If you need to enter your name on an account, use a nickname or a fake name. Alternately, you could use an incomplete form of your name. For instance, if you need to enter your name on a form, enter “Eric P. " instead of your full name, Eric Pillata. Maximize your account privacy wherever possible. Many sites and messenger services have varying levels of privacy. For instance, you may have the option to share your name, date of birth, and where you go to school in addition to the content you post. Hide this data from everyone except your immediate friends. Explore your account settings to ensure that this information is kept confidential. Don’t post other unique identifying information like your Social Security Number, date of birth, and other data. These are among the most important pieces of information about you, and with them in hand, hackers could easily steal your identity. Don’t use a picture of you as your profile picture on social networks. Put a picture of something that you love instead. For instance, if you love eating grapes, post a picture of grapes on your social media account or chat messenger service of choice. If some malicious person were to discover your real picture, they might use it to locate and harm you. If you are a minor, always ask your parents what personal information they want you to share online. Do not overload a user with information, as that user can be hacked and then you sending messages makes you a sitting duck.
Be careful when posting photos of where you live. A picture in front of your house or near your mailbox might include a partial or complete address which a predator might use to track you down. Carefully examine all photos before posting them online.
If you have a website, keep your domain name registration private. If you list your domain privately, instead of your personal contact info, the contact info of your domain registrar will show up for anyone conducting a domain ownership search.
Even if your social media accounts are private, people might repost your content in a public place where you’d rather it not be seen. Once something is on the internet, it is virtually impossible to remove it. Be smart and don’t post anything you wouldn’t want your mother (or a potential employer) to see. If a friend posts something on their social media profile, blog, or website which you do not want online, ask them kindly to remove it. If they do not remove it, attempt to force them to remove it by contacting their parents or guardian, or enlist aid of a third party to negotiate with them. Be proactive in preventing compromising content from being posted online by telling people who take potentially compromising pictures of you, “Please do not post that online. " If you are underage, check with your parents before posting anything online.
If you do decide to meet someone from the internet, choose a public place like a restaurant or shopping mall to ensure they are who they claim they are. If you are underage and want to meet up with a friend you’ve met online, check with your parent or guardian to ensure they know the situation.
For instance, after enduring several weeks of abuse from a cyberbully you might get a private message from them which reads, “A number of users have contacted me about what you’ve said and agree with me that you are both stupid and ugly. ”
Understand that cyberbullies, like any other kind of bullies, are cowards and use the anonymity afforded by the internet to hide who they are. Recognizing this will help you put their opinions and abuse in perspective. It is difficult to take seriously the worthless claims of a coward. Don’t blame yourself for the cyberbullying. Don’t, for instance, feel that the abuser might have a point when he or she criticizes a shirt you wore in a picture you posted of yourself. You never deserve slander and abuse online or offline for the clothes you wear (or any other reason). Engage in hobbies and interests where you cannot be cyberbullied. Try taking a brief break from the web by playing a sport, picking up a musical instrument, or writing your feelings in a journal. Running or biking are also great choices to relieve stress brought on by cyberbullying.
If possible, block the user on the forum or chat community. This way, they cannot send you messages and you cannot see their posts. [9] X Trustworthy Source National Health Service (UK) Public healthcare system of the UK Go to source
Each time you receive a message or see a threatening or abusive post, report it to the forum administrator. If your cyberbully is sending messages directly to your email, you may need to contact their internet service provider (ISP) directly in order to have their email account shut down. For instance, if you get emails from bully@aol. com, you can contact AOL (the provider of the email address) in order to get that email address banned. A full list of ISP contact information is available at http://www. search. org/resources/isp-list/.
Grant access to the firewall only for authorized programs which require it like games or video streaming services.
For a double-whammy of internet privacy, combine the VPN with your browser’s incognito or privacy mode. Privacy mode prevents data, cookies, your download record, and other info from being saved on your computer.
Be sure what the name of the public wifi hotspot is. Logging into the wrong one, or one with a similar name meant to deliberately deceive public wifi users, could mean your online communication – including passwords, emails, and bank info – is being lifted by a hacker. Keep your home wifi connection encrypted. Open wifi makes it easy for hackers to access your computer and download illegal files. Purchase a new router every few years. Some routers have vulnerabilities which never get corrected. [12] X Research source
Make each password unique and write them down in a notebook that you always keep in one place. You’ll remember the most important and most common ones in time; the less common ones will be accessible with your password notebook. Add passwords to your devices, too. Your computer, phone, and tablet should all be password-protected. Don’t use something obvious as your password like your lover’s name, your date of birth, or your name.
Most software will ask you when you first install it whether you want it to auto-update. Indicate that you do to save yourself the hassle of figuring out how to manually update later.
Keep your antivirus software – like all your software and your OS – up-to-date. The difference between free and paid antivirus software is usually that free versions do not update as regularly or completely as versions you pay for.
