Chief's Message

It is a great privilege to head the State Police of the Kerala State. The efforts taken by my
predecessors and hundreds of officers at all levels remind me of the tasks ahead. The Kerala Police is
having a vision to make the state of Kerala a Safe, Secure and Peaceful place for all persons by
enforcing and upholding the constitution of India and abiding by all the laws made there under. In a
democratic society, the police are charged with enforcement of law designed to make the society safe
and orderly. The Police is the only civilian authority enjoying the legal and physical means to enforce
the law including the use of minimum force when and if necessary. It is therefore, highly necessary
that the Police go by the rule of law with lot of empathy especially in a society with pluralistic ideals
and thinking. The Police actions are to be fair, just and with compassion and at times very firm. We
the members of the Kerala Police are committed to take all possible endeavour to ensure to protect
and preserve the security and integrity of the nation, preserve public order, life and property of all the
persons in the State and to eradicate the fear of crime, to bring to justice all violations, if any, to
ensure public safety and to help progress by adopting all feasible modern and scientific methods and
by upholding human dignity. With the whole hearted co-operation of all concerned, we are here to
protect the security of the State, the liberty, freedom and human values of all sections of society for a
better quality of life. We commit ourselves to achieve the above with empathy, integrity, sincerity, rule
of law, honour, devotion and transparency in a Polite but Firm manner.
T.P.
DGP and State Police Chief, Kerala

Senkumar

IPS,

Citizen's Charter
Preamble
In accordance with the existing laws of the land, various Government and departmental orders, and
guidelines such as those issued by the NHRC, certain procedures have been evolved with respect of
citizens dealing with the police. For the purpose of easy understandability and wide reach, this
Citizens Charter is intended to provide a simplified outline of such procedures. It describes, in simple
terms, what the citizens rights are, what they can expect from the police and what is expected of them
in turn. The Citizens Charter is not supposed to be a compendium of the existing laws or a
commentary thereon. For that, the citizens must refer to the laws and interpretations thereof as
contained in various judgments. (The use of masculine gender in the following is Standard English
unless specifically mentioned, the concepts apply equally well to females as well.)
Text
1.

You will be given a printed receipt when you submit a petition in person at any police
station. It will not be possible to acknowledge petitions sent by post.

2.

You are entitled to make periodical enquires at the police station regarding the action
taken on your petition after a reasonable time. Although, all efforts are made to attend to
every petition as early as possible, expecting instant justice is neither practicable nor
desirable.

3.
4.

If a FIR is registered on the basis of your petition you will be given a copy of the FIR.
If the FIR is not registered, you will be informed as to why it has not been found proper to
register it.
5.
In strict legal terms, petition enquiry is not the job of the police particularly when it relates
to matter that do not have a reasonable bearing upon the occurrence or the likelihood of
the occurrence of a cognizable offence or a law and order/public order problem. If police
has been attending to such matters, it should be regarded as a consequence of a historical
compulsion. As such, it falls within the realm of social service. It means that disposal of
petitions at the level of police stations must be regarded as a socially acceptable and,
above all, expedient solution to such problems of the citizens for which they think that,
due to various reasons, the police would be able to provide them a reasonable degree of
succor without the hassle of their going through the stipulated channels and departments.
Such a disposal should not be regarded as a substitute for a judicial remedy. If one does
not have faith in the system, he is at liberty to get his grievances redressed through the
prescribed channels and departments. Therefore, those petitioners and counter petitioners
who affix their signatures in the petitions register are not expected to question either the
integrity or the motives of the police in having arrived at a certain solution.
6.

When a citizen is arrested, he should expect that the police personnel carrying out the
arrest and handling the interrogation of the arrestee will bear accurate, visible and clear
identification and name tags with their designations.

7.

When citizens are arrested the procedure provides for the preparation of a memo of arrest
at the time of arrest and that such memo will be attested by at least one witness who may
either be a member of the family of the arrestee or a respectable person of the locality
from where the arrest is made. It will also be countersigned by the arrestee and will
contain the time and date of arrest.

