THE USE OF THE INTERNET AND WEB DANGERS

The World Wide Web is the greatest invention since the printing press. Nothing else
has so radically shaped culture, media, commerce, entertainment, and
communication. But with these benefits come great dangers all parents should
know about. Mary Ellen Handy had a painful crash course in the dangers of the Internet. The
trouble started in her freshman year of high school after a dispute over a boy's affections. Once
she began dating him, a jealous girl flooded her computer with a stream of nasty messages.
Shed say, 'I hate you; leave the school,' and she called me every name in the book," says
Handy, now an 18-year-old senior in New Jersey. With the speed and ease of the Internet, her
classmate soon recruited 20 others to bully Handy online. "It was like a ripple effect," she says.
As the ordeal dragged on for months, she dreaded going to school, felt physically ill and saw her
grades tumble. No doubt, the Internet can be an extremely useful tool for young people. But
instant messaging, chat rooms, emails and social networking sites can also bring trouble - from
cyber bullying to more serious Internet dangers, including exposure to sexual predators. How
savvy are you about keeping your child or teenager safe online? Follow these tips to protect
your kids from the 4 major dangers of the Internet. On the Internet, cyber bullying takes various
forms, says Netsmartz411.org, an online resource that educates parents about Internet safety.
Cyber bullying includes sending hateful messages or even death threats to children, spreading
lies about them online, making nasty comments on their social networking profiles, or creating a
website to bash their looks or reputation. Cyber bullying differs from schoolyard bullying, Handy
says. Teachers can't intervene on the Internet. "When it happens online, there's no one to filter
it," she says. And cyber bullies don't witness their victims' reactions, the way they might if they
insulted others to their faces. "They don't see you crying," Handy says, which may make it
easier for them to continue. Some cyber bullies pose as their victims and send out harassing
messages to others. Recently, cyber bullies have also begun posting humiliating videos of other
kids they dislike, says Parry Aftab, a cyberspace security and privacy lawyer who also serves as
executive director of WiredSafety.org, one of the largest Internet safety education groups in the
world. With all activities that give us almost unlimited freedom, there are risks. Because the

Internet is so easily accessible to anyone, it can be a dangerous place. Know who you're
dealing with or what you're getting into. Predators, cyber criminals, bullies, and corrupt
businesses will try to take advantage of the unwary visitor. The Internet has a vast array of

valuable tools. The majority of people who go online have positive, beneficial
experiences. There have been some highly publicized cases of exploitation involving the
Internet, but that doesnt mean that every child will experience major problems. The
vast majority of people who use the Internet do not get into serious trouble. However,
there are dangers that exist in the online environment. Parents and children need to be
aware of the risks that subsist on the Internet and how to minimize them. There are a
few risks for children who use the Internet or online services. Teenagers are particularly
at risk because they often use the computer unsupervised and are more likely than
younger children to participate in online discussions regarding companionship,

relationships or sexual activity. If you have a teen in your family or you are a teenager,
check out Teen Safety on the Information Highway at.missingkids.com. In the offline
world, communities are typically responsible for enforcing norms of privacy and general
etiquette. In the online world, new etiquette challenges abound. In order to reap the benefits
of socializing and making new friends, teens often disclose information about themselves
that would typically be part of an acceptable getting-to-know-you process offline (name,
school, personal interests, etc.). On social network sites, this kind of information is now
posted onlinesometimes in full public view. In some cases, this information is innocuous or
fake. But in other cases, disclosure reaches a level that is troubling for parents and those
concerned about the safety of online teens, and once children put this information online,
they will never get it back.
Teens are posting a tremendous amount of information on their online profiles, so it is vitally
important that teens use strict privacy settings and are savvy about the individuals they
allow to view their social networking profile. Since kids are often trying to catch the
attention of and gain approval from their peers, some teens tend to post content to appear
popular or to gain a response from others in their online community; teens jockey for status,
post risqu pictures, brag about the previous weekends adventures, and can easily use this
digital space to humiliate others or post inappropriate content. No information is truly
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private in the online world; an online friend can forward any information posted on your
childs site in a moment.

