Kids and Family Internet Safety
Top Ten Tips

Kids and family internet safety is a major concern for most parents who have internet access.  The internet is a wonderful place for researching any topic, shopping, keeping up to date on current events, entertainment, investments, learning, plus much more.  Unfortunately, the internet does come with many risks, which is why parents must use caution and learn all they can about internet safety.

Kids and Family Internet Safety Tips

• Install a good firewall.  Firewalls make the ports on your computer invisible to hackers searching the web looking for an open port.  By using a firewall you are preventing outside access to your computer.

• Install a good anti-virus program.  Computer viruses are programs that infect other programs, and then spread (hence virus).  Some viruses also include instructions to damage an infected computer, or delete sections of the hard drive, etc.

• Install a good anti-spyware program.  Spyware programs can gather information about you, your shopping habits, your surfing habits, your passwords, your personal information, etc., and then send the data collected to some company or internet scammer.  Your personal identity could be at risk.

• Don't open any email from unknown sources.  Email can contain viruses, spyware, Trojans, etc.  If you are ever unsure about an email just delete it.

• Use passwords that are hard to guess and never give them out to anyone!

• Keep all your software, such as firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware, internet browser, etc updated with the current security patches.   These programs are constantly changing to protect you from the latest threats – just make sure you stay current.

• Keep a close eye on your children (including teenagers) when they are surfing the internet.

• The placement of your kids' computer is of the utmost importance.   Kids should not be given unrestricted access to the internet – there are too many offensive sites.  Furthermore, there are people who are trying to gain the confidence of your child who do not have the best intentions in mind.

• When chatting online (kids or adults) with an unknown person protect your identity by not giving out any of your personal information such as: real name, gender, etc.

• When shopping online – only buy from reputable sources that offer secure site transactions.  When you arrive at the sites payment page, you should notice that the URL has changed from http to https.  Also notice that the lock on the bottom right hand of the page changed from unlocked to locked.

Internet safety requires constant vigilance so that our children and family don't fall victim to the latest scams. Remember to always use common sense and don't click on anything if it looks suspicious.