The first thing you need to realise when being online, is that it really is no different to being in real life (so far as what you should keep secret) despite the fact that chat rooms, messenger programs etc. seem to offer anonymity it does not mean you can just drop all the precautions you would have in real life.

Let's look at an example, if someone came up to you in the street and asked you at random for your address and phone number? Would you give it to them? Using your common sense then of course you wouldn't. The same principle applies online, you should keep your personal information secret and secure at all times.

So what sort of information should you keep private?

Here is a list of the most common things you should keep safe:
-Bank/credit card/financial details (Including login passwords to sites which use financial transactions!)

• Phone number
• Address
• Passwords (should NEVER be shared, especially on financial websites!!)

These are the 3 key bits of information you should NEVER share online, except to a trusted site... So you may be wondering how you can tell if a site can be trusted?

Almost all genuine websites which require financial transactions will have a set of terms and conditions, and every single one we have encountered has a privacy statement/policy about how it will use this information, if the site does not have these, or they are vague/show signs of potentially dangerous use (e.g. passing information to other companies) it may be worth looking for another website.

One of the biggest, and potentially very damaging scams we see is from emails claiming to be from a person's bank which requires them to "Update their details online" In ALL circumstances these are fake, and lead you to dangerous or fake websites where you input your information and it gets sent to a fraudster who may then use your bank account.

These 3 aside there are some other key bits of information that it is best not to give out to strangers online (especially when it comes to children!)
These are:

• Full Name
• For children it is best not to allow them to reveal their location past the country they live in!
• School/clubs they are part of (these can lead to people tracing the child)
• Photos of themselves/friends (This is quite a serious one for children)
• Email address

These bits of information are definately best kept secret when the user is a child, as they are paticularly vulnerable online from various groups.

The key thing to remember is COMMON SENSE! This is absolutely vital to keeping you and your information secure, you can have all the fancy software in the world to protect you but without using your common sense and thinking before you send your information out, then they are useless.

Things you should consider to protect you/your families information:

• Firewall (This is essential! - There are several free ones on the internet. Zone alarm is a good free one)
• Anti-Virus (Again this is essential, either find a decent free one e.g. AVG or find a paid for package from a well known company)
• Anti-Spy/mal/adware program - Although not essential, it is highly recommended due to the vast number of these spy/mal/adware programs there are in existence, although several are harmless some can really cause damage, or compromise your computer's security and safety.