8.

A person who has been arrested or detained and is being held in custody in a police station
or interrogation or other lock-up, shall be entitled to have one friend or relative or other
person known to him or having interest in his welfare being informed, as soon as
practicable, that he has been arrested and is being detained at the particular place, unless
the attesting witness of the memo or arrest is himself such a friend or a relative of the
arrestee.

9.

If the next friend or relative of the arrestee lives outside the district or town, then the
time, place of the arrest and venue of the custody of the arrestee is expected to be
notified by the police to the concerned through the Legal Aid Organization in the district

and the police station of the area concerned telegraphically within a period of 8 to 12 hours
after the arrest.
10. The arrestee, if he so requests, is entitled to be examined at the time of his arrest. Any
major and minor injuries, if any present on his body will be recorded at that time. This
Inspection Memo will be signed both by the arrestee and police officer effecting the
arrest and its copy provided to the arrestee.
11. The arrestees are entitled to be subjected to medical examination by a qualified doctor
every 48 hours during their detention in custody.
12. The arrestees may be permitted to meet their lawyers during the interrogation, though not
throughout the interrogation.
13. Whenever a woman is to be arrested, a woman police officer should, as far as possible, be
a member of the arresting party. The arrest of women between sunset and sunrise is to be
avoided.
14. When the arrest is for a bailable offence, the arrested person is entitled to be released on
bail and he may arrange for sureties on his behalf.
15. If a person resists arrest, the police officer can use as much force as is necessary to effect
the arrest. The force used must be proportionate to the actual requirement. No arrested
person shall be subjected to more restraint than is necessary to prevent his escape.
16. Arrested persons are liable to be searched. Search of a female is to be done by another
female.
17. Arrested persons may be subjected to Polygraph/Lie Detector Test only on the basis of
their consent.
(Submitted to the Government for approval vide PHQ D.O. No. S1-78726/2003 dated
October 18, 2003.)

Cyber Crime Police

The Cyber Police Station, Kerala has started its functioning since 01.07.2009 which has been created
with an objective to investigate serious and complicated Cyber crimes, which otherwise could not be
properly investigated by the local police for want of technical expertise. The SHO of Cyber PS is an
officer of the rank of DySP and is being supervised by SP Crimes under the overall command of
ADGP Crimes. The Station House Officer, Cyber Police Station is empowered to register FIRs,
conduct further investigation and to lay final reports before the Court. Vide GO (Ms) No.66/2011/Home
Dated 28.02.2011 the Government of Kerala designate the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court,
Thiruvananthapuram as the Special Court for the trial of Cyber Crime cases registered in the Cyber
Police Station.
The offences currently being investigated in the Cyber Police Station are as follows
In day to day functioning, the Cyber Police Station will be similar to a Special Unit Police Station of the
CBCID/V&ACB. Cases will not normally be registered by the Cyber Police Station by obtaining
complaints directly from Public. Such cases will be first registered at the concerned local PS and
wherever it is felt by the Unit head that application of Cyber Forensic techniques are essential in the
investigation of that case, the case will be referred to the Cyber Police Station who may continue
further investigation or assist in the investigation.
The Cyber Police Station will render all necessary assistance to all investigating Officers in Cyber
Crimes whenever requested for.
1.

Theft of Source Code

2.

Cyber Terrorism

3.

Hacking of websites

4.

Hacking of Bank accounts and email ids

5.

Creation, Publishing and Sharing of Child Pornography

6.

Tampering with Computer Source documents

7.

Social media abuse which may result in serious consequences

8.

Complicated Cyber offences done through Smart phones

WHY NEED CYBER LAW

Cyber Laws
CYBER LAWS
With the advent of Computers as a basic tool of Communication, Information Processing, Information
Storage, Physical Devices Control, etc., a whole new Cyber Society has come into existence. This
Cyber society operates on a virtual world created by Technology and it is the Cyber Space
Engineering that drives this world. In maintaining harmony and co-existence of people in this Cyber
Space, there is a need for a legal regime which is what we recognize as Cyber laws. Cyber Laws
are the basic laws of a Society and hence have implications on every aspect of the Cyber Society
such as Governance, Business, Crimes, Entertainment, Information Delivery, Education etc.
WHY THE NEED FOR CYBER LAW?

