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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