Kids are going to post photos and personal

information. At least they should be aware of the risks. At least they

should use the privacy tools built into the sites to keep people they don't
know from accessing their information and their data. And at least moms
and dads should learn about what they are doing. Despite the internets very
many benefits and the helpful information it provides, there are always dangers
overlooking that one needs to be very careful when dealing with it. Like with every
aspect of new technology, the internet comes out with potential hazards if careful use is
not maintained. The first and major danger of the internet is virus infections. Viruses
are programs that have the capacity to copy themselves and infect computers without
the knowledge of the user. Viruses transfer to an uninfected computer through emails,
instant messaging programs, and websites or file sharing. Similar to viruses are the
adware and spyware programs. Another risk of online use can be found in emails.
Scam emails are emails that someone sends intentionally, with the purpose of
deceiving people and extract from them important information regarding their bank
accounts and passwords. Despite email deception, human deception is also possible
over the net and especially among youngsters through the social networking sites and
the mIRC. Last but not least, internet crime has become a major issue from the media
since many people are seen to use child pornography over the internet. Youngsters are
usually uncontrolled in viewing these sexually explicit and illegal materials. Finally,

excessive use of the internet can become addictive and cause mental health problems
as well as physical ones.
There is a big influence of technique on our daily life. Electronic devices,
multimedia and computers are things we have to deal with every day.
Especially the Internet is becoming more and more important for nearly
everybody as it is one of the newest and most forward-looking media and
surely the medium of the future. Therefore we thought that it would be
necessary to think about some good and bad aspects of how this medium
influences us, what impacts it has on our social behaviour and what the
future will look like. The Internet changed our life enormously, there is no
doubt about that. There are many advantages of the Internet that show you
the importance of this new medium. What I want to say is that Internet
changed our life in a positive way. First we have to make a differentiation
concerning the usage. You can use the Internet at home for personal or you at
work for professional usage. Lets come to the first. To spend a part of our day
on the Internet is for many people quite normal. They use this kind of medium
to get information about all kinds topics. Maybe some of them are interested in
chatting, probably they are members of a community. Whatever you are
looking for, you will find it. Even if you want to have very specific information,
you will find it in a short time. Normally, you often have to send a letter, than
you have to wait for the reception of the reply, or you have to make some
telephone calls and so on. In any case, the traditional way is the longer one. To
put your own information on the Internet is also possible. Create your own
homepage, tell other users about your interests, what you want, thats no
problem at all. As we all know, software costs a lot, if you buy it legal. Free
software, free music is available on the Internet. You just have to download the
program, the mp3-file or whatever and thats it. Why do you want to pay more
as you need to? Special websites are created just to give you the newest
programs, or to tell you where you can get it from. Napster might actually be
the most famous one. The computer is a fix part of every modern office and
the greatest part has also an access to the Internet. Companies already
present their products, their services on the Internet and so they get more
flexible.
The next advantage I want to mention is the faster development. Many
universities and research institutions are also linked. They are able to
exchange experiences, novelties and often they start new projects together. If
they are linked, they can save time and money. Especially at the business
sector knowledge is power. If you are the leader of a product, of a technology or
just of an idea you are able to make a lot of money. To get into this position,
the Internet can play an essential part. Companies all over the world are
online. If you want, it is no problem for you to exchange experiences, you will
hear new things, you will see some facts from another point of view. For this
reason you will find new solutions, new ways to go, so take this chance!.
Learning by doing, everybody knows this phrase and its still an essential part

