BUZZ
Topic: Lycos Homepage
What’s Out There?
Many parents assume their children will be safe on the Internet because they’re sitting in their own living rooms or bedrooms, in the security of their homes. The sad truth is you still need to be cautious and monitor your child’s activity as you would on the playground or on a busy city street. The same “stranger danger” rules apply online as they do in the real world.
The easiest way to keep your child safe is to talk with them. Discuss your rules for their Internet usage. Tell them which web sites they are allowed to visit and which ones they should avoid. Tell them if you will be checking their personal e-mail accounts & social networking profiles and monitoring their instant message & chat room activity. Make them aware of the fact that not everyone on the Internet is who they represent themselves to be.
Three Easy Tips
If you need a few pointers yourself, here are some helpful hints for keeping safe on the Internet, particularly in chat rooms and social networking sites.
1. Don’t give personal details to people you don’t know. This includes last name, school, cell phone or home phone numbers, sports teams, clubs, e-mail address, home address, and other information you wouldn’t share with a stranger.
2. Don’t share your password with others. Teenagers may think their BFF (kid-speak for best friend forever) would never do anything to hurt them. All it takes is one teenage temper tantrum for a BFF to destroy an Internet profile and your child’s reputation.
3. Don’t open e-mails or click on links if you don’t know where they came from. Clicking on a link from an unknown source opens your computer up to viruses, hackers, and thieves. Identity theft is a serious threat and a common crime.
Further Reading on Safe Internet Surfing
For more tips on keeping your children safe, visit GetNetWise.org, an organization Lycos helps to sponsor that is dedicated to educating parents on keeping their kids safe on the Internet. Lycos works with law enforcement and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to make the Internet safe for everyone. If you see any illegal activity or abuse of children on the Lycos Network, please report it to our Abuse Department by e-mailing abuse@support.lycos.com.