1. Block the bully's access to your online accounts Perhaps the easiest way to stop cyber bullies is to block the bully's access to your online accounts. Many online services such as messaging and networking services like MSN and Friendster, offer options for you to block other users from viewing your online status or profile pages. But shutting the bully's access to the online services you use, he or she will have fewer or no avenues to bully you. 5 steps to beating cyber bullying

2. Ignore the bully Often bullies are people who are trying to seek attention. By responding to a bully's s and messages, you are actually feeding his or her need for attention. If you respond to his or her messages, the bully will know that you are affected by his or her bullying. You might want to file the bully's hate messages or other forms of harassment either physically or electronically as proof should you need to provide evidence in the future.

3. Seek help from site moderators If you are bullied on an online community such as social networking site or a forum, let the site moderators or administrators know about your problem and seek their help. Often, such websites have policies against harassment and bullying and administrators will be able to warn or even ban users who break the rules. Not only will you be solving your own problem, you will also be helping others on the site by preventing the bully from attacking other users.

4. Change your profile or leave the site Should site moderators be unable to help, the best thing to do is to either change your online profile or leave the site altogether. Change your address and give it only to people that you trust. You might also want to avoid uploading your personal photo to your new online profile so that the bully will not be able to associate your new profile to the old one.

5. Tell your parents or report to the authorities or teachers If you are still a student, informing your parents about the bullying will very likely put a stop to your problems. If the bully is from the same school as you are, you might also want to let a teacher know so that appropriate action can be taken. Should the situation get serious, such as when the bully threatening to harm you or someone else, or when your reputation is being undermined, you should report the case to the police. If the bully does cross the line of the law, he or she may be nabbed.

According to Keystone Law Corporation director Bryan Tan, the Chief Justice said in 2004 in an Internet cheating case that "if the Internet misuse was peripheral to the offence committed then the real-world consequences should apply". So while he did not recall any case of cyber-bullying going to court, said Mr Tan, it may just be the same as bullying - whether it is criminal intimidation, extortion, or criminal defamation - the real world laws and penalties are still applicable.