The Internet is in our homes, easily accessible from within and from without. Over the years we have come to see how ‘invasive this technology can be. Because of this, Internet security is paramount. This means everyone in the family needs to be aware of good Internet practice.
Make a Checklist
Making a checklist and keeping it handy near the computers can help remind everyone of the do’s and don’ts for family Internet Security. Here are just some of the things you might include.
• When a website is accessed that requires a password, as parents, you need to be the ones to oversee this step. Make sure the passwords are taken seriously and kept safe. There are programs that can create passwords for you which are unique and strong, making it more difficult for hackers to discover.
• Find a safe place to keep the records of your passwords. Just like your PIN for your credit card or ATM debit card, you don’t keep it in the same place as your cards. Employ the same practice here. Maybe keep them in a notebook in a family safe or where you keep all the important family documents so you’ll recall where they are when you need them again.
• Don’t give passwords to anyone else to use.
• Monitor your emails closely. Many a hacker or phishing scam artist use emails to get your private information. No legitimate business like your bank or credit card institution will ever ask for these details in an email. Should you ever receive a suspicious email, go to the official website of your bank, for example, and see if there are any messages for you there. Never use a link in the email either. Teach your children never to use these links either.
• Do not click on any links in emails
• Be safe rather than sorry. Not sure if you should click on a link? Don’t. Check with adults to see if it’s safe to click a link. Many random links can download malicious adware and spyware to your computer without you ever knowing its being done.
Use Extreme Caution When Using Public Computers
The age of the Internet has created access sites everywhere. This includes your public library, often used by folks who don’t have Internet access in their homes, as well as Internet cafes. Internet cafes are often used by travelers to keep up with their emails and chat sessions.
As convenient as a public computer may be, all sorts of people use it, good and bad. You never can tell what kinds of malicious programs might have been installed which can harvest the login details of anyone who has used the computer if good Internet security measures aren’t practiced.
For example, never purchase anything online from a public computer if it requires entering your credit card details. The same thing applies with using passwords. If you do any of the above, be sure to log out of the sites you go to and not simply close the browser.
Social Networking Sites Can Be Fun but Dangerous
We live in an ever growing smaller world. With our home computers we can reach people just about anywhere on the planet. While this is truly educational and warms the heart by having friends everywhere, there are dangers as well.
As mentioned above, unscrupulous people will do their best to get private information any way they can. The same steps described earlier should be applied to social networking as well. In addition, limits should be put on the type of family information your kids post as well as limits on who can read that information.
Anything that is indicated as public can be read by anyone. Keep private information private. Your family’s safety is paramount. Take the time to look through the sites privacy information and learn what measures to put into place.
Teach Kids What They Can and Cannot Post
Teach kids the type of information they can post to the social networking sites and include what not to post.
Kids are clever and once taught how to do things correctly and why, the Internet can be full of fun for them and you.
Guidelines are necessary and making a checklist of the do’s and don’ts can go a long way in teaching safe Internet practices to your kids.
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