Avoiding the Risks of Online Shopping

Pay attention kids because this is important!

You may have seen it from your parents or have heard from a friend but shopping online isn't as simple as paying at the counter of a grocery store.

Sure, millions of people around the world buy items from online store and auctions sites without any problem. But this doesn't disregard the fact that scams do exist. And if you fall for them, you might end up losing your money, not to mention the words you may receive from your parents.

Online shopping may be a good alternative to going to the mall but it certainly has certain risks. It can be that the items delivered don't match the description, delayed delivery, not receiving any delivery at all after an online purchase, and skimpy after-sales service. There are also reports where the buyer received empty packages which were supposed to contain the item they purchased.

What should you do to avoid these risks?

1. Ask your parents before you purchase online. Ask them to teach where to safely buy on the internet.

2. Find a website with physical address and contact details. Verify the information. This is an assurance that the site really does exist.

3. Find a reputable seller. Read testimonials and feedbacks from other buyers to make sure that the seller offers a good service.

4. Check the site's or seller's return policy as well as privacy policy. Doubt if they have none of these.

5. As much as possible, stick with sellers within the country. Be extra cautious about overseas sellers.

6. Doubt if the price of the item looks too good to be true.

7. Stay with reputable companies.

8. Advertisements and offers you receive from unsolicited senders or spam should be ignored.

9. Make sure that the site is secured before giving out any personal information. To check on this, look for padlock on the bottom right portion of the web browser window. Click on this padlock and check the certificate details (validity, expiration, the issuer, etc.) See if the address starts with the "http://". The padlock though may not fully guarantee that the site is secured or not.

10. Use an accepted and safe way to pay online.

The given information combined with a little bit of common sense is the keys to ensure that you won't end up with online scams and get the right item you've bought.

Proper Conduct and Safety Tips while Inside the Chat Rooms

Kids, listen up. I'm sure that you have an email account. And you certainly are using instant messaging system or IMs to talk to your friends or entering chat rooms to meet new friends online. However, hidden beneath the fun and excitement of chat rooms are the dangers from online predators you can meet, viruses your computer can have, and from ordinary users that may seem to be good people but actually aren't.

So, it is always best to know what these internet safety tips are while you are inside these chat rooms.

1. Always be polite. Learn the golden rule: "Do unto others what you want others do unto you." What if you encountered rude people online? Leave the conversation or ignore them from your list.

2. Never accept any gifts from strangers. Online predators' main targets are kids like you: naive and unsuspicious. They give gifts to make you think they are nice. But the reality is, they may have other intentions that may put you at risk.

3. Don't give your personal information including your real name, home address, email address, passwords, bank or credit card information, and school information. There are 2 reasons for this. First, the person whom you are giving this information with may use them against you in predatory ways to gain financial or sexual advantages. And second, most chat rooms and instant messaging programs aren't encrypted. Simply put: it isn't safe. So anyone who has a right tool and wrong intention can pick up your conversation and may put you in great danger.

4. As much as possible, stay in public chat rooms which are moderated, child-friendly, and safe. These can keep you from bad people who would try to say something that can make you feel uncomfortable.

5. Never accept or download files from people you don't trust inside the chat room. You don't know the contents of this file. Also, if you ask for the file, make sure that you check it for viruses before opening.

6. If you receive messages that make you feel uncomfortable, don't reply. Print it and show it to an adult immediately.

7. Don't display or share photos to someone you don't trust or don't know.

8. Don't allow others to view your webcam if you don't know them.

Internet Safety for Kids: Do's and Don'ts

Staying away from the possible threats of the internet is the very first thing you should know after you learn how to navigate the web. Here are those:

Do's:

Do follow the rules that your parents have set regarding the time you are allowed to use the internet, the purpose of your use of the internet, the sites you are allowed to visit, and the limitations they have set.

If you are using instant messaging or entering chat rooms, DO stay on public, monitored and child-friendly rooms.

