Rules for Internet Safety

In order to keep our kids safe online we, as parents, must set some rules for internet safety.  Being safe online is imperative as more scams appear everyday.  The most important thing to remember as parents is that children are curious, so we must keep a close eye on them so they don't get themselves in trouble.

Basic Rules for Internet Safety

1.  Don't let your child surf alone.  A parent should be in the room while a child is surfing the internet.  Keep a close eye on your children (including teenagers) when they are surfing the internet.

2. No computers in the kids' bedroom.  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.

3. Make sure your child knows to never agree to meet anyone in person that they met online.  If someone asks to meet them in person, they need to tell you about it.

4. 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.

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

6. Never give out personal information such as phone number, address, name, age even when someone asks for it.

7. Use passwords that are hard to guess and never give them out.

8. Review the rules frequently, make sure your children understand them.

In addition to the above rules for internet safety you should have the following three programs installed on your computer to protect your online privacy. 

• 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.

• Make sure that you 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. 

Please keep in mind that these internet safety rules are not all inclusive.  The internet changes on a daily basis and parents must take a proactive approach in keeping their children safe online.