Online Safety

An annony thing happehed to my friend Anne last Saterday. When she was using the MSN chatting with her friend, another person, supposed to be a guy, added her name and wanted to talk to Anne. Anne thought that was one of her unfamiliar firends so she accepted and talked to him. However, the guy started to show some porns and talked about some dirty words to Anne. She eventaully knew that the guy was not her friend but did not know and foncused how the guy got her msn address.
After hearing Anne's story, I started to think aboout the issue of the online safety. More and more people use the MSN chatting with friends and getting some information. However, how many peopele know that the person they are talking to are exactually the peson they know in person since the MSN does not require people to use their real name. Hence, according to the MSN's website, http://www.msn.staysafeonline.com/, it teaches us how to stay safely when chatting with firends or families online:

1. Do not share your personal information such as phone numbers, addresses, credit card
numbers, or photos with the person you do not know; Keep your information in private.
2. When you feel comfortable for the cahtting content or the Internet screen, log out or turn off
the computer.
3. Do not meet the person who you do not know in operson.
4. Download the program of anti-virus software on your computer.
5. when you are chatting with a friend, let the third person join your chatting activities.
6. Keep in mine that not everyone on the MSN is who they said they are.

According to the lecture, when people use the tchnologies, they are also spied by others(Smith, January, 25, 2005). Many of us do not know how to avoid strangers when they talk to us as they know how to get our MSN addresses. We are spied since the MSN undermines our freedom. Hence, poeple should be careful and consider issue of online safety when using the MSN (Smith, January, 25, 2005).

Reference

Smith, R. (January, 25, 2005). Week 3: Information society. Presented at a CMNS 253 Lecture at Simon Fraser university

MSN. (2004). Staying safe online. Retrieved February 28, 2005, from: http://www.msn.staysafeonline.com/