Never give out any personally identifiable information through the free chat room. This is good common sense but it's surprising the number of people that share personal information without fully realising.
Be very careful who you chat to as people may not be who they say they are. Just as in the real world there are a few strange and odd people, chat rooms attract all sorts.
Never arrange to meet someone offline, this can be very dangerous. If you want to meet someone through Chat Buddy then please meet them in a public place and inform members of family/friends where you are going and when you expect to be home. Make sure you have a get-out clause ready should you wish to make a swift exit.
Contact us if someone is bothering you through the chat room. Remember that we can only help you with what goes on through the chat room and not away from the website. We can only give you advice if it's nothing to do with Achatroom.
Use a non-identifiable chat room user name, it's never a good idea to divulge your real name. If you wish to give out your real name then just give out your first name, never give out your surname and exact location.
Remember that trust with other chat room users is built over time, so don't be alarmed if sometimes people come across cautious.
Never click a website URL which you don't recognise. Youtube.com is allowed to be posted in the chat room.
Firewalls
Most people have been using the net for quite a while now. Most people would have also heard the word firewall at some point. You may have heard something like I can't access due to the firewall.
A small business can sometimes have similar security issues that a home network might have. You can use a home network firewall to protect your network from potential hackers or malicious websites.
In a nutshell, a firewall is a barrier to keep something bad away from your network or PC.
A firewall is something that sits between your pc and the internet adding protection to your pc and your information.
Do I need a firewall?
YES Make sure you have a firewall. For more information on Firewalls please check out the information provided by Microsoft.
Viruses + Trojans
I'm sure most of you are aware of what a virus is. A virus is generally a malicious piece of software that is installed on your computer without you realizing. Providing you have effective up to date firewall you should be protected from most viruses.
Know Your File Extensions
It's always good internet practice to become familiar with file extensions. For instance, jpg, jpeg, png are all image file extensions so generally considered safe. While the .exe file extension is a no go. In other words, never open a file which ends in ".exe" unless you know it has come from a very trusted source. NEVER open any link that someone may send you on our chat site.