Protect Yourself

You and your family use your computer and the Internet for many different functions—email, shopping, social networking and more. As you surf the Internet, you should be aware of the various ways to protect yourself.

Of primary concern is protecting your personally indentifying information. Use your judgment about what you post about yourself on Internet sites. When any site requests information about you, ask these questions:

• Who is asking?
• What information are they asking for?
• Why do they need it?

You should know clearly what Website you are on.

Think about the amount and detail of information being requested does it correspond to what you think is needed to make a purchase, register for a new service, or conduct other business?

Be sure you know why the information is being requested and how it will be used.

Find out what’s out there about you. From a computer you are sure is safe and secure, go to your favorite search engine and put in your own name and see what other people will see if they conduct a search for you. Do the same for your children. Try it again using your phone number or your address. You might be surprised how much information you will find.