AN afternoon of workshops on internet scams, online hoaxes and conspiracies, and finding reliable sources of information will be held at the temporary Ballarat Library in the Town Hall next month.<\/p>\n
The two sessions are set for Saturday 28 October, and the first starts at 2pm and run by Miguel D\u2019Souza from the RMIT FactLab.<\/p>\n
His focus will be on how to avoid hoaxes and scams on the internet.<\/p>\n
The second session goes from 3pm will be led by Van Badham, author of QAnon and On: A short shocking history of internet conspiracy cults.<\/em><\/p>\n D\u2019Souza is the community and partnerships lead at RMIT Crosscheck and said he will be taking people through a series of easy steps they can take to stay safe online.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll be starting with malware which is software that is designed to interrupt, damage or get unauthorised access to a computer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat leads to scams which are one of the lucrative ways that people who use malware discover vulnerabilities in computer systems.<\/p>\n \u201cThe core of what I\u2019ll be doing is looking at some of the tricks, resources and tools you can use to keep yourself safe.\u201d<\/p>\n A long-time journalist with Australian Associated Press, D\u2019Souza has been a teaching fellow with the Google News Imitative where he taught reporters across Australia how to spot fake sources, images and video, as well as information verification techniques.<\/p>\n Looking beyond the workshop, he said the key to spotting and dismantling scams and hoaxes is the work of both the governments and individuals.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the future is a combination of governments taking an active approach which they do already,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe other part of that, and it\u2019s where I come, in is how we use devices and computers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about how we can insulate ourselves and our phone and computers and families against scams and malware.\u201d<\/p>\n Over time, D\u2019Souza said taking small steps to keep safe online should become easier for people to do regularly.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s amazing what just a few simple measures that anyone can do and a little bit of a reinforcement about scepticism can do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a little bit like learning to drive a car and after a while it becomes second nature.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople don\u2019t need to feel overwhelmed, I really want to stress that.\u201d<\/p>\n Both D\u2019Souza and Badham, the latter who\u2019ll be chatting with Prue Bentley from the ABC Ballarat, will be at the temporary Ballarat Library in the Town Hall on Saturday 28 October.<\/p>\n