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Now that so much of our daily lives revolve around the net, the need to protect ourselves has become increasingly critical.  We have our anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-malware and anti-spam software installed and up to date, but there are other threats out there as well.  They can be found on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, on web forums, email discussion lists, chat rooms and blogs, and go by several names: trolls, cyberbullies, cyberstalkers, online predators.  These threats, unlike spam and malware, aren’t aimed at your computer, they are aimed squarely at you, and can be just as devastating.  Here’s how to protect yourself.

Pick your screen name with care.

When choosing a screen name, make sure it doesn’t include any identifying information, not even your initals, and choose a unique one for every board, forum, chat room and email list you join.

Keep the heat down.

Avoid starting or joining flame wars.  Many cyberbullies and trolls purposely try to get people riled up.  They thrive on drama and upset.  Don’t fall into the trap.  Another reason to avoid such situations is that, just like real life, you never know what might set someone off.  What appears to be a perfectly friendly, rational person on the surface could be a seriously disturbed person underneath.  Don’t provoke or attack people.  The relative anonymity of the net tends to make us feel brave and invincible, and that can lead to trouble.

Keep your personal info close to the vest.

 
Once you’ve been visiting a chat room, forum or email list regularly it’s natural to feel comfortable with the people you’ve been interacting with, but be very careful about giving out personal info like addresses and phone numbers, and posting photos of yourself or your loved ones.  Go slow.

Know the privacy tools available to you.

Most sites offer tools to protect your privacy and keep you safe.  Check them out.  Social networking sites give you full control what information you share and with whom. Most message boards, forums and chat rooms allow you to block people from contacting you privately or emailing you, and many let you block or ignore people you’d rather not interact with on the site.  When joining email lists, use an email address other than your main one.  That way if a spammer harvests addresses from the list it won’t wind up in your main inbox.

Listen to your instincts.

If you don’t feel comfortable in a group or if a specific person seems creepy, listen to that warning voice! It’s seldom wrong.  If you should find yourself the target of a cyberbully or stalker, don’t engage them in any way.  Responding to them will only make the situation worse.  Save any correspondence you receive from them, then block them from contacting you and report them to the moderator or admin of the site or list.  Don’t be afraid to unsubscribe from the list, leave the site, or shut down your email address if you feel unsafe.

If things escalate, contact your police department.  Cyberstalking is a crime now in many states and cyberbullying laws are starting to be passed as well.  Have you had a cyberstalking or cyberbully experience?  How did you handle it?  Please share your stories with us and stay tuned for more on this topic next week!