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 · Category [ Newbie Central ]
Trust No One No, this article isn't about The X-Files. This article is a serious message to every chatter out there, regardless of age or gender. I want to talk to you today about safety in chatting. No, don't roll your eyes at me. There are real, actual dangers out there. I know, it's hard to understand that you might actually be in danger if you're sitting in front of your computer, talking to people in a chatroom, because you think you're anonymous. I have news for anyone who thinks they're anonymous when they're online -- you're not. If you chat on IRC, most networks let people get your IP Address: 38.30.206.155 Just from looking at the resolved hostname, I can tell that the person on this IP address right now is calling from Fort Myers in Florida. If I were chatting with this person, and happened to find out their first name, their age, the school they went to or where they worked, I probably wouldn't have too much trouble finding them in real life, if I wanted to. What a lot of people don't understand is that even the smallest bit of personal information, casually given away in the most off-hand manner, can be very dangerous. That's why it's extremely important for chatters (especially the young chatters) to follow the Rules for Safety Online, which include: "I will never agree to get together with someone I "meet" online without first checking with my parents. If my parents agree to the meeting, I will be sure that it is in a public place and bring my mother or father along." and: I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone number, parents? work address/telephone number, or the name and location of my school without my parents? permission." That's mainly for kids, of course. But what about adults? We're not immune, not by any means of the imagination. More than once, I've witnessed people give out their real first name and their phone number to someone else, in public, in front of several other chatters! These incidents could have led to someone finding out where the chatter lived. If that had happened, anything could have happened to them. They could have been physically harmed, or maybe something less painful, but more sinister -- they could have been stalked. What we need to remember is that every bit of information we give out can be used against us, can be used to find us. You all know my name is Julie Martin. Do you know where I live? If you've read my articles, you know I'm a Canadian, from Montreal, Quebec. Do you know how old I am? No, because I don't give out my age. I tell people I'm in my twenties. That could mean 20 or 29. Do you know where I hang out? Who my family members and friends are? No and no. My name had to be public knowledge during my tenure as the Chatting Online Guide at About.com, but since it's such a common name, I didn't mind and I still don't. But even if you have a common name, you've got to be careful about the details you give out. Be careful. Chat safely. Trust no one. You never know who's watching. posted by julie · say your piece · 0 · All content copyright © Julie Martin, 1997-2008 |