Betty teaches you the importance of keeping your OFFLINE identity separate from your ONLINE identity

Betty

Betty
Cyber Defender & Clubhouse Supervisor

Betty learned the hard way about sharing too much information online when rumors she had spread through her online blog upset some of her friends. Since then she has made it her goal to educate everyone about what information is inappropriate or unsafe to share online to prevent others from getting hurt.

As a Cyber Defender, Betty focuses on the most important information you should never share online, your offline identity.

Favorite Quote:

A stumble may prevent a fall
- English Proverb

Favorite Food:

Tea and crumpets

Interests:

Chatting, macrame, collecting teacups

April 21 2009

Case Studies: Government Rules about Sharing Online

It may seem like Cyberspace is one great big global space where everyone is equal and has the same rights, but unfortunately it's not true. Every country has their own policies about what their citizens can and can't do in Cyberspace. Some countries see the Internet as a threat to the way of life because of how easy it is for people to share ideas and opinions. They may have rules that prevent their citizens from using the Internet, limit which Web sites they are allowed to visit, or prevent them from sharing their own opinions in Cyberspace.

More bloggers than ever are being arrested for sharing their opinions in Cyberspace. In December 2007, Saudi Arabia's most popular blogger, Fouad al-Farhan, was detained for questioning because he criticized his government on his blog. Unlike many other bloggers in his country, he used his real name, so it was easy for law enforcement to find him.

My dear Cadets, I know you think I'm being paranoid when I tell you to be careful about posting things online, and I know I sound like a worry wart when I caution you against using your real name. But it's for good reason, I assure you. Even if your government allows you to share your opinions online, it can still land you in a whole lot of trouble. All I am saying is to be smart about it. I know you can.

posted by Betty
topics: Case Studies

April 7 2009

Personal Information: What's NOT personal information?

Hopefully you read my post about coming up with your own personal information filters and have put some thought into what your own filter would include. But with all this information that is not safe to share online, you might be wondering if there anything left that is safe to share.

Well, dears, I can't list everything that it is safe to share, but I can give you some advice for deciding for yourself. Sometimes it's just a matter of not telling the whole story. For example:

  • Share your favorite band, but not which concert you have tickets for
  • Share your pet's name, but not which park you take him to
  • Share your favorite food, but not which restaurant you go to all the time
  • Share what sports you play, but not what team you play for
  • Share which books you have read, but not which library is near your house
  • Share your opinion, but not if it's going to hurt someone's feelings or offend someone
  • Share a funny picture of a squirrel, but not a picture of you acting squirrelly

These can give your online friends an idea of what your likes and dislikes are and who you are as a person without giving away any of your personal information or your online identity.

But you still have to be on your toes all the time, because some sneaky weirdo strangershave a way of getting you to reveal more than you intend to . They might stick around for a long time, pretending to be your friend but actually trying to get you to reveal your personal information. It's much safer for you to reveal not enough information than to reveal too much.

posted by Betty
topics: Personal Information

April 2 2009

The Clubhouse Tea Party

Both the girls, Jax and Erika, were with me in the Clubhouse when Dr. Keen's attack was initiated. It was actually kind of fun pretending I didn't know what was going on. We ended up playing cards and having a tea party in my office while we waited for the network to come back up.

Since we were trapped in Cyberspace we had a different experience than the rest of the Academy. Emergency protocol says that if something happens while you are in Cyberspace and you are within the firewall, after ensuring that you are in a secure location you are to stay put and wait for contact from the Cyber Defenders. We don't want panicked people wandering off through unsecure parts of Cyberspace. They could alert cyber criminals to our weaknesses pretty quickly. Now, if the firewall had actually come down, it would have been a totally different story...

posted by Betty
topics: Miscellaneous