Instructions Click each button below to learn more about safe online surfing.
Completed 0 of 7
Accessibility | eRulemaking | Legal Notices | Legal Policies and Disclaimers | Links | Privacy Policy | USA.gov | White House
FBI.gov is an official site of the U.S. government, U.S. Department of Justice
Note for returning teachers: The FBI-SOS backend system for managing classes—along with the student exam on sos.fbi.gov—have been redesigned using new technology. The functionality remains the same. Please refer to the updated Teacher’s Guide for a complete explanation.
After your information has been verified, you will receive an email with a unique web link to manage your class, along with further instructions. It is important to save the link for future management of your classes. The link never expires, so you do not need to register for FBI-SOS every year.
Once registered, you can create classes and a test key for each student. The FBI does not store any information on students, so it is your responsibility to create the test keys and keep track of which one you assigned to each student.
Ask your students to navigate through the various games and activities in their grade-appropriate island. When students complete the last activity, they can click the “Take the Test” surfboard to take the exam. At this point, students should be certain they are ready to complete the exam, as it may only be taken once. To take the test, students will enter the key that you assigned to them. The exam must be completed in 30 minutes or less. Finishing the exam more quickly produces a higher score.
Right after the test is taken, a temporary webpage shows each student his or her score and any questions answered incorrectly. Teachers can ask students to print and save this webpage; teachers can also view or request the exam results in the class management system.
Once all students in a class have finished the test, click the “Grade Exam” button to tabulate the results. The overall scores for each school are compared with the results of other schools nationwide with similar classroom sizes as part of a national monthly competition. Categories are based on the number of students from each school who took the test: Starfish is 1-50 participants; Stingray is 51-100 participants; and Shark is 100+ participants. The 10 highest scores in each of these categories during the month can be viewed on the leaderboard.
Other than what is displayed on the leaderboard, the FBI does not keep or distribute the rankings of schools nationwide. The leaderboard resets at the end of each month.
The top-scoring school in each participation category nationwide every month is awarded an FBI-SOS certificate. Teachers from winning schools are also sent certificates that they can print and distribute to each student. There are no participation certificates for non-winning schools or students. When possible, the winning school in each category will receive a visit from a local FBI special agent.
The SOS website can be visited at any time in the classroom or at home, and students can work at their own pace in completing the island activities. The activities do not need to be completed in one sitting. However, because of federal regulations governing tracking technologies and other issues, the FBI is not able to save a student’s progress on the site beyond a single session.
While the FBI-SOS website is accessible all year, the testing and competition only operate from September 1 through May 31. There is no testing during the summer months.
The goal of FBI-SOS is to promote cyber citizenship and help students learn about online safety while engaging in fun, interactive games. The program was designed to address current Internet safety threats while keeping each grade level's online usage and knowledge in mind. We hope that you find the program beneficial and that your students use the information to make themselves safer digital citizens.
You made it to the beach. Pick the next game to continue.
You made it to the beach, but Taylor recommends more "surf lessons." Click Replay to try again.
Taylor's surfboard broke. Please try again.
Help Taylor the Bird ride the waves and stay on her surfboard. If you get enough correct responses, Taylor will reach the beach. If you get too many answers wrong, the surfboard will break, and Taylor will have to start over.
Safety Tip: Sharing personal information online can help someone figure out who or where you are. And if you share people's information or photos without their permission, you can put them at risk, too. Be careful what you share about yourself, your family, and others with Internet strangers-or even with your friends.
Sharing your school name online can give someone a good idea of the area you live and where you go to school.
Sharing the name of your neighborhood online can give someone a good idea of where you live.
Someone can use your telephone number to figure out where you live and even who you are.
Your hair color does describe you, but it is not sensitive personal information and can't be used to find out who you are or where you live.
Safety Tip: You must set up an account to do many things online-like playing on gaming sites or using virtual worlds. Talk to your parents first and make sure to check the privacy settings and terms of service for each account to limit what you share online.
Ask your parents first. They need to know what you are doing, and they should talk with you about how to use the site safely. And remember, you must be at least 13 years old to set up a social media account.
Your parents need to know what you are doing, and they should talk with you about how to use the site safely. And remember, you must be at least 13 years old to set up a social media account.
Ask your parents first. They need to know what you are doing, and they should talk with you about how to use the site safely. And remember, you must be at least 13 years old to set up a social media account.
Safety Tip: Other people online can sometimes see your username, screen name, or gamertag. So don't include your name, your age, where you live, or any other personal information that could identify you when you create one. Use something made up.
It's not safe to use your name or age as part of your username or screen name. Use something made up instead.
It's not safe to include where you live in your username or screen name. Use something made up instead.
It's best to use something made up that doesn't reveal any sensitive personal information as your username or screen name.
Safety Tip: Make your online passwords hard for others to guess. They should be at least 12 characters long with a mix of numbers, letters, and symbols. Change your passwords often, don't write them down, and only share them with your parents. Use different passwords on different sites.
This password does use letters, numbers, and special characters. But a safe password should be at least 12 characters long, and this one is too easy to guess-especially if your name is Dave!
It's best to have a password like this one that is at least 12 characters long, but this password is too easy to guess and should include numbers and special characters.
This password is 12 characters long and is hard to guess. It also uses a mix of letters, numbers, and special characters.
Safety Tip: If you use a computer at a friend's house or in a public place like a library, don't let others get into your account when you are done.
It's not a good idea to rely on your friend. Your friend might forget, and someone else might get into your account. Log out before you leave.
It's safer to log out now. Your plans might change, and someone else might use that computer before you come back. Log out before you leave.
