Even if you are careful about what you download, chances are your
children will be less cautious. Here is how you can help them – and your entire
family – stay safe.
Life without the internet is rather difficult to
fathom, and particularly for children the online world holds a magical allure. While many parents are becoming increasingly aware of the potentially
negative effects of too much screen time, the undeniable truth is that there’s
a host of opportunities to explore on the internet.
However, it’s also important to consider that not
all that’s free on the internet is necessarily safe. Aside from potential
copyright issues, the free movie, game or music album that your child downloads
may be bundled with malware, adware or another software nasty. This could
occur, for example, when kids visit a dodgy website and are bombarded with
giant download buttons and flashing ads, finding it hard to not make the click.
Many grown-ups are wising up to the risks of
clicking and downloading anything from shady sites or shared by strangers, but
children may be less cautious. The consequences can come in the form of
frustrating ads and popups, but can also be much more sinister and
involve having personal details stolen or losing access to your important data.
And aside from downloading ‘stuff’ from dodgy
websites, kids can be tempted to buy from legitimate sites and rack up nasty
credit card bills for their parents. Indeed, one mother recently announced she
was ‘cancelling Christmas’ after her son racked up a hefty bill buying Xbox add-ons.
So, what can parents do to protect their children,
their personal data, and their bank balances?
·
Everything
should start with an open dialogue on the dangers lurking on the internet. Put simply, children should be taught to approach
everything on the internet with critical thinking. This includes risks that
have to do with downloading materials for entertainment or homework from
suspicious websites, including those hosting pirated content. Kids should be
equally wary of links and attachments sent via email or social platforms and
promising, for example, a free game feature.
·
Also, when
children want to download new software, they should know that they need to
visit the websites of the original software developer, or the official store,
where the chances of accidentally downloading any unwanted ‘extras’ are much,
much lower.
·
Parents
should also ensure that kids use a reliable internet security solution that
includes multiple layers of protection and downloads the latest updates
automatically, as crooks constantly come up with new threats. Indeed, make sure
to keep the operating systems and applications on all of your family’s
devices updated with the latest security patches.
·
At the end of
the day, it’s important to have an understanding of what kids are up to online.
Using a parental control solution helps to keep an eye on children’s activities, including
the sites they’re visiting and what they’re downloading. In addition, such a
tool can also allow parents to block potentially risky and age-inappropriate
websites, as well as prevent children from making accidental online purchases
from legitimate websites.
Just like we encourage kids to stop at a road
crossing to gauge their circumstances and the cars passing by, we need to teach
our children to stop and think before clicking on download buttons. With
careful guidance and ensuring that the message of ‘stop and think’ is
consistently reiterated, children will soon learn that – while it is exciting
to play on the internet – it comes with risks just like many things in life. No
child wants an extra game feature at the expense of Christmas being cancelled,
so chances are good they’ll take the message on board.
To learn more about more dangers faced by children
online as well as about how not only technology can help, head over to https://saferkidsonline.eset.com.
To read how you can instill safe selfie habits in
your kids, please refer to our recent Selfies for kids – A guide for parents article.