Internet Safety for IT Users

Glossary of Terms

1. Spam - electronic junk mail.
2. Chatroom - a location online that allows multiple users to communicate electronically with each other in real time, as opposed to delayed time as with e-mail.
3. Adware - a form of malicious code that displays unsolicited advertising on your computer.
4. Piracy - the practice of using the internet to illegally copy software and pass it on to other people.
5. Spyware - a general term for a program that secretly monitors your actions. While they are sometimes sinister, like a remote-control program used by a hacker, software companies have been known to use spyware to gather data about customers.
6. Cyberbullying - when someone is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another teen or person using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies, or mobile phones.
7. Phishing - a type of online fraud, where someone tries to trick the victim into revealing sensitive details, such as a username, password, or credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in electronic communication.
8. Social networking - a website where one connects with those sharing personal or professional interests.
9. Cookie - a piece of information about your visit to a website that some websites record automatically on your computer. By using a cookie, a website operator can determine a lot of information about you and your computer. cookies are not always bad. For example, a cookie remembers that you prefer aisle seats in the front of the plane.
10. Discussion boards - also called Internet forums, message boards, and bulletin boards. These are online sites that allow users to post comments on a particular issue.
11. Scam - a dishonest scheme; a fraud.
12. Identity theft - in this crime, someone obtains the vital information (e.g., credit card, social security number, bank account numbers) of another person, usually to steal money. E-mail scams, spyware, and viruses are among the most typical methods for stealing someone’s identity.
13. Malware - stands for malicious software or code, which includes any harmful code—trojans, worms, spyware, adware, etc.—that is designed to damage the computer or collect information.
14. Twitter - a social media site that lets its users send short messages (or “tweets”) to a network of connected users online. Twitter is similar in form to features on other social networking and instant messaging sites that allow users to update their “status” or leave an “away message” to let their friends know what they are up to in real-time, all the time. On Twitter, this is also called “micro-blogging”; individuals have 140 characters to let the world know what’s on their mind or to send a tweet about something they care about.
15. Firewall - a security system usually made up of hardware and software used to block hackers, viruses, and other malicious threats to your computer.
16. Flaming - a hostile, strongly worded message that may contain obscene language.
17. Patching - a patch is a piece of software designed to update a computer program or its supporting data, to fix or improve it. This includes fixing security vulnerabilities and other bugs, with such patches usually called bugfixes or bug fixes, and improving the usability or performance.
18. Pharming - pronounced ‘farming’, this is a method by which scammers try to get personal/private information from users by directing them to false – or ‘spoof’ – websites which look legitimate in your browser.
19. Pop-up - pop-up ads or pop-ups are often forms of online advertising on the World Wide Web intended to attract web traffic or capture email addresses.
20. Trojan - type of malware that gives an unauthorized user access to a computer.
21. Virus - a self-replicating software program that typically arrives through e-mail attachments and which multiplies on the hard drive, quickly exhausting the computer’s memory. A trojan is a variation that allows unauthorized users access to the computer, from which they can send infected e-mails or spam.
22. Troll - Internet slang, a troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion, often for the troll's amusement.
23. Encryption - the conversion of digital information into a format unreadable to anyone except those possessing a “key” through which the encrypted information is converted back into its original form (decryption), making it readable again.
24. Worms - an internet worm is a program that spreads across the internet by replicating itself on computers via their network connections. In the 1980s, researchers were seeking ways of managing the growing internet remotely, using programs that could distribute themselves automatically across it.

Sources:

• https://quizlet.com/23011627/internet-safety-vocabulary-terms-flash-cards/
• https://internetsafety101.org/glossaryofterms
• https://www.internetmatters.org/advice/glossary/
• https://sites.google.com/a/ocss-va.org/internet-safety/glossary-of-common-terms

www.learnmyway.com - Internet Safety course must be completed and evidence file submitted.

Online Dating

Websites: match.com, plentyoffish.com and elitesingles.co.uk

Dangers: individuals may be prone to harassment, sexual assault or threats made either online or in the real world. Harassment experiences can be reported to various online forums or even the dating sites themselves. Police can be brought into the situation as well for additional investigation.

Examples of online horror stories: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/2jzpgh/okcupid_plenty_of_fish_tinder_users_what_have/ - cried about stolen jewelry; ruined date. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1x6i6r/whats_your_online_dating_disaster_story/ - boy cuts himself after rejection for 2^nd date.

