Is your teen putting him or herself at risk for cyberbullying?   

A young teen went to a friend's home and logged on to her facebook page on her friend's computer. Later the two girls had a falling-out.  

The now ex-friend discovered the password to the facebook page had been left on her computer. She accessed the facebook page and posted sexually explicit content. She also facebook-messaged "random individuals" under the victim's name to arrange sex acts.  

She was caught and now faces charges of cyberstalking and first-degree computer trespassing.  

With a few steps, the victim could have made herself less vulnerable according to an expert in personal privacy and online reputation.  

1. Don't use the "remember password" function.
2. Log off every time. Just closing the browser does not log you off. You must click on "Log Out."
3. Use a strong password that includes mixed capitalization, numbers, and symbols.

On the flipside, have you talked to your teen about avoiding cyberbullying someone else?  

("Issaquah girls, 11 and 12, accused of cyberstalking classmate on Facebook." Sullivan. Seattle Times, April 27, 2011. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014879379_cyberstalking27m.html) ("Protecting Your Teen from Online Impersonation." Frappier. Safe Keeping Blog, July 25, 2011, http://www.ikeepsafe.org/uncategorized/protecting-your-teen-from-online-impersonation/)