Safer Internet Day 2007 Blogathon

Living and learning internationally via the Internet certainly provides the means to learn from one another on educational topics that are vital to ensuring healthy learning environments. One of the most valuable facets of this type of global sharing is the ability for some areas of the world to preview the rise of new technologies, their associated issues, and subsequent solutions, as these technologies are adopted and spread throughout. For example, when it comes to the rapid advancement of cyber communication tools, there is a real need to learn from those who have already experienced the “latest and greatest”, and collaborate on ways to address the negative consequences that arise. Unfortunately growing safety and responsible use issues are sometimes overwhelming, and in our attempt to address each one comprehensively, basic foundational structuring of new policies is often overlooked. As schools in the U.S. deal with growing problems stemming from advancements in cyber technologies, there has been renewed interest among educators in updating the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) to cover newly emerging issues and to provide each student with a meaningful document to learn from.

What is an AUP? It is a written agreement that outlines the terms and conditions of Internet use at school. It sets the rules of online behavior, privileges, and appropriate uses, and it covers the consequences or penalties when these terms are violated. Students, parents, and teachers usually sign it—and all should know that it will be kept on file and used as a legal and binding document (in the U.S). However, it should be used as more than a legal document to keep students in line online. It should be used as the very basis for teaching safety and responsible use.

Continue reading "USA: Crossing Borders - Acceptable Use Policies around the World" »

Posted by i-Safe at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This day shows impressively what the nature of the internet is like. The whole wide world one mouse click away. This posting is embedded in news from Greece, Thailand, Taiwan, Lithuania... and many more. The world wide and open character leads to one fact: the net offers all the good things but all the bad things, too. This is why we at AOL put big efforts in internet security.

In 2005 we founded the “AOL Sicherheitsrat” here in Germany. This safety & security council is an autonomous advisory board set up to improve our work on safety & security issues and then share the findings. By this we are a lighthouse in terms of internet safety & security. On Dec 18th 2006 the council made it’s first public report. The board was working on ideas for a safer internet for children, protection against accusable content and matters injuring the human dignity. It also discussed copyright issues, privacy and data protection to name a few.
You can download the whole report (in German) here.

With AOL we are now combining our forces to offer great content and services. But as I said: being the lighthouse in terms of internet safety & security is our mission and we are on a good way!
Last but not least we will give you this two links to an online quiz game, set up by Klicksafe, an initiative in which we are partners, and AOL:
Klicksafe
AOL

Posted by Klicksafe.de at 05:35 PM | Permalink

We want to thanks to the authorities of Insafe, especially to Mrs. Janice Richardson for the opportunity in participating in this Safer Internet Day.

In the same way that we join the oceans and the continents, this time, our Republic has the opportunity to check hands virtually with the entire planet, all , under the same concept, creating a better and safer Internet free of harmful contents that do not contribute to the education and to the knowledge.

Adolescents are capable of using the sophisticated research resources of the Internet, accessing everything from the United States Library of Congress's collection of magazines and newspapers to letters and archives from around the world.

Just as most teenagers are interested in chatting on the phone, many will want to be involved in chatting online. However, these areas are often the playgrounds of paedophiles, criminals, and unscrupulous marketers who may target your child.

We are concerned, we want to help for a better and safer Internet, but without parents help, teachers and government agencies, can be very difficult.

Panama has the political will, for which we understand that together we can, together we can do it

Lic. Martín H. Trabucco
Safer Net Panamá Foundation
President

Official Safer Day 2007

http://www.innovacion.gob.pa/safernet2007/gacetilla.php

Official Activities Program

http://www.innovacion.gob.pa/safernet2007/conferencia.php

WHAT PANAMA HAS TO SAY ABOUT........

1) The infantile pornography in Internet is a phenomenon that affects all of us.

Do you think that the paedophiles should be exhibited publicly?

2) Internet is a constant advance in technologies and provides to us the freedom of being able to interact without borders.

Do you think that the Internet providers should have major control and/or filters to prevent the contents of infantile pornography from gaining access publicly?

3) The prevention begins in each of our homes.

In addition to the actions that the National Government takes forward, Do you supervise your childrens when they are connected to Internet?

4) Actions that the government should take forward.

According to your opinion: what would be the actions that the government should take forward, to attend of the best way to this problem?

5) Principal risks that Internet presents for our children.

To your understanding: what are the principal risks that Internet presents for our children?

Conference

Short news item

Posted by Safer Net Foundation at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)

EU Kids Online (see www.eukidsonline.net)

A new project launched today [6th Feb 2007] promises to give a picture of children's internet use across Europe, reporting on all available research on use, risk and safety issues for children, young people and their families.

EU Kids Online is the first systematic European comparison of research on children and young people’s experience of the Internet and online technologies. It is funded by the EC Safer Internet Plus Programme.

Professor Sonia Livingstone, director of EU Kids Online, based at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), said: “There is a growing body of research showing that the internet can be risky for children and teenagers, though it also has lots of benefits. Compared with other European countries, British parents are aware of this, but they still need more guidance, especially as they don’t always know what their children are up to and because the risks themselves are changing all the time.”

Dr Leslie Haddon, co-director of EU Kids Online at LSE, said: “In this project, we are collecting all the research findings across Europe on this important topic in one place, so we can begin to compare findings across countries. But so far, this makes it obvious that a lot more research is needed”.

What does the research show?

By comparing available research in 18 countries, over 200 separate projects have been identified and linked to a publicly searchable repository (see www.eukidsonline.net). This provides a new and valuable resource for researchers, policy makers and the public. Research highlights include:

The 2006 Eurobarometer survey shows large variation across countries:
* 18% European parents/carers believe their child (under 18) has encountered harmful or illegal content on the internet.
* British parents are less likely to believe this than parents in Denmark, the Netherlands or Sweden, or those in Poland or Slovenia – possibly those most advanced in and those newest to the internet have the greatest concerns.
* From comparing three very different countries, it seems British parents claim to regulate their children’s use of Internet more: 62% of UK parents have rules about not giving out personal information online, but only 35% of Polish parents and 14% of Portuguese parents do so.
* Paradoxically, UK parents also seem to have more confidence in their children: 75% thought that their children would know what to do if a situation on the Internet made them feel uncomfortable (figures for Poland and Portugal are 56% and 48%).
* Possibly, safety awareness raising efforts in the UK have been more effective than in some other countries, as these have been coordinated across multiple stakeholders (government, child protection, industry, parenting organisations, etc).

Further, the 2006 Mediappro project found internet use varies greatly across Europe:
* 50% of British children (aged 12-18) claim to use Instant messaging, rising to 73% in Belgium, 82% in Estonia and 88% in Poland.
* In Denmark, 7% of children claim to have a blog, while the figures for the UK and Poland are 14% and 18% respectively, rising to 35% in Belgium.
* School rules also differ: 57% of Danish children claim their schools have rules governing Internet use, compared to 73% of Polish children, and two thirds in the UK.

What don’t we know?
* We still don’t know whether differences in European children’s experiences reflect genuine variations in risk or, instead, differences in how risks are perceived by parents and others.
* There is almost no research on whether children and young people have been exposed to racist, violent or gory material, or to gambling or self-harm sites.
* However, the 2006 Irish Webwise survey of 9-16 year olds found 26% had visited hateful sites, 35% had visited pornographic sites, 23% had received unwanted sexual comments online, and 7% had met an online contact offline.

In the UK, there are grounds for concern:
* Ofcom’s 2006 research shows 16% 8-15 yr olds have come across something ‘nasty, worrying or frightening’ online.
* The UK Children Go Online project found in 2004 that 12-19 year olds who take communication risks online tend to be more likely to be risk-takers who are less satisfied with their lives offline.

In the USA, some risks are increasing:
* The Online Victimization of Youth report found increased exposure to sexual material among 10-17 year olds (34% compared with 25% in 2003) and online harassment (9% vs. 6% in 2003), though they also found reduced unwanted sexual solicitations (13% vs. 19%). In that survey, 4% had been asked for nude/sexually explicit photos of themselves online.

But maybe children are getting more ‘internet literate’:
* The SAFT survey in Norway and Ireland found that in 2006, children were more critical of the internet and gave out less personal information than in 2003.
* Directing more safety awareness at children themselves may be the best way forward, since parents often don’t know just what their children are doing online.

Background information

EU Kids Online is at http://www.eukidsonline/net. Countries included are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands and The United Kingdom.

The 2006 Mediappro project (which surveyed 7393 teens aged 12-18 in 9 countries), see http://www.mediappro.org/

The 2006 Eurobarometer survey (which surveyed 29,248 parents/carers in 28 countries), see http://europa.eu.int/information_society/activities/sip/eurobarometer/index_en.htm

Ofcom’s Media Literacy Audit of Children is at http://www.ofcom.org.uk/advice/media_literacy/ml_audit/
The US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Report ‘Online Victimization of Youth, see http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/publications/NC167.pdf

UK Children Go Online, see http://www.children-go-online.net/

SAFT, see http://www.saftonline.org

Webwise, see http://www.webwise.ie/

Posted by EU Kids Online at 04:33 PM | Permalink

El nuevo paradigma de comunicación que comenzó a desarrollarse a partir de la masificación de internet generó una evolución en las relaciones interpersonales que plantearon nuevos desafios a la sociedad moderna.

Sin embargo, la subsiguiente revolución hacia la conexión continua y multimedia produjo un abismo que dejó a la sociedad sin posibilidades de acompañar el ritmo evolutivo de la tecnología, creando al mismo tiempo un acento en las diferencias generacionales. Padres y maestros se ven abrumados por las posibilidades de comunicación que otorga la tecnología, y que los niños aprovechan en su totalidad.

Hoy la tecnología cumple un rol comunicador entre jovenes, niños y adolescentes. Espacios de "social networking" son indispensables para "existir" en la red, así como también para reafirmar la personalidad y el sentimiento de individualidad, o sea, utilizar los espacios de redes sociales como un lugar para "ser" y sobre todo, para "ser diferente".

Sin embargo, la diferencia generacional, obliga a que padres y maestros comprendan este fenómeno y puedan acompañar a los niños durante su proceso de desarrollo personal, intimamente ligado a la red y a sus posibilidades.

Desde ASIRA comprendimos que la forma de alcanzar este objetivo es a través de la capacitación y la concientización de los tres actores principales de esta historia: padres, maestros y niños. En febrero de 2007 comenzó el desarrollo de una campaña de comunicación a través de la cual podremos hacer llegar nuestro mensaje a la sociedad argentina. Para ello se desarrollaron spots televisivos y se encuentra en fase de creación material gráfico.

Deseamos aprovechar las posibilidades que ofrece la tecnología a los más chicos y para lograr esto, debemos mostrarles el camino y enseñarles a detectar que peligros se pueden esconder detrás del anonimato de la red.

El camino es largo. Pero sabemos que no estamos solos y contamos con el apoyo de organizaciones que comparten la misma pasión que nosotros: forjar una Internet mas Segura para los niños.

Javier Isasa
Presidente
ASIRA

Continue reading "Argentina: Crossing Borders" »

Posted by ASIRA at 04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

New web technologies today allow us to create and share content, communicate with others, participate in online activities and share our knowledge, skills and creativity very easily. These technologies provide unprecedented opportunities for learning and development across all communities. They allow us to truly Cross Borders - personally, locally, nationally and internationally. As Internet access becomes more pervasive across countries, there will be greater communication and sharing, and this can help create better understanding across cultures and people. WISE KIDS believes in the need for Internet access for everyone regardless of their socio-economic background. We also believe very strongly in the need for programmes of education that ensure that Internet literacy, proficiency and safety becomes key skills that every child acquires. Equally importantly, WISE KIDS believes in the need for pro-active programmes of education that show our young people and other communities how to maximise opportunities that new technologies can present. Only then would we have succeeded in truly crossing all our borders, and allowing individuals, communities and businesses to become co-creators in this knowledge ecomony.

Thanks to the InSafe team for excellent work!

Best wishes,
Sangeet Bhullar

Executive Director,
WISE KIDS,
Wales, UK
http://www.wisekids.org.uk
email:info@wisekids.org.uk

Posted by WISE KIDS at 03:00 PM | Permalink

Spam is no longer simply a tool for mass-mailing unsolicited advertising, it is now being used in some cases to drive up certain prices on the stock market. There has been a series of mass-mailings containing stock market information, advising users to buy stocks in certain companies. We have analyzed one of these cases and found that stock prices in one of the companies mentioned increased significantly over a period of a few days -even rising 12 percent in one day-, thanks to this type of spam.

This new use of spam would seem to be quite effective from what we have seen so far. There are two possible sources: either the companies themselves are trying to boost their stock value, or -and this would seem more likely-, individuals that have bought cheap stocks and are looking for a quick profit on selling them. The typical model of this financial spam includes an image in which the user can read the information. Another characteristic is that the subject of the messages has nothing to do with the content. The aim of all this is to try to avoid anti-spam filtering systems.

These attacks are interesting in the sense that they demonstrate how the Internet can manipulate real-world financial situations. Until now we have just seen a few cases, albeit with relatively successful results. It is not too far-fetched then, to imagine attacks of this nature in the future used not just for direct profit but also as a weapon against companies, similar to the way in which companies are blackmailed with threats to crash their IT systems.

Posted by Panda Software at 02:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Not so long ago, finding information about other countries, their sites of renown and unique life styles or just trying to find where in a town a given street is located, necessitated a trip to libraries, embassies, travel agents and more. In recent years the Internet has changed all that. More precisely it’s the World Wide Web that has brought previously distant places right in to the home.

Continue reading "EuroISPA supporting safe use of a rich and vibrant Internet" »

Posted by EuroISPA at 02:01 PM | Permalink

February 2006. Telefónica crosses borders to UK, Ireland and Germany as O2 becomes part of Telefónica family.

May 2006. Irish Code of Practice published - UK self-regulation model has been crossing borders in Europe since 2004.

June 2006. O2 enters UK broadband market with purchase of Be, one of the most innovative and technically advanced UK broadband providers.

August 2006. Top internet sites cross the border to mobile - eBay launches on O2 Active.

August 2006. O2 Germany unveils integrated mobile and broadband services.

October 2006. TV crosses border to mobile – O2 launched first ever mobile TV trial in Ireland.

October 2006. Crossing borders is now cheaper with O2 – O2 and Movistar offer free incoming calls when travelling in Europe.

November 2006. TV crosses border to Internet technology – Telefónica O2 Czech Republic has 10,000 IPTV subscribers.

November 2006. O2 signs Media Literacy Carter to promote the development of the creative and critical skills needed to get the best from of digital media.

As convergence becomes a reality we all have a role in ensuring the public have the knowledge and confidence to enjoy the digital world.

January 2007. Crossing borders in Europe - O2 enters fifth European market with Slovakia.

Continue reading "UK: Telefónica O2 Europe" »

Posted by O2 at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

La crescente importanza che internet e le nuove tecnologie assumono nelle nostre vite è testimoniata, per esempio, dal crescente utilizzo che facciamo del cellulare, strumento quotidiano considerato indispensabile dalla maggioranza degli italiani e da sempre più giovani e giovanissimi utenti.
Essendo il cellulare ormai parte delle nostre vite, raramente ci fermiamo a pensare alla funzione che questo strumento ha, cioé se integra un bisogno comunicativo più esteso o se è arrivato a sostituire il nostro modo di comunicare con gli altri, anche quelli che ci stanno più vicini.
Siamo noi che utilizziamo le nuove tecnologie per agevolare le nostre comunicazioni o le nuove tecnologie hanno preso il sopravvento sul nostro modo di comunicare e di relazionarci con gli altri?

Posted by EASY at 02:00 PM | Permalink

By Carrie Bogner, Senior Director of Citizenship, Online Services Group, Microsoft

I’ve been working in the IT business for more than 25 years now. It’s been a time of massive expansion in the availability and capability of technology for personal use. In the last 7 years my focus has been the online world and I’ve been lucky enough to witness and participate in some amazing uses of internet technologies to cross borders. I’d like to share a couple of ways I’ve been doing just that recently.

I grew up in Dodge City Kansas in the USA. My work takes me all around the world and I currently live in London. Much of my family remain in Kansas, but I’m not missing out on seeing my nieces and nephews grow up. Weekly web cam calls mean we’re in regular contact, sharing news and experiences and I get to play my part in our small family community no matter where in the world I find myself.

I’m also involved in a much much bigger global community that crosses borders to help child refugees – ninemillion (http://nine-million.spaces.live.com/). Through web sites, blogs, social networks, internet searches, online events and more, a global community of supporters are bringing the issue to the attention of the world and raising funds to provide education and sport opportunities for kids in refugee camps.

My job provides me opportunities to learn about and experience different cultures all around the world. When you cross borders, you get the chance to really appreciate the similarities and differences – and I get to see how they translate into the online world. We had some fascinating results from research last year that looked at uses of social networking around the world. Here are some highlights...

- In Brazil they are the most flirtatious, creating a very highly charged environment for social networking, and the most popular site there is called “All Cut”

- In China consumers are very etiquette driven, so if you update your site all your viewers must actually send a reply and if they don’t it’s considered rude

- In Canada it is heavily friend driven and migration has a big impact in that they’re staying in touch with their friends and family across the world

- In France it was quite distinctive in that it was much more about personal expression and blogging than about networking with people

- In the US they are beginning to see the emergence of Spaces and social networks as another form of entertainment

- In the UK consumers are seeing this emergence as a new form of social currency. Instead of handing out your mobile phone number to new friends, you would hand out your Windows Live Spaces address

Continue reading "EMEA: Crossing Borders at Microsoft" »

Posted by Microsoft at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Minister launches new internet safety campaign - WATCH YOUR SPACE

The Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin, T.D., launched WATCH YOUR SPACE - a new campaign to raise awareness and promote safe, responsible practice by young people when online. The key messages of the campaign are:
- be creative !
- be yourself !
- be in control !

