Welcome to Avalon

Welcome to Avalon, and I'm Alice. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'd like to start off with a disclaimer that I'm not at all a "true" professional in anything I want to discuss about in this blog and while I can probably answer some questions and give out tips, I often try as hard as possible to find verificable information before responding. Most of what I like to discuss about is from personal experiences, mostly from being raised under the whole Internet generation.

As a college student with a myriad of interests and random amusements of all kinds, I wanted to make a simple blog to outline some things, but more than anything, provide some helpful ideas and tips on how to enjoy your experiences on the Internet better. Even though this blog can focus on a number of different observations, from world culture, society, world news, and entertainment, I originally started this blog after realizing that I was always handing out people tips on how to avoid certain dangers on the Internet. It finally kicked in when I wondered if there were others out there who wanted a safe blog to get some tips and information on it that's easy and friendly.

How?

While there is a constant growing percentage on the Internet of users becoming more and more aware of what sorts of dangers there are out lurking on the Internet, there will always be the percentage that still needs more information and more accessible as possible.

Being someone who has predominantly grown up with the Internet (which by no means makes me different than most people of my generation), I have broken out of the mold of just being on for the sake of social interaction and information but as well as coming to understand the possible dangers that could harm your computer and even worse, emotionally and physically harm you.


Harm can come in so many different ways, from malware to 419 scammers and internet sex offenders who are constantly on the prowl in even sites that most parents would believe to be foul proof and kiddie-friendly. This blog will attempt to address these issues with tips and other ideas for you, your friends, and your family to become more aware of how to avoid and deal with these problems before things can get carried away. These tips will emphasize more than anything on Internet safety practices that anyone can use, whether you're the online dater to the small child who enjoys spending their free time on Neopets.



Some of the topics that will be addressed are:

Safety tips when using online networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace and children's game and chat sites.
Tips on how to spot, protect, and annihilate malware
Safety tips for online dating
Saftety tips on Online shopping and how to spot the scams
Information and tips on 419 Scamming
How to protect your e-mails from spam and help protect vital information
How to safety use forums and public networking sites/knowing the "limits" to the freedom of speech
Information, tips, and suggestions on how to protect children from coming into contact with online predators.
And much more.


Having come from a close knit family, I strongly encourage parents to discuss with their children and teenagers on the importance of being safe on the internet and to understand the significance of being equally as street-smart online as many strive to be offline. And it's always equally as important for parents themselves to be very aware of these problems as well!

I will attempt to keep all of the entries related to these safety tips as close as possible so that they will be easy to access, and I look forward to helping out with these tips. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, or need help in some advice on dealing with an e-mail or item that could be scam, feel free to comment and I will reply as soon as possible. Thank you!