Also, NEVER check the "Remember Me" box that saves your password and username on any computer that isn't yours-and even then, be careful. You don't want to make it easy for others to log into your account.
You have successfully completed this level.
Taylor recommends you give it another try to make sure you know how to keep your personal information safe online.
Taylor wants to make sure you know how to keep your personal information safe online.
Protect yourself online by reading the safety tips and picking the best answer in each of the five areas. A correct answer will close the lock.
Never agree to meet an online stranger! If someone you met online asks to meet you in person, tell a parent or other trusted adult right away.
Beware of online strangers who want to be your friend. Predators will say nice things about you, try to help with your problems, send you gifts, or even try to turn you against your family. This process of building trust is called "grooming." Don't fall for this trick.
Online predators can easily lie about who they are and even send fake pictures of themselves.
Never share pictures or videos of yourself with online strangers. These strangers might be predators or criminals. They could easily share what you send with others. Once someone else (even a friend) has your pictures or videos, you lose control of them.
Be careful what you say about yourself online. Predators might target you, especially if you talk about being lonely, not getting along with your parents, or needing attention. Don't say where you live or give out your phone number.
Predators use gaming sites, instant messaging, chat, e-mail, text, social media, and more. Be careful online and report anything scary or inappropriate to a parent or trusted adult.
You have completed this level. Play again or go to the next activity.
Taylor needs your help to cross six rivers. Click the platform pieces to turn them in any direction. Keep turning the different pieces until you create a bridge all the way across the river. Taylor will lead you to an online safety question at the end of each bridge.
You have successfully completed this level and your computer is healthy.
Taylor recommends you give it another try to make sure you know how to keep your computer healthy.
Taylor wants to make sure you know how to keep your computer healthy.
Pick the right response to keep your computer healthy. If you pick the wrong answer, the computer will start to get sick. If you get too many incorrect, you will have to start over!
0
You have collected all the treasure and are a great digital citizen.
Taylor recommends you give it another try to see if you can collect more treasure and become a better digital citizen.
Taylor wants to make sure you know how to be a good digital citizen.
One day, Casey noticed that embarrassing pictures of her were being posted online. Several people started making fun of her, too. Casey was sad and didn't know how to respond.
Cyberbullying can happen quickly and be hard to stop. Casey should not respond to these cyberbullies and needs the support of her family and friends. Saving a record of the bullying may be useful to share with a trusted adult. Cyberbullying can deeply upset someone. Don't do it for any reason-ever.
Cyberbullying can happen quickly and be hard to stop. Casey should not respond to these cyberbullies and needs the support of her family and friends. Saving a record of the bullying may be useful to share with a trusted adult. Cyberbullying can deeply upset someone. Don't do it for any reason-ever.
When Jack started hanging out with new people at school, he received a bunch of mean texts. His friend Nate noticed that Jack was upset and had suddenly lost interest in his schoolwork.
Nate should report the cyberbullying and make sure Jack gets help. Many schools have rules against cyberbullying. It's NOT a good idea for Nate to be unkind back-it will only make things worse and possibly get him into trouble.
Nate should report the cyberbullying and make sure Jack gets help. Many schools have rules against cyberbullying. It's NOT a good idea for Nate to be unkind back-it will only make things worse and possibly get him into trouble.
Ryan was writing a research paper for school. He found three sentences online that he wanted to copy directly into his paper, but he wasn't sure if his teacher would approve.
Using someone else's work as your own is called plagiarism, and it could get you in big trouble. Always cite the source when you borrow another person's thoughts, words, or ideas.
Using someone else's work as your own is called plagiarism, and it could get you in big trouble. Always cite the source when you borrow another person's thoughts, words, or ideas.
A friend told Sarah about a new website that made it really easy to download music, movies, and ringtones. The friend said most everything was free. Sarah was curious but also skeptical.
If a site lets you download music and movies for free, it's probably violating copyright laws and shouldn't be used. This kind of site might also infect your computer or phone with a virus.
If a site lets you download music and movies for free, it's probably violating copyright laws and shouldn't be used. This kind of site might also infect your computer or phone with a virus.
Jasmine likes to take pictures on her new cell phone. One day, some of her friends dressed up in revealing clothes and asked Jasmine to take their photograph for a "modeling" project.
Revealing or inappropriate pictures are not okay for kids to take and could get Jasmine and her friends in trouble. Jasmine should tell her friends that she would never take this kind of photo. Even if she doesn't post the photo online, it could still get out if her phone was lost or stolen.
Revealing or inappropriate pictures are not okay for kids to take and could get Jasmine and her friends in trouble. Jasmine should tell her friends that she would never take this kind of photo. Even if she doesn't post the photo online, it could still get out if her phone was lost or stolen.
Jayden often used his phone while riding his scooter. One day, he nearly ran into three classmates while texting and riding through the park. He fell down and skinned his knee.
Using digital devices at the wrong time can end up hurting you and others. Learn when to put down your phone and other electronics and pay attention to what is happening around you.
Using digital devices at the wrong time can end up hurting you and others. Learn when to put down your phone and other electronics and pay attention to what is happening around you.
Find and click the six hidden gold coins. Read the digital citizenship lesson that appears for each coin and pick the correct answer to fill up your treasure chest.
Click and drag to find a word Once selected, the word's definition will show up here.
You've successfully completed the Word Search. Replay the game and select the words from the list if you'd like to review the definitions again.
Find the cyber safety words by highlighting the correct letters. The words may go in any direction (up, down, backward, diagonal, etc.). Then, read the word's definition at the top of the screen.
You've successfully completed the Marine Matching game.
Create a match by dragging the fish to the correct phrase. A right answer will turn black and show a gold coin.