The campaign has a strong peer-to-peer perspective and centres on an interactive online service, www.watchyourspace.ie developed by the National Centre Technology in Education (NCTE).This site offers practical tips and advice and supports teenagers who use the web. A key feature is the advice given from teenagers to teenagers on how to cope with the fall-out from abuses and misuse of social networking and picture -sharing websites.

Webwise has developed a short video that will give you an insight into what teenagers are doing online, what they think the risks are, and what advice they share with each other about getting the most out of the new online interactive service.

<<< Click here to watch the video >>>

<<< Click here to watch the video >>>

Launching the new safety campaign Minister Hanafin said "we are now seeing an explosion of creativity. When online young people should ensure that they are creative, be themselves but above all be in control. Disclosing too much personal information can put young people at increased risks of commercial exploitation, bullying and harassment.  Some of the content on these sites ranges from careless to shocking and can include obscenity and bullying.

Continue reading "Ireland - WATCH_YOUR_SPACE" »

Posted by Webwise at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The Internet hosts millions of pages created by people of all cultures, beliefs and customs. For this reason, just as you can find information about the latest subatomic particle discovered, there is also content -leaving aside the argument about whether it should be on the Internet or not- that clearly should not be accessed by people in their formative years. Web pages about violence, pornography, terrorism war, murder; sites inciting racism, anorexia and even suicide… it’s all out there on the Net and accessible to anyone that can use a browser or punch in a web address.

Given how new the Internet is, it is still early to determine exactly what the consequences are of young people being exposed to this type of content, but news stories that have already emerged pointing to a link between the Internet and certain murders or suicides suggest the need for rigorous control over the contents that can be freely accessed. The way in which children access unsuitable material on the Internet is one of the most important parts of the problem, as it is not simply an issue that depends exclusively on the intentions of the user. Countless web pages on a whole range of topics display pop-ups or contain links to pages that are plainly unsuitable for youngsters. Web pages about characters such as Pokemon, My Little Pony or Action Man contained hundreds of links to porn sites.

While it is quite normal for parents to regulate, to some extent or another, the time that children spend watching TV, the same doesn’t apply to the Internet. It seems necessary therefore, to make those who should supervise children using the Internet aware that the danger of accessing inappropriate content is a real one and that it is not just a question of instructing children and adolescents in how to use the Internet correctly, but also how to behave and the tools to use

Posted by Panda Software at 01:59 PM | Permalink

53.6 percent of the new malware samples in 2006 were Trojans. The number of new variants of Trojans appearing increased throughout 2006, especially during the last quarter.

Trojans are a type of malicious code used to obtain confidential data such as bank account passwords. The large number of new variants in 2006 is due to the fact that this type of malware is ideally suited to the current trend of using malware for fraud. Spyware, however, gathers information about the target user, such as web pages visited, searches made, etc, allowing companies that use it to generate more personalized and profitable advertising. Despite their differences, Trojans and spyware have a common objective: to aid criminals to obtain money.

Bots are the second malware category with most variants in circulation (14%), whereas backdoor Trojans come third with 13.6 percent. Bots are programs that go resident on computers, awaiting ‘commands’ from their creators, who can then take control of the affected system to carry out activities such as spamming. Backdoor Trojans are programs that let attackers access computers remotely.

Both bots and backdoor Trojans have proved to be very useful for those looking for financial gain, and that’s the reason for their proliferation. On occasions, they have served as platforms for cyber-criminals to spread other types of malware, through so-called botnets, which allow attackers to command all computers infected by a bot to download certain spyware or Trojan from a web page.

Posted by Panda Software at 01:52 PM | Permalink

Según los datos de PandaLabs, entre enero de 2005 y enero de 2007 han aparecido más de 7.0006 troyanos bancarios nuevos y únicos. Existen troyanos específicos para casi todas las entidades financieras que ofrecen servicios online en el mundo, por lo que no se trata de un problema aislado que afecte únicamente a unos pocos usuarios de determinados servicios financieros online.

Los troyanos bancarios están específicamente diseñados para interceptar los accesos que los usuarios hacen a servicios de banca online y robar así datos relativos a los mismos: logins, passwords, PINS, números de cuenta y de tarjetas de crédito, etc., con los que luego realizar todo tipo de delitos, como fraudes online o robos de identidad. Por lo tanto, la gran cantidad de troyanos en circulación conforman un panorama especialmente peligroso para todos los usuarios que realizan sus operaciones financieras a través de Internet.

Los creadores de troyanos bancarios aplican nuevas funcionalidades a sus creaciones para conseguir que tengan mayor eficacia. Por ejemplo, hace unos meses se detectó la aparición del troyano Banbra.DCY que realiza capturas en video de los datos introducidos por los usuarios a través de ”teclados virtuales” (el usuario no pulsa teclas para introducir sus claves, sino que pulsa con el ratón sobre un teclado gráfico que aparece en pantalla).

Los troyanos bancarios tienen otro peligro añadido, que es su forma de distribución, casi siempre realizada de forma oculta para los usuarios. Entre las técnicas que los autores de estas amenazas emplean pueden mencionarse los ataques dirigidos contra un usuario o grupos de usuarios concretos utilizando ingeniería social personalizada, o el aprovechamiento de vulnerabilidades de software que permitan la descarga oculta de códigos maliciosos -por ejemplo- al visitar páginas web.

Posted by Panda Software at 01:50 PM | Permalink

El la edad media, una orden cristiana, los templarios, fueron los inventores de un sistema para poder desplazarse a tierra santa sin dinero en efectivo, un concepto similar a lo que hoy sería el de una tarjeta bancaria. No es que desarrollaran la banda magnética, ni que inventaran los polímeros plásticos, pero sí un documento mediante el que se puede recuperar dinero en un sitio distinto al que se depositó. Fue un importante avance en su tiempo.

Hoy en día la filosofía de las tarjetas de crédito sigue siendo muy similar. Podemos desplazarnos a distintos sitios sin necesidad de llevar dinero, aunque el desplazamiento sea hasta la tienda más cercana. Ese documento, la tarjeta, acredita que el comerciante podrá cobrar a la persona que lo porta, tiene una determinada cantidad de dinero que le respalda.

Tal y como los templarios exigían, es necesario que el portador se identifique de alguna manera. Hoy en día la identificación telemática es compleja (por lo menos más que un simple anillo, que les bastaba a los templarios), y este es el principal problema que tienen los usuarios de las tarjetas: no existe conciencia de la importancia de la validación personal a la hora de utilizar la tarjeta de crédito.

En una tarjeta de crédito existen varios sistemas de seguridad, que en muchos casos pasan desapercibidos por los usuarios. Los más utilizados son tres conjuntos de números que deben mantenerse en secreto (sobre todo el PIN, o número de identificación del usuario).

La seguridad 100%, como siempre, es imposible de alcanzar. Por muchos sistemas de seguridad que se empleen, siempre existirá la posibilidad de que nos “copien” la tarjeta mediante un lector de bandas magnéticas, o muchas otras amenazas cada vez más complejas. Dentro de estas amenazas, sin duda las que están produciendo cada vez más perjuicios para los usuarios sol las relacionadas con es el uso masivo de tarjetas de crédito para compras por Internet.

Cada vez que tecleamos nuestros códigos de identificación para comprar algo en Internet, esos códigos viajan por la Red y pueden ser interceptados por usuarios maliciosos. Para ello, existen varias maneras de capturar electrónicamente los datos:

- Man-in-the-middle (hombre en el medio). Mediante esta técnica, el ladrón de los datos intercepta la comunicación entre el usuario y el sitio web real, actuando a modo de proxy. De esta manera, es capaz de escuchar toda la comunicación entre ambos. Para que tenga éxito, debe ser capaz de redirigir al cliente hacia su proxy en vez de hacia el servidor real. Existen diversas técnicas para conseguirlo, como por ejemplo los proxies transparentes, el DNS Cache Poisoning o envenenamiento de Caché DNS (Domain Name Server, Servidor de Nombres de Dominio) y la ofuscación del URL.

- Aprovechamiento de vulnerabilidades de tipo Cross-Site Scripting en un sitio web, que permiten simular una página web segura de una entidad bancaria, sin que el usuario pueda detectar anomalías en la dirección ni en el certificado de seguridad que aparece en el navegador.

- Aprovechamiento de vulnerabilidades del navegador en el cliente, que permiten mediante el uso de exploits falsear la dirección que aparece en el navegador. De esta manera, se podría redirigir el navegador a un sitio fraudulento, mientras que en la barra de direcciones del navegador se mostraría la URL del sitio de confianza. Mediante esta técnica, también es posible falsear las ventanas pop-up abiertas desde una página web auténtica.

- Algunos ataques de este tipo también hacen uso de exploits en sitios web fraudulentos que, aprovechando alguna vulnerabilidad, permiten descargar troyanos de tipo keylogger que robarán información confidencial del usuario.

- Otra técnica más sofisticada es la denominada Pharming. Se trata de una táctica fraudulenta que consiste en cambiar los contenidos del DNS ya sea a través de la configuración del protocolo TCP/IP o del archivo lmhost (que actúa como una caché local de nombres de servidores), para redirigir los navegadores a páginas falsas en lugar de las auténticas cuando el usuario accede a las mismas a través de su navegador. Además, en caso de que el usuario afectado por el pharming navegue a través de un proxy para garantizar su anonimato, la resolución de nombres del DNS del proxy puede verse afectada de forma que todos los usuarios que lo utilicen sean conducidos al servidor falso en lugar del legítimo.

Pero cualquiera de estos sistemas de robo de datos necesitan de una capacidad técnica de programación y de conocimientos que no siempre están al alcance de todo el mundo. Así que lo más sencillo para conseguir los datos de una tarjeta de crédito es engañar directamente al usuario, mediante la técnica llamada “phishing” Esta técnica consiste en el envío de correos electrónicos que, aparentando provenir de fuentes fiables (por ejemplo, entidades bancarias), intentan obtener datos confidenciales del usuario. Para ello, suelen incluir un enlace que, al ser pulsado, lleva a páginas web falsificadas. De esta manera, el usuario, creyendo estar en un sitio de toda confianza, introduce la información solicitada que, en realidad, va a parar a manos del estafador.

A pesar de este desolador panorama, las tecnologías actuales han evolucionado lo suficiente como para evitar la salida de un ordenador de determinados datos. Al igual que se puede prevenir la entrada de virus en un sistema analizando la información entrante, se puede vigilar la información saliente para evitar que los usuarios, en un descuido, puedan equivocarse.

El robo de información personal en un ordenador, tan peligroso cuando son datos sobre bancos, puede ser evitado. Si los usuarios instalan suites de seguridad completas, efectivas e inteligentes, ningún número secreto caerá en manos de usuarios remotos. Ahora solamente queda guardar la tarjeta en un lugar seguro: como alguien dijo, “No busques en la tecnología soluciones a la seguridad física”.

Posted by Panda Software at 01:45 PM | Permalink

Han surgido noticias acerca de códigos maliciosos que afectan a numerosos dispositivos, más allá del concepto que se tiene del típico “virus para ordenador”. Podemos pasar revista a estas amenazas y encontraríamos los primeros en teléfonos móviles, a los que siguieron enseguida los coches con bluetooth. A continuación, apareció un virus para la consola de videojuegos Sony PSP, y a semana siguiente, para la Nintendo DS.

No creo que haya nada de extraño en esta proliferación de códigos, era lógico que tarde o temprano aparecieran. Como norma básica en el mundo de la seguridad, allá donde haya un sistema programable, pueden crearse códigos maliciosos. Y mucho más en un sistema tan complejo como una consola de videojuegos, en el que no solamente hay un sistema operativo completo, sino documentación para desarrolladores.

Esta situación no debe sorprender a nadie. Sí, era previsible, y no cabe la más mínima duda de que en poco tiempo surjan más códigos de este tipo. Pero siempre queda la tranquilidad de que es muy poco probable que puedan propagarse.

En principio, las consolas de videojuegos no son sistemas abiertos en los que cualquiera pueda introducir nuevo software tal y como se puede hacer en un ordenador personal. Los PC están pensados para adaptar su funcionamiento a las necesidades del usuario mediante la instalación de programas con diferentes fines, son lo que se llama sistemas de propósito general. Así, el mismo hardware que se utiliza para escribir una carta puede utilizarse para la catalogación de especies botánicas o para la contabilidad empresarial, mientras que una consola de videojuegos se ha diseñado desde el origen para una única función: jugar.

Además, en un sistema personal existen numerosos dispositivos a través de los cuales introducir información, que no son tan accesibles en una consola de videojuegos. Cierto es que las consolas de última generación utilizan dispositivos de comunicación muy comunes, como es el memory stick o las conexiones USB, IrDA y WiFi, pero no es tan sencillo como puede parece a primera vista poder llegar a “hurgar” en ellos tal y como se hace en un PC.

El software desarrollado para las consolas (los juegos) lo está de manera que cause la menor cantidad posible de problemas. En ningún caso van a intentar explotar una vulnerabilidad, intentar escribir en zonas no permitidas, y ni mucho menos están pensados para multiplicarse como haría un código malicioso.

Para que un usuario resultara infectado, debe se víctima de algún engaño, es decir, que le hagan instalar un software de manera malintencionada y sin decirle qué es lo que va a hacer ese software. Y aunque eso pueda hacerse fácilmente (¿Quién se negaría a introducir un cartucho o un memory stick que un amigo le deja para probar una demo o un juego nuevo?), lo único que serviría es para perder definitivamente a ese amigo.

Podemos, si acaso, pensar en una posibilidad más teórica: la descarga de un software a través del vínculo inalámbrico que ofrecen las nuevas consolas. Una descarga involuntaria de software a través de esa conexión puede suponer una infección. Pero, en este caso, nos encontramos con la misma situación de seguridad que en un ordenador normal, en el que descargar de software puede hacer que el equipo sufra las consecuencias de programas malintencionados o de errores inesperados.

Afortunadamente, la solución es muy sencilla: no fiarnos. Todo el software que incorporemos a nuestra consola debe ser siempre original, y certificado por el desarrollador. Tanto Activision, como Game Freak, Blade Interactive o SOE, de entre los muchísimos desarrolladores de juegos, tienen un especialísimo cuidado en que su software sea el mejor entre todos, el más rápido, el más espectacular y por supuesto, el que menos problemas cree a sus usuarios.

En definitiva, que nuestra consola, en el fondo, no es un juguete. Ni por precio ni por capacidad debemos olvidarnos de que es un ordenador y que hay que tener cuidado con el software que instalamos. Si lo hacemos así, podremos seguir disfrutando de ella y nos durará mucho tiempo, casi tanto como me ha durado a mí la Atari.

Posted by Panda Software at 01:43 PM | Permalink

In the Middle Ages, the Knights Templar invented a system to enable pilgrims to travel to the Holy Land without having to carry ‘real’ money with them. This system would perhaps be an equivalent to the bank cards we carry with us today. Obviously we're not saying they invented magnetic strips or synthetic polymers, but rather a document that enabled the pilgrim to withdraw money in a different location to where it had been deposited. This was a major innovation at the time.

Today, the philosophy behind credit cards is very much the same. We can move from place to place without having to carry cash, even if we're only talking about going down to the local store. This document, the card, certifies that the vendor can charge the bearer of the card in the knowledge that it has a guarantee (of the bank, for example) up to a certain amount.

And as was the case with the Templar system, the bearer of the card needs to prove their identity. Today, such identification is a complex task (unlike the simple ring used by the Knights Templar) and this represents the main problem for bank card users: there is insufficient awareness of the importance of ID verification when using these types of cards.

There are several security systems for credit cards which users are often unaware of. The most widely used are three sets of numbers that need to be kept secret (in particular the PIN).

One hundred percent security is, as always, impossible to achieve. Regardless of the security system used, there is always a possibility of somebody cloning your card by using a magnetic strip reader or other even more complex dangers. Of these, threats related with the massive use of credit cards over the Internet are now the most costly to users.

Every time you enter your identification code to buy something on the Internet, this code travels across the Net and could be intercepted by malicious users. There are several techniques that enable them to do this:

- Man-in-the-middle. This technique allows data thieves to intercept the communication between the user and the real website, acting as if they were a proxy, and potentially listening to all communication between the two. In order for such an attack to be successful, the victim must be redirected to the attacker’s proxy instead of the real server. There are several techniques for doing this, such as using transparent proxies, DNS cache poisoning and URL obscuring.

- Exploits of Cross-Site Scripting vulnerabilities on a website, enabling the spoofing of the bank’s secure web page, in such a way that users will not be able to detect anomalies in the address nor the security certificate that appears on the browser.

- Exploiting browser vulnerabilities that allow the address that appears in the browser to be spoofed. This means the browser can be redirected to a spoofed website, while the address in the address bar will be the URL of the trusted site. This technique also allows spoofing of pop-ups opened from an authentic website.

- Some attacks of this type also use exploits on fraudulent websites, taking advantage of a vulnerability to download keylogger Trojans that steal confidential user information.

- Another more sophisticated technique is called Pharming. This involves changing the DNS content either through the TCP/IP protocol settings or the lmhost file (which acts as a local cache of server names), to redirect browsers to spoofed pages instead of the genuine ones when users access them through the browser. Moreover, if the victim of pharming is using a proxy connection to guarantee anonymity, the DNS name resolution of the proxy can be affected so that all users are directed to the false server instead of the legitimate one.

