Using the Internet Safely For Seniors

links to those sites. In Internet Explorer, for example,

use the Add to Favorites tool to save any open Web

site addresses so you can find them again easily.

You may not be able to convince government sites to

remove all information from public access (by law,

some information is public), but no law says that it

has to be online. For many people, these records con-

tain far more information than is legally required, and

all too often the records contain information that can

place you at economic and personal risk. At the very

least, when you know what information about you is

public, you’ll be much less likely to fall for requests

from people who seem legitimate just because they

know some of your personal information.

Respect Other People’s Information

You know what’s okay to say about your friends in the physical world,

but consider some differences in talking to, or about, others online.

➟ The first thing to consider is who will see your words

online. In face-to-face conversations, you see who

you’re talking to and modify your comments to fit the

situation. Over the phone, you know who’s on the

call and can do the same. Online, however, you may

or may not know who will read what you say because

recipients forward e-mails, a friend may change per-

missions for accessing a social networking page, and

so on.

➟ If someone else’s site (or your site) is locked down to

just friends you both know, you can use the same

considerations as you would face-to-face or over the

phone.

➟ If you don’t know who else may see the interaction,

you have to assume that anyone can see it; respect

your friends’ privacy as you would expect them to

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Chapter 7: Sharing Your Information with Others