don’t give out any sensitive information.

The hard part about this tip is figuring out what exactly is ‘sensitive.’ It can vary from person to person, and it depends if you want to be known online. For example, your name could lead to people finding your social media, or anything else you post online, but if you don’t have anything tied to your name online, it may not be as sensitive. If you are applying to a job online, using a website like LinkedIn, you might not want to lie or hide any information there as it can negatively affect your chances of getting that job.

The best way to determine if something is sensitive, ask yourself: “Can this information lead to someone finding out about me?” Do you have a critical account with the same name? Do you have your age and birthday publicly posted? Are you listed on websites like YellowPages? What information can already be found about you online? If anything like that can be traced to you, then you should not give that information out to anyone!

Your ‘internet footprint’

How many online accounts do you have? Ten? Maybe fifteen? Social media, email, games, or other website accounts are very quickly created; you may not even remember making them. Do those accounts have the same username or similar information on them? Then they can be traced back to each other until they reach something important, like a Facebook or email account.

When detectives are searching for something, they can follow clues, like a trail of footprints in the mud. So we call all these clues and traces of someone online their ‘Digital/Internet Footprint.’ By following the clues, you can end up at something important in regards to your internet security and safety, so it’s essential to try and keep your internet footprint as small as possible.

Now, keeping your internet footprint small doesn’t mean you can only use a small selection of websites. You can use as many sites as you want, but keep in mind a few things when doing so: Are profiles and information on the profile visible to anyone? Are you using the same name or username as other accounts? Are you using the same information on the accounts, like birthday, likes/dislikes, or have other profiles listed?

To get a smaller internet footprint, try to use different details here and there. Come up with new usernames, maybe even make new email accounts. Using different information around the web can stop people from finding more about you, without your permission.

Avoiding getting hacked

We always hear about the latest big hack on the internet. It can happen to anyone, from celebrities, companies, or people just like you. And if an account like your email got hacked, someone could try to harm you. Think for a second:

• How many accounts do you have that use your email address?
• Is your social media linked to your primary email address?
• Are there any personal conversation between you, friends, and family in your email?

Well, if someone hacks your email account, they can learn more about you, from which websites you visit, which newsletters you get, who you talk to, and much more. On top of that, they could use the ‘Forgot Password’ buttons on your other accounts to reset your passwords and get more control. Once all this happens, not all is lost, but it’s tough to fix.

The easiest way to stop yourself from getting hacked is to use strong passwords. Many websites can teach you about how to make strong passwords, and we found this fantastic article from HowToGeek. Following the steps, there will keep you safe without doing much work.

Another straightforward way to stop yourself from getting hacked is making sure you don’t give out information about your accounts. You shouldn’t give out the email address that you use for social media and personal conversations. Instead, try making a new email account for certain things: Have one for all your personal messages, like family, friends, and newsletters. Then, you can have an email for your accounts, and finally, one more to talk among your internet friends and to have fun!

Blocking harmful messages

The internet is a great place filled with all kinds of great people, but every so often, there might be someone who isn’t so friendly trying to chat you up. They might start off sounding nice, but will then get mean, rude, and can even start bullying you with name-calling, or trying to stalk you.

If you notice someone acting like this, you don’t have to keep talking to them. These types of people should be avoided whenever you can. Eventually, just like any other bully, they’ll get bored and leave you alone.

But sometimes, ignoring someone can be difficult. When you’re getting all kinds of notifications, new messages, you might feel scared, guilty, sad, angry, and will try to ignore it, but it can get stressful. Thankfully, most chat software and apps include ways to help you get rid of people like this, and let you get back to living your life and having fun online.

The feature in email systems is called the Spam Filter. When you get a message you either don’t want to see, or that may be harmful, you can mark it as Spam. Once you do it once or twice, all emails from that sender will start to get automatically put in a ‘Spam bin.’ You won’t get notified when an email lands here, and you never have to check it unless you want to. Finally, most email systems will delete messages in the spam bin after a month.

On other chat apps, such as Kik, iMessage, or Facebook Messenger, there will be a ‘Block’ feature, which acts kind of like an email spam filter. But instead of just moving the messages where you won’t be notified, Blocking a user will stop all communication between you and them. Once you block a user, they won’t be able to send you any messages, and often, they won’t be able to see any of your profile information, like photos, birthday, nicknames, etc.

Closing words

We’re sorry if this seems a little bit scary, we didn’t mean it. The internet is a great place to be. You can laugh at videos and pictures, learn about anything, listen to music or other people, and love everyone you meet. There is a minimal number of people who are bad online, and there is a good chance you’ll never meet anyone who wishes you harm. It’s just right to be safe online, and practicing these steps in your online interactions will help you avoid any negativity, if and when it comes your way.