This is the second post I have done on this topic and the reason for this is the increasing amount of questioning that I have been getting from parents around this area. I think in the past year the message is starting to sink in that real threats do occur online and you need to be aware of how to mitigate against them. First of all can I say that educating your child on how to use a computer can be very beneficial but use this time wisely educate your child how to master IT skills through the likes of your local coder dojo or local computer classes for children, I would not however suggest letting your child have unlimited access to your ipad or family computer. In many cases, kids are more technologically advanced than adults, so some parents may feel intimidated and refrain from enforcing rules that are imperative to protect their children as they surf and socialize online. This is a very real fact there are however ways for parents to educate themselves so they can take a more interactive role in how they deal with there children's use of online forums. Security software is one way to restrict what kids see and do on the web, taking a lot of pressure off parents to stay current with every new risk. But it’s still important that parents get involved with their kids’ online lives, and make sure that their children know how to act and how to react to what they see on the web. Communicating the dangers of the web to your child and staying involved in what they can and cannot do online helps build up an understanding of what is safe and acceptable.
In order to communicate these dangers parents firstly need to understand what the potential threats may be. The number one threat to children today be meeting a predator online, but there are many other online experiences that can result in inappropriate or illegal activity. Kids need to be told that not everything they read online is true, and that there is a lot of material on the web that is not meant for them. This material can include fascist sites, pornography sites, drug sites, and other explicit content that an unprotected child can easily view. To help mitigate these risks there are many new software options available such as filtering technologies, child-safe browsers and search engines that restrict where your child can surf.
Loss of privacy is a another big risk. Kids must be shown how important it is to protect their personal information and the information of their family and friends. Many child-oriented web sites solicit information from kids in surveys and forms in exchange for prizes, and get them to register online for fan clubs. In chat rooms, sharing their gender, age, and favorite hangout could seem harmless, but predators can easily use this information to track down the child. Parents need to be aware that digital predators often pose as children in order to gather information and ultimately meet their unsuspecting victims. But kids also flirt and pretend to be older than they actually are, not thinking about the potential results of such actions. It is also common for kids to get into online fights or become the target of bullying via email, chat, and instant messaging, this type of behavior can sometime consume the victim so much that they become withdrawn and with no physical marks to show from such behavior it can become hard for parents to figure out whats going on. With the introduction of such apps like snapchat where the messages disappear from the victims phone within seconds it can be very hard for a child to prove that the bullying exists. I would strongly recommend that parents are very aware of what messaging apps your child is using and carefully monitor there activity especially if the child's behavior starts to change.
Blogs such as this one and Social networking sites such as Facebook are places where kids can share too much information—not only names and addresses but also personal photos that sometimes show illegal acts, such as underage drinking or drug use. Ask your kids to share their blogs or online profiles with you so you can check the content. If you are spicious that your kids are hiding content from you then use Google, along with the search tools on social networking sites, to search for profiles your child may have posted. Use your child’s full name, phone number, and other identifying information. You can also use Google images to upload a picture they may use on social media sites and this will trawl the web for that pictures or ones that may be similar.
So how do parents go about becoming proactive about the above? I have complied a list of ten things that you should sit down with your children and go through. The below list will set out clear boundaries for your child and let them know that you care and are taking a proactive role about there online security.
1) Monitor your child's online activity this is by far the most important step to take. Limit the chance that they are looking up inappropriate material by putting the computer in a high-traffic family area and limit there usage. There are loads of child monitoring software packages out there so do your own research to find a software that meets your needs and budget.
2) Fortify your computer with strong security software and make sure to keep it up to date I have wrote about the importance of this in past blogs so take a look through my posts if you need help with this. Using software such as The McAfee® Internet Security Suite guarantees protection from viruses, hackers, and spyware. It filters offensive content, pictures, and web sites. The anti-virus software will also protect your computer from viruses and spyware by automatically scanning email attachments and files downloaded from P2P file-sharing sites. For the most complete way to keep your children safe online, use McAfee Family Protection. It keeps children of all ages safe from exposure to inappropriate content, social networking risks, strangers, and other online threats. With McAfee, kids are free to safely explore, learn, and enjoy their online interests.
3) Make sure kids understand basic rules for using social networking sites such as Facebook and blogs. They should guard their passwords, and never post personally identifying information or inappropriate photos. Blogs and social networking sites offer privacy tools that can be turned on to restrict potentially dangerous users. The sites automatically provide these protective tools to kids under 15. Kids should share information only with people they know from the real world. Make sure that your kids understand that there are bad people online to and they may not be who they claims its very easy make up a fake social media account.
4) Never ever let your child arrange in-person meetings with people they meet online. If however for some reason you think that this is acceptable you should confirm the person’s identity, and you should accompany your child to the meeting in a public place.
5) When using P2P file-sharing programs, kids should not download files from users whom they don’t know. They could be downloading infected files, pictures, games, and music that are inappropriate, or media files protected by copyright law. As I said above using a virtual machine for this activity will save your computer if they do download a virus. Also its important to note that kids should not allow users to upload their music files unless they’re certain that they have permission to share them. You can disable the upload feature so that your kids don't inadvertently share files without permission.
6) Don’t allow kids to fill out online forms or surveys. If there is a legitimate site where they want to register, such as Nickelodeon or Disney, have them come to you first so you can check the site’s privacy policy and rules of conduct. You should take the time to read there privacy statement but I suggest use a throw away email address for such sign ups and limit the amount of factual information you need to share.
7) Only allow your children to use monitored chat rooms, and have them use a screen name that doesn’t hint at their true identity. As with blogs and MySpace, kids should never reveal personal information or share photos. Make sure they understand that people can lie about who they are and that online friends are still strangers.
8) Teach your kids to ignore emails and instant messages from people they don’t know. They should never open attachments they are not expecting nor click on links in messages. As with blogs and Facebook, they should not send out personal information.
9) Use browsers for kids and kid-oriented search engines. Children’s browsers such as Google safe search for kids do not display inappropriate words or images. It comes pre-loaded with kid-safe web sites and pre-set word filters.
10) Set you kids goals to research online safety be themselves as them to write you a little report on what they think the dangers online might be. Fact Monster is an excellent reference site, packed with information and homework help. For Ireland you should check out the office for internet safety.
No comments:
Post a Comment