Skip to main content

Three top tips for staying safe online

Three top tips for staying safe online

  • Date06 February 2024

As part of Safer Internet Day, Dr Aislinn O'Connell from the Department of Law and Criminology at Royal Holloway, University of London offers three tips for staying safe online.

SID2024

Safer Internet Day 2024 takes place on Tuesday 6th February, with the aim of creating a safer and better internet for all – particularly for children and young people online.

A yearly event, the day encourages everyone from young people and parents to teachers and policymakers, to work towards making the internet a safer place to navigate for children and young people.

Dr Aislinn O’Connell is a Senior Lecturer in Law at Royal Holloway, University of London. Here are her top tips for staying safe online:

Know who you’re talking to

Before sharing information about yourself, or about other people, you should make sure to double check who you’re talking to. Not everyone online is who they say they are and not everyone online is as trustworthy as you might hope.

If you receive a message from someone you know, but it’s from a different account or phone number, always double check the contact is who they say they are. Be extra vigilant when exchanging money or goods over the internet to people you’re unsure of.

Think before you click

There are a lot of scammers out there and a lot of them often look really convincing! Before you enter any card or bank details into a website, check that the URL looks correct in the address bar.

Make sure that you’re able to access the page without going through three or four ‘redirections.’ Be sure to look out for the padlock icon in your browser’s address bar to check the site is encrypted and your details can’t be stolen.

Know your rights

There’s been a number of changes – both additions and amendments – to the Online Safety Act and many of these came into effect on 31st January. Don’t forget that these amendments are designed to protect you.

If someone is threatening to share an explicit image of you, or if they’re sending you an image that is designed to cause you distress, you can go to the police. Or, if you’d rather, you can reach out to some of the fantastic charities that provide support to people experiencing online abuse.

Related topics

Explore Royal Holloway

Get help paying for your studies at Royal Holloway through a range of scholarships and bursaries.

There are lots of exciting ways to get involved at Royal Holloway. Discover new interests and enjoy existing ones.

Heading to university is exciting. Finding the right place to live will get you off to a good start.

Whether you need support with your health or practical advice on budgeting or finding part-time work, we can help.

Discover more about our academic departments and schools.

Find out why Royal Holloway is in the top 25% of UK universities for research rated ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’.

Royal Holloway is a research intensive university and our academics collaborate across disciplines to achieve excellence.

Discover world-class research at Royal Holloway.

Discover more about who we are today, and our vision for the future.

Royal Holloway began as two pioneering colleges for the education of women in the 19th century, and their spirit lives on today.

We’ve played a role in thousands of careers, some of them particularly remarkable.

Find about our decision-making processes and the people who lead and manage Royal Holloway today.