Internet Safety

While having the internet is a wonderful resource, there are other sides to it as well. Rumors can be posted on a message board, an e-mail you send about your co-worker could easily be forwarded, private photos can be shared, someone could create a fake profile about you, there are also ways for people to steal personal information, such as your social security number. I recently learned that by googling your ten digit phone number(ABC news reported on this new feature.) a person could look up your address. I personally, don't like the fact that anyone with my phone number can find where I live. About two months ago, I was checking the balance on my debit card, and noticed it went down drastically. I thought maybe I was being charged for something I purchased a while back. I called Chase Bank and asked them what was going on. I purchased a t-shirt from a website, and the website then sent my PERSONAL information to a company that is funded by fraud. Worried because over $80 was spent, I closed my account and started over. When I contacted a company to report them, they told me that just because it happened to me doesn't mean it's happening to others. While that is true, it still isn't comforting. I've also received hate e-mail, threating comments online, and I'm pretty sure I've been harassed by a pedophile online ( I received e-mails stating that they knew where I went to school, and that I was being followed. CREEEEEPY) .So I've composed a short list of how to be safe online:

-Select a gender-neutral username, email address, do not use your first & last name
-Don't give out personal information such as ss#, address, or full name.
-Block unwanted users, myspace has this feature.
-Watch what you say online, this may provoke rumors, or hate-mail.
-When shopping online, verify the website is real, and when entering credit card information, look for the safety lock symbol on the lower right corner of the page, if this isn't there, call your order in.
-Don't post pictures, if you do, limit who can see them. Don't post anything that could be turned into something else. ( EX: a picture of you in a tube top, but the picture only shows your bare shoulders..)