Lesson 1 of 7
Staying Safe Online
Learn the golden rules of internet safety, spotting suspicious activity, and protecting your personal details.
Learn it
The internet is like a massive digital city packed with games, videos, and ways to chat with your friends. Just like crossing a busy road in real life, you need to stay alert and follow a few smart rules to stay safe online.
Personal information is like a set of house keys. You should never hand your full name, home address, school name, or telephone number to strangers or type them into websites you do not trust.
If anything you see online makes you feel uncomfortable, confused, or worried, always tell a trusted adult like a parent, carer, or teacher straight away.
Key terms
- PII (Personally Identifiable Information)
- Any data that can be used to identify, contact, or locate a specific individual, such as your full name or address.
- Cyber Hygiene
- The routine practices and habits users follow to maintain device security and protect personal data.
- HTTPS
- A secure communications protocol used on the web that encrypts data sent between your browser and the website.
- Social Engineering
- Psychological tricks used by attackers to manipulate people into giving away confidential information or access.
Performing a Personal Privacy Audit
Take control of your online presence by reviewing the security settings on your favourite gaming or social apps.
- 1Open App Settings: Launch an app you use daily and navigate to the Account or Privacy Settings panel.
- 2Review Visibility: Check who can view your profile, friends list, and real-time location. Switch public settings to Friends Only or Private.
- 3Manage Permissions: Inspect permissions granted to the app on your device, such as camera, microphone, and precise location access.
- 4Revoke Unneeded Access: Turn off location tagging and disable third-party advertising tracking features.
Simple Data Checker Script
pythonsensitive_keywords = ['password', 'home address', 'phone number', 'credit card']
message = 'Hello! My home address is 12 Elm Street.'
for keyword in sensitive_keywords:
if keyword in message.lower():
print(f'Warning: Message contains sensitive info -> {keyword}')This Python script scans a text message for sensitive keywords and issues a safety alert if any private information is detected before sending.
Try it
Decide whether each statement about online safety is True or False.
It is completely safe to share your home address in a public gaming chat if other players ask for it.
Websites that use HTTPS encrypt the traffic between your web browser and their server.
A padlock icon in the browser address bar guarantees that a website is 100 percent trustworthy and not a scam.
You should regularly check and tighten the privacy settings on all your social media and gaming accounts.
Challenge
Write down three rules your school or family could use to create a family internet safety contract.
Pick whichever way suits you — every mode earns the same bonus XP.
Write at least 40 more characters to submit.
Mark your own work
Guided walkthrough — 0/5 clues revealed
- Clue 1 locked — reveal it only if you get stuck.
- Clue 2 locked — reveal it only if you get stuck.
- Clue 3 locked — reveal it only if you get stuck.
- Clue 4 locked — reveal it only if you get stuck.
- Clue 5 locked — reveal it only if you get stuck.
Each clue costs 3 XP (never below 13 XP). You'd earn 25 XP right now.
Extension: Draft a quick guide explaining how someone can report abusive or suspicious behaviour on a popular platform.