But any of these data theft systems require a level of programming ability and knowledge that is not within everyone's reach. So the simplest way of stealing credit card details is to trick the user directly using a technique called phishing. This technique involves sending emails which apparently come from reliable sources (such as banks, etc) and are designed to obtain confidential user information. To achieve this, they often include a link to spoofed web pages. Users then, believing they are in a reliable site, enter any information requested which actually falls into the hands of the fraudster.

Despite this rather depressing panorama, security technology has evolved sufficiently to prevent confidential information from being extracted from a computer. Just as viruses can be prevented from infecting a system, by the scanning of all inbound information, outbound information can also be scanned to prevent users, in a moment of carelessness, from making a costly mistake.

Theft of personal information from a computer, so potentially dangerous when this involves bank details, can be avoided. If users install complete, effective and intelligent security solutions, no secret numbers will fall into the hands of remote users. Then all you need to do is make sure you keep the card in a safe place -after all, surely you can’t expect technology to do that for you.

Posted by Panda Software at 01:41 PM | Permalink

A la hora de navegar por Internet, los usuarios se encuentran con el problema de seleccionar qué contenidos son seguros y cuáles no. Aunque en muchos casos estas tareas se dejan en manos de los antivirus y los firewall personales, debemos tener en cuenta que no siempre se está alcanzando los niveles de seguridad que realmente deseamos. Hoy en día hay tantos tipos de archivos que pueden resultar peligrosos que no es posible conocerlos todos.

El problema se agrava a la hora de seleccionar qué los archivos adjuntos que lleguen por correo electrónico. Aunque muchos ficheros lleguen de remitentes en los cuales confiamos, siempre queda la duda de qué hacer con ese fichero de extensión extraña que nos han mandado: ¿Será un documento de texto? ¿Es un fichero de vídeo? ¿Es código ejecutable por alguna aplicación extraña?

Para aclarar un poco este panorama, veamos cuáles son los tipos de archivo que deben ser bloqueados, analizados o, por lo menos, tenidos en cuenta a la hora de utilizarlos.

En primer lugar, hay que ser especialmente precavido con los ficheros ejecutables, en cualquiera de sus formas clásicas, sean EXE, COM o BAT. Todos ellos pueden tener cualquier tipo de código dentro, son los formatos directamente ejecutables. Están definidos así desde los primeros tiempos de la informática personal, antes de que IBM lanzara su modelo “PC” en 1981, cuando CP/M era el sistema operativo para los ordenadores personales. CP/M utilizaba siempre como ejecutables ficheros COM, y posteriormente, ya con DOS, se incluyeron los ficheros EXE y los BAT.

Con el avance de los sistemas operativos fueron incluyéndose nuevos tipos de ficheros con capacidad de lanzar código ejecutable, aunque por sí mismos no tuvieran capacidad de ejecutarse. Son, por ejemplo, los ficheros PIF (Program Information File) desarrollados para Windows (ya desde sus primeras versiones), que describían la manera de ejecutar un fichero. En ellos iban parámetros especiales, tales como la cantidad de memoria a emplear, el directorio a utilizar, cómo manejar la pantalla, etc.

El posterior desarrollo de los sistemas operativos y de las técnicas de programación llevaron consigo la aparición de ficheros con código ejecutable en otros formatos, como los ficheros OVR, OVL y, en la actualidad, DLL. Aunque no son ejecutables directamente, los módulos principales de los programas (los ficheros EXE) los cargan en memoria y acuden a ellos en determinados momentos.

Para facilitar el uso de los ordenadores personales, los ficheros con datos que no son ejecutables pasaron a tener un comportamiento especial. Se les asocia con una determinada aplicación de manera que a la hora de consultar esos datos se abra automáticamente la aplicación que los generó. Así, por ejemplo, si en Windows hacemos doble clic sobre un fichero que no es ejecutable, como puede ser un fichero BMP, Windows reconoce su extensión como asociada a un programa, normalmente Paint, y lo abre junto con los datos cargados.

En el ejemplo anterior, un fichero BMP no contiene más que información, por lo que no puede llegar a ser peligroso, pero hay otros ficheros con datos que sí pueden ser peligrosos al abrirlos junto con el programa asociado. Es el caso de los ficheros con macros, como los DOC de Word, XLS de Excel, etc.

Filtrado de páginas web

Otro importante aspecto de los filtros reside no ya en los ficheros que recibimos o descargamos, sino en el contenido de la página web que estamos visitando. En Internet existe tal cantidad de tipos de páginas distintas que es completamente imposible para un usuario implementar algún tipo de filtro en la navegación.

En este momento, muchos lectores se preguntarán por la necesidad de implementar limitaciones a la navegación. Las razones son muchas, fundamentalmente para evitar que otras personas no vean desde nuestro ordenador páginas web que no queremos que vean. Este filtrado es especialmente necesario a la hora de dejar que niños y jóvenes estén conectados sin una vigilancia constante.

Aunque lo parezca, no estoy abogando por la censura, sino simplemente por un control de las páginas que pueda ver un niño. Por ejemplo, no creo que a ningún padre en su sano juicio le interese que su hijo pequeño pueda recrearse con fotos sobre atentados terroristas en las que pueden aparecer cadáveres destrozados, o que un adolescente entre en páginas con ideologías nazis o que hagan apología de la violencia.

Para evitar estos peligros, hay muchas páginas web que ya se encuentran catalogadas, y antes de acceder a ellas es posible verificar si su contenido es adecuado o no según unos criterios establecidos. Por ejemplo, podemos evitar la entrada a páginas web que tengan muertes, violencia extrema o sexo explícito. Para ello, evidentemente, es necesario contar con un programa que lleve a cabo el control de las páginas y evite el acceso a las no autorizadas.

Posted by Panda Software at 01:40 PM | Permalink

The new malware dynamic, which has seen a shift toward financial returns as the principal drive for malware creators, is increasingly targeting online games. Specifically, cyber-crooks are now after the login details for installing and accessing online games. Similarly, these criminals are trying to rob players of the ‘virtual assets’ obtained in the games, such as virtual money that can be used in the game to buy weapons, powers, etc. Given the effort required by players to obtain these items, there are many people prepared to pay for them as an easy way of reaching higher levels and increasing their reputation. In this way, the virtual economy of the game translates into real profits for the cyber-crook.

With the increasing number of games available online, there is a corresponding increase in the options for those willing to exploit this lucrative by-product of online games. There is now the risk that a whole new business model could be operated by cyber-mafias, stealing virtual assets, of apparently no real value, and selling them for real money to the highest bidder.

The malware that most frequently affects games are Trojans. The Lineage virus steals the login details of a player, allowing another player to relieve him of the virtual money used to buy weapons, privileges or abilities within the game. The different variations of the Legmir virus target players of “Legend of Mir”, stealing their passwords. Gaobot and its variants, although more widely known for their bot characteristics, also try to get in on the act, stealing the Cd-Keys of several games, and spreading to new potential victims. Similarly, they open a backdoor on infected computers making them vulnerable to future attack. Users of “World of Warcraft” could be affected by Trj/WoW.

Posted by Panda Software at 01:35 PM | Permalink

En Internet hay muchos tipos de contenidos que circulan libremente, generalmente buenos, pero hay que tener en cuenta que también circula otra serie de elementos malignos. Una de las cosas desagradables con la que podemos encontrarnos con mucha frecuencia son los hoaxes.

Un hoax es un e-mail que recibimos con un mensaje supuestamente muy importante, que pide que se reenvíe a todas las personas a las que se pueda para advertirles de un supuesto peligro sobre el que informa el mensaje. Sin embargo, el mensaje es falso y reenviarlo únicamente va a conseguir un tráfico de mensajes completamente innecesario, parecido a las cartas en cadena. El único propósito de los hoaxes es hacer perder tiempo e incrementar el tráfico de red hasta saturarla.

Los hoaxes son malware, al igual que los virus. De hecho, incluso podríamos establecer varias similitudes:

- Un virus es un código malicioso camuflado en un programa inofensivo; un hoax es un mensaje falso camuflado bajo el aspecto de un mensaje importante, basado en una historia real.

- Un virus se propaga por correo electrónico; los hoaxes también

- Un virus interrumpe la productividad al afectar al ordenador; un hoax también, al hacer que el usuario lo lea y lo reenvíe, además de sobrecargar servidores de correo por todo el mundo.

Hay una gran diferencia entre un hoax y un virus. Los virus suelen propagarse de manera que el usuario no lo perciba, pero como el hoax no es un programa, no puede hacerlo. Debe ser más astuto: la técnica es engañar al usuario para conseguir que lo reenvíe.

Para identificar un hoax basta con seguir las siguientes pistas:

- Cualquier correo que te inste a reenviarlo a cuanta gente puedas, es un hoax.

- Los hoaxes solo funcionan si pueden convencer al usuario de que son fiables. Suelen hacerlo citando a alguna fuente de confianza, bien conocida o al menos con nombre reconocido.

- Un hoax se propaga a base de reenvíos de correo, y la mayoría de correos añaden el símbolo “>” al texto reenviado, así que los hoaxes suelen estar llenos de “>>>>>”.

- Pueden incorpora firmas falsas, pero generalmente vienen sin firmar.

- Suelen anunciar grandes catástrofes, que generalmente ocurrirán por culpa de un virus increíble (del que no se tienen noticias en ninguna empresa desarrolladora de antivirus).

- Por si acaso no es bastante con amenazar con destruir el ordenador, en muchos casos añaden características de cartas en cadena, diciendo que si lo reenvías vas a conseguir inmensos favores del destino y, si no lo haces, la más negra de las miserias se cernirá sobre ti.

- Los hoaxes suelen tener una redacción muy mala, sin respetar la Gramática, ni la Ortografía. Quizá se hace así para que llamen más la atención. Se nota en muchos casos que han sido traducidos del inglés, pero por personas que ni saben inglés ni su idioma.

Posted by Panda Software at 01:33 PM | Permalink

The European Confiance project is an opportunity to valorize and coordinate existing awareness actions.
Few examples:

In France, thanks to B2i (Brevet Informatique et Internet), The French students learn to use ICT at School. One of the skills learning is “the Net responsibility” and the Confiance awareness tools “Vinz et lou sur l’Internet” help the teachers to teach the good behaviour on the Net.

Thanks to « le Tour de France » operation funded by the Ministry of Education, 300 primary schools and colleges participate to awareness training seminars. During its training activities, each teachers and students get posters, postcards and leaflets promoting the Confiance awareness messages.

During the next “Fête de l’Internet” (the 18th to the 24th of March), the theme is “Internet sans crainte”. All Net public access point will participate to this national campaign and will receive posters, postcards and leaflets promoting the Confiance awareness messages. Its awareness tools will dispatched to the public.

For more details, please contact :
Floriane NAUDIN
Confiance project
e-mail : floriane.naudin@ens.fr
www.internetsanscrainte.fr

Posted by Internetsanscrainte.fr at 01:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Internet ha revolucionado el mundo. El uso de la red ha abierto a los usuarios infinitas posibilidades de comunicación e información además de acelerar el desarrollo personal y económico de las sociedades que utilizan este potente medio. Sin embargo, a la vez que han aumentado los beneficios de Internet han aparecido nuevos riesgos que preocupan a los internautas y amenazan su seguridad.

¿Cuáles son los peligros?
La pornografía infantil, el engaño a menores, apología del terrorismo, el phising, la usurpación de marcas comerciales, los ataques a la propiedad intelectual, los correos electrónicos que contienen insultos, fraudes o chantajes, los virus y el spam son algunas de las principales amenazas a combatir. Y los niños y adolescentes son el primer colectivo que la sociedad debe proteger: ellos son los más vulnerables ante los peligros de la red.

¿Cómo proteger a los menores?
Es preciso alejarles de los contenidos violentos, racistas, xenófobos o pornográficos, del tráfico de estupefacientes, de las sectas, defenderles de los pederastas que pretenden contactar con ellos a través de Internet, del acoso o las amenazas que puedan recibir a través de los chats o emails además de los malware (virus y caballos de troya).
Para conseguir que los niños y adolescentes naveguen por la red de forma segura es necesario utilizar las herramientas de control que los proveedores y los navegadores proporcionan para este fin, pero estos medios no bastan por sí solos: profesores y padres deben conocer su existencia, su utilidad y aprender a utilizarlos para blindar a los menores.
Además de impulsar continuamente medidas de seguridad, Telefónica colabora con la Línea de Denuncia contra la Pornografía Infantil en Internet Protégeles (www.protegeles.com) y promueve, con el programa EducaRed de Fundación Telefónica, el uso educativo de Internet entre profesores, padres y alumnos.

Mecanismos de protección.
Al margen de la labor que desempeña para proteger a los menores, Telefónica dispone de otros mecanismos para defender a los usuarios de las intrusiones, diseña software avanzado, alerta a sus clientes de posibles fraudes, fomenta la seguridad en los accesos y colabora con la administración pública y con la Policía de los diferentes países en los que opera.
Casi todos los incidentes de spam registrados en Telefónica de España se deben a la existencia de equipos vulnerables que tienen agujeros de seguridad que no bloquean el envío de correos no autorizados, por lo que cada vez más es necesario que los usuarios de Internet protejan sus equipos y sigan ciertas recomendaciones.

Consejos
A la hora de utilizar Internet no se deben responder correos electrónicos de las entidades bancarias facilitando datos ni claves personales. No es aconsejable dar a conocer en foros, chats ni medios públicos la dirección de correo electrónico. Se debe sospechar de correos con faltas gramaticales u ortográficas –suelen ser malas traducciones de spammers. Observar qué páginas son seguras –las que tienen un candado o las que aparecen en la barra del navegador con https:// en lugar de http://.
Por último, ante eventuales problemas es preciso que los usuarios denuncien los ataques (Telefónica dispone de más de 20 direcciones de correo electrónico como abuse@telefonica.net).

Posted by Asociación Protégeles at 01:20 PM | Permalink

We have seen a succession of news stories about malicious code affecting numerous devices, going beyond the concept of the typical ‘computer virus’. We have had the first viruses for cell phones, followed by malicious code for cars with Bluetooth technology, then along came a virus for the Sony PSP videogame console, and a week later, one for Nintendo DS.

There is nothing unusual about the appearance of these viruses, sooner or later they were bound to appear. Basically, in the IT security world, wherever there is a programmable system, malicious code can also be created. All the more so in the case of complex systems such as video game consoles, which don’t just include a complete operating system, but also documentation for developers.

This situation should come as no surprise, and no doubt more threats of this type will emerge in the not too distant future. At least there is the consolation that it is unlikely they will be able to spread under their own steam.

In theory, videogame consoles are not open systems and new software cannot be entered into them in the same way as with a personal computer. PCs have been designed as general purpose tools, adapting functionality to the needs of the user by means of the installation of purpose-built programs. The same hardware can be used for, say, writing a letter as for cataloguing botanical species or for corporate accountancy; while a video game console has been designed for a sole purpose: playing games.

Similarly, unlike a game console, a personal computer also includes numerous devices through which information can be entered. It is true that latest generation consoles use common communication devices such as memory sticks or USB, IrDA and WiFi connections, but it is still not as simple as it seems to infiltrate these systems, and substantially more difficult than it is with a PC.

Software developed for videogame consoles (games) is designed to cause as few problems as possible. Under no circumstances will it try to exploit vulnerabilities, overwrite prohibited zones or multiply itself in the same way as malicious code.

For a user to become infected they would need to be the victim of some kind of deceit, i.e. being duped into installing software without knowing what it will really do. Although this in itself is easy enough to someone (who wouldn’t enter a cartridge or memory stick lent by a friend to try out a new game or demo?), what’s the point? The only thing it would serve to do is lose a friend.

Imagine another, perhaps more theoretical scenario: downloading software through the wireless link offered by the new consoles. Involuntarily downloading software through this connection could lead to infection. But in this case, the security situation is the same as in a normal computer, where downloading software could lead to the effects of malicious programs or unexpected errors.

Fortunately, the solution is simple: don’t be taken in. All software you run on the console should be original and certified by the developer. Activision, Game Freak, Blade Interactive and SOE are among the many game developers that take extreme care in ensuring that their software is the best, the fastest, the most spectacular and, of course, causes the fewest problems possible.

In short, the console itself is not a game. Regardless of price or capacity, it is still a computer and you have to take care with the software you install. If you do it will surely last for many years to come, maybe even as many as my Atari.

Posted by Panda Software at 01:05 PM | Permalink

Le tecnologie di comunicazione e informazione raggiungono ogni giorno nuovi traguardi, superando confini e barriere di ogni tipo e offrendoci un potenziale enorme soprattutto sul fronte delle opportunità.
Il nostro rapporto con le nuove tecnologie online è in continua evoluzione, divenendo sempre più complesso e coinvolgente, costituendo parte integrante della nostra quotidianità: nel gioco, nelle attività creative, nelle relazioni sociali e nei modi di comunicare. Siamo immersi in una cultura digitale, che ci affascina enormemente e in cui possiamo essere protagonisti attivi...ma quali sono i confini che possiamo o meno oltrepassare?! Qual'è il limite tra legale ed illegale, tra diritto e dovere, tra libertà e prevaricazione, tra informazione e diffamazione?!

Posted by EASY at 01:00 PM | Permalink

The IWF is the only authorised organisation in the UK operating an internet ‘Hotline’ for the public and IT professionals to report their exposure to potentially illegal content online.

Our aim is to minimise the availability of potentially illegal internet content, specifically:
• child abuse images hosted anywhere in the world
• criminally obscene content hosted in the UK
• incitement to racial hatred content hosted in the UK.