Do tell your parents immediately if you have encountered any problem while using the internet or if you have engaged in an uncomfortable situation.

Do use an alias or nickname every time you enter chat rooms and forums.

Do avoid posting your personal profile on the web. This may be used by online predators against you.

Do visit good websites.

Do close the web browser immediately if you see any images of violence, nudity, pornography, sex, and other contents that aren't right for your age. Do tell your parents about this immediately.

Do practice politeness while talking to your friends online just like practicing politeness when you are on the phone.

Do ask for permission from your parents before buying something online.

Don'ts:

If you are using instant messaging or entering chat rooms, DON'T allow others to harass you or put you in an uncomfortable situation.

Don't reply to or start a conversation with people you don't know. Don't accept gift offerings from them.

Don't give your real identity to anyone you meet online. This includes your real name, address, school information, email address, password, and bank account information.

Don't fill-out any survey, membership, or application forms asking for your personal information from an unsecured site.

Don't disable any security setting your parents have set such as antivirus, firewall, site filtering, and site monitoring programs.

Don't open, reply or download attachments from spam or from unknown senders. These may contain viruses or other threats that can harm your computer.

Don't download any files that are given to you by people you've met online. Don't download any files from your email, unless they are solicited.

Don't use free and downloadable peer-to-peer file-sharing programs (e.g. Kazaa and Grokster). These are known to have spyware.

And most of all� DO practice honesty and DON'T hide anything from your parents.

Internet Safety for Kids: Protecting Your Kids from Online Predators

The internet exposes your kids to lots of information. This is why it is encouraged that they should start using the internet as early as possible. But it doesn't end here. The internet can also expose your kids to several threats including online predators.

Online predators are people who exploit vulnerable internet users particularly kids for sexual and financial purposes. Although they can come from all over the web, they often use chat rooms or instant messaging to lure kids.

Since you can't sit with your kids to monitor personally their online activity, you should do certain things that will ensure the safety of your kids and protect them from online predators.

Here are those:

Teach your kids about the value of privacy. They should know that personal information such as name, address, school, age, birthday, and credit card number should be kept secret especially from strangers they meet online.

Talk to your kids about the dangers of engaging in private chats. If they use instant messaging and enter chat rooms, encourage them to not add names of people they don't know. Also encourage them stay on public rooms so that the arbiter or chat administrator can monitor the conversation. Tell your kids to ignore private messages.

Tell them not to open emails from unknown senders, download unsolicited attachments, and reply to spam.

Discourage them from using websites where they can post their profile that can be viewed publicly. MySpace for one has received great attention from online predators since this site is open and any information posted can be used against the user.

Tell them to avoid giving their personal email addresses to strangers. Also, tell your kids to avoid giving their email addresses in forms of registration, contests, and surveys. Although some of the sites offering these are relatively safe, online predators can have the access to these websites through programs such as crawlers, bots, and spiders. These programs collect email addresses from the web which will be added to their mailing list.

Keep your computer in open areas where you can easily see it � outside your kids' bedroom.

And, set rules about personally meeting online friends. This should include telling you about the scheduled meeting and your presence on the actual meeting. Keep an open communication between you and your kids to make sure that they don't hide this information from you.

10 Internet Safety Rules for Kids

Monitoring your kids' use of the internet by sitting with them is the most ideal way to keep them away from all the threats possible online. But this isn't possible all the time. So, to make sure that your kids are safe using the internet when you aren't around, there are a number internet safety rules that your kids should know.

1. Follow the specific time to use the computer. Explain to them why there is a need to set internet time. Let them develop obedience as a virtue and a sense of responsibility for their actions.

2. Never share personal information to strangers you meet online. These include: name, home address, phone number, email address, password, school information, bank account information, and credit card numbers. Online predators are everywhere and their main targets are your kids who are innocently giving their personal information that can put their safety on the line.

