Internet Safety Tips to Protect Your Teens

2017-04-12 10_16_28-teens – Google Search

As you know, the number of social media is rising all the time, as well as their popularity. They’re especially interesting to teenagers and children that are about to go into teenage hood.

Since we all know what kind of a place the Internet is, it can be expected that your child might feel upset and react negatively to some disturbing content or rude online behavior. That’s why it’s very important to teach them some basic online safety rules, that might seem trivial to you, but are not something that you want to pass on if it can improve your child’s safety. That’s why we’re making this guide and will suggest a few tips on how to help your kids be safer while surfing the Web.

The Location of Your Computer

For those parents who have young children and early teenagers that are still inexperienced when it comes to internet use, it’s important to remember that you still can’t allow them the privilege of online privacy. That’s why you must never allow them a computer with internet access in their room, but instead, it should be in the living room or someplace similar, where you’ll be able to check what your child is up to, This method will lower the chances of your kid accessing unsuitable websites and content, and would also help you monitor who are they in contact with.

A “Time” Agreement

If your kids are young, the allure of the internet might be too much for them to handle, and could easily get lost in its vast plains and, in turn, sacrifice the real life friendships and exploration of the real world, instead of the virtual one. Because of this, it would probably be a good idea to post some sort of a time limit that must be respected on daily basis. If you decide to make this restriction, be sure to consider things like the amount of time that your kids will need online in order to finish their homework. Some subjects also require online research and also allow them some time to explore on their own, with your discreet supervision, of course. It would be best if you talked to the child and tried to come to a mutual agreement.

Check On What Your Kids Post Online

Since the social media have become such a large portions of our own lives, you can only imagine how much they might mean to your kids that have grown up with this phenomenon. And there lies the danger, since many of these websites often have a faulty security, and your kid might not be aware of the dangers of posting too much info. Again, your best option is to talk to your children and warn them about the dangers of leaving details out in the open for anyone to use.

Warn The Kids About Ads And Suspicious Posts

Almost all of the companies today have some sort of advertisement strategy that includes the virtual world as well, and even though many of these ads are genuine, there are a lot of them that were posted by hackers and scammers, and your kids need to know that careless approach might make them cyber victims.

Teach Them About Security

With so many dangers that can be found online, including malware, trojans, worms and viruses, your security needs to be regularly updated, and your kids should be aware of this as well. Show them what is it that they should watch out for, and what are the consequences for clicking on unsafe ads, pop-ups or suspicious links that they might receive from unknown contacts. In addition to this, teach them the methods of ensuring your computer’s safety, introduce them to antivirus and firewall, and warn them about turning them off.

Only Shop At Websites With A Good Reputation

This is something that you must make your kids aware of, and especially teenagers that have become more confident when it comes to using the web. Teenagers love online shopping, and if they’re unaware of the dangers that they might face, they might end up being scammed and robbed without even knowing what happened. Explain these dangers to them, as well as dangers of sharing information like credit card numbers, your home address, and similar details. You can even recommend websites that they can safely use, or show them how to find them on their own.

Warn Them About Sharing Sensitive Information

As we already said, children might not be aware of the dangers of revealing personal info like email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers and alike. You must explain to them that there are people out there that might use such information to do them harm and exploit every piece of info they can get their hands on. Also, warn them of cyber bullies and similar threats that they might face on the internet.

Don’t Subscribe For E-newsletters

Kids can be passionate when it comes to something that they’re really interested in, and they often want to know everything there is to know about that subject. So, when it comes to shopping, fashion or music, they might decide to fill in all the information that websites connected to these topics may require. Explain to your children that they shouldn’t reveal all of that info since it can be used against them and their entire family.

Teach Them How To Choose Their Passwords

When it comes to securing their accounts, a strong password is one of the best ways to do so, and you should make sure that they know how to create one. Remember, kids, don’t have your experience, and aren’t aware of some tricks that we use in everyday life. What we take for granted, might be a stunning revelation for them, so make sure that you help them secure their accounts in whatever way you can.

Avoid Meeting People From The Internet

Your children are bound to make some online friends that they won’t know in real life. Since the internet is full of all kinds of people, it’s probably for the best that your child never meets them. Anonymity is one of the things that everyone can use while online, and you can never be sure who is it you’re talking to, and your kids need to be aware of this.

The Internet is a harsh and often ugly place, but it’s also full of potential and interesting, wonderful things if you know how to protect yourself. Keep in mind that its charms work on everyone, and they will work on your kids as well. Instead of banning it completely and risking them making a mistake, talk openly about it, share what you know, teach what they need to know and help them learn how to use it in the safest possible way.

Passion for Cyber Security and Technology.

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