First and most importantly, guard your identity. Don't give your name, address, or phone number to any stranger. While you're at it, don't give your passwords, banking information or identifying numbers such as social security or driver's license number. Try to avoid giving clues as to your whereabouts. If you mention your school in one place and your type of car somewhere else, a determined criminal will piece your puzzle together. It's a good rule to say no to meeting someone from the internet, but if you have every reason to believe this person is legitimate and you want to meet, do so in a very public place and take friends with you.

Remember that if you post your picture on the internet, anyone can save it and misuse it. Pornographers can apply fresh new faces to pre-posed porn. If you use poor judgment and supply inappropriate material yourself, remember that future schools and employers might find them when doing an application search. Think twice before posting risque pictures.

Finally, choose privacy settings that will limit who can see your blogs and profiles on networking sites such as MySpace. If criminals can't find you, they can't take advantage of you, and they can't ruin your fun on the internet.

by Rachel Goodchild

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