It was bullying-week in the UK and our UK press office asked me to talk about it with CityTalk FM (Liverpool Radio) during their breakfast show.
But do you really know what cyber-bullying is?
Well cyber-bullying (predominantly spelled cyberbullying by many researchers) is when someone repeatedly makes fun of another person online or repeatedly picks on another person through emails or text messages, or uses online forums and postings online intended to harm, damage, humiliate or isolate another person that they don’t like.
We cannot claim to be able to stop cyber-bullying, but we can and should educate those who may be concerned about it (parents, teachers, school children and off course those in the workplace) and offer advice regarding how to stay safe online in order to enjoy the many benefits of Internet usage without the potential dangers. Of course, using Kaspersky Lab Internet security is valuable for anyone that goes online as it helps to prevent ID theft, fraud, online predators as well as programs that may harm the computer. It (well ours certainly) does have some valuable functions that can help parents, teachers and indeed employers to put safeguards in place, however we can also offer some other valuable advise such as:
• Talk to someone you trust about it, like a friend, a teacher or an older relative
• Keep and save any bullying emails, text messages or images you receive
• Make a note of the time and date that messages or images were sent, along with any details you have about the sender
• Try changing your online user ID or nickname
• Change your mobile phone number and only give it out to close friends
• Mobile phone companies and internet service providers can trace bullies, so don’t be afraid of reporting it to them
• Block instant messages from certain people or use mail filters to block emails from specific email addresses
• Don't reply to bullying or threatening text messages or emails – this could make matters worse and lets those carrying out the bullying know that they've found a 'live' phone number or email address
• Report serious bullying, like threats of a physical or sexual nature, to the police
You can find the interview on my WAVCi press page or at
CityTalk.FM (breakfast radio with Phil and Kim) or
here.