LOS ANGELES—CyberDefender Corp., a provider of Internet security software, has released 10 tips for parents looking to keep their children safe online during the back to school season.

• Computers     for young children should be placed in a common family space in the home,    rather than used privately in the bedroom – at least until parents are     comfortable with a child’s online safety knowledge and habits.
• Always     ask your child to use an Internet screen name without any identifying     information such as their birth year, gender or age, and to never use his/her     real name online.
• Utilize     parental control applications like those offered by your ISP or within the     latest versions of the Windows Operating System. Parental control     applications can help parents limit what their children can do online and     provide information on what types of online activities their children are     involved in.
• Spend     time with your children online. Have them teach you about their favorite     online destinations and chat buddies. Going back to school means new     online friends and new “in” sites for parents to monitor.
• Review     the Web sites and/or social networks accessed by your kids. It might not     be possible to be present at all times when your children are online, but     you can check later to see where your children have spent their time     online. By reviewing the History list in Internet Explorer, Safari or     Foxfire, you can see all the places your children visit online. To view     your Internet History, click the History button on the browser toolbar.
• Find     out what computer safeguards are utilized by your child’s school, the     public library, and at the homes of your child’s friends. These are all     places, outside your normal supervision, where your child could encounter     dangers online.
• Teach     your children about the danger of meeting strangers online and to never give     out identifying information such as their name, home address, school name,    or telephone number.
• Ask     children to tell mom/dad if they receive ANY E-mail or instant message     chat from a friend or stranger that they find scary, upsetting or makes     them uncomfortable in any way whatsoever.
• If you     are letting a child shop online for gifts, monitor what they are doing and     see what Web site they are on to ensure safety. Limit credit card use to     well known shopping sites, use temporary online credit card numbers if     your bank offers them, and monitor your credit for any unusual activity.
• Ensure     computers have an Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware program with the most current     security definitions to help keep threats which could capture your child’s     personal information off the computer.

For more information, visit www.CyberDefender.com.

CyberDefender Sept. 9, 2010 press release

 

 

 

 

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