Through the hotline reporting system, we help ISPs to combat abuse of their services through a ‘notice and take-down’ service by alerting them to any potentially illegal content on their systems and simultaneously inviting the police to investigate the publisher.

We work in partnership with government departments, the police, the online industry and the public. As a result, less than 1% of potentially illegal content has apparently been hosted in the UK since 2003.

The internet provides a wealth of opportunity for all of us. However, such global technologies and innovative services can also be abused to facilitate the exploitation of children and the perpetuation of their sexual abuse.

Recent developments, for example, in social networking and online picture and video services enable a wide range of positive communications. These websites can allow easy, free, unlimited and anonymous posting of photographs which, sadly, provides an online medium for some internet users to abuse. Most of these sites are hosted overseas so the IWF passes details of those reports which breach UK law to the Hotline in that country, where such a service exists, and in every case, to Interpol via the UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre partners. If the sites are hosted within the UK the IWF works with the police and the content service providers to have the content removed and, if possible, the publisher prosecuted.

Young people should also be reminded that it is an offence to post online an indecent photograph of anyone under 18, including yourself. These photographs constitute child abuse images and, once on the internet, are accessible indefinitely.

The global nature of network abuse and child exploitation as well as the knowledge that child abuse websites regularly ‘hop’ server and host country, underlines the need for unified international efforts, transcending borders and legal jurisdictions. This would ensure action is taken quickly and effectively to have websites hosting child abuse content removed and those who publish illegal material traced and investigated.

The IWF continues its commitment to share experience, knowledge and practices with Hotlines around the world. We also look forward to helping to develop a European database of potentially illegal child abuse websites which will facilitate Europe-wide improvements in effectiveness and information sharing amongst hotlines.

For more information about the Internet Watch Foundation visit www.iwf.org.uk

Posted by Internet Watch Foundation at 01:00 PM | Permalink

- Un antivirus actualizado. Antes de salir de viaje, actualice su antivirus. Y cada vez que pueda disfrutar de una conexión a Internet, aproveche para actualizarlo. Un ataque por virus cuando estamos lejos de los responsables de informática de la empresa puede dejar KO a un ordenador portátil y, como consecuencia, los planes de su propietario.

- Un sistema de protección contra intrusiones. Tanto por redes físicas como por redes inalámbricas, los intrusos pueden aprovechar un momento de despiste o una vulnerabilidad para introducirse en nuestro ordenador y hacer de él su cuartel general.

- Un sistema de protección contra estafas. Podemos encontrarnos con que recibamos un correo intentando estafarnos, y estando en un viaje puede que respondamos con preocupación ante un problema en nuestro banco que no podemos resolver directamente, o ante situaciones extrañas con nuestras tarjetas de crédito.

- Un sistema anti spam. A la hora de descargar correo electrónico fuera de la red, evitar que el correo no deseado entre en el sistema es necesario para evitar pérdidas de tiempo innecesarias.

- Protección contra spyware. Nada más peligroso que un espía mientras llevamos a cabo gestiones remotas. Evitar estos intrusos hará que nuestras conexiones y nuestro trabajo no sean espiados por desconocidos.

- Un firewall personal. Bien configurado y sin concesiones a los extraños evitará que muchos hackers consigan entrar en el sistema.

- Sistema de filtrado a páginas web. Existen muchas páginas web con contenidos maliciosos que pueden desembocar en una catástrofe en el ordenador. Es imposible conocerlas todas, por lo que un sistema de filtrado de páginas evitará que sin darnos cuenta podamos acceder a algún sitio peligroso.

- Un sistema de protección contra intrusiones a través de la red inalámbrica. De esta manera, podremos conectarnos a las redes abiertas sin miedo a que alguien utilice este canal para inmiscuirse en la información almacenada en el portátil.

Posted by Panda Software at 01:00 PM | Permalink

We have published a list of those malicious codes which have stood out in one way or another in 2006:

- The most moralistic. This award goes to the spyware Zcodec which, among other actions, monitors whether users access certain web pages with pornographic content. This may simply be a way of determining whether the user is a frequent visitor to these types of pages in order to send personalized advertising. On the other hand, perhaps the author of the spyware just has voyeuristic tendencies.

- The worst job applicant. The Eliles.A worm sends out CVs all over the place. It even sends them out to users’ cell phones. It would seem that it has little confidence in its own job prospects.

- The most sensationalist. Sensational headlines have always made an impact, now they are even being used by viruses. Of all those that appeared in 2006, Nuwar.A wins hands down with its declaration of the start of the Third World War.

- The most tenacious. They say that all good things come to an end. It's a shame that the creators of the Spamta worms haven’t heard the saying. Otherwise, they might have stopped sending wave after wave of almost identical variants of this malicious code.

- The biggest snooper. In this case, it was not a difficult choice. WebMic.A is a malicious code that can record sounds and images, using a microphone and WebCam connected to the computer. Of course this is not the sort of uninvited guest you would like to have on your PC.

Continue reading "Spain: The virus yearbook 2006" »

Posted by Panda Software at 12:57 PM | Permalink

Nowadays, the Internet is a key reference for many aspects of daily life. It is one of the best ways of staying abreast of the latest news; it can be used for business transactions or even shopping, with web stores becoming increasingly popular.

However, as with all good things in life, the Internet is also a point of reference for illegal activities, such as child pornography, a problem that has been around for quite a while, but which has grown with intensity and speed with the advent of the Internet; or software and music piracy, which uses the Net to spread itself widely and rapidly.

Continue reading "Spain: Phishing and 21st century tales" »

Posted by Panda Software at 12:47 PM | Permalink

El phishing se basa en mensajes de correo electrónico que conducen a sitios Web maliciosos diseñados para robar los datos bancarios de los usuarios confiados. Roban contraseñas y claves para suplantar la identidad del usuario y los utilizan de forma fraudulenta. Utilizan el nombre y la imagen corporativa de compañías ya existentes, para así obtener la completa confianza del usuario para realizar el fraude. Por ello, es necesario cerciorarse de que realizamos las transacciones en Internet en entornos seguros y reales.

Continue reading "Spain: Consejos para evitar el phishing" »

Posted by Panda Software at 12:47 PM | Permalink

Internet es, hoy en día, la referencia a la hora de tratar numerosos aspectos de la vida diaria. Cuando surge una noticia, Internet es uno de los grandes medios para informarse. Si hay que hacer un trámite, se busca la manera de hacerlo por Internet; a la hora de comprar algo, la opción de la tienda web se contempla cada vez más.

Continue reading "Spain: El phishing y los cuentos del s. XXI" »

Posted by Panda Software at 12:45 PM | Permalink

Instant messaging (IM) services like MSN Messenger, Yahoo!Messenger, AIM, etc. are becoming more widely used both at home and in the workplace, and their popularity provides an excellent means of propagation for malware.

The inherent risk to these services lies in the fact that they are not only used to exchange messages, but also files, folders, and even entire disk drives. This makes IM services an increasingly exploited open door for attackers. Instant messaging services make things extremely easy for attackers, since users are not authenticated through an IP address, but an email address linked to a password. This means that even if the victim has a mobile IP address, the server that links the people connected will send each user the contents assigned to their names. As a result, the attacker does not need to know the victim’s IP address, it is enough for their name to be included in a contact list to infect them.

The fact that logging into an instant messaging service does not require IP authentication can also lead to identity theft problems. If an attacker accesses the server using the password of one of the contacts, there will be nothing to warn the targeted user that the person they are speaking to is not who they are supposed to be. If you share files with that contact, the attacker will be able to access them freely. What’s more, in corporate environments where IM is used, confidential data could be shared with an attacker in the belief that they are someone else. Identity theft is not as difficult as it might seem. It is enough for the target user’s password to be common or easy to remember to access their account. Even if that is not the case, given that the majority of protocols used by these services transmit unencrypted information, it is very simple to spoof an established connection between two users and obtain certain data.

We are giving you a series of instant messaging tips worth following. First, use safe passwords: passwords that are not too short, mix uppercase and lowercase letters as well as numbers, and which are not related to biographical information (dates of birth, anniversaries, names, etc.). Secondly, in this kind of communication, you should never disclose personal or confidential information, such as passwords, account numbers, etc. Don’t chat to people who are not on your contact list. Similarly, don’t download files or click on links that come from unknown senders, and, even if they do come from known senders, take precautionary measures before taking any actions. If you are using a public computer, do not use the automatic sign-in feature, as any other user of the computer could access your messaging account. Finally, in the case of home users, be particularly careful when children use instant messaging services; not only because they are more prone to opening files that might be infected or clicking on dangerous links, but also because they can establish contact with inappropriate or dangerous people. To protect themselves, home users and companies must use latest-generation antimalware solutions and keep them up-to-date.

Posted by Panda Software at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Criminals send email messages offering exceptionally well-paid jobs, working only a few hours a day. This messages also include links that when clicked, accesses to spoofed website. What these criminals are really looking for is a “mule”, that is, someone to launder stolen money in exchange for a commission. To do this, the fraudsters deposit money in the “mule’s” bank account and the “mule" must send it to certain addresses specified by the fraudsters.

By doing this, the “mule" not only launders the stolen money but also acts as a scapegoat, who the authorities will go after when the theft is discovered. As a rule of thumb, users should never take any notice of messages that offer jobs or extremely simple and lucrative business opportunities, whatever they might be. It is clear that cyber-criminals will stop at nothing, and therefore, users should take all precautions possible. We recommend all users to delete any messages of this type that reach their inboxes. What’s more, they advise users not to provide any personal details that could be used for criminal activities.

Posted by Panda Software at 12:40 PM | Permalink

A few years ago, office application suites installed on computers were not like those we use nowadays. Each application was developed by a different manufacturer and in very few cases, was the idea of exporting data from one application considered.

Continue reading "Spain: All for one? One for all" »

Posted by Panda Software at 12:35 PM | Permalink

Cuando yo era pequeño, tenía un sistema “antivirus” muy rudimentario, pero que funcionaba muy bien: se llamaba bufanda. Yo me ponía la bufanda y daba igual el frío, me despedía de cualquier resfriado. Incluso tenía un sistema de actualización muy efectivo, que se llamaba “mamá” o “abuela”. Con una simple mirada y la frase “¡la bufanda!”, volvía a ajustármela al cuello y así tenía un grado de protección muy bueno, exactamente igual que al principio.

Continue reading "Menores en Internet" »

Posted by Panda Software at 12:30 PM | Permalink

Le jumelage franco-belge entre les écoles primaires de Gif-sur-Yvette (France) et de Bierghes (Belgique) a été l’occasion pour ces jeunes internautes de découvrir les avantages des TIC, leurs limites et leurs conséquences sur leur vie quotidienne…
La participation au concours SID 2007 leur a permis de prendre conscience de l’importance croissante des images dans leur vie et d’élaborer ensemble une présentation sur l’impact des images.
Grâce à une plate-forme collaborative, les élèves des deux classes ont pu s’échanger leurs images et discuter ensemble sur le choix de ses images, les raisons qu’ils les poussent à les aimer ou non, découvrant les potentialités d’échanges permises par les TIC (transfert de fichiers, envoi et réception de messages sur un forum…)
Ils ont enfin pu se découvrir beaucoup de points communs et les exprimer lors de la visioconférence organisée entre les deux classes. Face l’enthousiasme des enfants devant la Webcam, ce travail collaboratif du concours va se prolonger au-delà du Safer Internet Day…..

Pour voir la présentation : www.ecolebierghes.be/Insafe.pps

Posted by Internetsanscrainte.fr at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

When parents ask for what is happening with their children's browsing I always give the same advice: the best tool is a trained parent near the children.

Continue reading "Spain: Parental control, another useful security tool" »

Posted by Panda Software at 12:20 PM | Permalink

Por si pudiera quedar alguna duda, aclaro desde el principio cuál es el objetivo de esta columna: sugerirles que instalen un filtro de contenidos en el ordenador (o en cualquier otro dispositivo con el que se conecten a Internet: teléfono móvil, consola portátil, PDA, etc.). Sinceramente, me preocupa que en muy pocos hogares se invierta un puñado de euros para evitar que la inmensa mayoría de las páginas web con contenidos nocivos aparezcan en nuestra pantalla o en la de nuestros hijos.

Ya sé que hay personas a las que esta sugerencia les parecerá antipedagógica. Son aquellas que abogan por la mal llamada “educación en libertad”, esas que optan por no poner límites a la curiosidad de los niños; las que dicen que el niño debe experimentarlo todo para descubrir lo bueno y lo malo y elegir en consecuencia; las que alegan, en fin, cualquiera de esos otros tópicos que se han instalado en el discurso psicopedagógico actual. Lo paradójico es que, siguiendo dicha corriente permisiva, nadie nos aconseja que dejemos a los niños jugar al borde de una autopista o gatear por su asfalto.

He leído también que “nadar juntos es mejor idea que filtrar el mar”, bonita metáfora de esa solución ideal que evitaría instalar filtro alguno: que los padres acompañen a sus hijos en sus salidas por el ciberespacio y les vayan diciendo lo que está bien o mal. Pero lo ideal y lo real no siempre coinciden, y en esas excepciones se esconden situaciones de evidente peligro para los menores.

A mí me gusta más nadar en un mar filtrado, algunas veces acompañado otras en solitario. Para justificar este convencimiento les voy a poner una analogía, también con el mar como protagonista. Las playas de San Sebastián de vez en cuando sufren una plaga de medusas. Las picaduras de este animal son realmente dolorosas; incluso, dependiendo de la especie, pueden producir la muerte (para que se hagan una idea, los griegos creían que la medusa era una divinidad cuyos cabellos fueron convertidos en serpientes, capaces de petrificar a quienes los miraban). Cuando se detectan medusas en la costa vasca, pequeños barcos recorren la bahía de La Concha arrastrando redes que filtran el agua del mar y retienen un alto porcentaje de estos “peligrosos” cnidarios, evitando que puedan amargar el día a algún bañista despistado.

No me negarán que hay un extraordinario paralelismo entre las medusas y los contenidos nocivos en Internet. Y es que aunque acompañemos a nuestros hijos cuando chapoteen en el cantábrico (o en cualquier mar), por su seguridad –y por la nuestra- es mejor que el agua haya sido previamente filtrada.

Fernando García
Civertice

Posted by Asociación Protégeles at 12:09 PM | Permalink

En esta época actual de constante y veloz evolución en el que se encuentra inmerso el sector de las TICs, Orange reconoce y tiene muy presente la importancia de la protección de los menores.

Así, Orange entiende que dicha protección ha de realizarse no sólo desde el punto de vista técnico, con el desarrollo de herramientas que permitan a los padres, tutores y educadores una mayor prevencion y control de acceso (filtros) a las TIC’s, sino también, y dado el impacto social y educativo de las mismas, a través de políticas de concienciación de padres, tutores y educadores sobre un uso seguro y responsable de las TIC’s.

Con este objetivo, Orange ha elaborado a nivel internacional una “Guía de Padres” que pretende ayudar a los padres a entender las nuevas tecnologías y sus servicios asociados, facilitando así que tanto ellos como sus hijos/as puedan sacar el máximo provecho y de manera segura a todos los servicios que proporciona Orange.

El desafío para los padres es asegurarse que sus hijos/as entiendan perfectamente y estén preparados para utilizar todas las posibilidades que las tecnologías ponen a su alcance, y Orange quiere ayudarles a conseguirlo.

Posted by Asociación Protégeles at 12:08 PM | Permalink

El Gobierno del Principado de Asturias ha puesto en marcha la iniciativa Internet y Familia, en el marco de la Estrategia para el Desarrollo de la Sociedad de la Información en Asturias, e-Asturias 2007. Se trata de un proyecto pionero en sus características en la comunidad autónoma, destinado a familias, niños y educadores y que persigue fomentar el uso seguro de Internet por parte de los menores.
Con esta iniciativa, el Principado quiere dotar a las familias de conocimientos suficientes para que puedan controlar y guiar la utilización de la Red por sus hijos y concienciar al colectivo docente sobre la necesidad de formar a sus alumnos en el uso responsable de la Web.
El rey de Internet y Familia es Superportal, apodado El superhéroe de la navegación segura. Es la mascota que da imagen al proyecto y está presente en todas las acciones que se desarrollan.
El proyecto tiene un carácter integral, con acciones globales y específicas para los diferentes destinatarios. Hasta ahora Internet y Familia ha formado a más de 400 padres y educadores a través de charlas y cursos de teleformación, repartido gratuitamente 100.000 boletines informativos y más de 900 de un total de 4.300 filtros de Internet para hacer de la navegación segura una realidad para las familias asturianas y ha visitado más de 70 centros educativos, que engloba a un total de 5.000 niños.
View image

Posted by Asociación Protégeles at 12:07 PM | Permalink

Leo y transcribo del periódico de esta mañana de lunes: “Un profesor y un monitor detenidos por abusar de niños y difundirlo”. Y continúa en la entradilla: “Grababan sus sevicias a los menores y las distribuían por Internet”.

Emplearé estas doscientas palabras que me solicita Protégeles.com para dos cosas muy simples:

Primera, para decir a Protegeles.com aquello de “me alegro de que existas”. Es el clamor de la sociedad civil, con el impulso de unos pocos, ante la barbarie de otros pocos y la indiferencia de unos cuantos más. De la sociedad civil, digo, y no del Estado. El Estado está liderando la lucha contra el tabaco y contra la hamburguesa XL… pero no esto.

