Every day the world faces big challenges regarding information safety. In the world of fast developing information technology not only home users, but more often organizations face information losses and the consequences.

“Safer internet” – it is a program, dedicated to attract public attention to illegal and harmful information in the internet, related to the following violations, foreseen by Lithuanian laws, such as pornography, pedophilia, racism and xenophobia. Especially the attention is being paid to secure children and minors from the harmful content of internet.

The program of Information Society Directorate of European Commission (EC) has been executed in all the EU states since 1999. In 2005 it was started by company “Bite Lietuva”, the Ministry of Education and Science as well as the center of social and psychological services, having won the tender, announced by EC.

Following the program of EC Information Society Directorate, in the period of 2005-2007 the following two projects will be executed:

The project regarding education of society on safe internet (“Safer Digital Lithuania”); the project on establishment of “hotline” (“Hotline Lithuania”). One can report any time in the website http://www.draugiskasinternetas.lt/lt/main/reports/report on the illegal information, which will be checked and reported to the institutions in charge. Currently 26 “Hotlines” operate in 24 countries around the world, they belong to INHOPE association http://www.inhope.org/.

For Children

Internet is a place, where children can find friends all over the world as well as find out information necessary for their studies and enjoy entertainment. It provides possibility to research, study, enjoy information and improve. There are a lot of wonderful things in the internet, but there are plenty of bad ones, therefore it is important to have in mind the following rules:

Beware, that all the information about you is confidential. Do not share your personal details (name, surname, home address, telephone number, etc) with strangers. It would be the same, if you gave the key of your flat to strangers;

Your password to log in to some websites – it is your personal code, so keep it confidential and do share it with anyone;

While chatting with strangers in the internet, be very careful: do not fill-in any questionnaires, forms, do not reply to the e-mail messages from strange people;

In case you got acquainted with some people in the internet, inform your parents about that;

In case you would like to have a meeting with the people you met on the internet, ask your parents the permission and have a meeting together with your parents;

In case the chats in the internet cause unpleasant feelings, disconnect immediately;

Internet is not the best place for searching for comfort or help. In the cases, when it is hard, you have many problems, which you cannot solve yourself, first you should try to speak to your closest relatives or classmates;

Having encountered any unpleasant information in the internet, do not feel guilty, and inform your parents and ask for the help. Always inform adults regarding everybody who treats you improper or asks you improper questions.

For Parents

Nowadays Internet provides much information, knowledge, positive experience, it is a great self-education means. However, some information in the internet could be harmful for the child, therefore:

• You should allow your children to use freely all internet possibilities, but also explain and discuss all the threats, which could be faced while using information in the virtual environment;
• Always follow internet news – only in that case you will be able to assist, advise and secure your children from harmful internet effect;
• You should browse internet together with your child, analyzing the received information, discuss it and make a decision if it is proper or harmful. By your own example develop your child’s ability to select necessary information and resist purposeless browsing;
• Agree with the child and prepare the rules of internet use. Discuss how much time and when the child will search the internet for knowledge necessary for school, how much time will be dedicated for the entertainment. The requirements of internet use should be composed taking into consideration the age and needs of the child;
• Observe the topics in the internet that are of great interest to your child;
• Warn the children, that they may not provide the personal information (name, surname, age, address, nickname, photo, telephone number, especially credit card, bank information, etc.);
• Warn the children of the danger of getting acquainted with strangers in the internet, meeting with them without the permissions of their parents;
• Explain to the children that in the websites they can face the information, that might horrify, humiliate, scare or irritate, and that while facing it, it is necessary to log off from that website;
• Inform us regarding, in your opinion, illegal and harmful content of internet;
• Install proper security systems in your computer: use filtering and anti spam of e-mail programs.
• Remember, that there are more positive internet qualities, than negative;

Web log – it is a publication in the internet, usually including periodical articles, normally arranged in reverse chronologic order. Though the majority of web logs in the beginning were updated manually, automatization tools for such websites supervision made them available for a larger number of people – everybody can support logging by using internet browsing.

Web logs differ by purpose – range from personal web logs to political campaigns, tools used by press or companies, as well as by format – from ordinary lists of websites to the summaries of articles or entire articles, including provided comments and evaluations. They differ by the number of creators – from one casual person to a big society of writers. A vast majority of web logs provides opportunity for their visitors to comment in the public – everybody can express his/ her opinion regarding what he/ she have read. Some records of web logs are often specified by date and time – the latest announcements on the top of the page, whereas the comments of readers in the bottom.

How to Create Web Log?

It is quite easy to write a web log. Having enquired “blog” or “web log” in the website www.google.com and chose the one you like most. Some web logs offer demo help, which could be used.

In order to be safe in the web log websites, follow the following simple rules:

• Never provide your real name, address, mobile telephone number or any other personal information, as this information would enable to meet with you outside the virtual environment.
• Do not send photos of your own, your family members, friends, or your often visited places.
• Do not open the documents received via the web log websites without checking them with the anti virus program.
• Inform regarding the persons of improper behavior – children may inform their parents or teachers.

How To Chat In The Website?

It is not complicated to join the “chat room”. In the website www.google.com enquire “chats line” or “chat room” and chose the “room” or theme you like most. There are also “chat rooms” of specialists.

In order to be safe in the “chat rooms”, follow the simple rules:

• Never provide your real name, address, mobile telephone number or any other personal information, as this information would enable to meet with you outside the virtual environment.
• Consider seriously before meeting the people from internet. If you have already decided to do so, necessarily arrange the meeting in the public place. Children should be always accompanied by the adult.
• Do not send photos of your own, your family members, friends, or your often visited places.
• Do not open the documents received via the “chat rooms” without checking them with the anti virus program.
• Inform regarding the persons of improper behavior in the “chat room” – children may inform their parents or teachers. Some “chat rooms” have “report abuse” function, which provides a possibility to send a claim or directly contact “chat room” manager.
• Instant messenger program provides a possibility to communicate by text directly with two persons or a group of people. The difference from e-mail is that the conversation takes place in real time. You can also choose “information on participation”
• function, which shows, if people in the contact list are connected and are available. It is usually called “buddy list”. These programs may have an option to show the message “not available” – just like in the answering machine.

So What Could We, Parents, Do?

You could take the following three steps:

1. Talk to file exchangers, living in your house! Exchange of files and technologies of other forms at homes encourage communication between parents and children. Ask your children to show you, how they use the computer and what they share with other users. Talk regarding the copyright and who suffers, when the songs are being distributed – i.e. performers? Authors? Moreover, who will have to pay, if any member of the family would be put on trial?
2. Check your computer. You could find out, what is there in the computer of your family, - everything what has been saved by you or the family members. It is also important to make sure, that computer is protected from viruses and spy ware programs and it has firewall software installed. Modern antivirus programs are able to “catch” everything that is received from P2P network.
3. Find legal music on www. There are plenty of them – more than a million of sound tracks of different genre and time – both at certain price and free of charge. There are plenty free of charge legal music on www also in the websites, where musicians encourage their fans to perform their songs and inform regarding their advertised concerts and albums. You can find those works, having entered the name of the favorite musician, group or having visited the separate website of the song.