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Google Promotes Online Safety With 'Good to Know' Campaign

Gillan Guy, the CAB's chief executive, said that “Information is a powerful tool for preventing problems from arising in the first and safety, personal data and identity theft are among the top concerns of people of using internet”.

11 Ways to Stay Safe Online & Protect Your Privacy By Nerissa Sardi on September 1, 2009 2:25 PM | No TrackBacks Nearly everyone is using the internet these days to find information or connect with others. But surfing the web can still sometimes feel like the Wild West. Despite technological advances to help reduce the risk of identity theft, becoming the victim of an internet scam or having your privacy invaded is a persistent threat. And, as a number of recent incidents involving social networking websites have shown us, it can even be fatal Keeping your guard up is essential to avoid trouble on the internet. Here are eleven tips from FindLaw.com to help you stay safe online: 1. Be careful who you give your information Avoid giving out personal information such as your name, address, telephone number or other personal information on websites until read and understand their privacy policy. For example, be on guard for online promotions or contests in which you may be asked to provide details about yourself. This information could be used to market to you in the future. Never give out your Social Security number or passwords online, unless you are certain the site is secure. 2. Know you're being watched Be careful of the e-mails you send and the websites you visit while at work. In most U.S. states, employees are exempt from protection by employers who may be monitoring e-mails and internet use while on the job. 3. Don't reply to spamEver get one of those strange, unexpected e-mails for real estate, weight loss, work-at-home or investment opportunities? Your best bet is to delete those e-mails without opening them. Never reply to these e-mails, even to request they remove your name from their lists. Replying will alert the sender that your e-mail is a "live" e-mail attached to an actual person.  4. Use secured websites Before you purchase a product or service online with a credit card, make sure the connection is secure or encrypted. Look for a small lock icon on the website, or look at the URL address line; a secure connection will begin with https:// ("s" for secured) instead of http:// 5. Beware of public wireless accessDon't send personal or confidential information when using public wireless connections in cafes and other public places. Fellow wireless users could potentially monitor what you are doing only a few feet away. 6. Think before you post Avoid revealing personal information or photos on websites such as Facebook, MySpace or SecondLife. Personal or embarrassing information and images can haunt you in years to come like when you are applying for college or a new job. If it's on the internet, it's available for a potential employer, your school, a future or current spouse, your mother or grandmother to find it. 7. Don't trust your friends A number of recent incidents involving "sexting" demonstrate, sending photos of yourself in the nude or in compromising positions could not only be extremely embarrassing when a partner or ex-partner starts to share those photos with his or her friends, but it also could be illegal. 8. Beware of classified listing meet-upsWhen using websites such as Craigslist or Freelist to buy or exchange goods locally, always bring someone you trust with you to meet the seller/buyer. Be cautious about letting strangers into your home or meeting in unsafe places 9. Watch your cookies Cookies are tidbits of information that websites store on your computer. Some cookies are useful, such as those that store information about you so you don't have to retype info every time you go to that site. Other cookies are used to track your motions through a website. Some companies keep this data for their own usages - however, some sell your information to other marketers. You can monitor and edit the cookies on your computer through your browser. 10. Use anti-spyware Spyware is sneaky software that rides its way onto computers during the download of screensavers, games, music and other applications. Spyware sends information about what you're doing on the internet to a third-party, usually to target you with pop-up ads. Anti-spyware will help block this threat. 11. Monitor your kids' internet useMove computers out of the bedroom and into family space where parents and others can check on your child's internet use by simply walking by. Set specific times that your child may surf the web, and set rules about social media websites, such as Facebook, My Space and Twitter.