Segunda, para recordar que ningún filtro es tan potente, ningún código de autocontrol es tan vinculante, ninguna ley tan dura como para frenar a un solo ciudadano en el libre ejercicio de su irresponsabilidad. Exijamos líderes responsables al frente de las cadenas de televisión, de los buscadores de internet, de los diseñadores y administradores de páginas web. También responsables como padres o como profesores en el desempeño de la hermosa labor de educar. Y finalmente. responsables cada uno, en nuestra soledad, ante la pantalla de nuestro ordenador.

José Mª de Moya.
Director del periódico PADRES Y COLEGIOS.

Posted by Asociación Protégeles at 12:06 PM | Permalink

La telefonía móvil permite superar todas las fronteras y poner al alcance de todos variados servicios innovadores, acercándonos a la Sociedad de la información de una manera fácil y amena. Sin embargo, debemos asegurarnos que los menores hacen un uso responsable de estos servicios. Para ello es esencial fomentar acciones técnicas, educativas e informativas que les permitan beneficiarse de lo mejor de las nuevas tecnologías.

Movistar, consciente de esta necesidad, trabaja activamente en esta línea con distintas instituciones, en especial con Protégeles, a través de varias iniciativas como la impartición de cursos en colegios y en el espacio Avanza sobre el uso responsable de los móviles, el lanzamiento de dispositivos adecuados para los más jóvenes y guías de uso para los padres (Mo1 y Play Pack), con servicios y contenidos educativos (emergencias 112, sumacubos…), o concursos que fomentan los valores cívicos y de dimensión europea (www.yourvid.eu).

Coincidiendo con la cuarta edición del “Safer Internet Day” patrocinado por la Comisión Europea, los Operadores Móviles Europeos, entre ellos el grupo Telefónica, han firmado hoy un Acuerdo Marco para fomentar un uso seguro de los móviles por parte de los menores, con recomendaciones que deben implementarse en todos los Estados miembros europeos, sobrepasando así las fronteras nacionales.

¡¡Saquemos el mayor provecho de las comunicaciones móviles para construir entre todos la Sociedad del futuro!!

Posted by Asociación Protégeles at 12:05 PM | Permalink

Cuando trabajas para los ciudadanos, en este caso los chavales, lo más gratificante es que te cuentan sus experiencias y te transmiten sus opiniones a través de canales de comunicación, como es el correo electrónico. A través de los email que nos llegan al portal de Chaval , programa puesto en marcha por red.es , organismo dependiente del Ministerio de Industria, Turismo y Comercio que fomenta el uso positivo y responsable de las TIC entre la infancia, tenemos contacto con miles de niños de todo el mundo, sobre todo de habla hispana, que nos cuentan como se divierten con los juegos y contenidos que publicamos y todo lo que aprenden sobre los beneficios y los posibles riesgos de hacer un mal uso de la red.

Internet es maravilloso porque nos abre un mundo de posibilidades y de sueños, nos permite relacionarnos con personas y familiares que viven lejos, crear, y participar de manera colectiva en numerosas iniciativas abiertas a cibernautas de todo el planeta. Entre todos, debemos contribuir a que valores como el respeto, la educación, el civismo, la generosidad, no se pierdan en el mundo virtual sino que sean un referente del que nunca debemos olvidarnos cuando “estamos conectados”. Nos encantaría saber que opináis.

When you work with citizens, in this case with kids (chavales), the most gratifying thing is when they tell you about their experiences and offer their opinions through communication channels, such as e-mail. Chaval is a program started by red.es an entity of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade, that promotes the positive and responsible use of ICTs by young people. The chaval website allows us to hear from thousands of kids around the world, especially Spanish-speaking, who tell us via e-mail how they have fun with the games and content we publish and about what they learn about the benefits and possible risks of misusing the internet.

The internet is wonderful because it opens up a world of possibilities and dreams to us, it enables us to communicate with people and family members who live far away, to create, and to participate as a group in a number of initiatives open to the internet surfers of the world. Together, we must contribute to ensuring that values such as respect, good manners, politeness and generosity are not lost in the virtual world, but that they become a standard of conduct that are not forgotten when “we are connected”. We would love to know what you think.

Virginia Zabala
Responsable de Chaval
Chaval coordinator
Red.es

Posted by Asociación Protégeles at 12:04 PM | Permalink

I giovani interagiscono in un modo dinamico e molto personale con il loro gruppo di amici, con la famiglia e con gli amici online. Avendo un grande bisogno di comunicare e di essere inclusi in reti sociali, i ragazzi stanno ancora una volta oltrepassando i confini della tecnologia per creare reti sociali virtuali, che stanno trasformando il nostro modo di vivere. Questi nuovi contesti sociali e piattaforme di espressione rendono necessario ripensare i nostri valori in termini di relazioni umane attraverso l’intermediazione delle tecnologie.

Posted by EASY at 12:00 PM | Permalink

Internet elimina barreras entre sus usuarios. Cada vez es más frecuente entre nuestros menores, no hay más que ver lo que está sucediendo con las redes sociales, que surjan amistades en la red sin tener en cuenta aspectos como el de la proximidad geográfica y donde compartir inquietudes, gustos y aficiones se convierte en la premisa fundamental.

En Protégeles en un día como éste queremos subrayar nuestro compromiso de cara a promover un uso seguro de Internet por parte de los menores, independientemente de la plataforma a través de la que accedan, PC, teléfono móvil, TDT, consola, etc.

Estamos decididos a seguir llevando a cabo campañas de información sobre un uso seguro de las TIC, actualmente estamos desarrollando una campaña en los colegios españoles sobre uso óptimo de la telefonía móvil.

Del mismo modo seguiremos tratando de erradicar aquellos sitios desde donde se ensalzan y ofrecen contenidos inadecuados para los menores.

Un ejemplo de lo anterior son las páginas pro-anorexia y pro-bulimia que tantos estragos producen entre ellos, avocándoles en muchos casos, bajo el reclamo de nuevos estilos de vida, a contraer trastornos en su conducta alimentaria.

La helpline creada por Protégeles www.masqueunaimagen.com, como claro ejemplo de la superación de fronteras, ha ofrecido asistencia profesional y especializada a más de 500 jóvenes de España y ocho países de Latinoamérica.

Otro ejemplo claro de superación de fronteras ha sido la creación de Protégeles Brasil www.seuabrigo.com.br Protégeles está comprometido a desarrollar su actividad donde lo estime necesario y sea posible.

Protégeles en el Día Internacional de la Internet Segura 2007 ha participado junto a las principales operadoras europeas de telefonía móvil en la firma del Acuerdo Marco promovido por la Comisión Europea para el fomento de un uso seguro de los teléfonos móviles.

Continue reading "Spain: Internet rompe barreras. Internet breaks barriers." »

Posted by Asociación Protégeles at 12:00 PM | Permalink

Safe-si, Slovenian Awareness Node, has invited all children and teenagers to present their view on information society in different creative ways. »Net generation« thus becomes everyone that contributed to the exhibition, votes for the most original contribution, sends an e-card, spreads the idea or just views the selected contributions at www.netgeneracija.si. »Net generation« is a message of young people in the society of modern technologies, explosion of information and virtual relationships.

The contributions are beginning their journey around Slovenia on 6th of February 2007 – The Day of Safe Internet Use. The first multimedia exhibition in Cyberpipe (Kiberpipa – Kersnikova ulica 6 in Ljubljana) will be opened at 15.00 by Mojca Mavec and will stay there available to the public until 11th of February. The exhibition will continue its journey to Laško (Šmocl), where it will stay from 16th to 28th of February. Then come Brežice (Mladinski center Brežice) form 9th to 23rd of March, and finally Kibla in Maribor form 2nd to 10th of April.

Please visit: Net Generacija, http://www.netgeneracija.si

Posted by Safe.si at 12:00 PM | Permalink

Chatting is funny, but only if the others are funny friends. In many cases, the other chatters are not our friends. Somebody is hiding the real personality under a fake nickname. If they make any comment you don’t like, do not be afraid and tell it to your parents or teachers.

Posted by Panda Software at 11:45 AM | Permalink

Nowadays, many people realizes tha borders are not a barrier in the Internet... but many years ago, malware creators already knew it.

We should think that when opening a file from a far away country is as dangerous as opening it next corner. Viruses are infecting globally, but how many threats are active now? Check how the things are going on here.

Posted by Panda Software at 11:36 AM | Permalink

From January 30 till February 5, a nationwide online-competition ‘When I am Online’ for school children on Safer Internet rules took part in Bulgaria. 2,506 children from 1st to 12th grades from schools all over the country had the possibility to check their knowledge about risks in Internet and ways to avoid them.

An online test at a special website with 25 questions and 4 possible answers had to be passed in 35 minutes by the participant. The questions were describing quite real situations in Internet with a focus on sharing personal data, really meeting unknown “online friends”, posting own pictures, etc.
The competition results were both alarming and raising hope. Alarming was the fact that only 166 of all participants could choose the right answers all 25 questions. It proved also that children from higher grades demonstrate less awareness: from 1st to 6th grades participants scored an average 18, from 7th grade – 21, but from the higher grades the average results were 16-17 right answers.
At the same time, the fact that in one week more than 2,500 children from all over the country volunteered to pass the test raised our hopes that the awareness is gradually rising. That is why the organizers of the competition decided to make the online-test permanent resource for children.
The competition was organized by the Applied Research and Communications Fund – operator of the Bulgarian Hotline , INTERMEDIA Foundation, the Association for Comsumers' Protection with the financial support of the State Agency for Information Technologies and Communications and under the auspices of the Public Council for Safer Internet .

Continue reading "Bulgaria: Online-competition checks children’s Safer Internet awareness" »

Posted by State Agency for Information Technology and Commun at 11:34 AM | Permalink

In many ocassions, children visiting friend's homes find a marvellous way to "play" with a non secured or not enough secured computer.

In this case, the children goes to certain places or downloads materials that can be harmful. Nowadays the computers keeps a lot of personal information, and a non trained user (like a friend) can put it on risk.

If a strange user is going to use your computer, be sure he/she knows perfectly what is doing, and check what activities will be done on the "rented" computer. Your security and the others may be endangered.

Posted by Panda Software at 11:30 AM | Permalink

Découvrir d’un simple clic comment on célèbre Noël de l’autre côté de la Terre; voyager par procuration en suivant le récit d’un aventurier solitaire; nouer une amitié virtuelle avec quelqu’un que l’on aurait certainement pas rencontré dans d’autres circonstances et découvrir son univers…
Internet est une véritable porte ouverte à l'AUTRE !

Tous pareils et tellement différents
Intolérance, racisme, xénophobie, antisémitisme, islamophobie... Autant de mots qui conduisent à la haine, à la violence et au rejet. Bien souvent, ce sont la peur et l'ignorance qui contribuent à laisser s’installer le rejet dans les esprits. Reconnaître que le racisme existe est un premier pas. Oser en parler en est un second. Reste à combattre l'ignorance et les préjugés. Comment ? En étant ouvert aux autres, en découvrant leurs richesses et leurs différences. Internet constitue un merveilleux outil dans ce domaine !

Partir à la découverte des autres
Nous sommes tous nés à un moment et à un endroit particulier. Nos différences sont nos richesses. Partir à la découverte des autres, c'est faire un pas vers la tolérance.
Internet permet de voyager aux 4 coins du monde, l'occasion de découvrir de nouveaux horizons, d'autres cultures et d'autres croyances.

Le blogathon, une occasion unique…
… de partager nos différences ! petitweb.lu publie des pages spéciales consacrées au racisme. Destinées aux enfants, les surfeurs y sont invités à proposer des liens sur le thème « A la découverte de l’Autre ».

En voici déjà quelques uns:

Les couleurs de peau - Dans le Journal de Victor.
http://www.recre-action.net/article.php3?id_article=229

Religions et origine, un même berceau pour trois religions - aussi dans Le Journal de Victor.
http://www.recre-action.net/article.php3?id_article=225

Le grenier de Sarah - pour expliquer la Shoah aux enfants et découvrir la culture juive -
http://www.grenierdesarah.org/

Le site de France5/éducation - riche en enseignements ! A consulter régulièrement
http://education.france5.fr/

Le blogathon traversera le globe… espérons qu’il sème quelques liens sur son passage ! info@petitweb.lu

images:©JupiterImages Corporation

Posted by petitweb.lu at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

- Špela Kaše, Zavod MISSS (Mladinsko informativno svetovalno središče Slovenije)

Dandanes se meje med državami brišejo vsakodnevno. To nam omogoča predvsem moderna tehnologija, internet in vse v povezavi z internetom. V trenutku smo lahko povezani s preostalim svetom.

Imam veliko prijateljev in znancev, ki so trenutno v tujini in internet mi omogoča, da sem v nenehnem stiku z njimi. Nekdaj je bilo to veliko teže, pogovori po telefonu so bili neverjetno dragi, uporabljali smo navadno pošto. Sedaj se nam odpirajo nenehne možnosti z internetom, elektronsko pošto, klepetalnicami in skypom. S pomočjo vsega tega se nam svet manjša in meje med državami brišejo.

Med različnimi potovanji vedno spoznam nove ljudi, s katerimi želim ohraniti stik, izmenjamo si elektronske naslove in ostanemo v stiku. Tako spoznavam tudi druge države, kulture, vsakodnevno dogajanje drugod po svetu, kako ljudje živijo, mislijo, čutijo in to mi nudi neverjetne možnosti spoznavanja sveta okoli nas.

Odprtost in dostopnost na internetu pa ima tudi nevarnosti, saj omogoča hitri vpogled v naše življenje ljudem, ki to načrtno iščejo in nam želijo škodovati. Tukaj se pokaže druga plat te odprtosti in dostopnosti interneta, ki predstavlja nevarnosti, ki se jih sploh ne zavedamo. Pomembno je predvsem zavedanje, da ne smemo podajati svojih osebnih podatkov kjerkoli le-te od nas zahtevajo. Prav tako se je potrebno zavedati, da so gesla zelo pomembna tudi za našo varnost in varovanje naših osebnih podatkov.

Internet nam omogoča odprtost, vpogled v svet, okno v svet, prav tako pa se moramo zavedati, da tako kot zaklepamo vrata v vsakdanjem življenju in smo pozorni na nevarnosti, ki pretijo okoli nas, da si moramo zavarovati osebno varnost tudi na intenetu. Potrebno je biti osveščen o nevarnostih in znati varno 'surfati' po internetu.

Za več informacij si oglejte:
http://www.safe.si

Posted by Safe.si at 11:22 AM | Permalink

www.web4me.be: premiers secours pour les teenagers sur l'Internet

www.web4me.be est une initiative de la plate-forme www.saferinternet.be, qui est soutenue par la Commission Européenne.
Sur web4me, les internautes jeunes et adolescents retrouveront des infos, des conseils et des liens adaptés à leurs connaissances, relatifs aux divers problèmes qu'ils peuvent rencontrer sur l'Internet: des images choquantes, de la cyber-haine, des sectes, des problèmes techniques, des arnaques etc. Le site fournit une masse d'informations utiles sur les risques et, en outre, apprend aux jeunes comment ils doivent les maîtriser. Le site contient également une liste d'adresses d'organismes, autorités publiques et points de notification où l'on peut signaler de tels problèmes. Bref, www.web4me est la référence par excellence pour des jeunes qui cherchent à surfer sur le Net sans soucis et en tout sécurité!

Contacts pour plus d'informations:
• Coordination de Safer Internet Belgique: info.fr@saferinternet.be - tél. 02/475.44.12 (Child Focus) - contacts presse: 02/547.06.04 (Crioc)
• Insafe: info-insafe@eun.org

Posted by Saferinternet.be at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

1. The notification of personal details of the user (full name, address, telephone, photograph, code access, e-mail etc) should be avoided.

The search in the internet is ensured by the use of specialised programs, the search engines, special programs, the so-called spiders (spiders), which "browse" the web pages seeking the texts and their addresses. Basic rules:

Supposedly the users know that, when they search in the Internet for a totally acceptable word, the results can lead them to completely inadequate web pages. The users often make click on the results of search without reading the description. The users can exchange messages between them, in which it is possible to attach files of any type. Even if most users are not familiarised with the use of Internet, the email users should be particularly careful and take measures of high protection as its widespread distribution and use renders it as one of the most corruptible services to malevolent users. The viruses

The viruses are usually stuck in the attached files of messages and they attack the computer of user, as soon as the user opens the attached file. Therefore the users never should open messages which come from unknown senders, particularly if these contain attached files (usually with acronyms exe, com, vbs, dll, sh, bat k.a'), containing devastating code (message of form html) that it is activated automatically while opening the email.
Annoying correspondence (spam mail)

In spam mail advertisements about undesirable to the users email products, services and websites as well as various other types of email may be included. This happens because the safety of personal data of the Internet users as well as the safety of networks is put in danger.
Also, in the Internet there are programs of fighting spam mails, which can install themselves locally and check the entering correspondence of user.

C. Messages of content (hoaxes)

Annoying type messages of electronic email:

3. "Intimidation": any type of chain letters that intimidate the user that something will happen if he does not also promote the message to other users. The essential danger from these messages is mainly their enormous distribution and, accordingly, the tax of accounts of users with useless messages.
The known antibiotic programs usually filter the enlisted messages of this type, while there are enough companies that ask from the users of their programs to inform them when they accept such type messages, in order to proceed in the suitable energies of briefing of their antibiotic programs.

D. Protection of Personal Data

The user of email programs should be particularly careful and never to report messages with his personal elements, as well as the numbers of credit cards or any other data. Programs as the viruses, the Trojan horse and the worms can "contaminate" our computer.
Implementation or opening of files of computer.

