Internet Safety

Internet Safety is concerned with protecting yourself and your family and keeping abreast of current information security and related laws. Internet safety is an increasingly important issue, as cyber crimes are on the rise. With the many online predators lurking on and off line, it is necessary for everyone to know these facts. Why is it important?

There are many reasons why knowing and understanding Internet safety is vital. One reason is that you and your family may want to keep abreast of current information about health risks, safety concerns and real estate tips and tricks. This knowledge may be used to protect you from becoming a victim. There may also be instances where a kid may want to become more computer savvy and online and you would want to keep them safe.

Internet safety issues also include kids who perform Internet fraud. This is when someone deceives or tries to trick you into revealing sensitive information such as your credit card number, social security number, or bank account number. Other times kids may use malware, spyware or other malicious software to gain access to your home or laptop computer. Malware, spyware and malware are dangerous because they can damage your hard drive and files, or corrupt applications and systems. If you don’t have parental controls on your windows computers then you are opening up your home and office to potential damage and theft by children who have no idea what they are doing.

A second reason to keep your kids safe online is to prevent identity theft. This is where criminals use your personal information to open up credit accounts, obtain loans and other things. It can cost you your job, your reputation and your freedom if your kids are using your credit cards, you don’t know it is happening and you don’t know how to stop it. There are great parental control programs that will monitor your kids’ activities and tell you who the predators are.

The most important Internet safety feature for your kids is to teach them not to give out your passwords or log in information on any website. You should let them know how important this is and let them know that if they don’t tell you that something is wrong then you will be able to tell them what the problem is. This is very important to the younger kids because they do not understand the complications of having their password and log in information stolen. Teach your kids how to erase cookies from their computer and not to download anything to their computer that they are not familiar with. Teach your kids to never click on any image on a website that they are unfamiliar with. This too can be dangerous to your kids.

Another great Internet safety tip for your kids is to talk to them about the online predators they may be dealing with. Tell them not to give their phone numbers, addresses, or other identifiable information out online because they could be at risk for becoming another cyberbullied victim. Make it clear that if they are being harassed by someone online then they need to tell you. If your child tells you there is nothing to worry about because they are not being bullied online then you need to make sure that you take this information seriously.

There are many different types of online dangers that your kids can get into. The most common is cyberbullying but there are also many different types of dangerous internet experiences that your kids could be involved in. One of the most disturbing of all the online dangers is intimate online relationships. Your kids could be spending hours on end talking to complete strangers. They could be sharing intimate things about themselves that they would never want anyone else to know. Teach your kids not to share intimate details of their life with anyone they do not know.

Internet safety is something that everyone should be aware of. When you are looking over the internet for things to do as a family, you need to make sure that you are talking to each other about personal safety. Talk about what you were doing when it was inappropriate and do not allow your children to do the same. Let them know not to give out their personal information online. With these tips you will have a great Internet safety plan in place.