The web is a constantly changing space, and many people are afraid to dip their toes in the web stream for fear of being stung by a digital stingray. And rightfully so. In my experience, weaving through through the email flow, are false warnings and ugly offerings, fraudulent phishers, and identity thieves. The web is also increasingly unavoidable. What to do? Learn how to protect yourself without going hiding; learn to navigate through the web rapids.

One place to go to find out if something is real or not is Snopes.com, a site that tracks rumors and scams. If you suspect an email or a site is a virus, a fraud, or an urban legend, http://www.snopes.com/ is a reputable site where you can find answers.

One additional warning; I have seen emails that assure me that Snopes agrees that whatever this email says is true. Don’t just beleive them and don’t just click on the (supposed) Snopes link they give you. Find Snopes using Google and check out the claim there.

My daughter, who swims in a very different web stream than I do, offers this advice, especially relevant for parents and teachers, IMHO. Apparently some questionable sites have managed to get web addresses very similar to highly popular sites, with only a small typo difference. Make the typo, and you can find yourself in a toxic swamp. Being very careful about web addresses, and/or bookmarking (making them a “favorite”) so you just click is the easiest way to deal with that.

Most importantly is educate yourself on what’s happening on the web on a regular basis. Virtual University – http://vu.org/ is offering a free course on Internet Security. To access it, click on http://vu.org/ and find the box on the right, (three pink arrows point to it in the image below.)

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I’ve taken courses from the Virtual University before and found them to have good information although perhaps a little ordinary in presentation. I’m going to take the course; you might want to update your web dangers knowledge too.