Implementation or opening of contaminated files that are attached in email messages. Opening or reading unknown email messages that contains malicious code. Opening or reading of contaminated web pages htm and html. Choice of good antibiotic program
Regular detection of all disk with your antibiotic program
Continuous renewal (update) the antibiotic program
Control of each disk/cd with your antibiotic program before you open.
Well-known companies offer the possibility of control and removal of viruses of your computer being online.

Download file

Continue reading "Greece-Lithuania : The problem and the solutions about the safety of personal data in Internet" »

Posted by S. Tourtounis at 11:05 AM | Permalink

What is the Internet to our children? What happens when the child is alone with the computer? Do we realize that the Internet is full of risks? Are we so cautious when we let children into the infinite world of information as we are when we first let them out into the street alone? The already traditional celebration of the Safer Internet Day provokes these and many other questions concerning our responsibility for child safety online.

It is hardly a surprise that this event attracts more and more supporters. While education is a matter of national policy, traditions and opportunities, children are the world’s legacy and the responsibility for their upbringing and safety lies with all of us. With regard to this, every national or individual action or initiative, aimed at eliminating harmful and illegal content on the Internet, is a contribution to the problem’s global resolution.

Safer Internet Day is a wonderful occasion to consider our contribution to a safer Internet during the previous year. For such a short time Bulgaria has made important steps forward:
- The HOTLINE for eliminating harmful and illegal content has been launched successfully; the hotline became a member of the International Association of Internet Hotline Providers (INHOPE).
- A Public Council was established that fights online threats and unites the efforts of state institutions, non-governmental organizations and business, in order to create a safer information environment for children.
- A number of projects have been implemented to improve Internet culture and the conduct of children, parents and teachers.
- On the occasion of Safer Internet Day a national online competition – “When I am Online” - was organized, the results of which we are announcing today at a SID 2007 press-conference.
State Agency for Information Technologies and Communications

Posted by State Agency for Information Technology and Commun at 11:05 AM | Permalink

The Combined Belgian node is a consortium of 2 partners including Child Focus and CRIOC-OIVO. It is a merge between the national Belgian Hotline, www.childfocus-net-alert.be and the Belgian awareness node www.saferinternet.be.

Child Focus

Child Focus, the European Centre for Missing and Sexually Exploited Children, is the national co-ordinator of this project and is a foundation of public utility. The mission of Child Focus, at both national and international level, is to provide active support in the investigation of disappearance, abduction or sexual exploitation of children and to prevent and combat these phenomena.
Child Focus, without any discrimination, always acts only in the interest of the child.
As a privileged partner, the Centre collaborates on a complementary basis with all official and private bodies at national, European and international level. The Centre gathers information, distributes it to the appropriate services and ensures follow up of cases entrusted. It participates in the counselling of victims and their entourage.

OIVO-CRIOC, Research- and Information Center of the Belgian Consumer Organisations

OIVO-CRIOC is a public utility foundation installed by the Belgian consumer organizations and subsidized by the Federal Public Service Economy, formerly the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

Its research department employs a number of experts in the following fields: consumer law and economics, products and food safety, health (food, medicine, smoking habits, ...), (young) consumer behaviour and sustainable consumption. Demands come from consumer organizations as well as from the local, national and European authorities. The approach is multidisciplinary. OIVO-CRIOC also delivers technical support to the consumer organizations in defending their interests, and participates as an expert or representative in advisory and consultative bodies. The results of all studies are given maximum propagation. They are the basis for changes in consumer's behaviour. OIVO-CRIOC develops campaigns to inform, educate and sensibiliser the public or specific target groups. The education and information service is always given special attention to vulnerable consumers. There's also a documentation centre with thousands of books, magazines and other documents on consumer affairs.

Contact:

Tom Van Renterghem, Project Manager Child Focus
Mail: saferinternet@childfocus.org

Links

Saferinternet Belgium www.saferinternet.be

Child Focus www.childfocus.be

CRIOC-OIVO www.crioc.be

Click Safe www.clicksafe.be

Report illegal content http://www.childfocus-net-alert.be/uk/UK_homepage.htm

Posted by Saferinternet.be at 11:00 AM | Permalink

One of the principles making up the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child refers to giving minors special protection in order that they can develop physically, mentally, morally, spiritually, and socially in a healthy and normal manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity. If we apply this precept to the Internet, there is a clear need to promote its resources in the most responsible way possible. According to a study published recently by the Observatorio de las Telecomunicaciones y de la Sociedad de la Información de Red [Telecommunications and Online Information Society Observatory], part of the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce, almost half of all Spaniards (48%) use the Internet and over a third of Spanish homes (36•8%) have an Internet connection. Against this background, 64% of 11-year-old Spanish children browse the Internet unsupervised and only 12% browse with a content filter, according to another report produced by researchers at the Universidad de Navarra, based on a study of 4000 schoolchildren from around Spain.

Continue reading "SPAIN: Online Protection of Children" »

Posted by Optenet at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

- Karsten Gynther, Chairman of the Media Council for Children and Young People

In the Danish Media Council for Children and Young People we strive to educate and raise the awareness of children and young people in regards to the new media. And the annual event Safer Internet Day makes up a very important part of this task.

Being a part of an international campaign like Safer Internet Day gives us – first of all – an opportunity to bring our important task of educating children and young people to a safer use of the internet and other new media into the focus of the broad public. Secondly, it gives us the opportunity to offer e.g. schoolteachers a number of concrete learning tools for use in the Danish schools. This year, for example they are offered project-kits in connection to the Insafe school-competition. Thirdly, this day gives us the opportunity to draw attention to all the other material that is already developed and that is available for teachers and others involved in the field of children and media

Posted by ANDK at 11:00 AM | Permalink

- Anni Marquard, Project Manager, Cyberhus.dk

www.Cyberhus.dk is a Danish online community for young people that offers a wide range of activities.

Kids and teens with social or emotional problems can get in touch with a pedagogically trained counsellor and receive professional counselling. We offer 100 per cent anonymity to every child or teenager who contacts us.

Our vision is to create a solidary socio-pedagogical community on the Internet in which we offer free anonymous counselling, as well as inclusive and collective activities for exposed and socially challenged children and teenagers

We find it very important that children and teens get to play an active role in Cyberhus. Therefore we have chosen to appoint kids who are very active on the site as book critics, web editors or writers, etc. We call them The CyberActive and they run their own weblogs where they write about things that interest kids and teens today.

Kids and teens may also enjoy a lot of cheerful activities in Cyberhus:
They can search our library and find new book titles, read and write film reviews in our Film Workshop, write messages in the forum and do lots an lots of other things that make it easier and a little more fun to be a kid or a teen today.

For Safer Internet Day we have worked on the theme “Power of the Image” where a group of young people have been taken pictures and put them on our website. Look at their work here : http://www.cyberhus.dk/site/14844.htm

Posted by ANDK at 11:00 AM | Permalink

- Birgitte Tufte, Professor, Copenhagen Business School

”If we want to qualify Tomorrow’s adults to relate selectively and critically, one of the means is to provide children and young people of today with the insight and competence to look behind the media’s prioritising of narrations about the near and distant world- and to teach them to act both critically selective and creatively constructive when they engage in use of the media. A premise for this to happen is the goodwill of our politicians both in concern to attitude and economy to strengthen the IT and Media education. In that way the media culture of the leisure-sphere and the culture of school will merge, which is a premise for us to solve the task of general education and cultivation, which is essential for the development of children and young people today." - Christensen og Tufte: ”Skolekultur. Mediekultur - Modspil eller medspil?”, 2005

Continue reading "Denmark: School Culture - Media Culture" »

Posted by ANDK at 11:00 AM | Permalink

- Marianne Pihl, Project coordinator in Save the Children Denmark

The Internet and the ability to communicate online is truly the biggest revolution since the telephone was invented. For many children, online communication is just a part of everyday life. It doesn’t really matter if their favourite social networking site is based in their own country – or at the other side of the world. Danish children watch videos made by Japanese children or exchange pictures with children in Brazil. The advantages of the internet have changed our societies and our way of thinking.
Unfortunately there is a downside of the online freedom of the internet. We know today that the Internet is being used by people with a sexual interest in children. Children are being groomed online and images of sexual abuse of children are being exchanged online. And it happens every day. Only yesterday there was a story in a Danish newspaper about a 13-year old girl who was sexually abused after months of grooming by a 50-year old man. And only last week there was a story about a Swedish man who was arrested with more than one million abusive images on his computers.   
The existence of child abuse images is of major concern of Save the Children. In October 2006, Save the Children Europe launched the report: Visible Evidence– Forgotten Children. The report focuses on the victims on the abusive images and finds that too little is currently being achieved in identifying these children. It is a fact that very few children abused for the production of child abuse images are being identified despite the existence of primary evidence within the abusive images. Interpol’s Child Abuse Image database has been in operational use since 2001 and consists of more than 200.000 images showing the sexual abuse of over 20.000 individual children. According to Interpol, only a little more than 500 of these sexually abused children have been identified and become subject to child protection measures.
In Save the Children’s experience there are four main reasons why current investigations fail to identify victims:
• Law enforcement officers lack the mandate, support and technical resources to take effective ownership of identification of online abuse victims
• There is a lack of inter-agency Cooperation
• Very few children disclose the abuse
• There is limited knowledge about child abuse images among child welfare professional and law enforcement officers
 
Save the Children’s report “Visible evidence – forgotten children” puts forward recommendations to ensure a focus on the victims of child pornography.
Download the report from http://www.savethechildren.net/alliance/resources/reports/VisibleEvidence.pdf.
 ----------------------------------------------------------

Posted by ANDK at 11:00 AM | Permalink

- Lisbeth Krabbe Haugstrup, Family Consultant, KLF- Church and Media

Our most important message is:
Take the time to get involved with what your children find interesting – the media. Two of the most popular communication platforms are chat rooms or virtual meeting rooms, and cell phones. Children can communicate with the entire world, just like that. It is beautiful and great fun. However, from everyday life adults - even within the same culture - acknowledge the need for courses in how to communicate better. Also, we are told that most communication is passed through body language. These facts show us how easily communication through media can go wrong. You are using fewer words and often you can not see, hear, smell or touch the other person. Moreover, you are able to hide your true identity.

What to do
- We recommend that parents take the time to learn a few of the many ways their children use media in order to maintain a close relation with their children, and in order to discuss the differences between communication in real life and through media.
- The two main issues are: Protecting Yourself by limiting the amount of personal information you give out in virtual life and protecting others by choosing your words carefully, before you touch the “send” button.

After almost a decade of experience with counselling parents about their children’s use of media through folders, websites etc., it seems that the most efficient way of passing the message is meeting the parents face to face. Once again, communication in real life versus virtual communication has some indisputable advantages.

We believe that for children to have a constructive use of media they must have a healthy and close relation with their parents.

KLF, Kirke & Medier is a media user organisation founded on a Christian Lutheran perspective on life. The organisation has got 30.000 paying members throughout Denmark. The employees and voluntary workers of the organisation strive to assure that the content, the framework and the use of the media products that are available in Denmark are in accordance with our view on human life.

Lisbeth Krabbe Haugstrup
Family Consultant in KLF, Kirke & Medier
Grønnegade 6, 3.
7100 Vejle
Denmark

Posted by ANDK at 11:00 AM | Permalink

Crossing borders is inextricably linked with the Council of Europe’s ideals and heritage (i.e. closer unity between peoples based on values, rights, freedoms and democracy) and the Internet is becoming an increasingly important means to exercise and implement them. For example, this Blogathon is an excellent example of everyone’s right to freedom of expression and information, a right which includes the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas regardless of frontiers.

For children, the Internet is a source of fun, a new way to create and to communicate, a means to explore and satisfy curiosity. It holds the key to crossing the borders and frontiers of their everyday lives allowing them to go beyond their physical environments of families and friends, home and school, using, for example, blogs and social networking sites to express and inform themselves in new ways.

In the classroom, the abundance of free online resources and spaces to learn and discuss makes the Internet an excellent tool for learning and empowering both children and their educators allowing them to go far beyond the paper borders of textbooks, often limited and costly. Within a coherent framework of literacy and training for children in online environments, the Internet opens the door to life skills and capabilities (knowledge, understanding, attitudes, human rights values and behaviour) that children need to live, actively participate and act responsibly with respect to the rights of others.

Used properly the Internet helps children to become more discerning and objective with regard to their consumption of different media sources allowing them to go beyond the paper and electronic borders of magazines, television and radio. In this context, more serious societal issues and borders can be addressed and crossed, especially as regards those peoples and communities divided by differences be it racial, cultural or otherwise. In these situations, the Internet also acts as a neutral space for dialogue and peace.

In conclusion, the Internet is, by its very nature, a tool which can build the bridges and straddle the borders of many aspects of our lives. It can also carry the values and freedoms which mean so much to us all and which lie at the core of the Council of Europe.

Mrs Maud de Boer-Buquicchio
Deputy Secretary General
Council of Europe

Continue reading "Council of Europe: Crossing Borders" »

Posted by Council of Europe at 11:00 AM | Permalink

www.web4me.be: premiers secours pour les teenagers sur l'Internet

www.web4me.be est une initiative de la plate-forme www.saferinternet.be, qui est soutenue par la Commission Européenne.
Sur web4me, les internautes jeunes et adolescents retrouveront des infos, des conseils et des liens adaptés à leurs connaissances, relatifs aux divers problèmes qu'ils peuvent rencontrer sur l'Internet: des images choquantes, de la cyber-haine, des sectes, des problèmes techniques, des arnaques etc. Le site fournit une masse d'informations utiles sur les risques et, en outre, apprend aux jeunes comment ils doivent les maîtriser. Le site contient également une liste d'adresses d'organismes, autorités publiques et points de notification où l'on peut signaler de tels problèmes. Bref, www.web4me est la référence par excellence pour des jeunes qui cherchent à surfer sur le Net sans soucis et en tout sécurité!

Contacts pour plus d'informations:
• Coordination de Safer Internet Belgique: info.fr@saferinternet.be - tél. 0322/475.44.12 (Child Focus) - contacts presse: 0322/547.06.04 (Crioc)
• Insafe: info-insafe@eun.org

Posted by Saferinternet.be at 11:00 AM | Permalink

Cosa c’è di bello nell’oltrepassare virtualmente i confini nazionali?
Vivere ed imparare a livello internazionale via internet arricchisce le nostre vite con più divertimento, amici e conoscenza. Ci porta a riflettere sulle nostre idee preconcette e apre le nostre menti ad un mondo di possibilità, allargando i nostri orizzonti e gettando un ponte tra genti e culture diverse secondo una modalità che non era possibile prima. Ciò significa che dobbiamo navigare con molta attenzione lungo la linea che separa i nostri diritti, la nostra libertà e privacy da quelli degli altri.
Il blogathon del Safer Internet Day riunisce bambini, insegnanti ed organizzazioni da tutto il mondo per condividere insieme i loro punti di vista.

Posted by EASY at 11:00 AM | Permalink

www.web4me.be : first aid for teenagers on the internet

www.web4me.be is an initiative of the www.saferinternet.be platform that is supported by the European Commission. It was the last action of the first phase of the safer internetproject that was coördinated by The CRIOC. Other partners were the ISPA, the CIAOSN, Child Focus and the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism. After an educational campaign for the children and their educators, web4me was addressed to the young age groups directly.

On web4me the young and adolescent internet users will find information, advice and links adapted to their state of knowledge, with regard to the various problems that they may encounter on the internet: shocking images, cyber-hate, sectarian appeals, technical problems, swindles, etc. The website provides massive useful information about the dangers and, moreover, teaches the youth how to keep them under control. The website also contains a list of addresses of organisms, public authorities and contact points where people can notify any such problems. In short, web4me is the reference par excellence for young people who want to surf the Net without any worries and in full safety!

The second phase of the safer internetproject has started in Belgium. In the years to come web4me will be kept up-to-date permanently and other actions for this age group are planned.

Do you want more information? Please contact:

Coordination of Safer Internet Belgium: info.fr@saferinternet.be (French) and info.nl@saferinternet.be (Dutch)- tel. 02/475.44.12 (Child Focus) - presscontact: 02/547.06.04 (Crioc-Oivo)
Insafe: info-insafe@eun.org

Posted by Saferinternet.be at 11:00 AM | Permalink

- Benedicte Ejlers, Head of the Department, Centre for Compulsive Gambling

A significant expansion of gambling opportunities, increased participation in gambling activities and gambling related problems has been witnessed during the last decade. Research concerned with adolescent gambling has shown that adolescents represent the highest risk group for problem gambling. A theoretical and empirical examination of adolescent gambling and problem gambling presents results from the first pilot study of adolescent problem gambling in Denmark (N=381). The prevalence of problem gambling was found to be 7.6%. The percentage of problem gambling was higher among males (11.9%) than females (2.8%). It was concluded that youth problem gambling is an area of importance for the Danish community that needs further investigation.
(The research pilot study is made by Louise Due, Aarhus University)
The Danish University of Education and The Danish National Institute of Social Research are both started investigations of youth and problem gambling.

Warning signs of problem gambling
* Spends large amount of time gambling
* Begins to place larger and more frequent bets
* “Chases” losses frequently (returns to gambling activities to win back money lost)
* Has growing debts
* Pins hopes on the “big win”
* Promises to cut back on gambling
* Refuses to explain behaviour or lies about it
* Has frequent emotional high and lows (mood swings)
* Boasts about winning
* Prefers gambling to other activities
* Repeatedly seeks activities that produce a “high” (physiological arousal)
* Has been involved in borrowing or stealing money and can’t remember what the money was spent on. Appears desperate when requesting to borrow money.
* Appears nervous when observing sports events on television
* Carries excessive amounts of cash
* Talks excessively about gambling
* Failing grades and increased absenteeism in school

It is important to remember that it is a constellation of these behaviours, which constitute a potential problem.

