FightCyberstalking.org - Online Safety Advice for Cyberstalking Victims
We use the internet to get our news, research, work, and socialize. Internet users can soon forget that the internet is a community made up of people who CAN be rapists, murderers, child molesters, and cyberstalkers. Internet users forget that there are predators online because they're in the comfort of their own homes! The following tips below are especially designed to help cyberstalking victims protect their privacy and tips for safer socializing online.
- Avoid Using Free Email Accounts. If your email account gets hijacked (hacked into) you can call your email provider or Internet service provider and restore your account.
- Change Your Online Screen Name. Don't use the same old username(s) on message boards, chat rooms, and social networking sites.
- Change Passwords Frequently. Change all online passwords and change security answers frequently. You may also want to RoboForm to login, store, and create passwords securely for you.
- Anti-Virus Protection Software. Scan your computer using anti-virus software for Trojans, worms, and email viruses that the cyberstalker MAY have sent you without your knowledge.
- Instant Messenger. Only engage via IM (Instant Messenger) with people you know and trust, as someone you don't really know can easily send you an IM worm in chat.
- Clean and clear your computer. Clean and clear your Internet cache, lost file fragments, orphaned registry keys, temporary files, deleted e-mail messages, and other temporary files on your computer often.
- Social Networking Sites. Use caution when using social networking sites:
- Accept friend requests and follow requests from people you know and trust
- Don't post too much personal information to your accounts such as birthdate, email address, home address, phone number, mother's maiden name, the city and state you were born, your age, etc.
- Avoid adding applications to your social networking account
- Click on links from people you know and trust
- Socializing on Message Boards. Using online message boards is a terrific way to share information, ideas, and to connect with new people; however, openly giving your email address can come at a price; be careful who you give your email address to. Treat your email address like it is your phone number. Would you give out your phone number to everyone that asked for it? Alert the owner of the message board if someone is harassing you and save all harassing messages.
- Socializing in Chat Rooms. Never give out your home address or phone number to someone you don't know. Be cautious who you give your email address to. Treat your email address like it is your phone number. If someone is harassing be sure to alert the chat room monitor.
- Googling Your Full Name. Want to know what people can find out about you online? Google your first and last name and see what comes up. You might be surprised to find out how much personal information you're freely sharing. You may also be surprised how much information you didn't think would be made public. You may also want to search your name using quotations marks too. Avoid using your full name online as search engines may index sites you frequent (e.g., commenting on blogs, commenting on message boards, and using your full name to message people publically on popular social networking sites).
- Use a Virtual PO Box. Using a Virtual PO Box is ideal for cyberstalking victims who don't want to reveal their home address on the Web. It's simple to obtain a Virtual PO Box and inexpensive too. A Virtual PO Box provider forwards your mail to your home address without revealing your home address to anyone online. FightCyberstalking.org recommends www.earthclassmail.com.
- Use a Call Forwarding Service. Using a call forwarding service is great if you're doing business online and you don't want anyone to reverse trace your phone number and locate your home address.
- Tagging Your Photos. With sites like Flickr, Twitpic, Photobucket and the like, it can be easy for your photos to get indexed in an image search engine such as Google Image Search or Bing. To prevent having your photos appear in an image search don't tag your photos using your first and last name. It is also best to remove image properties before uploading them to the internet. Don't forget to tell your friends and family NOT to tag photos of you online.
- Photos. Don't post photos with identifying landmarks of your whereabouts. Examples of indentifying landmarks are your workplace, school you attend, your house number, etc.
- Tell Friends and Family. Tell friends and family members you're being cyberstalked and tell them not to post personal information about you online.
- Save Evidence. Save evidence: emails, chats, private messages, etc. With this information saved you can take the evidence to your local police department.
- Seek Support. Lastly, it's best you seek counseling if you have been cyberstalked. It's not uncommon to feel depressed, scared, angry, and become isolated from friends and family. Don't go through this alone.
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