concerning the Internet. Children also use the Internet, most of the time they
will play over the Internet, but they learn to work with the computer. There is
only one way to learn something, you have to do it. Even its the first contact
with the computer, after a few minutes the person will know that the
computer-mouse is no animal running on the monitor. He or she learns to
write on the keyboard, to navigate, to open and close programs, to save data...
within hours. Try to do that on a normal computer course for beginners, you
will need more time and the most important fact, its not as funny as surfing
on the Internet and so they participants are less motivated.
As one of the countrys foremost child psychotherapists, Julie Lynn Evans thought she
had heard long every parental nightmare. But last week, after reading the tragic story of
15-year-old Tallulah Wilson, who killed herself after visiting websites about self-harm
and anorexia, she found herself in tears. Her clients include three young people who
have attempted suicide. They come to her stylish sitting room in west London and, in
front of a roaring fire, lay bare their demons. What has become apparent to Evans
during the sessions is that these desperate children have been tipped over the edge by
things they have seen on the internet. When I read about poor Tallulah, the suicidal
messages she left on Twitter, the history of using these chatrooms, it made me burst in
to tears, she says. I am seeing this, day in day out. I thought as I was reading, 'It
could have been any of the kids in my care, but for the grace of God. She says the
internet revolution is having a profound effect on our children, taking many to a dark
world that is doing them untold harm. It is the worst cohort of badly behaved kids I have
seen in 25 years of work, and Im absolutely convinced that the internet has a lot to do
with it. It makes any problem more urgent, more dramatic. Parents are having a hell of
a time. It is not that they have been remiss and stupid, they just didnt know what was
coming. None of us did. The parallels between Tallulah Wilson, found dead on the
tracks at St Pancras station in London after being hit by a train, and the children Evans
is treating are chilling. On the face of it, the 15-year-old, described as clever, cheerful
and creative, who lived in a 1 million house and attended an 11,000-a-year private
school, had every advantage. But since her death, it emerged that she was bullied and
plagued by self-doubt. A message left on Twitter before she died read: I will never be
beautiful and skinny. The case, which has led to calls for websites promoting anorexia
and self-harm to be banned, comes just four months after schoolgirl Rosie Whitaker
threw herself under a train in Kent, after visiting pro-anorexia sites.Evans is on a
mission to wake parents up to the dangers, and she has been here before. She was in
the vanguard of the crusade against skunk a potent strain of cannabis that can cause
psychosis and counselled the family of Julie Myerson, the novelist whose Oxbridgedestined son Jake became addicted. Her efforts to expose the drugs impact on
teenagers led to research confirming its dangers and a well-publicized campaign to

educate children and the wider public. Now, she is focusing on the internet and what she
finds will form the basis of a book, due out next year. In her research, Evans has entered
the often-murky world of internet chatrooms to understand the messages that teenagers
are exposed to for hours on end. Many are easy to access. Others are more underground,
but present little difficulty for a determined, computer-savvy youngster. What Evans found
appalled her.

With more people storing personal information on their computers, it has never been
more important to protect yourself from internet predators looking to gain access to
your files. One of the many ways they can do this is by attacking your computer or
trying to gather your information from an infected or malicious website you may visit,
even if only once. The best thing you can do is to avoid malicious websites altogether.

Those photos of Jessica Alba may be murder on your PC. That Google search
result that looks as if it answers all your questions may do nothing but create a
serious tech headache. The fun you had watching that hilarious video you
downloaded may not be worth the misery it can cause your system. Youve been
warned that the Internet is something of a security minefield--that it's easy to get in
trouble. You can do everything you can think of to protect yourself and still be taken
by a malware infection, a phishing scam, or an invasion of online privacy. We'd like
to provide a little help. Here are some of the hazards you may encounter, how
dangerous they are, and what you can do to stay out of harm's way. Not all Web
dangers are created equal. Thankfully, our friends at the Department of Homeland
Security have made our work of classifying Web threats a little easier. Will you get
taken just by visiting that unfamiliar site Or will you have to look for trouble Let our
threat level indicator be your guide. Adobe's Flash graphics software has become a
big malware target in recent years, forcing the company to push out frequent
security patches. But another danger you might not know about is associated with
Flash cookies. Flash cookies are small bits of data that their creators can use to
save Flash-related settings, among other things. But like regular cookies, Flash
cookies can track the sites you visit, too. Worse still, when you delete your
browser's cookies, Flash cookies get left behind. Scammers love Twitter since it
relies so much on URL shorteners, services that take long Internet addresses and

replace them with something briefer. And it's very simple to hide malware or scams
behind shortened URLs. A shortened link that supposedly points to the latest
Internet trend-du-jour may be a Trojan horse in disguise. Simply don't click links. Of
course, that takes some of the fun out of Twitter. The other option is to use a Twitter
client app. Tweet Deck and have preview features that let you see the full URL before
you go to the site in question. Some link-shortening services, such as Bit.ly, attempt to
filter out malicious links, but it seems to be a manual process, not an automatic
one. Tiny URL has a preview service you can turn on.

