post news network, Bhubaneswar, June 27: A recent short social film made to create awareness among internet users about the pitfalls of chatting online featured a girl, who stripped during a live chat with someone close and that sequence found its way to a porn site to the dismay and disgust of the girl who stripped. She got stigmatised and her social prestige suffered a lot. This short film has gone viral. The film, which was shot, to create awareness among the youth has raised serious questions about the safety of youths, who are really into online video chatting.
Experts from the city say, with the surge in the internet usage, threats related to the safety of the netizens have also increased manifold. Numerous instances of intimate videos stored in mobiles and laptops making their way into porn sites have come to the fore in the last few years. Persons working in the field of computer safety say people need to be aware about the pitfalls of technologies to ward off any problem related to their emotional or economic loss.
Dayanand Rath, secretary, IT Association of Orissa said, “There are around 100 video chatting websites available on the internet. Mostly educated people use this technology, but many unfortunately fall prey to the tactics of some cunning people. People need to use technology very carefully to keep any problems at bay. One should never store any objectionable materials on any electronic device and should never trust fully the people on the other side of the video chat.”
Some of the experts have pointed out that webcams used in video chats to some extent could be hacked by some people with vested interests. “There are possibilities that your webcam could be hacked through the use of advanced technologies. In order to keep your electronic devices safe, you must keep their anti-virus software updated. Moreover, people should video chat only with those people whom they know very well,” said Dinesh Mohanty, cyber expert from the Institute of Ethical Hacking, Orissa.
When asked if messaging software like WhatsApp could also be misused, Dinesh said, “People should never fully trust any software or mobile application. Through this messaging software people send pictures, which go to the software/app server. There have been cases when these pictures found their way to a third party. So people should always avoid sharing sensitive pictures and information online.”
Legal experts say there are different types of people who commit these kinds of crimes. City-based lawyer Srikant Das said, “There are different kinds of people committing cybercrimes. Sometimes jilted lovers post some objectionable pictures online for defaming their partners. Sometimes some fraudsters do these types of activities to make quick money. People need to be aware of the serious implications of using the internet. A simple mistake can ruin the lives of many.”
Robin Sharma, another cyber expert living in the city said, “People should also keep in mind that the websites they use are safe. Only trusted and popular websites should be used for video chatting and social networking. To ascertain the popularity and authenticity of the website, people can check its status through website traffic ranking made by some websites such as alexa.com, which tells how popular the website is compared to their competitors. The lower the rank, the better are their chances of being authentic.”