For more information: www.youthgambling.com and www.ludomani.dk

Posted by ANDK at 11:00 AM | Permalink

In today's interconnected world of networks, threats can now originate anywhere − our collective cybersecurity depends on the security practices of every connected country, business, and citizen. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialized agency within the United Nations system, would like to draw Safer Internet Day participants’ interest to a number of information resources dedicated to cybersecurity and spam.

The ITU Cybersecurity Gateway is an easy-to-use online information resource on national and international cybersecurity related initiatives worldwide. A vast number of resources and links are available and organizations are invited to join in partnership with the ITU and other stakeholders to build confidence and security in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

The StopSpamAlliance is a joint initiative to gather information and resources on combating spam. This initiative was undertaken by Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the EU’s Contact Network of Spam Authorities (CNSA), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the London Action Plan, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Seoul-Melbourne Anti-Spam group. The StopSpamAlliance.org website contains an overview about each of these organization’s activities in countering spam and related threats.

The outcome documents from the two phases of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) emphasize that building confidence and security in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) is a necessary pillar for building a global information society. ITU has been asked to play the main facilitator role for to assist stakeholders in building confidence and security in the use of ICTs. To stress the importance of the multi-stakeholder implementation of this task, ITU has named this the Partnerships for Global Cybersecurity (PGC) initiative.

In commenting on the Safer Internet initiative, newly elected ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré stressed the need for greater cooperation between regulators, government, security firms, communication service providers, and end users in dealing with the challenges to building a safe and secure information society.

The International Telecommunication Union wishes you all a very successful Safer Internet Day 2007!

Enquiries related to ITU activities in the area of cybersecurity can be directed to cybersecurity@itu.int.

---

About ITU

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is an international organization (specialized agency) within the United Nations System where governments and the private sector coordinate global telecommunication networks and services. Through its standards, development, and policy research activities, ITU has a long-standing track record in security for information and communication systems. There are currently more than seventy ITU recommendations focusing on security.

Posted by International Telecommunications Union at 11:00 AM | Permalink

To mark International Safer Internet Day 2007 on 6 February, the company is launching Elecfra.com, a website with content and warnings about online fraud. In addition, the company will be offering one year’s free use of its content filtering product through Elecfra.com.
Optenet, a leading Spanish multinational providing security services to ISPs, mobile operators and corporations, will be playing an active role in the celebration this Tuesday 6 February of International Safer Internet Day 2007 (SID 2007). The event is taking place as part of the European Commission’s “Safer Internet” program, which is run in Spain by the NGO Protégeles.com.
Optenet’s participation in the various activities taking place around the world for SID 2007 will include taking part in the Blogathon, launching the website Elecfra.com, and offering a year’s free use of their web filter, available exclusively through the new website.

Continue reading "SPAIN: OPTENET launches “Elecfra.com” — a website for raising awareness and providing assistance on antiphishing — to mark International Safer Internet Day 2007" »

Posted by Optenet at 11:00 AM | Permalink

Bardzo ważny w idei Dnia Bezpiecznego Internetu jest jego międzynarodowy charakter. W tegoroczne obchody DBI, które odbędą się 6 lutego, włączyło się prawie 40 państw. Organizatorem czwartej edycji obchodów Dnia Bezpiecznego Internetu odbywającego się pod hasłem „Współpraca ponad granicami” jest European Schoolnet, koordynator organizacji Insafe, czyli europejskiej sieci bezpiecznego Internetu (www.saferinternet.org). Jak przed dwoma laty, patronat nad Dniem Bezpiecznego Internetu objęła Viviane Reding, unijny Komisarz ds. Społeczeństwa Informatycznego i Mediów.

Po raz kolejny najważniejszą częścią obchodów będzie ogólnoświatowy blogathon, który 6 lutego rozpocznie się w Australii i przesuwając się ku zachodowi, dotrze do Stanów Zjednoczonych i Kanady. Zachęceni olbrzymim sukcesem blogahtonu 2006, w 2007 włączyliśmy do zabawy najmłodszych. Do ogłoszonego w październiku 2006 konkursu na pracę poświęconą bezpieczeństwu w Internecie zgłosiło się ponad 200 szkół z 25 krajów z całego świata. Wykorzystanie najnowszych technologii umożliwiło nawiązanie współpracy między szkołami z różnych państw. Ich zadaniem było przygotowanie projektu na jeden z trzech zaproponowanych tematów: Prywatność w Sieci, Netykieta, Obrazy. W Dniu Bezpiecznego Internetu wszystkie kreacje zostaną zaprezentowane w blogathonie.

Ponad 100 zespołów oczekuje na dzień 6 lutego - otwarcie blogathonu i rozwiązanie konkursu na najlepszą pracę. Z Polski do konkursu zgłosiło się 31 szkół. 19 z nich podjęło się funkcji lidera w ramach partnerstwa szkół, zaś pozostałych 12 placówek wspiera działania szkoły partnerskiej z innego kraju.

Spośród autorów zamieszczonych prac zostanie wybranych 4 zwycięzców.

W Dniu Bezpiecznego Internetu na całym świecie podejmuje się wiele inicjatyw mających zwrócić uwagę na rosnący problem, jakim jest zapewnienie każdemu z nas możliwości bezpiecznego i przyjaznego korzystania z Internetu. Wykorzystanie najnowszej technologii w połączeniu z ideą „współpracy ponad granicami” pozwala na ponadkulturową wymianę doświadczeń i przemyśleń na temat Internetu, związanych z nim korzyści i zagrożeń.

Posted by Safer Internet Poland at 11:00 AM | Permalink

Humans are often considered as "social animals". Unsurprisingly, the internet is constantly developing from static publishing towards participation and social interaction. Buzzwords like web 2.0, social networking, social software, user-generated content have marked this evolution.

Children are often pioneers when it comes to "crossing the borders" of existing usage patterns. In Austria e.g., already 30 percent of youths between 11 and 18 years read blogs on regular basis and 25 percent use plattform like myspace (study "elf/18", jugendkultur.at).

The increasing popularity of web 2.0 services calls for action - also for internet safety awareness raisers! Amongst many other activities Saferinternet.at will especially focus on the privacy issue this year. Because web 2.0 applications are based on the users contributions and data. In this context one of the major risks is to publish privat data without being aware of potential misuse.

The most important tips for children:

1. Think first before you enter personal data on the internet! Not only your friends can read your information. And remember, once you post information online, you can’t take it back.
2. If you feel threatened by someone or uncomfortable because of something online, tell an adult you trust.
3. Never publish pictures, movies, music etc. without asking the people shown or the copyright holder for permisson

www.saferinternet.at
www.handywissen.at
www.checkdeinhandy.at

Posted by Saferinternet.at at 11:00 AM | Permalink

Op Safer Internet Day 6 februari vindt de Europese Safer Internet Day plaats. Op deze dag wordt er in diverse Europese landen aandacht gevraagd voor onderwerpen als veiligheid op internet, computergames en mobiele telefonie. Daarbij staan jongeren centraal. Ook in Nederland vinden er die dag diverse activiteiten plaats, met als centrale ontmoetingsplaats Societeit de Witte in Den Haag. Ook H.K.H. Prinses Máxima is aanwezig!

Er worden resultaten van het onderzoek naar de hulpverlening via de chat van de Kindertelefoon gepresenteerd
De Digibewust Award wordt uigereikt
Ruim 100 kinderen nemen deel aan een educatief middagprogramma
Carry Slee leest voor
Prinses Máxima neemt het boekje Kindertelefoon-tips van Carry Slee in ontvangst

Continue reading "The Netherlands-DIGITALLY AWARE: Crossing Borders" »

Posted by Digibewust at 11:00 AM | Permalink

Games without Borders

Today, many videogames bought on a disc can be played against other players via a PC or games console with an internet connection. Further, there are more websites now offering pure online gameplay. These range from simple arcade games to massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) which often involve thousands of players around the world participating in a single game at once.

Many such games foster the emergence of virtual communities, sometimes exposing players to the risks associated with real time interaction between unknown fellow players, such as breaches of privacy, inappropriate behaviour, user-created content or unsafe website links. PEGI Online is a new EC funded project that aims to address these risks.

Continue reading "Belgium: PEGI Online, play safe without borders!" »

Posted by Interactive Software Foundation of Europe at 11:00 AM | Permalink

Ja, seveda, strinjam se z vsemi somišljeniki, ki menijo, da internet in naraščajoča množica storitev, ki jih le ta ponuja, omogočajo prečkati meje in tudi na ta način omogočajo navadnim smrtnikom spoznavati druge kulture, vrednote, načine življenja in podobno. Ker temu ne oporekam, se sploh ne bom spustila v globlje razmišljanje o tem. Veliko bolj pa me zabava razmišljanje o prečkanju lokalnih meja v Sloveniji, tistih med mesti in tistih na spletu.
 
Da vas ne spravim preveč v zadrego z vprašanjem, kolikokrat na leto se odpravite odkrivat Slovenijo na povsem drug konec, od koder sicer prihajate, vas izzivam z naslednjim »preizkusom«: odprite svoj elektronski nabiralnik in preštejte, koliko elektronskih naslovov imate od ljudi, ki ne živijo v isti občini kot vi. Ja, v mojem e-nabiralniku se jih ne najde prav veliko. Koliko torej internet kot sodobno sredstvo komunikacije prečka tiste prve, lokalne meje?
Naj se, prosim, najde nekdo, ki bo moj sum o barikadah pri prečkanju lokalnih mej, v hipu ovrgel.

Sicer pa vam ob Dnevu varne rabe interneta želim le še VARNO DESKANJE, VARNO KLIKANJE tudi v prihodnosti.

Alenka Žavbi & Tanja Šterk, Safe-si
www.safe.si
info@safe.si

Posted by Safe.si at 11:00 AM | Permalink

Une question anodine a été posée au forum "Que dire à un technicien...?" pour ne pas se faire arnaquer, suite à un cas où un visiteur du forum s'était fait avoir par une firme informatique et où nous, les membres "ProduForum" et "AmisduForum" étaient intervenu(e)s pour que le problème du visiteur soit résolu. Chose qui était faite en téléphonant à la firme informatique, laquelle remboursait notre "client virtuel".

J'ai pris alors l'initiative de proposer aux membres "911 ordi" d'y créer un didacticiel complèt, chose qui est en train de se réaliser. Quelques visiteurs et/ou membres travaillent ensemble, sous mon coaching, sur ce projet virtuel, sans s'avoir jamais vu, ni connu. Un challenge (défi) très intéressant...

Explication en détail :

Ce sera un dosssier "Protection du consommateur", dans lequel nous donnerons tous les trucs&astuces avec liens informatifs, pour que le la personne qui a un "bobo" avec son ordinateur sache exactement comment se comporter afin de ne pas se faire arnaquer !

Comme il s'agit ici, dans ce projet, de gens vivant au Canada, les liens pointeront envers des sites au Canada, mais le texte du guide est fait de tel façon qu'il est applicable pour tout pays. De cette façon, dès que nous libérerons le dossier final, chaque autre pays pourra s'en servir et simplement changer les liens envers des liens nationaux et de changer les valeurs monétaires.

Pour plus de détails, veuillez visiter mon blog, créé spécialement pour le SID à l'adresse URL suivante :

http://www.internetmonitor.lu/saferinternetday2007/ Projet virtuel pour le monde réel

Posted by EuroISPA at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Take a look at the first virtual youth centre of upper austria. It´s your chance to present your own opinions, ideas and wishes to an international audience. Fell free to chat with Austrian youngsters, post your articles on the forum or simply find new friend.

http://www.cyberjuz.at

Hope to see you soon and create your own article in our new online magazin

http://www.cybermag.at

Beate Zechmeister

Posted by Bildungsmedienzentrum OÖ at 11:00 AM | Permalink

BIMEZ-BildungsMedienZentrum (the educational multimedia information centre) of the upper austrian government - , is a non-profit-organization and the main distributor für educational media of this regional area. Our Target groups are pedagogues, parents, children and youth associations. Our aims are to support them with latest media and give information and help on following subjects: Internet- and media educational theory, learning software, youth film education, educational media productions and more. In addition we offer workshops, talks, courses and projects e.g.:
Internet radio
Aktio dialog (generation talk - youngsters inform older people about using the internet)
Trickboxx (producing animated films)

More information:
http://www.bimez.at
http://www.ooe-jugend.at/aktiondialog

Hope you see you soon on our homepage www.bimez.at

Beate Zechmeister

Posted by Bildungsmedienzentrum OÖ at 11:00 AM | Permalink

The Internet isn't decent, it's obscene in many cases.

Some days ago I met a young webdesigner from the UK. We had dinner together and he took a photo of the meal, a bloody rib-eye steak, by his mobile phone and uploaded it to the Internet. "I am doing it always, everybody shall be able to see what I eat", he laughed. Ok, that's funny, but is everybody interested in anybody's food?

Another place and other pictures: The Digital Opportunities Foundation I am managing director of is running a database of Public Internet Access Points in Germany. You can request for any place in any area and get information about opening hours, number of computers, target groups, costs of access, etc. We are asking them to provide a photo for the database to give an impression of the place. There are many youth clubs in the database and what they often send in are party photos. Young people in good mood, more or less dressed, more or less drunk. Who cares?

Ok, these are no examples for harmful content on the Internet. But there is a tremendous amount of pictures online, a real flood of pictures. There are all these devices – digital cameras and mobile phones – ready to take more pictures and I am really wondering who on earth is looking at these, what gets noticed, what gets really seen?

Pictures are very important for our understanding of the world and the Internet gives us the opportunity to transfer them all around the world in a few minutes. But not every picture is suitable for everybody. Therefore we need responsible decisions which pictures shall be public and which shall be private. And we need to teach our children not to accept all images they find on the Internet as true.

Continue reading "Germany: Youth Protection Roundtable" »

Posted by Stiftung Digitale Chancen at 11:00 AM | Permalink

Literární soutěž pro mládež na téma „Internet – svět, který pomáhá i ubližuje“

V roce 2006 proběhla soutěž na téma „Můj internetový ochránce“. Zadáním soutěže bylo vytvořit, popsat a nakreslit svého vlastního hrdinu s kouzelnými vlastnostmi, který se dětem líbí a je schopen chránit je při jejich internetových dobrodružstvích. Povídky finalistů soutěže jsou zveřejněny na www.saferinternet.cz.
http://www.saferinternet.czsoutez@saferinternet.cz

Zadání literární soutěže 2007

Letošním úkolem je vytvořit práci z prostředí internetu. Bude vycházet ze zkušeností vlastních nebo kamarádů a popisovat veselé i smutné příhody,l se kterými se na internetu mladí lidé potkávají. Zvláštní cenou bude odměněn nejlepší příspěvek, který na příkladu ze života popíše nebezpečí, kterým jsou mladí na internetu vystaveni a ukáže způsob, jak jim čelit. Povídky mohou být veselé i smutné.

Téma literární soutěže je „Internet – svět, který pomáhá i ubližuje“. Cílem je vytvořit psaný text o internetu a jeho dobrých nebo špatných vlastnostech. V textu mohou vystupovat lidé i nadpřirozené bytosti, které mohou lidem pomáhat při internetových dobrodružstvích, komunikaci s přáteli i zloduchy, v zábavě nebo hledání informací, poučení nebo boji proti nebezpečím a hrozbám, které mohou na internetu vycházet i od jiných lidí.

Vítězná práce bude obsahovat zajímavý příběh, který souvisí s problematikou bezpečnějšího užívání internetu, a bude ilustrována alespoň jedním akčním obrázkem.

Forma zpracování může být libovolná - prozaické vyprávění, pohádka, poesie nebo třeba komiks.

Continue reading "Czechia: Safer Internet magický a přátelský 2007" »

Posted by Saferinternet.cz at 10:59 AM | Permalink

The current topic of child security on the Internet was a part of the CARNet Users Conference program this year again, and connecting the elementary and secondary schools to CARNet network and numerous new CARNet users, elementary and secondary school students, have made it even more current.
The participants in the discussion about this important topic were Ivana Turčić Prstačić (Education and Teacher Training Agency), Marija Krmek (Center for Child Protection of the city of Zagreb), Igor Rukljač (Trnsko Elementary School), Ivica Ostojić (Cisco) and Saša Jusić (INFIGO IS) and the discussion was moderated by Vanja Librić Radojević, the Head of CARNet Abuse service.

Continue reading "Croatia: Minors on the Internet – Are They Safe?" »

Posted by Croatian Academic and Research Network at 10:53 AM | Permalink

Think of crossing borders.. What is the first think that comes in mind? Does it really mean crossing real-life borders and living on the world wide web? A place of indefinite possibilities, a power of information, a place where imagination is the only limit. More and more people in Lithuania are using Internet, the gender gap is closed, more and younger people start using newest broadband technologies with high data transfering. Or maybe crossing borders is all about real life actually? Crossing borders in helping people stay in touch, share their daily lifes in pictures and words. Or maybe it is all about crossing borders between generations? In fact, the first two are full speed going processes, however the generation gap is still an open issue and parents are in desperate need of education in new technologies, otherwise they will be just left outside young people's world..

Posted by Draugiskasinternetas.lt at 10:00 AM | Permalink

It is a known fact that nowadays, the ratio of the internet users in our country reaches to % 24 ( 17 billion) and we are the third country using msn in the world. By the day, related to this increasing ratio, relevant associations and institutions in our country are inclined to work together about this issue. As the main reason of the fact that computer and internet use becomes widespread is the computer games and countless possibilities and diversities ( Chat, Web Design, games, Research, Shopping and Chance Games..) presented in internet attract especially the group of age 15- 18. In our country computer ownership is about % 13, internet connection is % 8. Also it is doubtless that the reflections of the social role undertaken by internet cafes whose number is reaching to 12000 will be on especially young people.

