Get Net Safe
A broad-based effort will educate Internet users on how to protect their PCs, protect themselves and protect their families.
In 1831, when Alexis de Tocqueville traveled around the United States studying the young nation's social and political institutions, he observed that America was a nation of joiners, and that this was a great strength.
"Americans of all ages, all stations of life, and all types of disposition are forever forming associations," de Tocqueville wrote in Democracy in America. "In democratic countries knowledge of how to combine is the mother of all other forms of knowledge; on its progress depends that of all the others."
Americans today still join together cooperatively to advance common interests and solve social problems, including problems unimaginable in de Tocqueville's time. Recently, for example, various organizations -- civic groups, government agencies, companies and industry associations -- have banded together in a national effort to help make the Internet safer for everyone. Co-sponsors include AARP, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Geek Squad, GetNetWise, i-SAFE America, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, National Cyber Security Alliance, OnGuardOnline, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Microsoft.
Everyone has heard about the many Internet scams and other abuses that try to exploit the Internet's unique and wonderfully beneficial power to connect us to millions of people all over the world. In the past few years, real progress has been made toward closing the Net's security loopholes and strengthening laws and law enforcement against online crimes.
Yet many people still need help keeping their children safe online, stopping unwanted e-mail, protecting computers from hackers and viruses, and keeping personal information private. Knowledge is key, and as de Tocqueville noted, the progress of knowledge takes cooperation.
That is the idea behind the Get Net Safe 2006 campaign, which kicks off this week in Washington, D.C., and will reach 12 U.S. cities by the end of the year. The campaign co-sponsors are working with schools, community centers and other local organizations to effectively deliver practical guidance on how to protect your PC, protect yourself and protect your family.
School assemblies will provide online safety education for elementary, middle and high school students, and school parents' nights will reach families. Boys & Girls Clubs will stage Internet safety fairs. Chambers of Commerce will hold cyber-security forums for community leaders and small business owners. Seniors and the "over 50" generation will be invited to safety seminars to learn how to do home computer security checkups.
The Internet is a wondrous tool for communication, education, commerce and entertainment. To help ensure that everyone can continue to enjoy its great benefits, with safety and confidence, Americans are joining together to solve problems and promote progress -- as we have done for generations.
