Three.com.au

The Internet offers adults and children a vast array of educational and rewarding experiences. There are certain parts of the Internet though which may be inappropriate for children and as such would require online guidance and supervision.

ACMA has developed a Families Guide to the Internet as part of their Cybersmart Kids Programme. This Programme is designed to assist families by listing safety rules for kids of different age groups, and advising what they should do and be aware when using the Internet.

A number of other sites which are dedicated to providing information on Internet safety are provided below, they contain information that some parents may find useful:

• CyberAngels
• Young Media Australia
• Netmom
• Safe Teens
• Parent soup online guide
• Smartparent
• Netparents

(a) Risks to Children when using the Internet

Despite the educational and social benefits for children accessing the Internet, there are also associated risks with its use. These include:

• Seeing inappropriate material or information - When using the Internet children may be exposed to material that is sexual, violent, offensive or which promotes racist or sexist views. Children may access this material inadvertently through simple web search queries.
• Physical danger - When using the Internet, children may provide personal information to, or arrange to meet with, another Internet user who they may have meet via email, discussion groups or newsgroups. This person may not be who they claim to be on the Internet. This could put the child's safety, and that of their family or friends, at significant risk.
• Financial risks - Children might provide financial information over the Internet (such as a parent's credit card or bank account details) that could have significant financial consequences.
• Bullying and harassment - When using email, chat rooms or newsgroups, children may be intimidated, belittled or subjected to violent or hateful addressed to them. Such exposure could have detrimental affects on a child's self esteem and attitude.

(b) Hints for Parents

The following are a number of hints for parents to help protect their children when using the Internet.

• Communicate regularly with your children about what they do online and to whom they talk online.
• Take computers out of childrens' rooms and put them into communal areas of the home, such as the family room or living room.
• Help your child choose their screen name, email address or instant messaging name wisely.
• Consider using technology and software designed to help protect your child when using the Internet.
• If you wish to block access to Mobile Web on your account with 3, please call Customer Care on 133 320 and ask about Mobile Web lock.

For further information, please see the IIA's Resources for Parents on Supervising Children's Access to the Internet.

(c) Advice: Internet Safety

Here is a list of common sense rules for Internet safety that Children and Teenagers should be encouraged to follow:

• Don't give out information about yourself or your family such as your address or telephone number without getting your parent's permission.
• If you receive something online that makes you feel uncomfortable, don't respond; leave the area right away and tell your parents.
• Don't meet with anyone you meet online without getting your parents' permission first.
• Never send anybody your picture or anything else without first checking with your parents.
• Don't open or accept emails, files, links, URLs, or other things from people you don't really know or trust.
• Don't give out your password to anyone but your parents or guardian - not even to your best friend.

(d) Advice: Chat Services

Here is a list of common sense rules for Chat safety that Children and Teenagers should be encouraged to follow:

• Remember that people you might meet online may not be who they say they are (someone claiming to be a 12 year-old girl could really be a 40 year-old man).
• Never give your password to anyone else, even your best friend (keep it secret, just like a PIN for automatic teller machines).
• Always tell your parents or another adult you trust if something on the Internet is confusing, scary or makes you feel uncomfortable.
• Never respond to messages or chat posts if someone says something which makes you feel uncomfortable, just leave the chat room straight away and tell your parents.
• Always tell your parents or guardian if you see upsetting language or nasty pictures when you are online.
• Always have your parent or guardian present if you fill out any online forms, and never go into an area that asks for money, personal details or a credit card.
• Remember that if someone makes an offer that seems too good to be true, it probably is.
• You can read more about the dangers of chat and how to be safe online at www.chatdanger.com.

(e) Advice: Email

Parents are advised to teach their children never to respond to junk email or email from someone they don't know. By responding they could be verifying to the sender that they have a valid email address (which may result in more junk or spam email). Further parents should instruct their children to never send a photograph of themselves or any other personal information to a stranger.

(f) Advice: Newsgroups / Bulletin Boards / Discussion Groups

Newsgroups (also known as bulletin boards or discussion groups) are public online discussion groups where users can post or read messages and download/upload files. Unlike chat rooms, they are not live sites and messages, once posted, will stay online where others can then view and respond to them. Discussions can include news or other topics and can contain participant's opinions as well as factual (or false) information.

Parents should inform their children never to reveal personal information to strangers or individuals they do not know well. Posting in a news group will make an email address public.

Internet users who are residents of Australia have the right to make a complaint to ACMA about content that they believe may be prohibited or illegal under the regulatory regime. ACMA will investigate complaints to assess whether the content is prohibited or illegal.

To make a complaint to ACMA about prohibited content you can either:

• make a complaint via ACMA website at www.acma.gov.au; or
• email your complaint to online@acma.gov.au; or
• post/fax your complaint to:
  The Content Assessment Hotline
  Australian Communications and Media Authority
  GPO Box Q500 Queen Victoria Building NSW 1230
  Fax (02) 9334 7799

To ensure that ACMA appropriately investigates your complaint, you must set out:

• the Internet address of the Internet content and any other access details required to view it;
• a description of the Internet content; and
• the reason that you think the Internet content is or may be prohibited content.

