Internet Safety Terms (Safe Surfing)

- Bashboard:
- Cyber bullying: Cyber bullying is recurring or repeated bullying or harassment using electronic means which is willful and is meant to cause some sort of emotional distress.  A rapidly growing problem.
- Cyber stalking: Cyber stalking is usually characterized by a “stalker” who repeatedly stalks his/her  victim online to pursue, harass or contact another in an unsolicited fashion. In Illinois, a person commits cyberstalking when he/she knowingly and without lawful justification, on at least two separate occasions, harasses another person through the use of electronic communication.
- Cyber threats:
- Firewall  Software or hardware that helps prevent hackers, viruses, and worms from attacking your computer.
- Fisking:  Is the act of critiquing every minute detail in an article or an essay , with the intent to challenge the conclusions, or to highlight errors.  A “verbal beating”.
- Flaming:  The act of sending or posting electronic messages that are deliberately hostile and insulting,
- Flamebait:  A message posted in a forum or group with the intent to provoke an angry response, hence the word “bait”
- Flame Wars:  Series of flaming electronic messages in email, forums, etc.
- Happy Slapping:   Occurs when an unsuspecting victim is attacked while an accomplice films the episode by some sort of electronic means. Often the attackers will say it was only a prank or joke.
- Hate sites:
- Hebephile: Someone who has a sexual preference towards pubescent adolescents
- Holy Wars: Type of flaming
- Lurking:
- Mouse-trapping:Technique that prevents a user from closing out of or exiting an objectionable Web site
- Net-banging:
- Netiquette: Derived from the  “Internet Etiquette or Network Etiquette” is a phrase used describing behaviour or politeness and respect while using electronic means such as email, chatting, forums, etc.
- Over-blocking: Internet filtering software that blocks access to resources that the filter users didn’t intend to block
- Pedophile: Pedophilia, is a psychological disorder, someone who has a distinct sexual preference for pre-pubescent children

- Peer to Peer Network: A way to transfer data over the Internet. Are often used to swap copyrighted material illegally.

- Phishing: A criminal activity used to obtain personal information, such as passwords, bank account numbers, social security numbers, illegally.  A fake web site that appears to be legitimate is created, then an official looking email is sent out to millions of unsuspecting online users hoping that a few people will go to the fake web site and provide personal information. This information is then used to steal from unsuspecting victims

- Pie-Fights: Type of flaming
- Pro-Ana (Anna) – Controversial Websites that may support the  eating disorder, anorexia.   “My friend, Ana” is a code-phrase for anorexia while “My friend Mia” is a code-phrase for Bulimia. Some believe these sites may be positive outlets for anorexics while others believe it promotes and encourages eating disorders.
- Pro-Mia: Controversial websites, similar to Pro-Ana sites, except this deals with the eating disorder, Bulimia
- Social Networking:
- Spam:  Unsolicited messages delivered by electronic mail usually for commercial purposes. Also known as “junk mail”.
- Spim: Spam via instant messaging
- Trojan Horse:   Remember the ancient story of a “gift” of a horse, which was filled instead, with Greek warriors?  This is a program that pretends to be something else.  Once the Trojan horse is installed, it could collect personal information, lock up the computer, or perform a variety of malicious deeds.
- Trolling
- Troll : Someone who enters an established online community like a discussion group, to intentionally provoke a response or disruption by posting hateful, derogatory, absurd, inflammatory messages or used to discredit other members
- Vishing: Similar to Phishing, but this uses VoIP-instead of responding via email, the victim calls in, and are prompted to input your account number using the telephones keypad-which is then stolen
- Worm: A self-replicating computer program. Like a real worm, it looks for a hole in your computer. A worm usually takes over a computer and tries to infect other computers over the Internet. It does not need to attach itself to another program, like a virus.
- Virus:  A computer program that attaches itself to other programs, without user permission, for the purpose of replicating itself or performing other malicious acts such as erasing files, etc.

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