Coming
of
the
Greatest cultural, economic, political and social transformation in the history of human

Internet.

society.

Complex legal issues arising leading to

the
development
of
cyber law.
Different approaches for controlling, regulating and facilitating electronic communication
and commerce.
CATEGORIES OF CYBER LAWS

Laws

Laws

Laws
Law of Cyber Crimes

Relating
Relating
Relating

to
to
to

Digital
Digital
Digital

Contracts
Property
Rights

THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT, 2000 - INDIA 'S FIRST CYBERLAW

Aims
to
provide
the
legal
infrastructure
for
e-commerce
in
India.
India 's codified Cyber law is the Information Technology Act, 2000 (Act 21 of 2000).

Based
on
the
INCITRAL
Model
Law
on
Electronic
Commerce,
1996.

IT
Act
is
divided
into
13
chapters
and
has
94
sections.
Amendments to IPC, Indian Evidence Act, Bankers Book Evidence Act and RBI Act have
been effected.
The Act provides for:

Legal
Legal
Admissibility
Legal

Recognition
recognition
of
of
Electronic
Acceptance

of
Electronic
data/evidence
of

Electronic
commerce
in
a
Court
digital

Documents
Transactions
of
Law
signatures

 Punishment
for
Cyber
obscenity
and
Establishment of Cyber regulations advisory Committee and the Cyber Regulations

crimes

Appellate
Facilitation of electronic filing maintenance of electronic records.

Tribunal.

THE IT ACT, 2000 OBJECTIVES

To
provide
legal
recognition
for
transactions:
Carried
out
by
means
of
electronic
data
interchange,
and
Other means of electronic communication, commonly referred to as "electronic commerce",
involving the

use of alternatives to paper-based methods of communication and storage

of
information,

To facilitate electronic filing of documents with the Government agencies

To amend the Indian Penal Code, the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the Banker's Book
Evidence
Act,
1891
and
the
Reserve
Bank
of
India
Act,
Aims to provide for the legal framework so that legal sanctity is accorded to all electronic
records and

1934

other activities carried out by electronic means.

According to the Indian IT Act, 2000 the various Cyber offences are:

Tampering
with
computer
source
documents

Hacking
with
computer
system

Publishing
of
information
which
is
obscene
in
electronic
form

Not
to
obey
the
direction
of
Controller
Directions of Controller to a subscriber extend facilities to decrypt information

Intrusion
into
protected
system

Penal
action
for
misrepresentation

Breach
of
confidentiality
and
privacy

Publishing
digital
signature
certificate
false
in
certain
particular
etc.

Act
to
apply
for
offence
or
contravention
committed
outside
India
and
Confiscation
THE IT ACT, 2000 POSITIVE ASPECTS
Legality of Email:
E-mail will now be a valid and legal form
Can be duly produced and proved in a court of law.

of

communication

in

our

country.

Stipulating
the
offences
which
would
constitute
Computer
Identification of domestic criminal law for possible amendments to meet the requirements

crimes.

India's strategy for prevention of Computer Crimes

of
prevention
of
computer
related
crimes.

Improving
international
collaborations.

Effective
prosecution
under
the
existing
criminal
law.
Adaptation and classification of OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and

Development)
guidelines.
Development of Security guidelines and manuals for implementation of such guidelines.
Crimes Prevention under the IT Act.

Chapter
IX
provides
Chapter XI provides for Offences.

for

Penalties

and

Adjudication.

The object of IT Act is to protect:

All
electronic
systems

Privacy
of
protect the computer system from unauthorized access

for

intrusion;
messages;

certain

The object of IT Act is to ensure:

Compliance
to
the
provisions
of

Non-publishing
of
obscene
Assistance in the decrypting information in the interest of state and crime control.

the

Act;
information.