3. Never engage in online gambling. Gambling is simply, taking risks. And most of the time the risks are high.

4. Use a pseudo name or nickname when using instant messaging or entering chat rooms.

5. Avoid filling out online contests, surveys, and registration forms. They ask too much personal information including email address. Take note that spammers can collect email addresses from the web using programs such as bots, crawlers, and spiders.

6. Never open, download attachments, and reply to emails from unknown senders. The best way for spammers to know if the addresses are correct is by receiving a reply. So teach your kids to remove spam immediately from their inbox. Also, attachments from spam usually contain viruses that can cause damage to your file and computer.

7. Stay in moderated public chart rooms and avoid private chats. This will keep your kids away from harassing other people.

8. Teach them to ask permission first before meeting up with someone you meet online. The rule of the thumb is clear: never trust anyone you meet online. People may not be who they say they are.

9. Check before downloading anything. There are free downloadable programs on the internet with free spyware and viruses as well. Ask your parents first about the program even if the programs come from reputable sites.

10. If you see some images or web contents that are disturbing, tell your parents right away.

Internet Safety for Kids: The Don'ts and the Why's?

Being extra cautious when using the Internet is important; I bet your parents have mentioned these so many times already. But why? If your parents have missed explaining them to you, then here are those:

Don't�

Give any private information about yourself to other people you meet online such as your name, home address, phone number, email address, password, school information, and bank or credit card number.

Why?

Online predators use instant messaging and chat rooms to look for kids like you who are open to giving information about yourselves. The information would then be used against you whether for financial or sexual purposes. Making sure that they don't know things about you keeping you safe. So, if a stranger asks you these things, ignore them immediately.

Don't�

Reply to, download attachment from, or open spam.

Why?

Replying to spam only confirms that your email address is accurate which results to more spam to come. Spam is a good source of computer viruses so unless you want to crash your computer down and lose all your files, never download attachment from spam. What is the best way to avoid spam? Delete it immediately.

Don't�

Arrange a personal meeting with anyone you meet online.

Why?

People aren't exactly who they say they are online. There may be several nice guys out there but a significant number of people using the internet particularly the instant messaging and chat rooms are online predators that so betting say no immediately. Never hide from your parents if you are asked by a stranger to schedule a meeting with them.

Don't�

Change the security setting or filtering software that your parents have configured.

Why?

Your parents know what are good and bad for you and they know what sites are right for your age. Okay, you may be growing up and are curious about adult websites or engage in online activities but still, you shouldn't suppose to visit them. If you really want to know things about sexuality, then visit medical sites. Also, if you change your computer's security settings or disable filtering software, you can attract spyware, adware, and computer virus which may affect the performance of your computer and may put your files at risk.

Don't�

Use peer-to-peer file-sharing programs.

Why?

Sharing files using peer-to-peer file-sharing programs may be the best thing in the world for you but remember this: viruses, spyware, and adware are known to thrive in these programs. Avoid using these programs and you avoid all these internet-based threats.

Internet Safety: How to Watch Over Your Kids while You are Away

The most ideal way to watch over your kids is to sit beside them every time they use the internet. But this is simply impossible. So to make sure that your kids are kept from bad websites and other internet-based threats while you are away, here are the things you can do:

1. Keep your kids' computer account "limited". This will allow you (administrator) to limit your kids' activity the way you want it like automatically blocking downloads;

2. Review recently visited websites from the web browser's history. If you want to know your kids' web visits while you were away, you can access it through the web browser's history. Click CTRL H or open the history button of the web browser to see the recently visited webpages.

3. Open the temporary internet files from the internet options folder. This can be accessed either from your web browser or from your My Computer folder. It allows you to see images, pages visited, and files downloaded by your kids. It is important to maintain the automatic saving of temporary internet files enabled to continuously see what your kids have visited and viewed.

4. Setup firewalls. Firewalls limit the access of your kids the way you want. It blocks access to some sites and blocks entry of unwanted files from your computer.

5. Utilize web filtering services. Web filtering software enables you to block the sites you don't want your kids to access.