Continue reading "Turkey: ‘‘ MİSSİON İMPOSSİBLE ! ’’" »

Posted by General Directorate for Family and Social Research at 10:00 AM | Permalink

Internet ist ein großartiges Medium. Es bietet die bunte und reiche Welt weltweiter Information und Kommunikation. Neben dem offensiven Nutzen dieser Chancen müssen aber auch die Gefahren benannt und vermittelt werden. Hier leisten viele Stellen inzwischen eine gute Arbeit. Klicksafe, der deutsche Informationsknotenpunkt des Safer Internet Programms der Europäischen Union, will diese Informations- und Aufklärungsarbeit voranbringen. Der Safer Internet Day ist ein wunderbarer Aktionstag, der bewusst macht: Das Thema „Sicherheit im Netz“ geht jeden etwas an! Wissen Erwachsene, mit welchen Inhalten ihr Nachwuchs im Netz konfrontiert ist? Welche Tipps beim Surfen können Kindern und Jugendlichen an die Hand gegeben werden? Zahlreiche Aktionen und Veranstaltungen deutschlandweit –Teilnahme an unserer großen Schulhofaktion, Mit-Bloggen beim weltweiten Blog-Marathon oder die Ausstrahlung unseres Spot-Klassikers "Wo ist Klaus?" - rücken das Thema „Sicherheit im Netz“ in den Fokus der Öffentlichkeit. Der Safer Internet Day ist ein guter Baustein für eine nachhaltige Aufklärungskampagne rund ums Internet.

Manfred Helmes, klicksafe-Koordination, Direktor der Landeszentrale für Medien und Kommunikation (LMK) Rheinland-Pfalz, Mitglied der Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz (KJM)

Posted by Klicksafe.de at 09:55 AM | Permalink

The Safer Internet Day Blogathon brings together children, teachers and organisations from across the world to share their views on safety over Internet. The Awareness Raising Section of the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) believes as well in the importance of promoting information security and communication technologies that support citizens and equips them with the skills they need to live and work in the knowledge society, as well as the importance of exchanging information between organisations.

To this end, as part of the ENISA Work Programme 2006, the ENISA AR Section has invited the EU and EEA countries to discuss how to raise information security awareness.

The Awareness Raising Unit of ENISA has organised the 2nd Awareness Raising dissemination workshop to foster the sharing and dissemination of the main findings of the Agency in the field of awareness raising within the Member States in October 2006.
The workshop on awareness raising aimed at policy makers responsible or involved in awareness raising activities in their countries. Through a combination of presentations, case studies and panel debates, participants have further explored cutting-edge topics, key issues and emerging good practices in the awareness raising field. Particular attention has been paid to public-private partnerships, SMEs, children, recent and successful government collaborative initiatives with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) aimed at raising awareness among users. Additionally metrics to evaluate effectiveness of awareness programmes have been discussed.

Continue reading "Europe: ENISA Contribution to the Blogathon" »

Posted by ENISA at 09:16 AM | Permalink

The Safer Internet Day Blogathon brings together children, teachers and organisations from across the world to share their views on safety over Internet. The Awareness Raising Section of the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) believes as well in the importance of promoting information security and communication technologies that support citizens and equips them with the skills they need to live and work in the knowledge society, as well as the importance of exchanging information between organisations.

To this end, as part of the ENISA Work Programme 2006, the ENISA AR Section has invited the EU and EEA countries to discuss how to raise information security awareness.

The Awareness Raising Unit of ENISA has organised the 2nd Awareness Raising dissemination workshop to foster the sharing and dissemination of the main findings of the Agency in the field of awareness raising within the Member States in October 2006.

The workshop on awareness raising aimed at policy makers responsible or involved in awareness raising activities in their countries. Through a combination of presentations, case studies and panel debates, participants have further explored cutting-edge topics, key issues and emerging good practices in the awareness raising field. Particular attention has been paid to public-private partnerships, SMEs, children, recent and successful government collaborative initiatives with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) aimed at raising awareness among users. Additionally metrics to evaluate effectiveness of awareness programmes have been discussed.

Continue reading "Europe: ENISA Contribution to the Blogathon" »

Posted by ENISA at 09:10 AM | Permalink

In an age of globalization and in a world based on common consciousness, the internet has become a primary tool in the development of universal values. It has “invaded” almost every aspect of our lives and will continue to do so as long as humans will have the “thirst” for knowledge and communication. The modern technology now allows us to do things our parents or grandparents never dreamt about, whether it’s communicating in real time with a relative that lives on the other side of the globe or checking the weather online for our next business trip, virtually there are no limits. We can study online, watch television, and listen to music, blog our diaries, read newspapers and even do our shopping and the only thing restricting us is that a day has 24 hours.
The free circulation of information has never been greater. There are no physical borders on the internet but unfortunately that gives the impression to some people that there are no laws either. It’s much easier to insult, take advantage or hurt somebody when you think you can’t be touched hiding behind your screen. In fact, the virtual world is built on the same common sense rules that the real world is based on too: property should be private unless you chose otherwise; you have the right to privacy, to an opinion, to have your own beliefs and to protect your dignity. Paradoxically the same cultural diversion that makes the Internet so great, builds the biggest barriers, because cultural differences can easily lead to misunderstandings and misunderstandings are the source of all conflicts. So, crossing the border is easy, but not crossing the line is much harder.

Posted by Ministry of Communications and Information Technol at 09:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The Safer Internet Day Blogathon brings together children, teachers and organisations from across the world to share their views on safety over Internet. The Awareness Raising Section of the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) believes as well in the importance of promoting information security and communication technologies that support citizens and equips them with the skills they need to live and work in the knowledge society, as well as the importance of exchanging information between organisations.

To this end, as part of the ENISA Work Programme 2006, the ENISA AR Section has invited the EU and EEA countries to discuss how to raise information security awareness.

The Awareness Raising Unit of ENISA has organised the 2nd Awareness Raising dissemination workshop to foster the sharing and dissemination of the main findings of the Agency in the field of awareness raising within the Member States in October 2006.

The workshop on awareness raising aimed at policy makers responsible or involved in awareness raising activities in their countries. Through a combination of presentations, case studies and panel debates, participants have further explored cutting-edge topics, key issues and emerging good practices in the awareness raising field. Particular attention has been paid to public-private partnerships, SMEs, children, recent and successful government collaborative initiatives with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) aimed at raising awareness among users. Additionally metrics to evaluate effectiveness of awareness programmes have been discussed.

Continue reading "Europe: ENISA Contribution to the Blogathon" »

Posted by ENISA at 09:05 AM | Permalink

In Lithuania more companies and organizations are creating initiatives for Safer Internet. It only allows us to hope that public attention for Internet safety is increasing and the browsing culture will develop even further. According to research more and more parents are concerned with children safety and feel the need to educate them.
Most important it is to attract attention of young people and children to different issues of the Internet safety and safeguard them from harmful content. This is why Safer Internet day video competition was launched, so that students can themselves create video material and educate their peers. Ministry of Education has also encouraged schools to make start-page of school computers our main awareness raising website www.draugiskasinternetas.lt
Moreover we are more than happy that such companies as Microsoft join hands to promote safer Internet use: this year they have developed a educative website about safe actions on the web “Young people – Safe Internet”. It will have comics and stories as well as practical suggestions to stay safe on the net for parents and children. Everybody can find this guide on www.draugiskasinternetas.lt.
On SID2007 Communications Regulations Authorities have developed national public forum for people to discuss problems and ask questions that will be answered by IT and children rights protection specialists. You can find this forum on www.esaugumas.lt/forumas. Also at a special address antivirus.esaugumas.lt people will be able to upload files they think could contain viruses and check how different antivirus programs react to the files.

Posted by Draugiskasinternetas.lt at 09:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

As the Internet moves more and more to mobile phones and the speeds and technologies develop rapidly, specially for Safer Internet Day telecommunications organization “Bite Lietuva” has developed a booklet for parents on Safer Mobile use full of tips on how to protect the children, which will be distributed through outlets as well as schools to parents raising children. You can download it here: Safer Mobile Guide

Posted by Draugiskasinternetas.lt at 08:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

On the Safer Internet day 2007 we have decided to make it virtual. Main information and initiatives will be displayed on website www.draugiskasinternetas.lt. First of all – video competition for school students on topic “Safer Internet”. Visitors of the website will be able to view all the works and from February 13th voting will start up until March 1st, when the winners will be announced.

Posted by Draugiskasinternetas.lt at 08:00 AM | Permalink

A)TICRF (Taiwan Internet Content Rating Promotion Foundation) was established on March 11, 2005 to promote the concept of Internet Content Rating as well as draft development strategies for the safe access of children and young adults to the Internet. Our logo below is clearly indicated TICRF’s role on protecting children for Internet Safety.

B)TICRF’s achievements in 2006 are sharing with all of you as follows: TICRF Internet Content Rating Filter is embedded in Microsoft IE 7.0 Chinese version and Windows Vista Chinese version. TICRF establishes an Internet Content Rating System in Taiwan based on PICS (Platform for Internet Content Selection), which is accorded with Taiwan customs. We all know that Internet Explorer is installed with a PICS-based content rating system known as the Content Advisor, and RSACi system are already built-in there. TICRF cooperated with Microsoft Taiwan to embed TICRF Internet Content Rating filter in IE 7.0 Chinese version. It will help people in Taiwan more convenient to set up their browser without download the filter.

C)TICRF held the seminar of “2006 Asia-Pacific Internet Safety” on May 18, 2006 in Taiwan. We invited KISCOM from Korea and IA Japan from Japan to join this seminar. All of the three parties have shared their unique experiences on Internet Safety for children.

D)TICRF had visited the related organizations of Internet Safety in Australia in December, 2006. From this visit, we learned that these organizations (ACMA / NetAlert / IIA / DCITA) have already concentrated on this filed for a long time and they reach a lot of achievements to be able to be TICRF’s important models in the future.

Posted by WeiChin at 05:08 AM | Permalink

One of the unpleasant 'border crossings' over the past years have been pandemics such as SARS and Bird Flu .... especially in Asia.

When it hit Asia the schools closed for extended periods of time which then raised the need for continuing teaching and learning away from the actual building which many schools were not prepared for.

So ... consider the senario that a pandemic hits your own country ..... schools are forced to close for long periods ... now I wonder how the school of the future will be designed in order to cope with this .... is the only answer an internet one or are there other issues to consider I wonder?

Some links that may be useful are:
Pandemics
www.shambles.net/pages/learning/medical/pandemics
New School Design
www.shambles.net/pages/staff/NewSch
Teachers in the Future
www.shambles.net/pages/staff/futureteac
Virtual Schools
http://www.shambles.net/pages/school/vschools
21st Century Education
www.shambles.net/pages/school/Ed21cent

Posted by Shambles.net at 04:32 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

For more than a decade now, the Internet as steadily become more and more a part of daily living in Singapore. From the beginning of the Internet’s entrance into the mainstream, educators have noted its great potential as a rich source of knowledge and learning for young people. Schools were among the first to have an online presence, and inter-school website design competitions were became common around the mid to late nineties. This author also remembers being a part of a cross-national learning project twelve years ago in which high school students from Singapore and Australia met over Internet video conferencing and learnt from one another about the other culture.

Our youth and young children – those born in the early nineties - are known to be ‘digital natives’ because they grew up with the Internet as part of their lives, taking to it like fish to water. Besides the use of the Internet in schools, affordable home broadband services also means that the Internet is increasingly used for leisure as well. Especially popular activities among the digital natives are blogging, social networking, instant messaging, and multiplayer online games.

We have done well in IT education, and there is no longer any worry that our younger generation are not tech-savvy enough to face the wired global economy of tomorrow. While our children have excelled in technical mastery, they are still vastly ill-equiped with the soft skills needed to tread the Internet in a safe, proper, healthy and meaningful fashion.

Continue reading "Singapore - Crossing Borders" »

Posted by www.eGen.org.sg at 04:00 AM | Permalink

The Internet, the worldwide publicly accessible network, has been making the world go more global beyond our national boundaries. We are crossing borders unimpededly to acquire any information and to contact our friends in distance via internet, the most powerful tool in the 21st century. Given the fact of the distribution of computer and the development of IC environment, however, the unlawful pornography and gambling industries also have taken full advantage of this technology and these activities arisen in one country now can threaten our youth all over the world through the Internet. Therefore, KISCOM (Korea Internet Safety Commission), a statutory organization under Telecommunication Business Act, facilitates international cooperation to create safer and more reliable global internet environment.

As a global partner, KISCOM works with other hotlines in INHOPE(the International Association of Internet Hotlines). Also in the Asia Pacific region, we closely cooperate with organizations within APIH (Asia-Pacific Internet Hotline) launched in 2005. These 'crossing borders' efforts, we believe, can create safer cyber space with preventing harmful contents in the internet more efficiently.
For more information about APIH, please click here

KISCOM also runs "Illegal and Harmful Information Report Center" receiving reports about allegedly illegal and harmful information from public all over the world. When you encounter a suspected illegal webpage whether provided in Korean language or hosted in Korea, you can easily report it to us via online (http://www.kiscom.or.kr/report).

Finally KISCOM initiates a number of campaigns in order to promote safer internet use. As part of them, KISCOM holds an art competition and exhibition for youth on the theme of "Internet Safety”
Please come and see our children's award-winning cartoons, flash and posters on 'Safer and cleaner internet'
Also you can find out the result of our survey conducted in 2006

Continue reading "Korea : Crossing borders for brighter and safer Internet World" »

Posted by KISCOM at 04:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

ICT has introduced a wealth of new opportunities to people all over the world. In remote, isolated countries like New Zealand, the ease and speed with which global communication can now happen is expanding the lives of countless young people. Connecting with the world has never been easier for the roughly one million under 25 year olds living in the country at ‘the bottom of the world’.

Alongside the many positives that this new way of communicating brings, young ‘Kiwis’ (like all cybercitizens) need to be educated about the attendant risks. NetSafe, an independent not-for-profit organisation, is strategically aligned with New Zealand’s Ministry of Education to provide cybersafety education to all sectors of New Zealand society. Due to their widespread use of ICT and the particular vulnerability of this age group, we focus heavily on ways to help increase the cybersafety of young people.

NetSafe firmly believes that as young people the world over learn to navigate cyberspace in increasingly complex ways, it is imperative to equip them with the tools of good cybercitizenship. But what does this involve?

In our view, cybercitizenship extends beyond knowing how to use the technologies. Good cybercitizens have a responsibility to build and nurture the various online communities they are engaged with. An example of cybercitizens already acting at this level can be found in MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing games) communities, where gamers self-police and look after fellow community members by, for example, socially isolating ‘griefers’ (gamers who abuse others within the context of the games).

Additional, more individual responsibilities include taking ownership of one’s actions, using critical thinking skills to judge the veracity of material found online, making ethical and legal decisions about engaging in online activities, and developing strategies to deal with potentially risky or dangerous situations encountered in Cyberspace. As more and more web content becomes user-generated, many of these situations are in fact posed by fellow cybercitizens.

Continue reading "New Zealand: Building a picture of the global cybercitizen" »

Posted by Netsafe at 02:00 AM | Permalink

The Internet allows us all to communicate, learn from and interact with people from all over the world. Living and learning with the world wide web can bring friendship and knowledge into our lives. It allows us to build bridges between people and cultures in a way that was never before possible. It means that we need to carefully navigate the fine line between our own rights, freedom, privacy and the rights of others.

In recent years there has been a growth in social networking and communication. We have more flexibility and opportunity to communicate with others. We can post images, personal information, video clips and our own personal thoughts online. However, the Internet is a public area and anything you post online however private can be viewed by any body else. We need to think of the consequences and the cost.

What are your thoughts?

Happy Safer Internet Day.

The staff at NetAlert - Australia's Internet Safety Advisory Body.

Posted by NetAlert at 02:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (30)

I very am happy to be once again writing the first message in the second global ‘blogathon’ for Safer Internet Day 2007. Safer Internet Day is truly a world-wide event, with 43 countries taking part and hundreds of exciting events being organised across Europe and around the globe. One of today’s highlights is the blogathon organised by Insafe, the EU network for internet safety awareness.

Award for Netiquette: Greece: Athens College and the Czech Republic: ZS TGM Mnichovice. Project title: “e-values”

Award for Power of Images: Poland: Gimnazjum Nr 6 w Żorach and Greece: Primary school of Panagia Thassos. Project title: “The picture as the vehicle of bad and good news”

Award for Innovation:
United Kingdom: Semley Primary School and the United States: Athens-Chilesburg Elementary School. Project title: “The Power of Image”

As European Commissioner for Information Society and Media, I am very pleased that we can demonstrate the potential of information technologies in bringing people together across cultures and continents in such a lively way. Blogging is breaking down barriers between people, and is particularly exciting as it gives us a chance to hear the voices of many that may have been excluded in the past. In this way, it is really helping us to discuss, learn and grow together with people in other countries by expressing and exchanging our ideas. At the same time, we need to be aware of our own rights, while also respecting the privacy, freedom and rights of others.

I now declare the blogathon open, and invite internet safety organisations and citizens from across the world to express their thoughts on ‘Crossing Borders’. You are all invited to post comments from Safer Internet Day until 13 February, and enjoy the event with us!

Viviane Reding
European Commissioner for Information Society and Media

Posted by Alexa Joyce at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)