Here are some safety guidelines to remember while you surf:

• Always remain as anonymous as possible. That means keeping all private information private, including your phone number, address, name, parents’ names, credit card numbers, photos and passwords. If you are ever unsure about whether it’s OK to give out information about yourself, check with your parents first.
• In chat rooms, use a nickname that is different from your screen name. That way, if you ever find yourself in a conversation that makes you uncomfortable, you can exit without having to worry that knowing your screen name will make it easy for someone to track you down via e-mail.
• If you have built a friendly relationship with an online buddy, you may eventually want to meet face to face. Although Dr. Larry Fox, an endocrinologist and frequent Web surfer from Jacksonville, Fla., strongly recommends keeping online friendships online, if you choose to meet your cyberbuddy, you should meet in a public place like a mall or restaurant and be accompanied by a parent or other adult.
• If you ever get involved in a chat room conversation that makes you feel uncomfortable or in danger for any reason, exit and tell a parent or other adult right away so they can report the incident. You can also report it to the Web site of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children — they have a form for reporting this type of incident called CyberTipline. They will then see that the info is forwarded to law enforcement officials for investigation. Just be sure to tell an adult first.
• Use e-mail with caution. Although it’s relatively private, hackers are often able to access personal e-mail.
• If you find that your mailbox is getting clogged with e-mails you didn’t ask for like advertisements or, more importantly, harassing notes, contact your service provider (such as AOL, Netscape or Earthlink) to let them know there is a problem and to find out about options that allow you to block certain senders.
• If you don’t recognize the sender of a document or file that needs to be downloaded, do not open it. Just push delete. Sometimes pranksters send damaging viruses inside these types of files.
• Once you know how to surf safely, the Web is yours for the taking. Use these guidelines each time you surf, and enjoy having this wonderful resource at your fingertips.