Staying Safe Online

    More than 4000 miles separate Hawaii and South Bend Indiana, but that didn't prevent Notre Dame's star linebacker Manti Te'o from becoming a victim of internet phishing. Te'o is just one example of how dangerous the internet can be.

                Computer Analyst Jeffrey Isherwood says, "It's kind of like the wild west I guess. Criminals from all over the world are now one click away. Today, criminals from all over the globe have access to victims all over the globe. So, it's a little be different kind of a landscape than most of us grew up with."

            And that different landscape includes things like Facebook and Twitter, sites beyond internet banking or protecting your identity. That's why many came out tonight.

            Anita Peer says, "Just for security on the computer and just a lot of different things caught my attention, you know maybe get some information and pass that on."

            Internet experts say there has been the potential for harm going back almost 2 decades, but recent events have raised eyebrows and caught people's attention about the emotional dangers of the internet.

            Isherwood added, "Security analyst of have been warning for a very long time that there is a potential for harm, there's a potential for crime and most of us haven't listened very well. So, its not like its new threats, a lot of it is actually old threats, but people are now starting to pay more attention than they used to."

            Regan Johnson, Director of Operations at The Griffiss Institute says, "Knowledge is power, so parents need to be knowledgeable about the dangers that are out there as well as our kids need to be educated, but parents are really the enforcers of online safety for their children."