A Free Educational Resource Created by Carnegie Mellon University to Empower You to Secure Your Part of Cyberspace

Harassment

Threatening words or actions against a person

Chat rooms, forums, and instant messaging are great ways to communicate, but as with any form of communication, you may encounter verbal or written harassment. In a public place, this could lead to physical harassment if the person threatening you is connected to the Internet at the same place you are. Because there is no way of identifying the person behind a computer, online community services give some people a sense of anonymity that can lead to this sort of harassment.

Protective Measures

Practices

  • Consult the person in charge of a network before connecting to it: When using a public network, look for the technical specialist or written configuration instructions. Ask how security is enforced in the network, then make sure you follow all security rules and connect to the appropriate network. If anything suspicious occurs, immediately disconnect from the network (by turning off your computer or disabling the network interface card) and consult the person in charge.

Settings

  • Disconnect from the network if you have any security concerns: There are two ways to disconnect from a network. The first way is to shut your computer down entirely. The second way is to disable the network interface card on your computer.

    1. To do this in Windows, go to the Control Panel (Start > Settings > Control Panel) and double click on Network and Dial-Up Connections.

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    2. Select the name of the network interface that connects your computer to the Internet. It is usually labeled Wireless or Local Area Network.
    3. Right click on it, and select "Disable." When you disable the interface, the icon will turn a light gray color.

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    4. When you want to reconnect to the Internet, return to the interface icon, right click on it, and select "Enable."

Privacy Issues

Do not provide personal information to strangers or recent online acquaintances: Do not assume that everyone who is chatting has good intentions or is on for the same reason you are. If you just started chatting with a new and unknown person, do not send him or her your email address, home address, telephone number or other personal information.

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