Today’s children have greater access to information than any previous generation. School and home are frequent environments for using tablets, laptops, and smartphones, including for virtual learning. Families must discuss internet safety as the devices won’t go away anytime soon.

Our lives can be enriched by the information on the internet. Unfortunately, it can also make our lives more difficult. Taking your children online is both important and safe. Where can you find a balance between the two?

We live in an increasingly connected world, so this is the challenge. You and your kids can be smarter than the bad guys even though they might be smart. Make sure you and your family remain safe online by following these tips.

What is Online Safety?

A prudent approach to online safety involves staying safe while browsing the internet. A few of the steps you should take to prevent online risks are to be aware of the risks and to develop strategies to prevent them. Cyber- and e-safety are other terms for online safety.

What Makes Online Safety Essential?

Staying safe online involves taking precautions to make sure that you, your kids, or any other person does not unintentionally find online stuff that can harm your devices, your data, or the information that matters to you. To protect children from some common internet dangers, it is prudent to teach them computer safety.

Children when using the internet are protected by federal legislation like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Children fewer than 13 must be explained their privacy policies, and websites must get parental consent before gathering or using personal information about them. COPPA applies to all websites. Moreover, it prohibits sites from requesting too much information from children just for them to play games. There are times, however, when laws are broken online, so practicing computer and internet safety is the best defense.

The Internet Poses What Kinds Of Dangers?

Cybercriminals and the increasingly sophisticated crimes they commit are some of the biggest dangers of the internet. Almost any Internet user can be the target of cybercrimes, which means that even a family member may be vulnerable.

Children and adults alike face many threats when they are online. It is important to educate the whole family about the possibility of cyber threats and how to avoid them. You need to be aware of at least 10 internet risks or dangers, but stay updated on the latest cyber threats.

• Fraudulent identity theft
• Predators online
• Cyberbullying
• Defective privacy settings
• Phishing
• Scam schemes
• Malware emails and links
• Offending content
• Baiting and switching

Tips for Online Safety

Experienced Cyber security experts offer some useful tips so parents know some ways they can protect their children from cyberattacks; however, this isn’t the end of it. Cyber safety is everyone’s responsibility as a family. Here are 7 tips for your family to stay safe online, and any member of the family can start to apply them right away.

7 Tips for Ensuring Children’s Online Safety

Kids are becoming digital citizens at an early age, whether they use the Internet as a learning tool, watch YouTube, or play games. You should always introduce them to Internet safety tips at an early age.

1. Educate them about the risks of the Internet

Kids often provide the weakest link in your family’s cybersecurity, largely because they do not know the risks of the internet. Encourage your kids to ask for help if they see unusual activity online by teaching them about suspicious activity.

2. Don’t let your identity slip away

When kids believe they have nothing to lose, they may disclose personal information to the online world, making them vulnerable to identity theft. Children’s identities are as valuable as those of adults, if not more valuable. The goal of identity theft is to secretly gain access to social security numbers and other details from kids. Remind your children not to give out any of their personal information. Individuals should refrain from freely disclosing personal information, including their date of birth, address, and SSN.

3. Be on your guard when dealing with strangers

Likely, you have already warned your children that strangers can be dangerous whenever they are outdoors. They have to be safe both online and in real life since strangers are online as well. Online predators may target teens most often; however, children can also be victims. When kids are young, they must learn to be cautious online and alert adults if they are uncomfortable or are spoken to by someone they don’t know.

4. Don’t fall victim to phishing

Some people are sophisticated enough not to click on websites that appear to be from companies or friends, but is every member of your household aware of that? Don’t click on URLs in emails and social networking messages and educate your children about phishing scams.

5. Ensure that your passwords are secure

Hackers are primarily thwarted by passwords. Despite this, people use passwords that are easy to guess and reuse the same password for multiple accounts. Create a password for your kids that are both longer and more robust than the default 12-characters by selecting letters, numbers, and symbols. Use only the word and phrase you want. Never use personal information, like a family member’s name or phone number.

Tips for Ensuring Whole Family’s Online Safety

Teens with access to more technology and resources may indeed have better judgment and information about staying protected online than their parents, but this doesn’t mean they know. Teach your teens some internet safety tips so they can stay safe online.

6. Password management software is a good investment

Password management programs can keep track of all your accounts’ unique passwords, thereby bolstering your password protection. The simplicity of using a password manager makes memory much easier since only one password needs to be remembered.

7. Connect online with each other

Are you interested in being more cyber-safe at home? You should ensure the internet safety of everyone in the family, and support each other if they find themselves in a difficult situation online. To ensure that people are safe online, it is important for parents to monitor their kids’ behavior and to show interest in the websites and games they are visiting. Make sure kids play with tablets in the living room instead of their rooms, and keep desktop computers in a common area.

Extra tip- Make online family game nights a regular activity by playing together.

The Bottom Line

There is much good that can happen over the internet, as well as a lot of risks, and they must be identified and defended against. Embrace all the ways we can learn from virtual resources, apps that facilitate simple everyday tasks, and social media sites that keep us connected with family and friends. You can ensure the safety of your family online by keeping these internet safety tips in mind.

Author Bio

Neha Singh is the Founder & CEO of Securium Solutions with a demonstrated history of working in the information technology and services industry. She is skilled in ECSA, Vulnerability Management, Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), Management, and Business Development. She loves traveling and trekking.