Safety

Puget Sound Off strives to build a friendly community that's inclusive of all and tolerant of differing view points.  It's an online space that is safe for users and a source for Internet safety education.

To support our goal of a friendly, safe and open community PSO decided:

• Anyone can access user conversations, blogs, photos, videos.
• There is no private porfile or private messaging feature.
• There is a built-in content flagging feature.  If you see a derogatory post or a post that is hurtful, flag it so that it gets removed.

Internet Safety Tips:

The Internet can be a scary environment because of malware, viruses, fraud, predatory behavior, and cyber bullying.  Here are some user safety tips and resources you'll find useful in avoiding common cyber pitfalls.

Teen Safety Tips:

• Keep your identity private - don't give out personal information. 
• Never get together with someone you "meet" online.
• Never respond to e-mail, chat comments, or newsgroup messages that are hostile, belligerent, inappropriate or in any way make you feel uncomfortable.
• Talk with your parent about their expectations and ground rules for going online. 
• If you don't know the sender - don't open the message.
• Create a strong password: Use a combination of UPPER CASE and lower case letters, use numbers and letters.
• Only download files from a trusted source.
• Keep antivirus and firewall software up-to-date.

Parent Safety Tips:

• Talk with your teens about what they can and cannot do online.
• Be open with your teens and encourage them to come to you if they encounter a problem online.
• Learn everything you can about the Internet.
• Check out blocking, flitering and ratings.
• Keep antivirus and firewall software up-to-date.

For more information visit: www.netsmartz.org

i-Learn Online is a dynamic e-safety site supported by Microsoft. The site is full of tips for parents, public officials and youth. Click here to access the site. To access the 2008-09 i-Safe curriculum guide click here.

Click here to access the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's site.

The Beehive on Internet safety: Family, Computer, Identity and a dictionary of safety and security terms:

You can also get information from the City of Seattle's Information Security Homepage (Sign up for the cyber tips and threats mailing list). Click here for more information.