Internet safety or online safety is the security of people and their information when using the Internet. Numerous groups, Internet sites and governments have expressed concerns over the safety of children using the Internet. In the UK the Get Safe Online

Get Safe Online

Get Safe Online is a United Kingdom-based campaign and national initiative to teach citizens about basic computer security and internet privacy...

 campaign has received sponsorship from government agency SOCA and major Internet companies such as Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

 and eBay

EBay

eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...

.
Several crimes can be committed on the Internet such as stalking, identity theft and more. Most social networking and chat sites have a page about safety.

Issues

The main issues with Internet safety include:

• Avoiding 'net nasties' including: phishing
  Phishing
  Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT...
  
  , malware
  Malware
  Malware, short for malicious software, consists of programming that is designed to disrupt or deny operation, gather information that leads to loss of privacy or exploitation, or gain unauthorized access to system resources, or that otherwise exhibits abusive behavior...
  
   and viruses
  Computer virus
  A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
  
  .
• Avoiding unwelcome sites, particularly pornography and other sites that may be unsuitable for children.
• Avoiding unsuitable and undesirable message exchanging on networking sites, perhaps with people who could be dangerous to unsuspecting children. There are over 3000 cases a year of people who have been cyberbullied, stalked and worse by strangers online, or have had their internet networking site pages hacked into.

Tools

• https
  Https
  Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure is a combination of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol with SSL/TLS protocol to provide encrypted communication and secure identification of a network web server...
  
   allows websites to encrypt traffic between the browser and the server. This helps protect against stealing passwords.
• Filtering at the computer, with filtering software, such as Net Nanny
  Net Nanny
  Net Nanny is a brand of content-control software marketed primarily at parents as a way to control a child's computer activity. The flagship product allows a computer owner to block and filter Internet content, place time limits on use, and block desktop PC games.-History:The original version of...
  
   or OnlineFamily.Norton
  OnlineFamily.Norton
  OnlineFamily.Norton is a cloud-based parental control service. Online Family is aimed at "fostering communication" involving parents and their children's online activities...
  
   from Symantec. See Parental controls
  Parental controls
  Parental controls are features which may be included in digital television services, computer and video games, mobile phones and computer software...
  
  .
• DNS filtering
• Website filtering at the ISP or country level

Organisations

Many organisations are involved in making the Internet a safer place. This includes governments,, global associations such as Insafe

Insafe

Insafe is a European network of Awareness Centres promoting safe, responsible use of the Internet and mobile devices to young people. It is co-funded by the Safer Internet Programme.- Mission :...

, non-profits and businesses that are affected by problems on the Internet, such as banks.

See also

• Cyber-bullying
  Cyber-bullying
  Cyber-bullying is the use of the Internet and related technologies to harm other people, in a deliberate, repeated, and hostile manner. As it has become more common in society, particularly among young people, legislation and awareness campaigns have arisen to combat it.-Definition:The term...
  
  
• Identity theft
  Identity theft
  Identity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
  
  , Identity fraud
  Identity fraud
  Identity fraud may occur when someone steals personal information, opens credit card accounts in the victim's name without permission, and charges merchandise to those accounts. Conversely, identity fraud does not occur when a credit card is simply stolen. Stealing one’s credit card may be consumer...
  
  
• Incredible Internet
  Incredible Internet
  Incredible Internet is an online safety resource for parents, children and educators. The program was founded in 2004 by Denver-based communications and entertainment provider Qwest Communications...
  
  
• Internet crime, Internet fraud
  Internet fraud
  Internet fraud refers to the use of Internet services to present fraudulent solicitations to prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent transactions, or to transmit the proceeds of fraud to financial institutions or to others connected with the scheme....
  
  
• Control software:
• Content control software - for high-level filtering, including workplace internet filtering
• Parental controls
  Parental controls
  Parental controls are features which may be included in digital television services, computer and video games, mobile phones and computer software...
  
   - for parents to control how a computer is used
• Accountability software
  Accountability software
  Accountability software, or Internet accountability software, is a type of computer software that provides detailed reports that account for one's actions on the Internet.- Concept :...
  
   - for adults who want to be accountable to another for how they use the internet.
• Internet security
  Internet security
  Internet security is a branch of computer security specifically related to the Internet. Its objective is to establish rules and measures to use against attacks over the Internet. The Internet represents an insecure channel for exchanging information leading to a high risk of intrusion or fraud,...
  
   for information about protecting data and avoiding malware.

Groups and individuals working in the topic

• ThinkUKnow
  ThinkUKnow
  ThinkUKnow is the education programme of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre aimed at young people, and encourages Internet. safety It is based around 3 key themes; very interesting* How to Have Fun...
  
  
• Tween summit
  Tween summit
  The Tween Summit is a yearly event hosted by the NCMEC, Cox Communications, and John Walsh where young people aged 8–14 and their parents gather in Washington DC to discuss internet safety.-Topics at the 3rd Annual event in 2008:...
  
  
• Youth Internet Safety Survey
  Youth Internet Safety Survey
  The Youth Internet Safety Survey was a series of two surveys conducted in the United States in 1999 and 2004. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children provided funding to Dr. David Finkelhor, Director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire,...
  
  
• AHTCC - Australian High Tech Crime Centre
• Sonia Livingstone
  Sonia Livingstone
  Sonia Livingstone is a professor of Social Psychology and head of the Department of Media and Communications at London School of Economics, and Political Science and has dedicated much of her research to children and Internet use. She has written or edited eleven books and 100+ academic articles...
  
  

External links

• Digital Safety Conference London, June 19, 2009
• StaySafeOnline.org - National Cyber Security Alliance
• Cable in the classroom digital safety page
• Australian Government Cyber Safety Plan
• Australian Government Online Safety and Security, also Cyber Security
• Internet Safety Project
• Digital Mom Keeping Kids Safe Online
• Internet safety for seniors
• OnGuard Online - a US government website on Internet safety
• How to Stay Safe on the Bleeping Internet - a comprehensive, newbie's how-to guide on avoiding viruses, malware and other bad stuff
• Vodafone Parent's Internet Safety Guide