Safer Internet Day 2010 – Smarter Surfing
The Dangers of Facebook and Cheap Flight Sites

At first glance, the Internet appears to be a giant recreational paradise – a place where children and young people can meet friends via social networks, parents can go on shopping sprees and seniors can make travel plans. Yet behind this attractive façade lurk serious risks for each group – risks that the Safer Internet Day brings to the public’s attention.

According to a study carried out by Microsoft [1], Europeans will, as of June 2010, be spending more time on the Internet than they do in front of the television. According to this forecast, therefore, people will spend 2.5 days each month (14.2 hours per week) on the Internet compared to almost two days (11.5 hours per week) watching TV. Even so, Europeans are only average in their Internet usage habits (with around 52 percent of the population now online). According to Internet World Stats [2], North America occupies pole position, with 74.2 percent of the population using the Internet, while Africa is at the other end of the scale with just 6.8 percent of its population online. 2010 will see around a quarter of the world’s population online.

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Articles “Stay safe online”
Pretty Secure!

The Internet has never looked so good. Today’s women are surfing, shopping online and looking at holiday photos – and they’re doing it in style. Clever new smartphones and sophisticated mini netbooks are far too attractive to be hidden in a handbag and look just as good on a café table. Thieves know this too – the chicer these mobile companions are, the faster they disappear into the wrong hands. And without protection against a wireless attack, the wrong eyes can see all your emails from your hot date – and all your most recent holiday snaps. Treat your little darlings to a virtual shield: the right security software.

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Safe Surfing for Children
The ABC of Internet Security

Around 75 percent of children in Europe use the Internet. While the majority of their parents are also Internet users, they often – in contrast to other areas of life – lag behind their children in terms of experience. There are, however, simple measures you can take to protect your children.

Mobile phones, game consoles and Internet services: while adults are still studying the
directions or searching for their reading glasses, their children are already well-versed
in their use. As children are unafraid of technology, they simply dive right in where
adults fear to tread. It is, however, wrong to assume that just because your 10-year-old
can show you how to create a photo album from the pictures on your digital camera, he
or she is wise to the dangers of the Internet. This is where parents, even those who are
not technical experts, need to step in.

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Creating Clever Connections: Use Your Head before You Lose Your Heart
The Latest Trend: Online Flirting

Forget the supermarket, the gym, the cocktail bar … Traditional meeting places are out, and online dating is in. Whether you’re talking about the number of flirting partners or the number of dating agencies on the Internet, the selection is huge. While searching for a partner from your desk may be convenient, you should, however, also be aware of the potential risks.

Online flirting has never been so popular: There are now over 2500 different agencies
devoted to making matches between singles in Germany alone, and forty percent(1) of
all European singles are turning to mouse and keyboard in their search for Mr or Ms Right Now. This is, in the first instance, a positive development; after all, there is much to be said for engaging electronic assistance in the search for The One. The diverse selection procedures ensure a fundamental level of compatibility between the two candidates, profile photos provide an initial visual impression, and exchanging emails or engaging in chat sessions gives both parties at least some idea of their potential partner’s personality. For the online portals, this is seriously big business. While women often date for free, men usually have to pay dearly for access to virtual (and, hopefully, real!) happiness.

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George Clooney wants to be your friend
Proper attitude with regard to social online networks

Facebook, StudiVZ, MySpace – profiles in online networks have long taken over the former role of e-mail addresses. Even love declarations are posted via status messages to an electronic circle of friends. While many see it as a logical ncontinuation of text messaging with added means, unfortunately some are using nit for much less harmless purposes.

My goodness, what’s wrong with a little joke? That's what a British citizen thought when he imitated the Facebook profile of his former friend from school as a practical joke. He added a few more or less original comments about the mating habits of his former buddy as well as some information about his (alleged) financial situation. Unfortunately, his former school friend was not amused and pressed charges. The result: The London High Court sentenced the "joker" to a fee of approx. 28,000 Euro. The reason: Identity theft is a felony, whether it happens on paper or online.

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SPF for Computers
Protecting Yourself Online when the Travel Bug Bites

Websites like www.orbitz.com or www.lastminute.com enable everyone to customise and book their own holidays – and save up to 25 percent over travel agents’ package deals. But digital globetrotters would be well-advised to pack a few Internet safety precautions in their suitcases, or their dream holiday could well be over before their plane has even taken off.

Joining a tour group under the southern sun and ticking off sights from a guidebook has now become passé. Instead, today’s tourists are looking for flexible, customised itineraries. Nothing could be easier to arrange – after all, the Internet means you’re spoilt for choice. A cheap flight, a nice hotel, and you’re on your way. According to statistics compiled by the industry association BITKOM, 41 percent of Germans are already shopping via the Internet, and the trend is increasing. A word of caution, however: a lot can go wrong when booking online. Whereas previously the greatest risk involved perceived bargains turning out to be too good to be true, today’s travellers are facing Cybercriminals armed with a veritable arsenal of attacks.

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Say “Cheese”!
Protecting digital photos against Cybercrime

A click, a pic: preserving your holiday memories has never been as easy as it is today, with digital cameras enabling you to store thousands of photos on a tiny memory card. This makes it all the more terrible, therefore, when your photo collection is destroyed by digital pests or taken “hostage”.

What would your dream holiday be without your souvenir photos? “The more the merrier” is the order of the day here and, thanks to digital cameras, this now presents neither a cost nor a storage problem. Digital technology is particularly useful when it comes to storing large numbers of pictures – around 30,000 photos will fit on a commercially-available 16 gigabyte-capacity USB stick. Even the slim Secure Digital cards (SD cards) will easily hold a few thousand very high-quality images. Instead of holding collections of slides or boxes of photos slowly gathering dust, your cupboards remain free for storing other odds and ends. Digital albums’ only weakness lies in their resilience. At the end of the day, after all, that gorgeous sunset in Thailand consists purely of ones and zeros – which are capable of being deleted faster than you can say “cheese.

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