Passwords are the first line of defense against cyber criminals. It’s important to pick strong passwords that are different for each of your important accounts and to change them regularly. Here are some ideas to help create strong passwords. Use a unique password for all your important accounts. Use unique passwords for your accounts, especially important accounts like email and online banking. You are likely to have dozens of accounts across the web, and you cannot guarantee the security of all of them. Criminals target sites that lack strong security, in order to harvest usernames and passwords that they test against other popular sites. When you use the same password across the web, a cyber criminal can learn the password from a less secure site and then use that password to compromise your important accounts. Use a long password The longer your password is, the harder it is to guess. There are almost one quintillion possible 10-character passwords (that’s 4,000 times as many possibilities as if your password only has eight characters) … and that’s if you only use numbers and letters. Use a password with a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols Using numbers, symbols and mixed-case letters in your password increases the difficulty of guessing or cracking your password. For example, there are more than 6 quadrillion possible variations for an eight-character password with numbers, symbols, and mixed-case letters – 30,000 times more variations than an eight-character password with only lowercase letters. Try using a line from a song, film or play Some passwords are easy to guess or crack: Simple words or phrases like “password” or “letmein,” keyboard patterns such as “qwerty” or “qazwsx,” patterns such as “abcd1234” or personal information like your birthday or street name.So choose a combination of letters, numbers, or symbols to create a unique password that’s unrelated to your personal information.One idea you can try is to choose a line from your favorite song, film or play, like “To be or not to be: That is the question.” Then use numbers, symbols and mixed-case letters to recreate it: “2bon2bT1tq” is a password with quadrillions of variations. The more unusual the phrase you choose the better!Or you could pick a random word or phrase, and insert letters and numbers into the beginning, middle, and end, such as “sPo0kyh@ll0w3En.” Make sure your password recovery options are up-to-date and secure Make sure your recovery email address is up to date so that you can receive emails in case you need to reset your password. Sometimes you can also add a phone number to receive password reset codes via text message. Additionally, many websites (including Google Accounts) will ask you to choose a question to verify your identity if you ever forget your password. If you’re able to create your own question, try to come up with a question that has an answer only you would know. Try to find a way to make your answer unique – you can do this by using some of the tips above – so that even if someone guesses the answer, they won’t know how to enter it properly. Keep your password reminders in a secret place that isn’t easily visible Don’t leave notes with your passwords in plain site, on your computer or desk. If you do decide to save your passwords in a file on your computer, create a unique name for the file so people don’t know what’s inside. Avoid giving the file an obvious name, such as “my passwords.” If you have a difficult time remembering multiple passwords, a trusted password manager may be a good solution. Spend a few minutes checking out the reviews and reputations of these services.

When your job involves using the World Wide Web and other computer software for most part of the day, you might start to feel some pain in your joints and muscles. These are usually brought about by unhealthy habits when you are surfing the Internet at your work station. To avoid any illnesses brought about by improper practices while using online resources, follow these basic tips. First, observe proper posture when you are sitting in front of your computer. Your buttocks should be at the rear of the seat, your back straight, and your feet planted firmly on the floor. Relax your shoulders, keep your arms near your body, and your wrists should not bend. Second, take good care of your eyesight. To avoid straining your eyes as you surf the Web, make sure they are directly level with the upper portion of your monitor. Also, adjust the brightness or install a filter if the screen light hurts. Third, take regular breaks and exercise. Walk around the block and do some stretching to relax and strengthen your muscles, joints, and tendons. This will also allow you to rest your eyes and hands.

Entertainment Xbox LIVE puts your favorite entertainment right at your fingertips. Buy or rent the best in movies and stream your favorite music with Zune. Or kick back with some Hollywood magic delivered straight to your Xbox 360 via Netflix. You can follow your favorite teams with ESPN and even create personalized radio stations on Last.fm. When it comes to entertainment, Xbox LIVE delivers like no one else.

Mobile Game on the go and connect with friends wherever you are. Access your Xbox LIVE account right from your Windows Phone 7 and see what your friends are up to on Xbox LIVE. Add some edge to your gaming repertoire with mobile tips and tricks, track your gamer score, or deck out your avatar with the latest duds.

Games Download the hottest titles directly to Xbox 360 and play before you pay with free game demos and trailers. Keep the fun going with a huge library of game add-ons, or challenge friends and family around the world with online gaming. And with hundreds of titles to choose from, there’s a game for every type of gamer.

Internet Safety Ask Questions The best form of Online Safety begins at home with you, the parent. We offer you the following tips to keep your child safe on the Internet. The best way to know what your child is doing online is to ask. Whether you ask other parents, an Internet-savvy friend, or your child about how they use the Internet asking the right questions will help you understand what your child is doing online so you can make sure they are making safe online choices. Questions to ask your child: What sites do you visit? What do you do on those sites? Why do you go to that site? How much time do you spend on the site? Did you have to register? What information did they ask for? What information did you give? Spend time surfing the Web with your child. This is a great way to learn about what types of interactions your child is having online, and with whom.

Our friends at McAfee ( McAfee is an NCSA Board member) have published some great tips and advice about avoiding scams and threats in the online world.