Internet safety or online safety is the security of people and their information when using the Internet. Numerous groups, Internet sites and governments have expressed concerns over the safety of children using the Internet. In the UK the Get Safe Online campaign has received sponsorship from government agency SOCA and major Internet companies such as Microsoft and eBay. Several crimes can be committed on the Internet such as stalking, identity theft and more. Most social networking and chat sites have a page about safety.
The main issues with Internet safety include:
- Avoiding ''net nasties'' including: phishing, malware and viruses.
- Avoiding unwelcome sites, particularly pornography and other sites that may be unsuitable for children.
- Avoiding unsuitable and undesirable message exchanging on networking sites, perhaps with people who could be dangerous to unsuspecting children. There are over 3000 cases a year of people who have been cyberbullied, stalked and worse by strangers online, or have had their internet networking site pages hacked into.
Tools.-
- https allows websites to encrypt traffic between the browser and the server. This helps protect against stealing passwords.
- Filtering at the computer, with filtering software, such as Net Nanny or OnlineFamily.Norton from Symantec.
- DNS filtering
- Website filtering at the ISP or country level
Many organisations are involved in making the Internet a safer place. This includes governments,, global associations such as Insafe, non-profits and businesses that are affected by problems on the Internet, such as banks
