AS FAR AS POSSIBLE NEVER TALK TO STRANGERS.  

Unfortunately, Chat rooms are what kids enjoy most. They are also often the most dangerous places online, especially for a child who is not Internet-savvy. Meeting people from the Internet is not a good idea at all; don't ever give them your phone number or address. YES.  Never give your name, address or phone number to anyone. This is especially true for kids. You really don't know who the person is that you are chatting or corresponding with. Remember that people online may not be who they seem. Because you can't see or even hear the person it would be very easy for someone to misrepresent him or herself. Thus, someone indicating that "she" is a "12-year-old-girl" could in reality be an older man. 

Kids - make sure that your parents know that you are chatting, where you're chatting, with whom you're chatting, and what information you are giving people. As far as possible NEVER talk with strangers.

Parents - if you have a child that is chatting or corresponding with someone, set guidelines as to what information is and is not allowed to be given out. Take a look at the place where your child is chatting and see what kind of conversations take place. Discourage your child from talking to strangers. Innocent children can easily be misled by paedophiles.

Everyone should feel safe! If you are beginning to receive messages or email that you don't like, tell the person that you are receiving them from that you do not like what they are saying. If this doesn't stop the unwanted information do something about it. What can you do? If you are chatting, most chat houses have chat masters that you can e-mail and let them know what is happening. You can cut and paste the messages that you are receiving and place them in the e-mail that you send to the chat master. If you are receiving unwanted e-mail, then send an e-mail to the person's e-mail provider with the same information stated above. These actions normally resolve the problem. An unwanted or unsolicitated e- mail is called a spam. To know how to deal with such unwanted E-mails from unknown people visit

Filling out Forms
1. Never include any information in a form that you fill out that gives people your e-mail or homepage password.

2. Never include your social security number, drivers license number, or credit card numbers.

3. If you are making a purchase on the internet that requires any of this information, make sure that you are using a form on a secure site. If you are using Netscape, they have a feature where you see a key in the lower left hand corner. If the key is broken you are not in a secure site. This means that any information that you submit can be intercepted by hackers or anyone else that has the knowledge to grab the information.

4. Kids - make sure that your parents know that you are filling out forms and that they approve of the information that you are providing on the forms.

5. Again, don't provide your address or phone number on forms that you fill out. Most forms include these questions as optional information, when it's optional don't give it.

General Surfing

Don't open up any e-mail or attached files or web pages that you receive from people you don't know. If it looks suspicious or odd, delete it or ask an adult to look at it first. It could possibly contain viruses.

Adults shouldn't have any problems with general surfing. If you don't like what you're seeing, leave. 

Don't download any applications from the internet that are from questionable sites. Many sites have viruses which come free with the downloads ! Better be safe than to be sorry.
Places like Crescendo, Netscape, Microsoft and other popular place, do have some "trial" software or shareware that you can download and these tend to be safe. 

Kids - only surf where your parents have given you permission. There's a reason why they restrict your surfing area and you should listen to them. If a web page looks suspicious or has a warning page about you being underage, leave immediately. Do not go exploring. If you come across a site that you aren't sure about TELL your parents. Passwords are a secret so don't give it out your passwords to anyone except an adult you trust in your home.



Parents, a good idea for younger children is to have a set of bookmarks that are especially their own, filled with great kids safe sites that you have screened. Install filtering software or child-safe browsers. which prevent children from accessing undesirable sites. Even if you don't have extra software, most browsers today come with in-built security features. Like in Internet explorer 5.0, go to Tools>Internet options and click on the security tab. You can customize security settings or choose from the one's there. 

If possible, route your child's e-mail through your account and share their password. Also, Keep the computer in a central family location, not in the child's room. The computer should be a family activity. Most of all set an example to them through your good surfing habits. Children tend to copy their parents. We wish you happy and safe surfing :-)