Today's Safer Internet Day

Former_MSE_Andrea · 11 February 2014 at 10:23AM

What's it about?

Safer Internet Day is all about helping everyone stay safe online. It's worth everyone, techie and not-so-techie taking time out to ensure you use the internet safely and look after your personal details.

What to do

Use the CyberStreetwise website to check all areas of your internet usage are safe and up to date. We've been working with it to help.

Visit the SaferInternetDay website and join in Safer Internet Day on twitter using the #SID2014 hashtag

Read MSE's help guides:

Free AntiVirus Software

Phishing Scams

25 Ways to Stop Scams

securityguy · 11 February 2014 at 11:01AM

MSE_Andrea wrote: »

Visit the SaferInternetDay website.

That really is a shocking website.

It's slow to load, to the point of being unusable; I've just clicked on "About Us" and it's taken over a minute to load.

It draws a wholly artificial distinction between "parents" and "youth" and, er, no-one else. Is no-one else concerned with online safety, such as perhaps middle-aged people? On the youth side, after delving through several levels of (glacially slow) pages, the _first_ thing it suggests for young people wishing to stay safe online is "Have you ever thought about creating an app, website, game or blog, but don't know where to start?" Seriously? You don't think that someone who doesn't know how to stay safe online might expose themselves to more, not less, risk by starting a website or blog?

The advice to parents is if anything worse. Here's point 2:

If your child loves to use social networking sites, teach them about protecting their personal information by thinking about what they are sharing and who they are sharing it with. Show them how to use privacy settings, and how to block and report – and advise them to only accept friend requests from people they know in real life.

Point 4:

There are lots of ways you can advise your child about cyberbullying

Don't think any of the original is clickable: it isn't. So, how likely is it that the typical parent, reading an online safety campaign's material, is going to have accurate and up-to-date information about "how to use privacy settings" and "how to block and report" and "lots of ways (to) advise your child about cyberbullying?" And if they do know all these things, why then are they (somewhat deeper into the website) treated to a one-page patronising article on what a SmartPhone is, just in case they don't know? Rule 1 for writing educational material: decide who your audience are.

The whole thing is running to Hoxton time, in which a bunch of Nathan Barley's mates fail to understand being a parent. For example "On Safer Internet Day, SIDtv will be streamed live from this website. Tune in to the parents' hour at 3pm or 7pm." For parents of younger children that's "just as you're setting off to collect the children from school" and "just as you've finished eating and are trying to get them to calm down before bed". For parents of older children that's "while you're at work" and "while you're eating and getting them to do homework". If you held a competition with a prize and stuff, to answer the question "when, as a parent, are you least likely to be able to spend an hour watching a programme", the top answers would clearly include "3pm" and "7pm".

Oh, and the front page is illiterate ("Key topics and fun resources for primary and secondry age children, parents and carers, and teachers and professionals.") If you want to look professional, get someone who can write and spell to do your front page.

J_B · 11 February 2014 at 11:20AM

MSE_Andrea wrote: »

Visit the SaferInternetDay website

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HTTP Error 404. The requested resource is not found.

Johnmcl7 · 11 February 2014 at 11:26AM

Not loading here either but sounds like I should consider myself fortunate. Why is it worth 'techie types' taking time out to consider Internet safety?! We're the ones normally trying to sort it out for others which frequently falls on deaf ears.

John

Glen_Clark · 11 February 2014 at 11:47AM

securityguy wrote: »

It draws a wholly artificial distinction between "parents" and "youth" and, er, no-one else. .

These things remind me of something I saw in the House of Commons straight after an election. A new MP used his maiden speech to condemn child abuse. As he spoke the House gradually erupted into raucous laughter. Did they think child abuse was funny - of course not. They were laughing at him because they could see his speech for what it was - a cynical attempt to jump on a bandwagon, earn himself votes and brownie points making a speech everyone would agree with, but which offered nothing new or helpful at all..:(