Grooming

How does it happen?

Usually occurs within social media forums or platforms, often an older individual enticing an underage child with gifts in exchange for personal affection or sexual desire.

Five devices a child might use: phone, tablet, laptop, computer and consoles

Five games/apps where they may experience grooming: Xbox live, Facebook, PSN, Twitter and Watsapp.

Signs of child grooming?

Constant messages, usually checking up on the individual and requiring favors or perhaps even exchanges or meet-ups, in return for gifts. Usual or susceptive behavior, perhaps even consistent or harassing tone would apply.

How can child grooming be avoided?

Online safety measures such as privacy and security settings should be checked, as well as inform a parent or guardian, so that they may contact services or the police.

Sexting

Who partakes?

Two individuals, usually sexually activate, curious and excited teens who are in a relationship.

What are the dangers?

Dangers of sexting could be one of the individuals being underage and thus not legal to partake. In addition, these private messages may leak and cause public embarrassment.

Impacts on relationships?

Sexting can initially be a positive way of two courting individuals to engage in talk of sexual activates, so long as they are both comfortable with the subject. However, should they ever be leaked or one of the individuals be underage, it would raise emotional and legal concern, respectively.

The law concerning sexting?

An individual under the age of 16 is considered unsuited to be engaging or partaking in sexting.

Revenge Porn

Famous cases: 

Tula Paulina "Tulisa" Contostavlos - in March 2012, a six-minute sex tape of Tulisa and her former lover Justin Edwards emerged on the internet.

Bria Michelle Kam - in June 2015 it was reported that the YouTube star from the United States, was pursuing a civil suit against her British ex-boyfriend who posted sexually-explicit videos taken without her knowledge or consent to Facebook where they were repeatedly shared.

The law concerning revenge porn?

In February 2015 it was announced that the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, which has a specific amendment dealing with such actions, had received Royal Assent. Section 33 of the Act makes it an offence in England and Wales to disclose private sexual photographs and films without the consent of the individual depicted and with the intent to cause distress. There is a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment.

Actions to be take in case of the victim?

A legal lawsuit may be made on the case of the victim, such as taking the perpetrator to court over the leak of the tapes without consent.

How to avoid victimization?

Do not take or send nudes or even videos highlighting one in an overtly sexual manner.

Personal Information Online

56% off adults surveyed do not actively think about the consequences of their online activities. 14% have experienced negative consequences as a result of others during their online activities. These are the list of privacy settings on Facebook:

Selecting an Audience for Stuff You Share

Manage Settings for How You Connect

Reviewing Stuff Others Tag You In

Research conducted by Microsoft found the following:

“research.. suggests adults and children may want to be more mindful of how their digital activities impact their online reputations. Only 44% of adults and children aged 8 – 17 years old surveyed think about the long-term impact of their online activities on their personal reputation, and only 38% of adults and 39% of children think about the long-term impact of their online activities on the reputations of others. The research also indicates those who don’t think about the consequences of their online activities are less likely to actively manage their online reputations or create positive influences on their reputations through their online activities. It’s possible that people who don’t actively think about the consequences of their activities also might underestimate how much they can impact their own online reputations and those of others.”

They continue:

“Less than half (43%) of parents surveyed help their children manage their online reputations. Children 8-14 years old are twice as likely to receive parental help as children 15-17 years old (66% vs. 33%). It may be risky to assume that older children need less help – especially since the reported incidence of harm from online information is higher for the older group (19%) than for younger children (16%).”

LIBEL

In terms of law, libel is defined as “a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation OR defame (someone) by publishing a libel.” It can be viewed as the written version of slander, which is the “action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation OR make false and damaging statements about (someone).” These can be both difficult to prove and be taken out of context.

In the UK, defamation is the expression of an untrue insinuation against a person's reputation. Defamation is split into two legal bases that a person can sue for: slander and libel. Slander is defamation of a person through a transient form of communication, generally speech. Libel can be a tort, which is a civil wrong and so not a criminal offense  So, defamatory statements can be dealt with in the civil courts whilst in fact libel can occur in two criminal forms: defamatory libel and seditious and obscene libel.

If you meet the requirements for a civil action, you can sue someone for defamation, whether libel or slander, if they have written or said something bad about you. However, you must be able to prove the necessary elements of a defamation suit if you wish to collect damages.