Today was International Internet Day! It’s a day to celebrate the creation, existence and invention of the internet. The internet can be a fun time, but with every freedom including the internet, comes some responsibility. Therefore, instead of glamorizing the internet, of which I have been on since the year 1998 (the first year of its creation) I am sharing some tools, education, and create awareness for a safer internet nationwide for both kids and adults. . .including cyber-bullying, identity theft, fraud,  human trafficking, and even more! The internet can be a fun place as intended, but can lead to being in a frightening place. Let’s try to make sure it stays your place for freedom and exercise care. . .

Some Statistics:

• 2022 showed that there were 5.3 billion internet users worldwide
• Nearly 5 billion people use the internet by mobile connection in 2022
• 66% of the worldwide population used the internet in 2022
• Near 85% of AMericans use the internet each day
• Near 1 million extra internet users each day (500,000+ minimum; varies by day)
• The average American spends 6 hours and 58 minutes online per day
• Americans use social media a 2 hours and 27 minutes average per day
• The most visited website in the world:
  1. Google.com: In August 2023:  received nearly 165.53 billion monthly visits.
• The next most popular websites are in order, 2 to 5:
  2. YouTube
  3. Facebook
  4. Twitter (X)
  5. Instagram
• Some countries do not allow their citizens to use the internet, like China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria. The governments either ban their citizens or limit freedom while using the internet.

Remember Safety on the Internet:
The Internet can turn into a danger zone if you do not develop safe practices while being online. Therefore I bring on awareness to lead out of any disguised safety zone, thinking “just because they can’t see and touch me”–that it is always a safe place to be on the internet. There are a lot of dangers on the internet that if attention is paid, can be avoided simply by being aware and exercising caution after you see signs of danger. The need for constant reevaluation of your internet usage and interaction safety being a great asset to you personally and also for your family. One of the primary purposes of ConnectSafely.org is to make the internet a safer place. The day brings both organizations and individuals together with a common purpose of reaching as many internet users as possible to provide them with awareness and the tools and resources to keep them safe. We all face the potential of becoming a victim of internet crimes, with or without being connected, so don’t think that just because you are never on the internet that you can’t be touched by the hands of criminal internet activity. Your name, numbers and information are all online somewhere whether you have an online account or not, in the form of business lists and all sorts of other means. The “dark internet” is a very dangerous tool in the wrong hands! However, there are means available in order to protect ourselves and our companies, plus ways that we can teach our children how to correctly use the internet that can make a difference. For more information visit ConnectSafely.org and SaferInternetDay.us.

The Internet, or The Web:
What exactly is the internet? The dictionary defines the internet as : A global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities, consisting of interconnected networks using standardized communication protocols. What exactly is the world wide web? The dictionary defines the world wide web as: The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as “The Web”, is an information system where documents and other web resources are identified by Uniform Resource Locator (URL). For purposes of internet connection, although the protocol may be much different, connecting to the web whether via desktop computer, a laptop, or your mobile connection, are all internet, and no device is any safer than another because there are always ways and means for a criminal to tap into a system and retrofit the engineering behind a device. To think that just because you bought “this” device is better creates a false sense of security , and when your guard is down due to thinking that you are safe just leads to danger. You must always be ready to be struck and pay great attention to the danger signs.

Connecting and Utilizing the Internet:
Personally we use the internet to keep our families and friends connected. We search for answers and do research on the internet. We make shopping lists and send emails to each other. We receive sometimes hundred of emails per day, of which there are many attachments and large amounts of spam emails. We even read books thanks to the internet’s valuable utilization.  Businesses use the internet for a myriad of thing that we used to do analog. Businesses would come to a grinding halt without the availability of internet. Schools use the internet to connect students to the educational tools and resources. Thanks to the internet, the library is able to share a book all over the country using a large virtual library. All users can bank, visit their physician through telehealth, order a medication, and shop all from the comfort of their mobile devices.

The Goal and the In-Between:
With each interaction, we always expect respect and a positive response and/or vibe. Sometimes, not even always due to fault, we get careless and sometimes even lazy. We can leave our device at risk or the communication can leave negative reaction. We can make a negative reaction unknowingly, and a disgruntled employee can sabotage our terminal. As a world community, we can develop better habits and the ways and means to make the internet a safer place to experience.

Ways to Make Internet Safer:

• Teach your children about safer internet use.
• Never tolerate cyber-bullying.
• Start conversation concerning safer internet approach in all ways.
• Attend events, forums and seminars about improving online safety.
• Become part of a campaign in your school, organization, business, and home.
• Contact your U.S. House of Representatives, your United States Senate, and/or your state policymakers to urge them to pass legislation in order to make the penalties higher for cyber-crimes.
• Become active and speak about cybercrime. Activity grows in the dark and when the light turns on, criminals stalk an easier target.
• Never take on a criminal one on one. Always contact authorities for professional assistance.
• Visit SaferInternetDay.us for information to make for a safer internet experience and to join with others in making the effort.