The Act also aims at preventing misrepresentation, falsity and fraud and provides for penalty.
Information Technology Act & Indian Penal Code

All
cyber
crimes
do
not
come
Many cyber crimes come under the Indian Penal Code.

under

the

IT

Act.

Cyber law faq

Hacking

1.
2.
Theft
3.
Theft
4. Theft of Credit Card numbers

Defacting

Spamming.

of

Launch

website,
information,
Passwords,

of
of

malicious
DOS
DDOS

programmes
attacks
attcks
Spoofing

To Do

Note
the
Date
and
Time
of
attack.
Note what abnormal act of the system led to suspicion by the victim.

Keep
your
Logs
in
safe.

Do
not
change
or
uninstall
OS
or
Firewall
or
settings.
Do not clear Internet History, Cookies, or files.
Crimes committed through Internet

[ Top ]

Cheating or Frauds
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. Pyramid Schemes

Advance

Fee
Insurance
Impersonation

Nigerian

Letter
Auction

Ponzi

Distribution

Sale
Credit card number Theft

Scheme
Frauds
Frauds
Frauds
Frauds

Schemes

of
of

pirated

Theft
Gambling
Pornography
softwares

To Do
Note
the
URL
or
IP
address
of
the
suspect
site.
Note
the
Date
and
Time
that
you
visited
the
site.
Note from where the suspected site was visited i.e. Home, business, Cyber Caf.
If you made any online payment, note the Card number and amount.

Take
Hard
copy
of
suspected
site.

Save
the
website
to
Hard
disk
or
other
media.

Note
the
contact
information
of
the
website.
Do not clear Internet History, Cookies, or files.
E-mail Crimes

[ Top ]


Extortion
Stalking
Email
Email Spamming

Threats

Bombing

To Do

Note
your
ISP.

Print
a
copy
of
the
Email
you
received.

Print
a
copy
of
the
Email
header
you
received
if
you
can.

Save
copy
of
Email
to
hard
disk
or
other
media.

Do
not
delete
the
Email
form
your
mailbox
or
mail
server.

Note
the
Subject,
Screen
name
and
Email
of
the
offender.
Do not clear Internet History, Cookies, or files.
News group Crimes

[ Top ]

Sale

Customer

Chain

Ponzi

Sale
of

Distribution/Sale
of

Distribution/Sale
of

Distribution
of

Discussions
on
Sale of stolen Credit Card numbers etc.

Stolen

data
scams
scams
schemes
property
material
softwares
software
hacking

letter
stolen
pornography
pirated
Hacking
methods

of

To Do

Note

Note
name

Title
of

Date
and

Take
a
print

Take
a
soft
Do not clear Internet History, Cookies, or files.
IRC Chat crimes

your
of

News
the

time
out
copy

you
of
of

the
the

ISP.
Group.
posting.
accessed.
same
same.

[ Top ]

Cyber
Stalking
Fraudsters use chat rooms for developing relations with unsuspecting victims

Criminal
use
it
for
meeting
coconspirators.

Hackers
use
it
for
discussing
their
exploits
or
sharing
the
techniques.
Pedophiles use chat rooms to allure small children.
To Do

Note
the
Name
of
Name
of
Nick
name/Screen
Note
the
profile
of
the

name

of
the
the
name
of
suspect
user,
if

the
Chat
Chat
the
got
take

ISP.
server.
room.
offender.
printout.


Take
a
Hard
or
Soft
Do not clear Internet History, Cookies, or files.
Lost Credit card?

copy

of

the

Chat

dialogue.