6. Block the sites you don't want your kids to access. Do this by adding the URLs of the websites you want to block in Windows' "Hosts" file. You can find the Windows' "Hosts" file in C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc folder of your My Computer. Open it with the "notepad" and add the websites you want to by at the lowermost portion of the text, below 127.0.0.1 localhost.

Your edited portion will look like this:

127.0.0.1 localhost 127.0.0.1 www.blocksite.com and so on�

Save it and the sites you have entered are automatically inaccessible.

7. Use web monitoring software. This will secretly monitor the activity from your computer while you are away. It allows you to log in to your kids' chat conversation, opened and printed files, opened and closed application, website visits, sent and received email, and internet connections.

All these aim to either know the websites that your kids visited or keep bad internet contents inaccessible to them; and aren't designed to act as replacements for your actual guidance.

Using Chat Rooms and Instant Messaging: Internet Safety Advices for Kids

Chat rooms and instant messaging are potential havens for online predators and opportunist on kids' weaknesses and innocence. Unfortunately, these means of communication are so popular among kids and it is very difficult, if not impossible to ban the use of these. So to make sure that you are still safe while using chat rooms and instant messaging, it is important that you understand properly the dangers of these services and the ways to avoid them.

Important Safety Advices for Kids

� Don't trust anyone you meet in the chat rooms. People aren't necessarily who they say they are online.

� Chat rooms often ask for profiles, make sure that you don't give personal information and leave as much blanks as you can.

� The best way to create relationships is by meeting people personally and not in the chat rooms. In this regard, it isn't safe to build relationships online and meet them personally afterwards.

� Choose moderated and child-friendly rooms. Stay in public chat rooms and don't engage in private conversation with people you don't know. Ignore any private messages from unknown people.

� If you entertain private chat, don't give any personal information such as your name, phone number, address, email address, credit card or bank account information, pictures, and school details. IM softwares aren't encrypted so sending sensitive information such as bank account or credit card numbers can be picked up by other users with the right tools.

� If you aren't comfortable talking to someone online, ignore his/her message. Stay away from people harassing you. Report them if necessary.

� Talk to your parents if you have experienced unpleasant or uncomfortable conversation to others.

� Don't use your real name; use a nickname.

� Don't use your primary email; use an alternative one.

� Don't allow other people to view your webcam. Don't use a webcam if unnecessary.

� Don't accept unsolicited files from other people. Disable automatic downloads. If you ask for a file, scan it first with your antivirus before opening.

� Listen to your parents.

� Don't engage in fighting with anyone in the room.

You may not follow everything stated above but remember this: you make consequence through your actions so better be safe at all times than suffer the consequences later.

Keep the Internet Kid-Friendly with these Tips

The benefits of the internet are vital to your kid's growth, but it may also impose some danger when used incorrectly. So as parents, you should know the ways to keep your kids safe while using the internet.

1. Create a set of rules on how to use and what time your child can use the internet. It would be advisable if you discuss it with your kids or create the rules together with your kids. In this way, both of you can agree to each rule that you impose. This will give your kids a level or responsibility when they can participate on rule-making.

2. As much as possible, keep the internet connected computer where adults can see it (and not in your kid's bedroom). In this way, you can monitor the websites that your kids visit.

3. Speak to your kids about online pornography. You can direct them to websites about sexuality and health.

4. Block websites with malicious content. Although there are several ways to do it, the easiest way is to follow these steps: Keep one user name for the computer and one internet browser e.g. Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. This will allow you to monitor and access the internet activity of your kids. For the Internet Explorer, you can change the setting of your security access by implementing the security zone on your Internet Options menu. This way, you can restrict website access and block specific websites that your kids shouldn't see.

You can also use a firewall to block any unwanted content to enter your computer. There are several softwares that allow you to do this.

5. Show your kids how to use the internet properly. Although this may be taught in school, it is always good to spend some time with your kids while they use the internet. This way, you also bond with them and can direct them to websites that are right for their age.