Other Steps to Ensure Constant Security:
Here are more steps to make sure that your safe on the internet:

• Get identity theft insurance (Lifelock, IdentityGuard, your insurance company…).
• Regular homeowners insurance never covers ID theft without a rider!
• Identity theft insurance doesn’t cover titled property! Consult your broker for options.
• Always use the latest virus protection and a good firewall.
• Never use public or insecure WiFi – especially for logging into banking or shopping.
• If you login to any source other than your own private WiFi – Change your password!
• Always use a strong, unforgettable password phrase.
• Set up two-tier or double authenticized login procedures whenever available!
• Save your passwords on your devices at your own risk!
• Check your bank and credit card statements on a regular and timed interval.
• If your accounts are compromised, issue stop payment on any fraudulent purchases.
• Also if your accounts are compromised – Change your password!
• If there is suspicious activity, cancel your card and have a new number issued.
• Always check your credit from all three credit reporting agencies a minimum of yearly.
• Keep all your software up to date, so that computers are not vulnerable to hackers.
• Make sure all programming has the latest patches applied.
• Have the latest update for cell phones applied as soon as it is available.
• If you have a website or page, always make sure all plugins are kept updated
• Never give any personal information over the phone, email, or text.
• More. . .

Steps To Ensure Privacy:

• Take steps to secure all your digital devices. Consult with each one for tips on their site.
• Make a commitment to learn how to protect yourself.
• Maintain tech-savvy answers that protect you today and in the long run.
• Share your input including tips, tricks, and experiences with others. Knowledge is power.
• Attend an information exchanges such as forums and seminars–learning about protection.
• For more tips on keeping your data safe, visit the National Cybersecurity Alliance.

Safety, Tips & Pointers For Safe Online Experience:

• NEVER enter your passwords via an email, text, phone call or other communication, unless YOU initiated the attempt to login, and the site is trustworthy.
• Don’t respond to emails from suspicious destinations. Always use emails from reputable stores, shops, known bloggers, and from personal recommendations or good online reviews at a reputable internet rating site.
• Never give vulnerable information over the internet unless the 🔒 symbol is in the browser bar. Also make sure that the internet destination is “https://???.com” NOT “http://???.com“. The “s” which is the 5^th letter on the browser bar stands for “secured“. If you do not see this, cease doing a transaction at that site as it is not safe divulging information as the hypertext needs to be secured through encryption or anyone can see your personal information being transferred over the internet, including on a router system near where your Wifi is hooked.
• Make sure that you always use a secured and private connection, not a “public” or common connection when it comes to the Wifi you are using. Your cell phone is secured and encrypted while using a carrier for the transaction, but if the WiFi is activated, you must make sure that it is in the “OFF” position, unless you are at your home or on Wifi that belongs to someone that you know to be trustworthy. Doing a transaction on a workplace’s WiFi can be sketchy and your security can be compromised unless your workplace is self-employment.

Resources:
If you are ever party to being a victim of being compromised online or any cyber-crime, you can contact the following agencies:

• Report cyber-bullying to the proper authorities. If you believe it is criminal activity, report it to the police. Any bullying including cyber-bullying almost always gets worse by thinking that it will just go away by itself.
• Talk with your children. If you think that they have been threatened and/or just won’t open up to you, call on a professional counseling, mentor or mediator–even if you do it yourself without putting your child through the session. Being informed always assists in disposition.
• ConnectSafely.org and SaferInternetDay.us are both really great internet sites that contain tools to assist in reasonably being safer online.
• Your local police station if you are at any monetary loss online. If you use a credit card, you will need a report number to have any recourse to issue a claim, because they will need a police report number in order to initiate a claim. For more information, you can visit my article: Jan 28, 2023 – Happy Data Privacy Day + Resources – 2022!

Hashtags:
#InternationalInternetDay #InternetSafety #OnlineSafety #Internet #IOT #InternetOfThings #Password #VPN #WiFi #CyberSecurity #Data #Safety #Tips #Kids Child #Children #Parent #Parents #Parenting #Cyberbullying #SocialMedia #Schools #Students

DISCLOSURE: I have zero tolerance towards bullying, especially online! I also had my identity stolen in the year 2018. A list of a business that I did business with had their intellectual property stolen by hackers. Next thing you know I had a store account hacked into and hundreds of dollars. Then my bank account had money wired to Poland. It could have been way worse. I did after a series of months get the money returned to me because the methods they chose had fraud guarantees, and with a police report number and the assistance of others, and doing all the formalities, this was possible in my case. Also, due to forensics, my computer was able to identify that the lists of the company I did business with were hacked at the computer’s security signature level, I was able to obtain a settlement of which I granted the company an Indemnity Form of Release. As I stated, my case could have been astronomically worse than it was. It is not an easy task to get out of the rut and go on with life, and the settlements are never worth the grief. I have experience at this, and would never want anyone have to go through what I had to go through. For these reasons–and because I care, I choose to share as many ideas to combat the crime before it happens. This is the reasoning that over the past few years sections I have featured articles concerning fraud and violence, including fraud watches and other usefully wise sections. I also never tolerate violence of any kind. I thank you for being my follower, and hope that this never happens to you!

Image courtesy of Openverse

International Internet Day + Safety