[ Top ]

The worst thing about having your wallet lost or stolen knows that whoever now has your wallet
can use your credit cards to incur steep bills that you may be responsible for. Aside from the stress of
identity theft and having to replace all your lost cards, the possibility of someone ruining your credit
history is enough to cause even the hardiest soul to lose sleep. There are steps that you can take to
ensure such things do not happen when you discover that you have lost your credit card.
The first thing to do is to call and inform all your credit card companies of what happened. They
will immediately freeze all activity on the lost card and put an alert on the card warning vendors to call
the company if anyone should try and use it. However sometimes people lose their credit card without
knowing that they have lost it until they see charges for purchases that they did not make. In general
credit card companies require that you report any lost credit cards or suspicious account activity within
24 hours.
Most credit cards now offer fraud protection to their card holders, which limit a customer's liability
to fifty dollars; although most credit card companies admit that they rarely enforce that rule. They will
make exceptions for those who do not report lost or stolen credit cards or suspicious activity
immediately. Once you have reported the stolen or lost credit card the card companies will cancel that
old account and issue you another card. Usually this process is very fast and you they can get a
replacement credit card to you within the week even sooner if it is an emergency situation, i.e.: you
are on vacation. Just remember that reporting a lost credit card is imperative for your financial
security.
Lost mobile Phone?

[ Top ]

If your phone is lost or stolen, immediately call your Service Provider's Customer Care. You are
responsible for all calls made on your phone, so contacting your service provider as soon as you
realise your phone is missing will help prevent any unauthorized use and additional charges. If you
discover that your phone was actually just lost, and you find it, they can always restore service.
Setting up your device's PIN or lock code is an excellent way to reduce the risk of unauthorized calls
and charges, particularly if your phone is stolen. For information on setting up your devices's PIN or
lock code, call your Service Provider's Customer Care.
The procedure is that you will need to prove that you owned the mobile phone. You need to report
in person to your local Police station. The Police need a record of the IMEI number for your mobile
phone that is so it can be recognised as your phone if it is handed in or recovered.
Tip: The IMEI/serial number on your phone is a number that is unique to your mobile phone. To find
out
what
your
IMEI
number
is;
type
*#06#
into
your
phone.
Lost my Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card

[ Top ]

Your SIM card is the device that tells your Service Provider that who is making a call and whose
account to bill, so losing your SIM card is just as important as losing your phone. If you have lost your
SIM card, immediately call your Service Provider's Customer Care and inform them that your SIM
card has been lost. Customer Care will be able to cancel the SIM card so that no calls can be made
and
direct
you
on
how
to
obtain
a
new
one.
NOTE: A SIM card is very small and easy to misplace. Once you have placed your SIM card into
your wireless phone or device, there are few, if any, reasons to remove it. The best way to keep your

SIM card safe is to leave it in your wireless device until you are ready to either replace the device or,
for some reason, need to replace the SIM card.

NRI CELL
The Cell is functioning in Police Headquarters, Thiruvananthapuram. The NRI Cell is functioning
under the direct supervision of ADGP (Special Services & Traffic) and Superintendent of Police, NRI
Cell is in charge of the Cell. The NRI Cell handles exclusively the complaints of NRI's and their family
members. The Cell has jurisdiction over the entire state of Kerala under the direct control of SP, NRI
Cell.
The main function of the NRI Cell is the petition enquiry relating to Visa cheating, fraudulent man
power recruitment by agency, trafficking of woman in abroad, physical and mental harassment of
NRIs at work place, non disbursement of salary etc. The petitions are received in this office directly
from the aggrieved persons, through the Government of Kerala, Other Government Authorities and
State Police Chief.

Non-Resident Keralites can file their complaints to the Kerala Police NRI Cell either by e-mail
to spnri.pol@kerala.gov.in or send by post to the following addresses

State
Police
Police
Head
Thiruvananthapuram,
Thiruvananthapuram-10
Superintendent
of
NRI
Police
Head
Thiruvananthapuram-10

Chief
Quarters
Kerala
or
Police
Cell
Quarters

24 hour help line numbers

0471-2721547, 0471-2729685, 0471-2724890, 0471-2722768
NRKs may contact the following mobile numbers for any legal helps with regard to their grievances.