There can be many risks in using the Internet. A number of tools though are available, along with some helpful information that can allow users to take appropriate steps to safeguard their computer.

(a) Unsolicited Email (Spam)

Spam is unwanted or unsolicited junk email, such as unsolicited email advertising or messages that may include sexual or offensive content. Spam disrupts email delivery, clogs up computer systems, wastes time, irritates users and raises the cost of Internet access fees.

The IIA has a National Spam Initiative which aims to empower all Australian Internet users to limit their exposure to spam. The initiative provides for a number of tips and resources which can assist users. The initiative and associated resources can be found here.

You can minimise your exposure to spam by:

• Avoiding the disclosure of your email when not necessary.
• Check an organisation's privacy policy and consent arrangements before disclosing your personal information.
• Only open attachments if you know what they contain and who has sent them to you. Otherwise, it is safest to delete immediately.

Additionally, we use a spam filter as part of our spam reduction strategy and this filter sorts incoming emails messages and rejects them if it believes it is spam.

If you think you have received spam:

• Do not respond if the source seems dubious - If you receive spam from a source that seems dubious the best thing to do is to delete the message without opening it. Do not reply, click on any buttons and do not purchase products and services that are advertised using spam.
• Contact the business directly to make a complaint - If you have already opened the message and you are unsure whether the source is authentic, check for accurate sender information. If the spam advertises a legitimate Australian business, you may wish to contact the business directly by telephone or in writing to make a complaint and request that they do not send you any more messages.
• Report the spam to ACMA - You can do this through ACMA website- www.acma.gov.au and click on spam. The information you provide will assist ACMA to identify patterns of spamming activities affecting Australia.

(b) Viruses and Anti-Virus Software

A virus is a malicious program or piece of code that causes an unexpected (usually negative) event. They are often disguised as games, images or emails attachments with clever, deceitful names such as "Instant Cash" or "Reduce your Mortgage". They can often have such effects as erasing files on your hard drive or preventing you from using or accessing files on your computer.

The IIA has a National AntiVirus Initiative which aims to empower all Australian Internet users to better control their exposure to Internet viruses. The initiative provides for a number of tips and free trial anti virus software which can assist users. The initiative, and links for downloading free trial anti virus software can be found here.

Once you have installed an anti-virus package, you should scan your entire computer periodically.

Some helpful tips to assist you in limiting your exposure to viruses are:

• Don't open any files attached to an email from an unknown, suspicious or untrustworthy source.
• Don't open any files attached to an email unless you know what it is.
• Delete chain emails and spam.
• Do not download any files from strangers.
• Exercise caution when downloading files from the Internet.
• Update your anti-virus software regularly.
• Back up your files on a regular basis.
• When in doubt, always err on the side of caution.

(a) Using a PC

A filter is a computer program that is specifically designed to limit access to certain types of content on the Internet. The use of filters is not mandatory in Australia, either under law or the IIA Codes. Users can choose whether or not to install and activate them. Filters can however be a useful addition to direct parental supervision and as such are a positive resource to assist Internet users.

The IIA has a list of content filters which are listed below.

• Cyber patrol
• Cyber sentinel
• Cybersitter
• Eyeguard
• Internet Sheriff
• I-Gear
• Interscan Web Manager
• kidz.net
• Net Nanny
• n2h2
• Websense
• Norton Internet Security
• Smart Filter
• X-Stop
• X-Stop r2000

Each filter product has a web site that provides more information about the product and how to use it.

More information about filters can be obtained from either ACMA or NetAlert websites.

(b) Using a 3 mobile

Current technology is not adequate to provide effective filtering for Internet content when it is accessed via a mobile. However the telecommunications industry and government are monitoring developments to ensure that appropriate technology is implemented when it becomes available.

To safeguard customers in relation to the Mobile Web product, 3 has implemented the following safeguards:

• Blocking – account holders can block access to the Internet via the Mobile Web product by calling 3's Customer Care on 133 320. To unblock access, the account holder is also required to call Customer Care.
• Limited access – prepaid customers do not have access to the Mobile Web product.

Internet content is stored information that is accessed over the Internet. This includes stored content found on Internet websites or in postings on newsgroups/bulletin boards. It does not include content within ordinary emails or content that is accessed in ‘real time' without previously being stored - such as chat services or "streamed" audio/visual content.

Australian Internet users should be aware that placing certain content on the Internet may give rise to criminal or civil liability under applicable State, Territory or Commonwealth law.

The following categories of Internet content are prohibited for hosting on servers within Australia:

• Content which is (or would be) classified RC or X by the Classification Board. Such content includes:
  - material contained detailed instruction in crime, violence or drug use;
  - child pornography;
  - excessively violent material;
  - real depictions of actual sexual activity; and
  
• Content hosted in Australia which is classified R and not subject to a restricted access system which complies with criteria determined by the ACMA. Content classified R is not considered suitable for minors and includes:
  - material containing excessive and/or strong violence or sexual violence;
  - material containing implied or simulated sexual activity;
  - material which deals with issues or contains depictions which require an adult perspective.