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Thanks to the Internet you can introduce yourself to anyone you want to without ever having to meet up with them in person. When you're looking for easy ways to make lots of new friends this can be a real plus, but if you're not careful, you could make yourself a target for unwanted attention and even stalkers. Networking sites like MySpace and Facebook have been in the headlines recently due to crimes committed against teens that met their abusers online. Thankfully, more and more sites are allowing you to control who sees your profile and who doesn't. Don't feel like running some tediously boring Google search on online safety? No worries! Alloy's done all the research for you. Check out our list of online do's and don'ts.

 DO:Lay Low

There's nothing wrong with randomly reaching out to someone you're genuinely interested in getting to know, but inviting people to "be your friend" just for fun is asking for major trouble. If becoming your e-buddy is too easy, it leaves you vulnerable to wandering online weirdoes who may then start to flood your inbox with spam, porn, or annoying messages. As a general rule of thumb, it's safer to search through your friend's networks for new buddies rather than just randomly clicking on someone who’s cute or shares your interests. (At least that way you can track down someone who will vouch for your new friend!)


 DON’T:Give Out Your Personal Info

Sure it can get pretty annoying (and crampy) typing back and forth with someone you really enjoy chatting with, but it's never a good idea to give out your phone number or personal address -- or even your real name for that matter. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you've heard it all before. But what you may not know is that there are lots of programs out there that allow strangers to locate things like your home address, phone numbers, and e-mails using just a few small details about you. If you share just your real name and the school you attend, they can track you down and wind up waiting on your doorstep! Sounds scary, right? It can be -- if you're not careful. It may feel strange to use an alias or nickname when you're getting to know someone online, but it's safer to remain anonymous until you're positive you're dealing with the person you think you are.

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