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Surfing with Safety

Claire Egan
Loreto, Beaufort

Most of us are familiar with brilliant websites where you can spend hours looking up gossip about your favourite band, chatting in a chat room, downloading ringers for your phone, etc. That's the good part of the Internet but we have only recently seen the bad side. The whole world watched in horror as the story of Belinda and Kimberley, who had been 'sold' over the Internet, were splashed all over the daily papers. It makes you think, what kind of people would 'adopt' via the Internet and what they were hiding? For some this story made a lot of us fully aware of the dangers and risks of the Internet. I don't want to scare you off so that you are too afraid to turn on your computer but be careful that you don't get involved with any seedy characters or scams while your surfing the net!

The one rule of the Internet chartroom is never give out your full name. This isn't because we don't like your name, I'm sure its a lovely name - but by even giving out your first name sooner or later you'll find yourself giving out your second name. You might say, "what harm would it cost if I give out my full name?" You would be surprised how much information on you can be obtained. Also, in the chat rooms (Oh God! I sound like a parent here, don't I?), the nickname you use can give you more unwanted attention than you might want. Having a name such as 'SexKitten' will give some fellas on the net the message 'That names a goer, I'm talking to her'. Some of them will be really nice guys but, it’s the ones that aren't so nice that you have to be worried about. The big threat of the chat room is that you cannot see who is writing to you and that tall, dark and handsome man can turn into a short, fat and bald man. If you do decide to meet up with someone you met on the Internet make sure it is in a public place such as a pub, a coffee house, etc. Don't go ANYWHERE that is secluded or private - better to be safe than sorry. And if you do happen to meet your Prince Charming via chat room 120, that's great. But you are taking a risk every time you give out a piece of personal information.

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