The Internet presents immense opportunities to learn, earn an income and communicate. However, it can also leave you vulnerable to identity theft, hacking and a plethora of scams.
Families need to know how to be safe when surfing the web. It is especially important for elderly people and children who may be easily taken in by people online. However, anyone can be a victim. Here are ten things you need to do to keep your family safe online.
Contents
- 1. Remind Your Family Not to Disclose Personal Information Online
- 2. Teach Your Children the Dangers of Meeting Online Friends in Person
- 3. Evaluate Information Found Online
- 4. Download Apps from Trusted Source
- 5. Identify Phishing Scams
- 6. Discuss What Not to Post on Social Media
- 7. Use VPN
- 8. Delete Accounts You No Longer Use
- 9. Look Beyond Your Computer
- 10. Choose Strong Passwords
1. Remind Your Family Not to Disclose Personal Information Online
Children should not be allowed to share their name, photo, phone number or address with people on the Internet.
As much as possible, you should supervise them when they are online. Children who are active on Facebook or Instagram should be encouraged to be careful about what they share.
Remind them about the dangers of posting suggestive photos even if they think only one person will see them.
For older members of your household, advise them not to share their social security number or send money to people claiming to be their friends.
2. Teach Your Children the Dangers of Meeting Online Friends in Person
The Internet is a great way to meet other people who share similar interests. However, not everyone who claims to be a teenager is actually a young person.
Since your child has no way of verifying that someone is who they say they are, make sure they understand that they should not arrange to meet anyone without discussing it with a trusted adult.
3. Evaluate Information Found Online
You can learn a lot on the Internet but not everything is accurate or relevant. Teach your child how to compare multiple sources of information before they decide that something they read is factual.
Introduce them to trusted sites which publish well-researched information about their personal interests or favourite school subjects.
Also Read: How to delete junk files in windows PC
4. Download Apps from Trusted Source
Many people download games and other apps without thinking too much. They agree to the terms and conditions and accept the privacy policy without reading the details.
However, an increasing number of websites and apps collect and share users’ information. This information is typically used for advertising and marketing. But it can get into the wrong hands if there’s a data breach.
It can be difficult to know who to trust but being able to identify secure sites and the legitimate version of an app can go a long way.
5. Identify Phishing Scams
Many older people get taken in by emails purporting to be from a friend or relative.
These phishing emails may ask them to confirm a password or bank account number or prompt them to click a malicious attachment.
Make sure every member of your family knows how to identify these emails.
Remind them that banks and government departments will not ask them for personal information in an email.
Also, discuss how to identify genuine email addresses and websites. Phishing emails are often poorly written and designed to incite panic so your family should also be on the lookout for this.
6. Discuss What Not to Post on Social Media
You’re probably excited about going on your first family vacation in years.
However, it’s not a good idea to tell everyone on Facebook that your entire family will be away for two weeks.
Internet hackers may not care but burglars will certainly welcome the information.
Unless you have top-notch home security, make sure everyone waits until you’ve returned home to publicly share that photo of everyone at the airport.
This won’t guarantee the safety of your home and its contents, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to be careful.
On a related note, discourage your children from sharing their exact location on social media, especially if they are alone.
7. Use VPN
More and more malls and restaurants are offering free Wi-Fi. While this is obviously helpful, it can also put your information at risk since these networks are easy to hack.
A secure VPN can help protect your family if they have to log on to a public Wi-Fi connection.
8. Delete Accounts You No Longer Use
Do you have old MySpace or Hi5 accounts which you haven’t looked at in years? Even if you haven’t logged in since 2008, your information is still there.
You may have even signed up with your full name and birthdate as your user name, making yourself vulnerable to cybercriminals.
Teenagers often sign up for the hottest new thing and then move on to something else after a few weeks to remind them to close the old accounts.
9. Look Beyond Your Computer
Internet safety is not only about what you do on the computer. Your Wi-Fi network itself can be hacked.
If you have a security system and other devices connected to the Internet, they can all be compromised.
Make sure you have a strong Wi-Fi password and consider getting software which alerts you to suspicious activity on the network.
10. Choose Strong Passwords
It may be easy to use “password123” or the name of your pet as your password but it’s certainly not safe.
Since really strong passwords are hard to remember, it’s best to get a password manager to help you manage all your logins.
Remind your family to choose passwords that are at least 15 characters long with a mixture of letters, numbers and special characters.
Conclusion:
There’s a lot you can do to protect your family on the Internet. Take the necessary steps to ensure everyone in your household can use the Internet safely.
