Internet and Computer Safety
If you are in danger, please try to use a safer computer that your abuser cannot access directly or remotely (by hacking). Safer computers include those at public libraries, Community Technology Centers, coffee shops and other public locations.
If you are in immediate danger, please:
- Call 911,
- Call our crisis line at (503) 222-6222, or
- Call the U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or TTY at 1-800-787-3224.
* If you think your activities are being monitored, they probably are. Use a safer public computer to access resources and information about domestic violence.
* It’s never possible to delete or clear all the evidence of your computer or online activities. Using the internet always leaves a trail that can be followed by someone with the tools to follow it. If you are being monitored, it may be dangerous to suddenly change computer behaviors by deleting your entire internet browsing history if that isn’t your regular habit. Instead, try deleting only the specific history items you want to keep private.
* If you are being monitored, email and instant messaging (IM) are not safe or confidential ways to talk to someone about domestic violence. It is always safer to call a hotline than to seek resources through email. If you do use email or IM, please use a safer computer and email from an internet-based email account (such as Gmail or Hotmail) that your abuser does not know about.
For more information we recommend the article Stalking in the Age of Technology by Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and Mary Lou Leary, Executive Director of the National Center for Victims of Crime.