Mind Your "Search"

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Whenever someone asks something that we don’t know we would probably say, I will search it and let you know. Does anyone of you know how many internet searches are made in a day. According to Smart Insights statistics, it’s 6.5 billion searches and it’s huge. That’s why I would say “Mind your search”

 These are some statistics of Sri Lankan internet usage in 2016 according to Digital marketer.



This topic is somewhat controversial to talk in public. But as a responsible person I think I have the duty to aware you all about this. After seeing our president’s official website was hacked by two people and Sri Lanka is being ranked as the best adult content searching nation the issues of web security , internet search and cyber crimes were on many of our minds, for a short while, at least. Among top of all of these bullshit happenings, we have a well-documented act for computer crimes as well. That’s why I would say “Mind your search”


 We Sri Lankans are always different in every aspect. Alexa, a subsidiary company of Amazon who tracks the website traffic and rank websites in the browsing preference. I will take three scenarios, first the global rankings, then the country we always love to be like, Singapore. Third is our nearest nation India. People in other part of the world search for the content which is useful for them. Look what we are searching in the internet. BTW the red cell is an adult content site. The main point that I love is in India people are well ahead than us. They browse online shopping sites like Amazon, Flipkart and especially Onlinesbi is the online portal of SBI bank. But as a proud nation we search for gossips and adult contents. Among Sri Lankan top 50 browsing sites, there are 10 adult content sites and 15 gossip related sites. As a nation where we are heading to? That’s why I would say Mind your search



My worry was increased as I came across few incidents around the Internet. First a 15 year old Canadian girl called Amanda Todd committed suicide at home in 2012. Prior to her death she posted a video on YouTube in which she used a series of flash cards to tell her experience of being blackmailed into exposing herself in webcam. She struggled for four years by changing schools and cities but she couldn’t overcome the problem of cyber bullying. The video ends with “I have no body, I need someone. My name is Amanda Todd” I guarantee you, if you watch the video; your eyes will be filled with tears. Finally the world got a message on the cost of a 15 year old girl’s death. Second a recently I watched Tamil movie named “Lens” which bagged several awards too. Film starts with a person wearing a mask and chatting with a girl on the other side. Next day he gets a Skype call from an anonymous person, who wants to commit suicide live on the internet. Step by step the film reveals what’s behind all these incidents where an adult content video was shared in the Internet and it caused a death of a newly married girl. That’s why I would say “Mind your search”


After listening these stories, you may think these happened outside Sri Lanka and we are safe. If you think so, sorry it’s your fault. There are many reported incidents as well much more unreported incidents could be seen around us. SL- CERT, Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team is a government body, who in charges with computer based crimes in Sri Lanka. According to them, annually there are more than 3000 cybercrimes are reported. That’s why I would say “Mind your search”


Actually to avoid social media related crimes, there is no any SOP, Standard of Procedure available but you may follow some SORs. What’ it? Yes, It is Standard of Rifnaz. When I joined Facebook 10 years ago I liked to add more friends. In my profile there are friends from Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Malaysia and even Ethiopia. It’s because we love to see the multi-cultural perspectives, nothing else. But now, I add only the known people. If a request comes from an unknown, first look the mutual friends. If the mutual friend list is satisfied go for the second stage of screening, look around the profile and shares. If satisfied confirm the request, otherwise no need. Also make sure not to give your usernames and passwords for unauthorized websites.


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