Superintendent of
Police:

9497996994

Deputy
Superintendent of
Police:

9497990150

Inspector of Police

9497987225

Site Developed and Maintained by Police Computer Centre, State Crime Records Bureau, Thiruva

Hi-Tech Crime Enquiry Cell

Hi-Tech Crime Enquiry Cell is a formal set up relating to handling of Cyber Crime and other techno
based crimes in Kerala Police. Hi-Tech Crime Enquiry Cell (HTCEC) is located at Kerala Police
Headquarters, Thiruvananthapuram. The HTCEC was constituted on 5th May,2006 by an Order of the
DGP. It comprises of highly trained personnel who have been trained in Cyber Forensics by C-DAC.
They are equipped with the state-of-the-art hardware and software to handle any kind of Cyber
Crime. One of the mandates of the Cell is to train Police Personnel of the District in handling of Cyber
Crime and Digital Evidence. Accordingly, the Cyber Cell conducts training of DySPs/CIs/SIs regularly
to impart training on the issues. If a Cyber Crime is reported, the affected parties or affected person
should contact the nearest Police Station to register the Case/ Complaint (either as a Case or as a
Petition). If the SHO of that Police Station is competent technically to handle the Crime, he will take
action immediately. Otherwise, he normally contacts HTCEC, Thiruvananthapuram, and gets
necessary technical advices to handle such Crime. The most commonly reported Crimes (technology
induced in our State are Hacking, sending of pornographic mails, distorting social network sites,
sending obscene SMS / Mails, Cyber Cheating, Cyber Stalking etc.

Hi-Tech Crime Enquiry Cell

Activities of Hi-Tech Crime Enquiry Cell

Assistance to the Investigating Agencies

Enquiry of petitions received directly

Mobile Phone Trace

Digital Evidence Collection

Storage Media Analysis

Call Data Analysis

Handling various Website and Internet related Crimes

Conducting Awareness Programs among the public including educational institutions

Type of Crimes Reported and Handled by Hi-Tech Crime

Enquiry Cell

Financial Crimes involving cheating, credit card frauds, money laundering, etc.

Cyber Pornography involving production and distribution of pornographic material.

Sale of illegal articles such as narcotics, weapons, wild life etc.

Intellectual Property Crimes such as theft of computer source code, software piracy, copyright
infringement, trademark violations, etc.

Harassments such as Cyber Stalking, cyber defamation, indecent and abusing mails, etc.

Deployment of viruses, Trojans and Worms

Cyber Attacks and Cyber Terrorism

Hacking of Computers/Netwoks, Abuse/Defamation/Impersonation though social networks (Orkut,

Facebook, etc.), Nigerian Scams, Lottery Scam, Job Fraud, Pornography and Child Pornography,
Breach of confidentiality / Privacy, Document Forgery, Morphing, Downloading video, music, any other
material infringing Copyright Act, Violation of Intellectual Property Rights, Introducing Virus, Damaging
or Disruption the Computer/Network/Data/Program, Data theft, Source Code Theft, Threatening
Phone calls, Abusive calls, Involvement of mobile phones in crimes like murder, abduction, robbery

etc, Loss of Mobile phones, sharing of pornographic material, invading other peoples privacy by
taking photos or video without their knowledge, Conversation tapping, Etc.

Anti Piracy Cell

Anti Piracy Cell was formed by G.O (MS) no. 167/ 2011 Home dated 27.07.2011 and is functioning
under ADGP Crimes. APC is headed by SP and the team includes one DySP,one CI and two SIs.
In India copyright protection is broadly conferred on six categories of works being artistic, literary,
dramatic, musical works, sound recording and cinematograph films. Related protection is conferred to
performers, broadcasting organisations and authors in any event are entitled for protection. The
source code of a computer progamme is treated as a literary work, with certain additional exceptions
and specific fair use exceptions applying to it. Generally the term of copyright in a work is for a period
of the life of the author plus 60 years. Now a days piracy has become a major problem due to rapid
advance in technology. The object of the pirate is to make easier and quick money and avoid payment
of legitimate taxes and loyalties. The malayalam film industry was in a bad stage due to piracy. A huge
amount of money in terms of tax evasion is also lost to government treasury .After the formation of the
cell the theatre copy piracy came to a stand still. so far the cell have detected 170 cases through out
the state.