The Internet can be a wonderful resource for kids. They can use it to research school reports,
communicate with teachers and other kids, and play interactive games. Kids who are old
enough to punch in a few letters on the keyboard can have access to the world. But that
access can also pose hazards. For example, an 8-year-old might do an online search for
"Lego." But with just one missed keystroke, the word "Legs" is entered instead, and the child
may be directed to a slew of websites with a focus on legs some of which may contain
pornographic material. Thats why it's important to be aware of what your kids see and hear
on the Internet, who they meet, and what they share about themselves online. As with any
safety issue, it's wise to talk with your kids about your concerns, take advantage of
resources to protect them, and keep a close eye on their activities. A federal law, the
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), was created to help protect kids online. It's
designed to keep anyone from getting a child's personal information without a parent
knowing about it and agreeing to it first. COPPA requires websites to explain their privacy
policies on the site and get parental consent before collecting or using a child's personal
information, such as a name, address, phone number, or Social Security number. The law
also prohibits a site from requiring a child to provide more personal information than
necessary to play a game or participate in a contest. But even with this law, your kids' best
online protection is you. By talking to them about potential online dangers and monitoring
their computer use, you'll help them surf the Internet safely. Many are viewing self-harm,

violent pornography, animal cruelty and eating disorder websites and more than a quarter
admit they pretend to be older to access certain sites. They are spending so much time
online that one in three now struggles with offline activities that require concentration such
as reading a book, according to the report. The survey, by parenting site Netmums.com,
disclosed that parents are rarely aware of their childrens internet activity. While three
quarters believe their child spends less than an hour a day online, children admit that they
are actually surfing the web for an average of two hours a day. Although two thirds said
they had had a negative experience online, only 22 per cent of parents realised this. Dr Aric

Sigman, a leading psychologist, said: The problem with this generation is that we accept
there should be limits on the consumption of many things, such as sunlight or sugar and
salt, but screen time is not something that is thought of as consumption. What parents often
assume is a benign pastime is their main waking activity and the sheer amount of time that
children spend at screens can lead to increased risk of physical disease as well as
psychosocial issues. The survey, which is believed to be the first to involve both children
and parents, found that one in seven under-16s are so addicted to the web that they spend
four hours or more glued to the screen.

Children and young people spend a lot of time online it can be a great way for them
to socialise, explore and have fun. But children do also face risks such cyber bullying or
seeing content that's inappropriate. Thats why it's important for them to know how to
stay safe online. Whether you're unsure about what happens online or are up to speed
with new technology, it's important that you talk. It may feel daunting, but you don't
need to be an expert on the internet. Understanding what children do online and the
risks they face will help you keep your child safe online. Parents have been having the
Stranger Danger talk with the children for generations and a new generation of parents
have a whole new field of internet-related dangers to discuss. But a pparentsJust as you
ask your child about their day at school, if they spend a few hours on the internet in the
evening then have a chat about what theyve done and seen online. found that, despite
admitting its importance, parents feel more confident talking to their children about sex,
puberty or Father Christmass mystical ability to distinguish the good boys and girls from
the bad. More than a third say they're unsure of their own internet skills and so, as a guide
for not-so-tech-savvy concerned parents, heres are tips from Caroline Hurst, education
manager at Childnet. We ran a focus group with teenagers and asked why they might not
tell an adult about cyber bullying. Their number one response was that they wouldnt want
the technology they know and love to be taken away. charity, on how to keep your children
safe online. The four main internet service providers - Sky, BT, Talk Talk, and Virgin Media
have free parental controls that you can switch on from the router. If the controls are on,
any device connected to your internet will be filtered through parental controls. If your child
tells you theyve been cyber bullying, the main advice is to save evidence so that they can
show someone. The child should also block that contact and report that contact to
whichever social network was being used. Even with the strongest parental controls,
teenagers can often find a way to circumvent filters and access porn. If you go into their
room and see them looking at something inappropriate, dont go in screaming and
shouting. Instead, have a conversation about what theyre doing. If theyre embarrassed,

ask them why. Ask them why a parent might be upset by what theyre looking at. That way,
you can talk about the dangers of porn and how it can affect real relationships. Talk to your
children about the dangers of talking with strangers online. Make sure they know that they
should never give out personal information or arrange to meet with people they dont know.
If a conversation with a stranger is making them upset, tell them they can always talk to an
adult and make a report to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.