Keeping Your Children & Teenagers Safe Online:
Being concerned about what your children are doing online is not necessarily the same as being “overprotective.” Although the Internet is a wonderful and powerful tool, children and adults, alike, are often confronted with a number of risks – some smaller than others, but risks no less.
We’ve compiled a list of 10 tips to share with your youngsters so that you can enjoy a little peace of mind as they surf away. Preparing and informing them on Internet safety and threats can never be a bad thing:
1) Make sure your Facebook page isn’t public!
Have a look at your profile’s settings and ensure that only your friends can see what you post, not their friends as well and definitely not the entire globe!
2) Don’t accept people as friends on Facebook or any social media if you don’t know who they are!
3) Don’t post things on the Internet if you don’t want the world to see it!
It doesn’t matter what it is, but just be aware that when you post something online, the likelihood is that someone, somewhere, sometime will have access to it and what they do with it is up to them, not you. Only post things that you are happy to share with everyone. If you want to talk in private, use Private Messages or emails.
4) Don’t give your address to anyone, unless your parents have said it’s safe (for example, if you’re ordering a delivery), and never agree to meet people that you’ve met online that you don’t know in real life. Never.
5) Always password protect your phone or any device you use, and lock it when you’re not using it.
6) Don’t click on links that look “too good to be true” or suspicious. If you really want to, but you’re not sure if it’s a good idea, just ask your Mum, Dad or teacher if it’s ok to click on it.
7) If you’ve received a message from your friend, but it looks weird or they’re saying stuff that they wouldn’t usually say, then check with them before you click on anything in it. It would be even better if you spoke to them before opening it.
We say this because nasty people often use fake names, or pretend to be your friend so that they can send something horrible to your computer, or take something from it without asking you.
8) Always sign out!
Never leave your accounts open and logged in when you leave your computer, phone or other device.
9) When you make a password, follow these simple tips:
- Don’t use any real words that you could find in a dictionary. Mix it up with capital letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols (like *,%, and $).
- The longer your passwords are, the harder they will be to guess or crack – so make them as long as possible!
- Try to think of something that nobody would know. Avoid using things like your favourite rugby team or pet’s name as passwords because they’re easier to guess.
- We know it’s a pain, but try to use a different password for every website you visit. There are many password protection tools available, where you can keep a list of all of your passwords in case you forget them or what they’re for.
- Never save your passwords on your computer, especially if you share it with anyone!
10) Lastly, if something feels wrong, tell someone!
If you think you’ve seen something suspicious or you’ve something online has made you upset, tell your parents or a teacher, or report it to the website that you’re using.
There are many online resources that can help you to understand what’s safe and what’s not on the Internet. A good one to start with is Sophos.
We have Private Investigators and detectives based in and around most Australian cities including, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart. So, if you’re ever in need of a professional PI, then just give Precise Investigation a call.
You’d be surprised at what we can do to help you, whether it’s keeping track of your children after school, uncovering lies at home or in the office or even helping to debunk corrupt or dishonest employees or colleagues. There’s always a reason to hire a Private Investigator.
Call Precise Investigation today on 1300 856 011 for a professional, Private Investigation Service
Image credit: Thank you, Lars Plougmann from flickr