Activities of Anti Piracy Cell

The Anti Piracy Cell is working under the state CBCID as a central unit to cooridinate collection of
intelligence,creating data bank,to coridinate investigation and to directly investigate important crimes
to trace out their original source and web distribution

Type of Crimes Reported and Handled by Anti Piracy Cell

All types of copy right infrigment cases.The cases investigated directly by the Anti Piracy Cell, CBCID
are either by Goverment order,Court Order or by written order DGP/ADGP Crimes.Other cases
detected by the cell are handed over to local police stations for further investigation.

Cyber Security Tips

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Use antivirus software and keep it up to date.

Don't open e-mails or attachments from unknown sources. Be suspicious of any
unexpected e-mail attachment, even if it appears to be from someone you know.
Protect your computer from Internet intruders. Use firewalls.
Regularly download security updates and patches for operating systems and other
software.
Use hard-to-guess passwords. Mix upper and lower case letters, numbers and other
characters, and make sure they are at least eight characters long.
Back up your computer data on disks or CDs regularly.
Don't share access to your computer with strangers. Learn about file-sharing risks.
Disconnect from the Internet when not in use.
Check your security on a regular basis. When you change your clocks for daylightsavings time, reevaluate your computer security.

Make sure all family members know what to do if the home computer becomes infected.

Practice Safe Surfing

While we make every attempt to protect our surfers from virus attacks and other malware,
essential protection from viruses, hackers, and privacy threats is critical for online business owners.
There are a lot of viruses out there. But some aren't really out there at all! Following is some helpful
information to research virus and virus hoax information, and some free programs to help you fight the
constant
threats.
Several reputable virus software companies provide up-to-date information on the latest virus threats.
Many of our members successfully use these free virus protection programs and they have all been
reviewed by reputable sites. However, as with all freeware programs, there are no guarantees that
they will not conflict with other programs on your computer.

Tips For Safe Online Chatting

1.

Position the computer in your main living space and make sure the monitor faces
OUTWARD into the room so there is no secrecy. This is the single MOST valuable thing you
can do for your child's health and safety online.

2.

Work as a team to set your boundaries. Discuss with your child exactly what is OK and
what is not OK regarding what kind of Web sites are appropriate for them to visit, which chat
rooms to visit and what kinds of things to talk about there. Set logical consequences for when
your child disregards your rules (like grounded from the Internet for 1 week), but do NOT
threaten to ban the Internet forever.

3.

Stress to your child that they need to tell you if they get any weird or upsetting messages
while chatting, and that you will not be angry with them nor will you ban the Internet as a
result. Make it clear to the child that you understand that the child cannot control what other
people say to him or her and that they are not to blame if this happens.

4.

Set strict time limits for Internet chat use and enforce them. Internet addiction is a real
thing!
5.

Make it clear to your child that people in chat rooms are ALWAYS strangers, no matter how
often they chat to them, and no matter how well they think they know them, and that
while they may be good or bad people, they are still strangers. Your child should therefore
not always believe everything people say in chat rooms.

6.

Make sure your child understands that they are never to tell a person online their real
name, their school, their phone number or where they live.

7.

Do not permit your child to be left alone in cyberspace for long periods of time - this is
when they are most vulnerable. Make sure that their chat time occurs when YOU are
around in the house so that you can check in on them regularly.

8.

Be sure to stress to your child that they are to behave politely and respectfully at all times
while chatting online with strangers or sending email to friends.

9.

Don't panic! No one can harm your child through the Internet as long as your child follows
your rules.

10. Take an active interest in your child's activity online. Do NOT use the Internet as a
babysitter! Learn to surf the Web and chat online yourself so you understand what it is
that your child is doing. If you don't know how to chat online, ask your child to teach you!

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