WHAT TO TYPE

Be smart. If you don't use privacy settings, anyone has access to your blog or profile, not just people you know.

DON'T

• Post your cell phone number, address, or the name of your school
• Post your friends' names, ages, phone numbers, school names, or addresses
• Add people as friends to your site unless you know them in person
• Communicate with people you don't know
• Give out your password to anyone other than your parent or guardian
• Meet in person with anyone you first "met" on a social networking site
• Respond to harassing or rude comments posted on your profile
• Make or post plans and activities on your site
• Post photos with school names, locations, license plates, or signs
• Post photos with the name of your sports team
• Post sexually provocative photos
• Respond to threatening or negative emails or IMs

DO

• Check the privacy settings of the social networking sites that you use
• Set privacy settings so that people can only be added as your friend if you approve them
• Set privacy settings so that people can only view your profile if you have approved them as a friend
• Remember that posting information about your friends could put them at risk
• Consider going through your blog and profile and removing information that could put you at risk
• Delete any unwanted messages or friends who continuously leave inappropriate comments
• Report comments to the networking site if they violate that site's terms of service
• Save or print questionable activity and include date and time
• Tell your parents or guardian if anything happens online that makes you feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused

WHEN TO TELL

Trust Your Intuition: Always go with your gut feeling, and if something doesn't feel right to you or a friend, report it. You can help stop the online victimization of youth.

BE CAUTIOUS OF

• Anyone you don't know who asks you for personal information, photos or videos
• Unsolicited obscene material from people or companies you don't know
• Misleading URLs on the Internet that point you to sites containing harmful materials rather than what you were looking for
• Anyone who wants to send you photos or videos containing obscene content of youth 18 and younger (The possession, manufacturing, or distributing of child pornography is illegal.)
• Anyone you don't know who asks you to meet them somewhere offline (If the person is an adult this is illegal and they can be charged with a criminal offense called Online Enticement.)
• Threats to your life or safety
• Threats to others

If any of the above happens to you or a friend, tell an adult you trust and report it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's CyberTipline. For additional information on how to be safer online, visit NetSmartz.org.

Source: Tips adapted from "Blog Beware," a publication of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Read the complete report at NetSmartz.org. © 2006 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Boys & Girls Clubs of America. All rights reserved.