An information leaflet for safer web browsing

The Internet has opened up to us a new world of information, news, games, shopping, of social connections, of virtual communities, accessible to all, and it is in fact a parallel and complementary world to our physical world.
At the same time as enhancing access to information and opening up a whole world of content, games and unlimited possibilities, a whole world of possibilities has opened up for parties who want to exploit the network for the purpose of distributing offensive, inappropriate or illegal content.
The purpose of this newsletter is to increase your awareness as Internet surfers, of the dangers posed by the Internet and the various options for dealing with these dangers, with an emphasis on providing parents with tools to monitor and protect their children from these dangers.
The information provided below is general and non-exhaustive and we encourage you to consult professionals for more information.

Major dangers in surfing the Internet

• Exposure to offensive content such as content of a pornographic nature, violence, gambling, content of a racist nature and the like.
• Contacting people with malicious intent, sometimes using a false identity, for the purpose of seducing minors (especially in a sexual, nationalist or criminal context), libel, lies and verbal violence or violating the privacy of the individual.
• Participation in blogs or forums that encourage negative phenomena such as gambling, racism, drug use, etc. Since anyone can open a blog or forum on the Internet, sometimes without any supervision or intentional hand, the risk due to exposure to these sites increases sevenfold.
• Disclosure of personal information, means of payment or other identifying information to inappropriate parties.
• Addiction to both web surfing and specific content such as addiction to surfing pornographic sites or gambling addiction.

Ways to deal with the dangers

• Use technological means that are common in the market today for the purpose of filtering websites with offensive content, and for the purpose of maintaining and protecting the means by which you surf against malware such as viruses, spyware or spam. Golan Telecom will provide you, at your request and at no additional charge, with a basic filtering service to prevent access to offensive sites. For more details, please contact the service center. Remember that in light of the wealth of content on the Internet, the various languages ​​and more, the blocking is not complete and does not obviate the need to use other additional means.
• Technological means are not a substitute for education and understanding on the part of the child. Talk to your child about the dangers and emphasize the importance of vigilance against exposure to offensive content, while giving examples to illustrate (such as the unfortunate case of the late Ofir Rahum boy).
• Ask your children to refrain from providing any identifying information on the Internet, and certainly not to upload pictures or other personal content that they do not want to reach third parties. Remind him that the Internet does not know and it is not possible to control where the content will roll and where it will appear.
• Try to be "on the pulse" when it comes to the factors with which your children are online and encourage them to be in touch only with people they know personally. Do not allow him to meet with people you do not know.
• Increase your awareness as parents of Internet content and renewable dangers with a welcome technological advancement. Greater awareness and understanding on the part of you parents will allow you to better understand and deal with the dangers.