Posting To News Groups/Chat Groups

Don’t reveal personal details to strangers or new friends you meet on-line. You don’t know who you’re talking to in a chat room. For sake of security don’t give out your real name, where you live, where you work, your phone number or any other personal details which might be used against you or to track you down.

Messages you post on Internet or on mailing lists reveal your email address. This is easily discovered and either targeted or used by just about anybody. Services such as Deja News also keeps a record of every posting ever made by an individual. It is a simple matter for someone to search Deja News to find out details of postings made from your email address, which news groups you post to and why. To counter this, have more than one email address. Set up a free web-based email service. Use this for posting to news groups, mailing lists, chat and public rooms. Tip: If no-one knows that this extra email address belongs to you, no-one can link you to it or any posting you make from it. In this way you can post regularly to alt.sheep.fanciers. without any fear of being identified by snoops! Use a further clean email address for small members-only mailing lists and for communications with known, trusted individuals.

Safe Surfing Techniques

Many free sites require you to register personal details before you can get access. Just because a site asks for personal data, it doesn’t mean you have to provide it. You have options. Provide a phoney name, address, preferences etc. There is no law against this. Such details are never checked. They are collected for marketing purposes only. Note: If you purchase something you must provide real billing information to avoid claims of fraud.

Beware of sites offering rewards or prizes in exchange for contact details and other sensitive data. You’re unlikely to win a prize and any data obtained in this manner is sold often to multiple direct marketers. Pretty soon you’ll be deluged with unsolicited email, post and telephone calls. Protect your children too. Set clear rules for them. Make sure they know not to reveal personal information when they visit sites unless you okay it.

Web sites store bits of data, Cookies, on your computer’s hard drive. Cookies contain your user IDs and passwords to sites. However, Cookies can also be used to trawl for data, tracking your surfing, recording what links and pages you click on, how long you spend on specific pages. This data is used to create a profile about you for marketers. Remember that sensitive information about your Internet preferences, interests and actions could come back to haunt you. For protection turn on cookie notices in your browser. How? Open your Internet browser. Go to Tools/Options/Security. Press Custom Level button. Select prompt for Cookie options. Now each time a Web site attempts to place a cookie on your hard drive you’ll receive a warning and information about cookie. Decide whether or not to accept. Only accept cookies from trusted sites. Decline cookies which are not temporary or which provide information to sites other than one you want to load.

Be anonymous when you surf. How? Use Anonymizer, a specialised service which disguises your identity and on- line movements. Check out: http://www.anonymizer.com . Alternative anonymising services you might try: http://www.in.tum.de/~pircher/anonymouse/ ; http://www.spaceproxy.com ; http://i-security.addr.com

Safe On-line Shopping

Never send credit card details over Internet without ensuring that your connection is secure (encrypted). How to tell? Look for a locked padlock icon at bottom right hand corner of your screen. Or see that security button on your browser bar is highlighted. If connection is not secure take your business elsewhere. A company that is careless with your information and money does not deserve your trade.

Before doing business with any site, in case of problems, satisfy yourself that site operator provides off-line contact information including a postal address and telephone number. Before ordering, try phone number to ascertain that it works . Keep a note of these details.

If connection is not secure take your business elsewhere.

Check to see if site has a privacy policy. Read it. Does it provide protection for data you may submit? If it doesn’t, don’t release data.

Many sites display seals or certificates awarded by watchdog organisations which testify to trustworthiness of site. But there can be problems. You can’t rely on taking seals at face value. The reason being that con artists fake seals or fraudulently post them on their sites. The solution? Before entering into agreement, contract, or making any payments on-line, check with seal-issuing body that site’s seal is authentic.

Do necessary due diligence: Read terms and conditions before you pay for anything or enter into an agreement. Make sure you know what you’re getting into. Be aware of auto- rebilling scams and hidden fees.

Always print out order form you use on-line and keep any confirmation of sale, payment details and delivery dates you may be emailed.

The Kids Domain may sound like a place, well, just for kids, but whole family can find something fun and interesting at site.

It offers gift-making ideas, electronic greeting cards, crafts, games to download, holiday clipart, recipes, book suggestions for parents, music, stories and world traditions.

The site includes holiday variations for several countries and/or beliefs such as Kwanzaa and Ramadan. There also is Grownups Place for parents.

Children have opportunity to send Santa Claus a letter, provided in an easy-to-use form.

Other sites that offer letters to Santa are The North Pole's Christmas Mission, Claus.com, Santa at Home, Dear Santa Claus, Santa Claus Online, and The Christmas Pages.

Finally, children of all ages can track Santa Claus' travels on Christmas Eve at www.noradsanta.org.