Internet Safety

I believe it is important for every parent/teacher to have guidelines for how children use the internet. I don't think anyone should be afraid of using the internet because it has so much to offer, but I also realize the dangers that are out there. Parents/Teachers need to talk with children about staying safe while surfing the web. Children need to know that they should not give out any personal information. This would include, but is not limited to - their full name, parent's names, phone number, address, or school they attend. They also need to know that they are not to open an email from someone they do not know.
I don't think any child should be surfing the internet without adult supervision, so I feel it is important to have the computer in an open area so an adult can monitor how it is being used. It might even be helpful to set a password so a child cannot access the internet without an adult entering the password in.
Once these guideines have been set in place, and the children begin using the computer, the adults need to stay up to date on the websites children are visiting, and who they are interacting with online. Parents/Teachers need to keep an open line of communication with the children so the children feel comfortable talking with them about things on the internet.
I don't believe you can ever be too careful when it comes to internet safety. I am by nature a very cautious person, and I never thought I would fall victim to an internet scam, but I did run into an issue about this time last year. I was using ebay to purchase a couple different items, and I received an email asking me to verify my information. I am usually pretty cautious about these things, so I looked over it a couple times, and it appeared to be legitimate. I didn't want my account to be closed, so I responded to the email. However, a couple days later I logged into my bank account and immediately knew something was not right. My grandma and I began looking into it, and the bank tellers were able to locate where the money had been taken from. The money was withdrawn from an ATM in a country I had never been to, and it was taken at a time when I was at work, so the bank was able to recover all of my money. What a relief! This incident has shown me that even those who feel they are being careful can be taken advantage of.