Using the Internet

The internet is a great way to play games, watch videos, download music and most importantly allows us to communicate with anyone else in the world. From playing World of Warcraft and watching funny clips on YouTube to booking a holiday and downloading the latest releases we can do it all online. We don't even need a computer to access the internet now with mobile devices and games consoles all having internet capabilities.

However the internet is also full of bad stuff trying to damage your computer and take away your personal stuff like online banking details. But with some common sense and some simple tips you can minimise the risk.

• Whether it be Firefox, Chrome, Safari or plain old Internet Explorer you use to access your favourite websites you should always keep up to date with the latest versions, most browsers now do it all automatically.

• If you receive an email asking you for login details for something such as Paypal or your bank, DELETE IT! It will be a fake just waiting for someone to fall for it and transmit their details and lose their money.

• Playing online games is great fun as you can play with anyone in the world and you can chat to like minded players, but remember to not give them your phone number or your address and always report anything another gamer says which is abusive.

• Don't download illegal or pirated software that will probably be full of viruses, instead try our recommendations for free software.

• Don't download music and films illegally, they may not be the songs or films you wanted or they could even have viruses in. Use Spotify to listen to music legally before you buy them and take advantage of the libraries to hire DVDs.

Social Networking Sites

Myspace, Bebo, Facebook and Xanga, there are social networking sites for any type of interest for anyone in the world. They are great to keep in touch with friends, look at photos from your friends' nights out and to meet new people with similar interests.

Be careful what information you set as public, you should not put your phone number or address on your profile, even if it is private. And the gossip you had on your friend's Wall the other night could be potentially available for public viewing for ever! It pays to spend five minutes looking at your Privacy settings and to look at the Help system for details of who to contact if anything goes wrong.

Be careful of who you agree to accept as a friend, people are not always who they say they are online and if you accept a friend request their friends could potentially view your profile too.

Everyone has had the misfortune of having someone upload an embarrasing photo of you on a website but these photos can remain online forever, if you object to someone uploading a photo or video of you let them know, if they refuse, report them to the site.

Applying for a job or a place at uni? You can bet someone there will try to look for your profile on various social networking sites so they can see what kind of person you are, your photos and profile comments could hinder you. Even several years after they were posted. Would you want your parents, teachers or employers to see your profile?

But do enjoy yourself when using these sites! Keep your profile safe and having fun chatting to your mates, playing Farmville and taking advantage of all the new exciting extra features Social Networking sites now have.

Keep Your Computer Safe

Your computer is ever becoming your entertainment hub, you can listen to music, watch films and do your school work on it.

Make sure you look after it and keep your data safe and backed up, imagine how you would feel if all your homework, music or photos were suddenly wiped?

• Keep up to date with system updates, most operating systems do this for you automatically but it is best to check your Automatic Update settings.

• Backup your data often, blank CDs, DVDs and external hard drives are falling in price all the time and are very simple to use.

• Be careful what you download and install.

• Make sure you have a virus killer installed, there are ones for every budget for every operating system.

• Minimise the amount of programs you have running all the time, do you really need iTunes or MSN Messenger to be loaded as soon as you switch your computer on?

• If you use a shared computer or if your computer can be accessed by other people consider adding a password to your user account.

Mobile Phones

Today you can access the internet, update your Facebook status, stream full television shows, upload party photos online as the party unfolds and listen to your MP3s on a mobile phone. It is such a space saver having one small device that acts as a camera, a handheld games console, an MP3 player, a film player and a web browser.

Mobile phones and their contracts can be expensive, so you want to keep it safe. But you also need to take care of the data on your phone. If your phone is stolen a thief could not just run up a huge bill or use all your credit, they could view all your photos, make a copy of all your photos, access and even alter your Facebook from it. Chances are your phone will store your login details and password.

• Pressing *#06# on most phones will display the IMEI or International Mobile Equipment Identity number. Make a note of this and if your phone gets stolen giving this number to the Police, your insurance company and your network provider as they can possibly immobilise the stolen phone with this detail.

• Change the default PIN code as soon as you get your phone, a thief who steals a phone will try the classic default PIN codes of 1234 and 0000.

• Only put Bluetooth on when you are expecting to send or receive a file. Mobile phone viruses are on the increase.

• You can block premium rate services such as paying by SMS for ringtones, contact your network provider. Visit http://www.phonebrain.org.uk/ for more information.

Whether you are using a networking site, or just chatting on a forum, the chances are you are putting personal information online. Once it's out there you may not be able to control what happens to it. This could pose a risk to your privacy or even your personal safety.

So before you create a profile, post a picture or tell the online world what you've been doing, think about how to make sure you're safe online.

Click for a guide to internet safety and safe surfing for young people from Think U Know. Learn about online safety when using blogs, chatting, online gaming, P2P and other forms of technology like mobile phones.