Cyber-bullying & Cyber-stalking (KEYPOST)

 

Cyberstalking & Cyberbullying

    Cyberstalking is a term that came to surface once the interwebs became a place for commoners to explore. The birth of social media enabled cyberstalking to become a scary threat to many. The defenition for cyberstalking is using the internet or any electronic means in order to stalk, harass, or exploit an individual. Acts of cyberstalking include but are not limited to false accusations, slander, intrusive monitoring, threats, and vandalism. 

    Cyberstalking is a criminal offence, a stalker can be faced with a restraining order, probation, or criminal penalties including financial refugee. Unfortunately women are most often the target victim of cyberstalking. Other examples of an attack include excessive following, spying, sending unwanted gifts, making anonymous calls, threatening, sending harassing messages on social medias, using geotags to track location, and catfishing. In response to the increase cases of cyberstalking taking place a federal regulation clause in the Violence Against Women act state that the stalker will be sentenced with possible probation or jail time depending on the case.

  There are some measures for prevention of cyberstalking like keeping firewalls and viruses up to date and to restrain sharing personal information online or through any electronic means. Also keeping your passwords protected and using a VPN service that throws off your ip to make it harder to be traced. Individuals should never share passwords online at any time and refrain from opening attachments from untrusted sources. If you are being attacked there are some recommended precautions to take like contacting the police, keeping detailed notes of the situation.  

    Cyberbullying is more common among internet users compared to cases of cyberstalking. Cyberullying is when the attacker uses an electronic medium to harassing the victim. Examples include sending hurtful words, posting and spreading harmful content like rumors or misinformation about the victim, creating fake accounts and stealing the identity of another individual. 

    There isnt much to do in defense of an attack. Ways to avoid cyberbullying is to block the person who is saying the hurtful words and to report that account. The attacker can still make new accounts and continue harassing and thats when an IP ban is the only way around that issue. Cyberbullying can be as threatening and traditional ways of bullying. It can leave the victim feeling helpless in some cases. Some side tips for avoiding a cyberbullying is to not be gullible, proofread messages before posting, avoid opening messages from strangers, if you chose to respond do it politely and try and not add fuel to a fire. Its not as simple as just closing the laptop or shutting off the pc, many victims especially younger are more likely to be offended and take the statements in a more personal way. 

    Safety is the key ingredient in finding a peaceful existence on the internet the less things you say the less likely you'll be attacked. Avoid controversial topics and heated discussions if you cannot take the criticism of the crowd. The internet is full of flaming trolls that are spawned on this earth to trigger the fragile. 

Sources: 

https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it

https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-how-to-how-to-protect-yourself-from-cyberstalkers.html