Safe Browsing

The internet is a useful place, and like any busy public place it has people in it who mean harm. These simple habits — the safe-browsing practice followed in the United States, in Europe, and in regions around the world — protect you and your family on this website and everywhere else.

Everyday habits

• Keep your phone, tablet, computer, and browser up to date; updates close holes that attackers use.
• Use a different, strong password for every account, and never share a password or a sign-in code with anyone — no honest service will ask you for one by message or phone.
• Be slow with links and attachments from strangers, and with messages that rush you, frighten you, or promise money. Check who is really writing before you answer.
• Never send money, gift cards, or banking details to someone you have only met online.
• Share as little personal information as you can — see our Disclaimer. What is never shared can never be stolen.
• On shared or public computers, sign out when you finish and never save passwords there.

For parents and children

• Turn on the parental controls offered by your device, your browser, and your internet provider, and set them for your child's age.
• Keep young children's internet use in shared family spaces, and talk often and kindly about what they see online.
• Teach children never to share their name, school, address, or photos with strangers online, and to tell a trusted adult at once if anyone asks them for secrets, photos, or a meeting.
• If a child is approached or exploited online, report it — the official reporting links are on our Law & Reporting Links page.

Regional standards

We build and run this website to respect the safe-browsing standards of the region you are in: the American standards in the United States, the European standards in Europe, and the standards of each other region where our visitors live. Where standards differ, the safer practice wins.