6. If you allow your kids to enter chat rooms, make sure that they remain in public rooms. Tell him not to talk to anyone in private and absolutely no personal information (school, parent's occupation, address, etc.) should be given to anyone.

7. Tell your kids not to give his password to anyone, even to his friends or classmates.

8. And, make the computer area free from clutter so that your kids will enjoy the time on their computer.

Internet Safety for Kids Age 14-17 Years Old

Kids at this age start to exercise full freedom and independence. Sometimes, they try new things in order to test their capacity. But still, they lack the experience to judge things the right way and must be guided in areas where they are likely to commit mistakes, including the use of the internet.

Internet threats to Kids Age 14-17 Years Old

Kids at this age play online games, download music, and shop online. Most boys of this age engage in online gambling, look at explicit adult sites, gore, violence, and adult humor. Both boys and girls enter chat rooms and engage in private chats or use instant messaging like Yahoo! Messenger or MSN Messenger.

They are more welcome to accommodate online acquaintances and build relationships online that would possibly end up in a real-life meeting. They are more prone to receive pornographic spam and will likely end up clicking links that contain explicit material. They can easily be persuaded to join online contests and fill out forms that ask for personal information.

These may not seem to be a danger for them since they "are just trying out new things." But these are the things that you should watch out for.

Safety tips:

� Keep the internet-connected computer outside their bedrooms � Create a rule on how to properly use the internet. Set a time where they can access the internet. Make sure they follow it. � If they are using the instant messaging, ask them on discuss their friends on the list. Tell them not to talk to strangers. Tell them to enter friendly and moderated chat rooms only. � Encourage them to talk to you about the people they meet online. � Tell them not to trust anyone online. � Set firewall or filtering software so that they can't access websites that contain explicit materials such as violence and pornography. � Remind your kids on the risks that online gambling may bring. � Tell them not to give up any personal information such as names, addresses, and bank account numbers. � Teach your kids to check with you first whenever they make online financial transactions including selling and buying online. � Tell your kids to exercise ethical behavior online and not to engage in fights and bullying. � Tell your kids not to open junk mails or download attachments from unknown senders.

They may show some resistance but it is important to explain to them the dangers that can happen when they insist on not following these safety tips.

Internet Safety for Kids Age 11-13 Years Old

The transition from childhood to adolescence is where kids develop their curiosity on the world they are living. Kids at this age encounter rapid changes in their body as well as in their lives. They test their capacity although they are still dependent on their parents. They test new things without consulting in someone older and think of themselves as grown ups. Kids of this age are the most vulnerable to danger.

Internet threats to Kids Age 11-13 Years Old

Kids age 11-13 start to utilize the internet for school projects and research. They also use the internet to play online games, visit pop star sites, use instant messaging, use e-mail, and download music.

They also start building relationships from online acquaintances, develop sexual interest and may look on pornographic sites, and can easily be lured to enter personal information through registration forms, contests or surveys or reveal personal information to strangers.

To protect them from internet dangers, here are the important safety tips.

� Set up rules on when and what purpose the internet should be used. This doesn't mean though that you restrict them from using the internet outside school-related work. Just make sure that they are guided in the right ways to use the internet. � Take time to surf the internet with your kids. In this way, you will know the sites they are visiting and you can recommend sites that are suited for their age. � The internet connected computer should be placed in an open area and not in the kids' bedroom. � Place a security setting on the computer so that your kids can't access or accidentally open sites that aren't suitable for them. � Tell them to ignore spam mails and not to open email attachments from unknown senders. � Talk to them about pornographic websites and direct them to good websites for health and sexuality. � Tell your kids not to disclose any personal information about them or your family including your names, address, their schools, email address, passwords and bank account numbers. � Warn them about the danger of online chat and talking to strangers online. � Teach your kids to become responsible to their actions online and not to engage into fights and bullying.

Since kids of this age still lack correct judgment and feel otherwise, online is a place where they can encounter great danger. Imposing these safety tips will help reduce these dangers.