Rules in Netiquette

Online Safety and Security

The internet is define as the Information superhighway. This means that anyone has access to this highway, can place information, and can grab that information. It is also a powerful tool. It can be used to promote your business, gain new friends, and stay in touch with the old ones.But it is one of the most dangerous places, especially if you do not know what you are doing with it.

Tips to Stay Safe Online

1)      Don’t post any personal information online – like your address, email address or mobile number.

2)      Think carefully before posting pictures or videos of yourself.  Once you’ve put  a picture of yourself online most people can see it and may be able to download it, it’s not just yours anymore.

3)      Keep your privacy settings as high as possible.

4)      Never give out your passwords.

5)      Don’t befriend people you don’t know.

6)      Don’t meet up with people you’ve met online.  Speak to your parent or carer about people suggesting you do.

7)      Remember that not everyone online is who they say they are.

8)      Think carefully about what you say before you post something online.

9)      Respect other people’s views, even if you don’t agree with someone else’s views doesn’t mean you need to be rude.

10)   If you see something online that makes you feel uncomfortable, unsafe or worried: leave the website, turn off your computer if you want to and tell a trusted adult immediately.

 Internet Threats

Visit a social networking site and look for the site's privacy policy. The link is typically found at the bottom of the page and sometimes labeled only as "Privacy".

         

Virus

Virus is a program designed to copy itself and propagate, usually attaching itself to applications. It can be spread by downloading files, exchanging CD/DVDs and USB sticks, copying files from servers, or by opening infected email attachments.

Worms

A worm can be injected into a network by any types of means, like an USB stick or an email attachment. Email worm tends to send itself to all email addresses it finds on the infected PC. The email then appears to originate from the infected user, who may be on your trusted senders’ list, and catch you off guard.

Trojan 

It might appear harmless and even useful at first, but it leaves your PC unprotected, enabling hackers to steal sensitive information.

Spyware

Spyware is often secretly installed without users consent when a file is downloaded or a commercial pop-up is clicked. Spyware can reset your auto signature, monitor your keystrokes, scan, read and delete your files, access your applications and even reformat your hard drive. It constantly streams information back to the person that controls spyware.

Adware

This malware launches advertisements, mostly in the form of pop-ups. These are customized to you as a user, based on your behavior on the Internet, which may

be monitored by spyware.

Spam

Spam may be defined as unwanted emails. Most users are exposed to scam, which is more than 50% of all Internet emails. Though spam is not a direct threat, it can be used to send different kinds of malware. 

Phishing

This is the fraudulent acquiring of sensitive personal information such as passwords and credit card details. This is accomplished by sending official-looking emails impersonating a trustworthy sender. Users of online banking and auction sites are most likely to become a target.

Pharming

A more sophisticated form of phishing. By exploiting the DNS system, pharmers can create a fake website that looks like a real one for instance web bank page, and then collect the information users think they are giving to their real bank.

Keyloggers

Designed to record the user’s keystrokes. Keylogging allows criminals to look for particular bits of information that can be used for identity or intellectual property theft.

         

 Rogue security software

A special type of threat is software that claims to be security software. It tricks users that have installed it to pay a sum of money to be really protected (which they will not be). Most often it pretends to be antivirus and anti spyware programs.

Protecting Reputations Online 

In the past, doing something embarrassing was not much of a big deal. Nowadays, embarrassing moments are captured using any device you could imagine. What is worst is that people can easily upload it to the internet, where it can be stored forever.

Think before you click

Copyright infringement

 is the use of works protected by copyright law without permission, infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work, or to make derivative works.

Know what copyrights protect.

Copyright law protects any original creation, and grants the holder of the copyright exclusive control over when, how, and by whom their work may be copied, distributed, or exhibited. This includes literary works, paintings, photographs, drawings, films, music (and its lyrics), choreography, sculptures and many other creative works.

Know what isn't protected. 

Copyright law generally does not protect the underlying ideas of a creative work, and it does not protect facts. For example, copyright doesn't prevent you from expressing in your own words ideas and facts found in a book or journal you read.

Don't confuse copyrights, trademarks, and other forms of "intellectual property.

" The term "intellectual property" itself has led to these very different things being confused with each other.

Learn about the public domain laws for your jurisdiction. 

"Public domain" is short-hand for  "uncopyrighted", not "publicly distributed". A work can be out of copyright due to age, by the nature of authorship, or other reasons. In the United States, all works authored by a federal government (not state government!) employee during the course of their official duties are public domain, as are all works published before 1923. Works first created in the European Union will usually be copyrighted until 70 years after the death of the author.

Online Research

Know what you’re looking for.

Begin your research by identifying specific topic areas you want to explore. Well-targeted keywords and search terms will deliver better results. Also, familiarizing yourself with the basic Boolean search techniques can help you narrow your search even more.

 Search a variety of resources. 

Your search results can vary depending on the search engine you use, so check a few out — Google, Bing, and Yahoo are the top three most used search engines. And don’t be afraid to seek out specific sources. Look into associations, research institutions, and journals that fit your subject area.

 Research until you feel like an “expert.”

It’s a writer’s job to understand and interpret a subject. To do this, you may have to research for hours, days, or even weeks until you fully wrap your head around a topic. Only then can you present that information in a way that makes sense to your readers.

 Scrutinize your sources.

Once you’ve put in the time to gather plenty of research, take time to evaluate it. Check your sources for credibility. If you feel uneasy about a source, see if you can find the same facts on a different, more credible site.

Always keep your eyes open. 

Research should be an ongoing process. Every once in a while you might stumble across information too good to pass up. Bookmark those pages, even if they have nothing to do with your current task. They could be the basis for your next piece.