Learn Online Safety

The majority of the world’s population are connected to the internet. We use the world wide web for a growing number of purposes, whether it’s for work or leisure, communications or commerce. Most of the time, when you go online you shouldn’t encounter any issues. However, the internet isn’t completely safe and secure – there’s harmful content, there are dodgy sites and there people trying to commit criminal acts, such as theft and fraud.

Here at iLOOKBOTHWAYS, our goal is to make the internet a safer, more reliable place for everyone. In this post, we’ll go over some general dos and don’ts about using the internet safely. First, we’ll look at some of its dangers.

Dangers of the Internet

As great as the internet is, it’s not without its flaws. There are many things about it that can be harmful, upsetting, offensive or destructive to people. Below are some of the more common online dangers:

• Cyberbullying. This is when people get bullied online through messaging platforms and social media sites. Bullies send harmful messages, make private information public and can encourage others to target their victim.
• Grooming. This is most common with children, though it can happen in adults too. A groomer contacts someone, builds up a relationship with them, then encourages their ‘friend’ to do things such as meeting up and performing sexual acts.
• Scams. There are many types of online scams, most of which involve a person being tricked into giving up sensitive details, such as passwords or bank card information. Some scammers even attempt to get people to hand money over to them.
• Extreme content. People using the internet can be exposed to extreme content, such as pornographic material, violent/graphic images or written content that expresses extreme views.
• Privacy. Personal details that you give to a website may end up getting passed on to others and could be used against you. Photos and videos can also be compromised.
• Identity Theft. This is where someone acquires your personal details and pretends to be you by using these details without your permission. More often than not, identity theft is carried out to commit crimes; the idea is that if it appears you have committed the crime, the actual perpetrator escapes punishment.
• Blackmailing. Someone may obtain sensitive details or data and blackmail you into handing over something (usually money) so that your details don’t get publicly released.
• Mental Health. The internet can be addictive. We typically spend hours and hours every day online and internet addiction has been classed as a real psychological condition. Spending too much time online can have a negative impact on a person’s mental health, as well as on their physical wellbeing.

Anyone can be a victim of internet crime. While children and the elderly are seen as most vulnera-ble, anyone else can easily become a target. Some dangers, such as grooming, are long-term, while others, such as scams, are short-term or near-instant.

Using the Internet Safely

We don’t want you to be put off using the internet, despite its many dangers. What we want is for you to be able to use the internet safely and to avoid these dangers, which, thankfully, is easy enough to do.

The most important thing is that you’re aware of the potential dangers associated with going online. As you can see from above, there are quite a few, but don’t let them scare you: the internet is still very safe and secure. So long as you know what to look out for, you should be able to have a safe internet experience. You may still encounter some dangers – it’s impossible to avoid them all – but as long as you can identify them, you should be able to ignore them and not let them become a major issue.

You should also make sure you’re sensible whenever you’re online. Think about what you’re doing and what consequences, if any, your actions may have, whether they affect you yourself, or someone else. Also, make sure you’re careful with things such as personal details and money, as these can be valuable to criminals and can be easily compromised if you’re not careful. When it comes to uploading content online, it’s always best to be selective and to think about what you’re posting before you post it. What’s really scary is that things you posted months ago, or even years ago, can be found by people and used against you.

If you have any concerns about being safe online, we’re here to help. Don’t hesitate to get in touch and make sure you look around our site, as we have plenty of other pages on various topics to do with online safety. We’re very experienced in this field and know what we’re talking about; we’re here to help you out and make your internet experience as safe as can be.