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Are you worried about privacy and security online? Could you be a victim of Identity Theft? Chat room safety
Basic safety tips
The basic safety tips and rules apply for most online chat environments. Common sense and caution should always prevail but, there are some slight differences to the way chat rooms and Internet Relay Chat (IRC) operate.
On this page you will find some general tips on chat room and IRC safety:
Basic safety tips for online chat rooms
- Anything you type in a chat room can be seen by everyone who is using that chat room so be careful what you type. In cyberspace the walls don't so much have ears as eyes.
- Choose an non identifiable, non gender specific screen name (and keep it clean!)
- Never give out any personal information whilst chatting online . That means your real name, telephone or cell phone number[s], mailing address, passwords, banking details etc. Ignore requests for personal information like A/S/L and be vague with responses to questions like WITW.
- Never accept files or downloads from people you don't know or from people you do know, if you weren‘t expecting them. This includes URLs.
- Never arrange to meet someone offline that you only know through chat room conversations.
- Make sure you know how to save copies of your chat room conversations.
- Make sure you now how to report problems to the chat room moderator.
- Remember your Netiquette and be nice! Don’t send mean chat messages, get involved in chat room arguments (flaming) or incite others to do so. More...
Basic safety tips for IRC channels
- Anything you type in an IRC channel can be seen by everyone who is using that channel so be careful what you type.
- Choose an non identifiable, non gender specific screen name (and keep it clean!)
- Never give out any personal information whilst chatting online . That means your real name, telephone or cell phone number[s], mailing address, passwords, banking details etc. Ignore requests for personal information like A/S/L and be vague with responses to questions like WITW.
- Never accept files or downloads from people you don't know or from people you do know, if you weren‘t expecting them. This includes URLs, Direct Channel Connections (DCC) or private messages (PMs). When you accept a DCC transmission you are DCC transmissions can contain malicious files, viruses and be used to glean information about and/or "nuke" people.
- Never arrange to meet someone offline that you only know through IRC conversations.
- Make sure you know how to save copies (logs) of your IRC conversations.
- Remember your Netiquette and be nice! Don’t send mean chat messages, get involved in arguments or incite others to do so (although it is occasionally OK to slap someone with a fish...) More...