Dealing with Internet Hazards

Question:

Information on Hoaxes, Viruses and Safe computing in CyberSpace.

Stop and think about walking down a busy high street. Now imagine all the
risks that are around you; traffic, muggers, pickpockets, con artists. Some are
malicious and some are just a product of the busy lives we lead. Much the
same is true of using the Internet, there are hazards everywhere, but as in the
high street we can all learn to avoid them and offer ourselves some protection.
In the high street we have the benefit of our years of experience and the
advice of friends and family. In case you do not have that benefit of advice for
your future use of the Internet, this factsheet provides an introduction to some
of the major hazards you may encounter.

Internet Hoaxes
You can’t believe everything that you read, or everything that you receive
across the Internet. There are a number of old Internet hoaxes which continue
to resurface on the net, taking advantage of new users. These hoaxes take
the general form of purporting to be a warning about some dangerous email
message, piece of software, etc. You can protect yourself from these hoaxes
by learning more about them. If you receive a warning e-mail or message
check out the details on the Internet, if you type the details of the warning into
a search engine such as Google – you will get advice about its validity.

Personal Risks
The Internet is full of material that you will find inappropriate and even
offensive. The Internet has been defined as a huge electronic library, but one
where anyone can publish any book they like with only very limited controls.
You should be aware that in using the Internet you are likely to encounter
pornography, scams, requests for personal information, requests for money,
etc.

Essentially our advice is to treat any request or email on the Internet as you
would any other. If someone offered to make you rich in the pub, would you
give them your money without some research and advice? The same is true
on the Internet.

Equally there are many ways to block access to obscene material. The links
provided at the end of this factsheet will provide you with further sources of
information on this if you are concerned.

Spam
Spam is a term that has come into common usage for unsolicited or junk email.
This can take the form of someone posting the same message to many
newsgroups or listservs. Or, you might receive Spam through unwanted email
messages advertising some company or service. This form of junk mail is
becoming more and more of a problem on the Internet.

Everyone gets Spam, just as we all get junk mail from the post office and
adverts on Television. There are actions you can take to reduce the quantity
but it is unlikely that you will ever be able to eradicate it.
Again the links at the end of this factsheet can help you with this problem.

Viruses
A computer virus is a program that is hidden within the code of another
program. The virus is set up to replicate itself and spread to other programs
on a person’s computer. Viruses can be destructive or benign.
Like a real virus, a computer virus can spread in many ways. Again wo uld you
deliberately go to a country with a flu epidemic without considering how to
protect yourself – or choosing not to go.

Catching a virus is easy! But the places with an “epidemic” by which you
might get infected include – your e-mail, sharing discs, illegal copies of
software, and file sharing. You may not be able to refuse to use all of these
and hence you should make sure you are inoculated, and that you keep your
inoculation up to date with regular updates or boosters.
AbilityNet would not supply a machine without an Anti Virus solution. This is a
program which runs in the background and keeps your computer safe – keep
it up to date and don’t switch it off !

This is only an introduction to the issues – if you want further advice we would
recommend the following links to information on the Internet.

Be safe online
http://www.besafeonline.org/English/safer_use_of_services_on_the_internet.htm
The aim of this website is to provide information and advice to adults,
especially parents and teachers, about potential problems of life on the
Internet and how to behave.

Childnet International
http://www.childnet-int.org/
On this website you can read about the way in which Childnet is working
around the world with many other organisations to help highlight and promote
the positive inspiring ways children can use the Net. You can also read about
the strategic education and policy initiatives they are engaged in which are
helping to protect children in this new environment.

Cyber Hood watch
http://www.cyber-hood-watch.org
Cyber Hood Watch is a program designed to enrich the experiences of the
Internet Community by reducing the incidence of problems that occur online.
This is accomplished through a combination of:
- Internet Safety Awareness Promotion
- Safety, Security, and Online Privacy Protection Education
- Providing related Tools, Equipment, and Programs Free of charge to Low
Income Families

NCTE
http://www.ncte.ie/ICTAdviceSupport/TheInternet/
The Internet Safety section provides useful advice and information on this
topic, including the NCTE’s Acceptable Use Policy Guidelines for Primary
Schools, Sample Parent Permission Letter and forms and details of Internet
Safety projects.

Resilience
http://www.ukresilience.info/protecting.htm
This page provides insight into how you can play your part in protecting
access to your computer, the information it contains, and the activities it helps
you perform.

From January 2004 - AbilityNet.org.uk