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10 Ways To Protect Your Child Against Internet Dangers

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10 Ways To Protect Your Child Against Internet Dangers

Our kids may be tech savvy, but they may still be unaware of the dangers that lurk online. Use these 10 ways to protect your child on the Internet.

March 8, 2019

With our children using the Internet from a very young age, it’s important that we keep them safe online. They may be more tech savvy than we ever were at their age, but they may not understand the dangers of revealing too much information on the Net, which exposes them to online identity thefts, hackings and snooping.

Photo: 123RF

Most recently, a disturbing “suicide game” called the Momo Challenge set the Internet abuzz. The game reportedly works by daring young children to perform a series of increasingly dangerous challenges that end in suicide. However, it was soon classified as a hoax, as authorities have not received any actual reports of deaths arising from the challenge. With that said, the many insidious dangers lurking on the Internet are very much real and present. 

READ MORE:
Share A Secret: I discovered my mum is an influencer on Instagram
Are You Raising A Video Game Addict? Set These Rules ASAP
8 Tips To Protect Your Privacy Online

Do you know these Internet dangers?

Recent findings by McAfee points to another danger: Malware that could be hidden in celeb-focused content. Think about it… it would be hard pressed to find a child these days that hasn’t heard of the Ant-Man, Wolverine, Black Widow, and Doctor Strange. However, besides being larger-than-life superheroes on the silver screen, the four have another thing in common – their real life personas Paul Rudd, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson, and Benedict Cumberbatch, are all on McAfee’s Most Dangerous Celebrities list for Singapore.

In today’s mobile-first and celebrity-obsessed culture, young fans – in all likelihood digital natives comfortable with technology – are seeking real time information on their favourite stars or the latest happenings in the celebrity sphere. Cybercriminals know this, and are likely to seek ways to capitalise on this obsession with pop culture for illicit gains.

Instead of waiting for a cyber “attack” to happen to your child (and your personal computer), step in now to set some rules and teach them about Internet privacy and safety with these tips:

https://www.womensweekly.com.sg/gallery/family/10-ways-to-protect-your-child-on-the-internet/
10 Ways To Protect Your Child Against Internet Dangers
Lay Out Some Ground Rules
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Whether your child is in primary school or a teenager, you need to tell them a few basic guidelines. For example, you can start by telling them that anything shared once on the Internet stays there forever and that nothing is 100 per cent private.

Photo: 123RF
Tell Them To Check With You
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First tell your child what “personal information” means. Draw up a list for them and tell them clearly that they should always consult with you before sharing those details with any website or person on the Internet.

Photo: Pixabay
Password Protection And Usage
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Children at a young age start creating their own email accounts these days. Although such email websites alert users to choose strong passwords, advise your child on what kind of passwords to choose. Tell them that the password could be a mix of characters and special symbols and ask them never to share their passwords with anyone (except perhaps with you). Diceware is an easy to use password methodology, where you roll a six-sided die five times and use the results to pick five random words from the list.

Photo: 123RF
Curb Social Media Usage
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Children spend a lot of time on social media, so it’s important to let them know what is okay to share and what isn’t. Have a talk with your child and discuss what they should not share on social media, and remind them that everything stays forever on the Internet. If you want to take an extra step in securing your child’s online privacy, create fake social media names for them and fake school/city name.

Photo: Pixabay
IM And Texting
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Sending messages and videos on IM clients like Messenger, Telegram, Snapchat or Whatsapp is a norm now, but children don’t always know that their chats are not 100 per cent private. Therefore, you should advise them never to share personal or bank details or other sensitive information like passwords via messages. Whatsapp, however, now offers end-to-end encryption to keep your photos and messages secure.

Photo: Pixabay
Share News Of Personal Hacks With Them
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If your child is old enough to understand this, share the latest news about identity thefts or personal hacks with them to make them aware of the dangers they face while using the Internet.

Photo: Pixabay
Explain The Dangers Of Free Public Wi-Fi
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Kids love free Wi-Fi ­ who doesn’t? Cafes, shops, and some malls might have unsecured Wi-Fi networks. Explain to your kids to be especially cautious when connecting to these networks ­ as they can easily be monitored. One of the best ways to safely use public Wi-Fi is by installing a Virtual Private Network (VPN). You can pre-install a VPN on a mobile device (see next tip) and teach kids to turn it on whenever using public Wi-fi.

Photo: 123RF
Install A VPN
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For better protection, install a VPN service on the device they use to encrypt their online communication data. VPN, or Virtual Private Network, creates a connection tunnel that automatically encrypts all the data coming in and out of your device, and effectively protects anyone using the Internet. NordVPN is very user-friendly. All you have to do is press the ON button and you are connected.

NordVPN works on up to six devices, so it can be shared by the family. It offers double data encryption, and has just launched a new NordVPN Mac and Android app that provides a unique algorithm, allowing to automatically connect to the fastest server. Another key feature of NordVPN is zero log policy, which keeps you 100 per cent anonymous online. For more information, visit www.nordvpn.com.

Photo: 123RF
Warn Them Of Game Scams
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Agree to install games together with your children. Research to see if the game and the provider are reputable. Make sure you download the games only from a reputable source after reading some reviews. Too often, fake games are uploaded online and are designed to be colourful to grab children’s attention. They’ll be excited to install them for free, and you may realise too late that it’s in fact malware that could infect your device.

Photo: 123RF
Communication With Strangers
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The Internet is as social as ever. New chat rooms and forums uniting different interest groups are popping up every day. As kids are eager to discuss their interests with peers, it is important to speak to them about sharing one’s private information. Under no circumstances should they share any pictures, addresses, etc.

Photo: Pixabay
Beware Email Deals
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All that sparkles is not gold. If your children receive an email about a great offer like a free cell phone or concert tickets, it’s probably a trick designed to get one to give up personal information. Again, advise them to always show you such emails and never to respond to them.

Photo: Pixabay
Be careful what you click
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Users looking for a sneak-peek of the latest TV series should be cautious and only download directly from a reliable source. The safest thing to do is to wait for the official release instead of visiting a third-party website that could contain malware.

Photo: Pixabay
Keep up to date with your fixes
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Apply system and application updates as soon as they are available. Very often the operating system and application updates include security fixes. Applying updates is an important step to help ensure devices stay protected.

Photo: Pixabay
Browse with security protection
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McAfee Total Protection is a comprehensive security solution that can help keep devices protected against malware, phishing attacks, and other threats. It includes McAfee WebAdvisor which can help protect against going to malicious websites.

Photo: Pixabay
Use parental control software
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Kids are fans of celebrities too, so ensure that limits are set on the child’s device and use software that can help minimize exposure to potentially malicious or inappropriate websites.

READ MORE:
5 Ways To Make The Internet A Kinder Place
11 Must-Know Tips To Protect Your Privacy While Shopping Online
4 Signs Of An Online Scam

(Text by bauersyndication.com.au / Additional reporting by Sylvia Koh and Elizabeth Liew)

Photo: Pixabay
  • TAGS:
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  • cyber thieves
  • hacking
  • identity theft
  • internet
  • Internet safety
  • Internet security
  • kids internet safety
  • momo challenge
  • online safety
  • VPN
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