As we prepare to welcome in the New Year of 2015, I’d like to remind everyone of the importance of protecting your personal information
on-line to ensure both you (and your children) remain safe.
The MOST Important thing to remember is that EVERYTHING you post online, every comment, every like, every picture, every text;
EVERYTHING sent over a data network is ultimately recorded and stored indefinitely.
There are many applications that promise things magically go away -- but that is NOT how the internet works.
If you do not want something to be public -- then do NOT share it through ANY data network.
A simple example of this follows:
Every photo you have posted publicly on Facebook, posted on a thread in the Talk Budgies Forums or have stored in a public album in your PhotoBucket account is collected by Google (along with other web-browsers) and with the correct “search” is available for anyone to see.
I must admit, it particularly concerns me when parents post and/or store pictures of their children in publicly accessible on-line accounts.
I’ve seen perfectly innocent pictures of children in bathing suits, partially dressed, getting ready for bed, etc.
Nothing wrong with those pictures in and of themselves, but when stored in a publicly accessible album or shared through Facebook, a public forum or other networking site, just imagine how easy it is for a predator to also see those pictures.
If other personal information has also been posted, there is, of course, increased danger.
According to the FBI, there are an estimated 50,000 predators online at any given moment, all looking for potential victims.
Remember that “online” is much more than spending time on the computer.
Now smart phones and even video games are completely connected to the outside world.
Parents must understand that if the ability exists for communication with children, predators are there.
Following is a short list of a FEW things you can do to help protect yourselves and your families on-line:
Sensitive information such as social security numbers and credit card numbers should never be posted online.
These should only be submitted through secure forms on company websites you trust.
For example, a government website or your bank's website are usually safe.
Third party website that are well-known, secure, and trusted like eBay, Paypal, Amazon, etc. are also safe.
As with other information, this information should not be made public and should only be entered into secure forms.
You know a website is secure if its URL begins with https instead of just http.
Do not share or post pictures that may exploited by others.
Do not agree to meet an individual you meet on-line unless it is in a public place.
Be sure to inform a trusted family member or friend of your intention and when to expect your return.
Sometimes an on-line persona is simply a “disguise” and you could find yourself in an uncomfortable or dangerous situation.
Choose and use passwords wisely – Make certain that your password contains at least 8 characters and includes a variety of numbers, letters, and/or symbols.
Download with care– Download images, applications, and screen savers from trusted sources only.
Ensure you know the website you are visiting is one you can trust.
Be sure to use and update your anti-virus software– This is your best defense against viruses!
Do not immediately open e-mail attachments – If you receive an e-mail attachment that you were not expecting (even if it is from someone you know), do not open it—there may be a virus contained within it.
For safety, send e-mail back to the sender asking them to explain what the attachment contains.
If it is a virus, they may not even know the e-mail was sent.
This extra step can really help to protect your system!
Avoid forwarding chain letters, jokes, and other types of SPAM – These letters often contain false information that misleads people.
In addition, they send the personal data of yourself and your friends to strangers through malware embedded in the chain-email.
By forwarding emails to your friends, you may be creating a list of emails for spammer to use.
Make regular back-ups of your files – In the case of a virus or computer malfunction, regular back-ups help to get your system back in order quickly.
Wishing each and every member of the Talk Budgie Forum a very
SAFE
and
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
This is great advice Deb this gives us all something to think about very wise information you have done a lot of research to this thread... I am not a member of facebook.. Should i start to put some sort of water mark on my photo's in photobucket. I have a gmail account so i guess i have google account with it ill have to check my password and make sure my photo's are safe.. I don't post personal details online.. I have good passwords to my emails photobucket my styles i buy for my slideshow programme.. I have a good virus protection.. Is there anything else i should do to be on the safe side? This really makes you think there are some really weid people out there hacking into peoples accounts and then they don't no what to do when it happens...Not all people are bad you get really nice people to You just have to be so very careful being online..
__________________
INDIGO.
Last edited by LynandIndigo; 12-28-2014 at 08:41 PM.
Reason: Mistake
Not to mention never use your full name on the internet. I made that mistake and learned the hard way. Now if anyone that knows my full name googles me all sorts of embarrassing online conversations I have had shows up from 10 ten years ago. yikes
Should i start to put some sort of water mark on my photo's in photobucket.
I have a gmail account so i guess i have google account with it ill have to check my password and make sure my photo's are safe..
I don't post personal details online.. I have good passwords to my emails photobucket my styles i buy for my slideshow programme.. I have a good virus protection..
Is there anything else i should do to be on the safe side?
Lyn,
Internet Safety is not about protecting your pictures.
Internet Safety is about protecting you, your identity and that of your family members when using various aspects of the internet.
Just watermarking or copyrighting your photos does not prevent other people from viewing and/or copying your photos when they find them through an internet browser.
Watermarking/Copyrighting Photos simply offers you some protection in that your photos may not be able to be passed off as belonging to someone else.
As I indicated earlier, just posting photos on a public forum makes those photos available to be gathered and viewed by others through various browsers. This applies whether the photos are watermarked/copyrighted or not.
With regard to PhotoBucket, the main thing to remember is to keep family photos in a "Private" album with a "Guest Password".
You should ONLY share that guest password with family and very trusted friends.
If you have photos you share on-line through forums and social media, then it's fine to keep those in a "Public" album in PhotoBucket if you so desire.
I brought up PhotoBucket in my earlier post as a means of illustrating that if an individual shares personal pictures of family members and/or small children, that the internet is constantly surfed by predators who are able to easily find and exploit those images.
Let me know if you have additional questions and I'll try to give you guidance if possible.
Great advice deb.. I am going to sort out my Photobucket and put water marks on me and my family put them in Albums Thank you for answering my question. I have done everything else.... I have already been putting a water mark on the photos with me in them..
I just thought of another question. Do you also water mark videos as we put ourselves on videos with our budgies? Can these be taken?
Unfortunately, I don't think you are understanding what I'm saying.
Copywriting/watermarking is a totally different topic than what is being addressed in the topic of Internet Security.
Internet Security is about the following:
1. Ensuring that people do not have access to personal information (e.g. full name/address/phone number, etc)
2. For people with children - safeguarding pictures of their children
(especially when the child is photographed partially clothed or in a bathing suit) which means NOT sharing those photos through public media and/or storing them in on-line photo albums accessible to the public.
3. Having secure passwords
4. Realizing that people you "meet" on-line may not be who/what they present themselves to be...
Predators can and will pretend to be fine upstanding citizens, children, etc.
Network Security addresses the information that I listed in the first post in this thread.
Nothing in that post addressed anything about copywriting/watermarking pictures.
I hope this additional information will make it more clear so you will be able to understand the difference.
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Internet Safety
Internet
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