Safer Internet Day 2019: Together for a Better Internet

Celebrate Safer Internet Day in a way to make internet greater again for youth with a motive of “Together for a Better Internet.”

Do you know what your children do on the internet? Are you sure, what your children do on the internet is safe for them? And do you have any idea cyberstalkers are harassing your children?

Sadly, less than 20% parents monitor their children’s online activity. Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube are the most popular among millennials.

95% of teen use internet on smartphones and 45% say that they are continuously online most of the time continuously.

Since everything is going online, the rate of cybercrime incidents is growing epidemically. It seems like the internet has fewer pros and more cons of using it.

Especially for the young generation who are unaware of the existence of dark online entities. However, we can still make it world of internet a better place by becoming a part of Safer Internet Day campaign this year.

What is Safer Internet Day?

Safer Internet Day is an annual reminder just like Data Privacy Day to spread awareness regarding how we can make Internet great again.

This year Safer Internet Day, which is also renowned as SID will take place on 5^th of February 2019. This international event organizes by a joint committee of the Insafe/INHOPE network.

The core aim of celebrating this day is to educate young generation regarding online privacy and motivate them towards beneficially using the internet.

The reason to celebrate Safer Internet Day on a specific date is to get the massive support for this noble cause.

Last year it was massive due to the involvement of more than a thousand organizations involved. To spread awareness regarding using of technology responsibly, effectively and proficiently.

UK Safer Internet Centre organizes this day in the UK by collaborating with three biggest charities. Including Childnet International, Internet Watch Foundation and South West Grid for Learning.

SID, on the other hand, not just in the UK and Europe, hundreds of other countries also celebrates this day.

For the very first time, this day celebrated in 2009 with the objective of huge collaboration between countries to overcome the dark side of the internet.

This day is a huge reminder for us regarding how to use digital technology positively. Moreover, to play a significant role in building an optimistic and secure online community.

For this, I call upon youth, parents, privacy experts, teachers, developers, organizations, legal authorities and every single person who can contribute something to make the online world better.

So without any hesitation play your part and make the internet safer than the last year.

How Can You Participate in Safer Internet Day?

There is no need to be a privacy evangelist or achieve anything big in cybersecurity to be a part of this day. You can participate in Safer Internet Day by sharing insights regarding online safety.

If you are a part of any online committee, you can run a campaign by posting “Safer Internet Day” blogs. Even you can do your research, create content, and share it on your social networks.

Meanwhile, you can also search for different social groups consisting of the young generation and post your findings there to educate them about “Safer Internet Day.”

And how they can be a part of this amazing campaign by telling about it to their parents and make the Internet and use of technology more beneficial and free from any vulnerabilities.

You can post memes as well to engage youth more effectively. Moreover, at the same time, you can make them aware of SID.

Also, you can create enticing videos to spread the word and tell how you are celebrating this day and ask how others are doing for it on YouTube.

However, don’t forget to use the hashtags #SaferInternetDay and #SID2019 when sharing posts.

#SID2019: Respect, Responsibility, Reasoning & Resilience

This year Safer Internet Day motivates online users to can make the online world safe again by developing four critical skills of Respect, Responsibility, Reasoning & Resilience #SID2019

Respect: Be respectful to others and yourself in both: real life and the digital world.

Responsibility: Always be responsible. Take speedy action when you see something wrong online/offline!

Reasoning: Do not hesitate on raising your voice about what is wrong or right. Be vocal and rational.

Resilience: Be strong and support others by showing strength to get back up from difficult times.

Safer Internet Day Tips

Install and Download Software/App from Official Website

Never try to download software from unofficial websites and always use authorize websites. Same goes for applications, only download them from the official app store to prevent the risk of having malware.

Set Strong Passwords

According to Edward Snowden, the computer takes only a few minutes to crack down a simple code based on eight characters.

Using “Passwerd,” Password123 or PasswordABC as a password to secure your online accounts is futile. Set strong passwords by using lowercase, uppercase, phrases, special characters, etc. to keep your accounts secure.

Use Secure Social Platforms

Personally, I think it is possible to live a life without Facebook by switching to secure social platforms.

On this day, make a promise to yourself that to quit Facebook as soon as possible to make your data and internet neutral and safer again.

Don’t Engage with Strangers

Parents should keep a strong check on their children regarding they are not new friends online. Thousands of child molesters create fake ids to harass kids and mentally torture them.

Therefore, train your children not to make new friends online. Our parental control guide will help you greatly to avoid this kind of situations.

Apply Two Factor Authentication

Apply two-factor authentication where it is available to add an extra security layer to keep your accounts secure.

Regularly Update Your Devices OS

Never delay to update your devices due to your laziness or have no time because you are too busy playing PUBG or Fortnite.

Updates play a significant role in maintaining device security by fixing bugs and loopholes that create an opportunity for hackers to crack down into your device and steal your data.

Make Your Website Secure

If your website is based on WordPress, there is a high probability that it might be infected by malware. Or might be a victim of phishing attacks.

Google blacklists around 10,000+ websites every day for malware and around 50,000 for phishing every week.

So on this Safer Internet Day, follow this ultimate WordPress guide to protect your website from being black listed by Google.

Avoid Public Wi-Fi to Use Your Online Accounts

Public Wi-Fi is without a doubt a blessing when you have a limited data package. However, this blessing might change into your worst nightmare by losing your personal data.

Therefore, never use Public Wi-Fi to login into your personal accounts except it is urgency. It’s better to buy data packages for such scenarios rather than compromising your personal data.

I would suggest every parent who is reading my blog to provide budget your children to buy data packages for such scenarios.

Use Premium Antivirus Tool

Rather than saving money to buy latest iPhones or iPads, invest them in premium antiviruses. In this way, you can secure your device from malicious viruses.

Never Click on Online Ads Appear on Site

Don’t get over excited by seeing online ads that offer massive discounts; it’s a trap. Cyber thieves use this strategy to entice you, so you click on them and eventually give your credentials to them.

If you see this kind of massive discount online ads, I would suggest you first go on the official site and confirm it. And if it still shows the same offer, try to buy it from the official site.

Do Online Shopping Only from Reliable Sites

If you want to do online shopping, make your habit to shop only from reliable websites like eBay and Amazon.

Moreover, always check the URL of the websites that they are the authorized one or not.

Final Verdict

It’s time to play your participation in spreading awareness on Safer Internet Day by sharing the mentioned below tips with your friends and family to make the Internet better again.

Moreover, we will be adding more tips that are useful, so keep checking our website regularly. Once again Happy Safer Internet Day from Onlineprivacytips.co