A message from Thames Valley Police:

An online discussion about Internet safety for young people is taking place to coincide with Safer Internet Day.

Thames Valley Police is hosting the web chat on Tuesday 7 February from 10.30am-11.30am, aimed at parents, carers and people who work with young people.

PC Kim Dugmore, a schools and youth engagement officer, will join a Thames Valley Police cyber crime advisor to answer your questions.

You can take part via our online discussion page.

Questions can be submitted anonymously and you can also get involved via Twitter by using #AskTVP to submit questions.

Thames Valley Police is one of more than 1,000 organisations and police forces in the UK supporting Safer Internet Day, which is coordinated by the UK Safer Internet Centre.

Some schools and neighbourhood officers are giving talks and sharing information with schools. Many schools in the Thames Valley have also organised their own Internet safety talks.

A wide range of information and educational resources for parents and young people is available via the UK Safer Internet Centre website.

Some useful advice for young people about staying safe online:

• Keep your personal information private, including address, phone number, email and where you go to school.
• Never feel pressured into doing something you don’t want to, including sending photos of yourself that you would not want others to see.
• Check privacy settings on social media (make sure only your friends can see what you’re posting and don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know).
• Remember that not everyone online is who they say they are. Do not arrange to meet someone you’ve met online without taking a trusted adult with you.
• Never share or reveal your passwords. Make sure you use strong passwords that are at least eight characters long and include a combination of lower and upper case letters, numbers and characters.
• Watch out for suspicious emails. If you receive an email from a stranger, think before you click on a link or attachment – it could contain a virus.
• Don’t post anything that is cruel, nasty or offensive. Treat everyone with the same respect online as you would in person. If someone upsets you, do not react. Block the person if possible, tell an adult you trust and if appropriate, report them to the website.
• Respect the law – use reliable services to make sure that you are accessing music, films and television legally online to avoid breaking copyright laws.