Even if you are careful about what you download, chances are your children will be less cautious. Here’s how you can help them – and your entire family – stay safe.
Life without the internet is rather difficult to fathom, and particularly for children the online world holds a magical allure . While many parents are becoming increasingly aware of the potentially negative effects of too much screen time, the undeniable truth is that there’s a host of opportunities to explore on the internet.
However, it’s also important to consider that not all that’s free on the internet is necessarily safe. Aside from potential copyright issues, the free movie, game or music album that your child downloads may be bundled with malware, adware or another software nasty. This could occur, for example, when kids visit a dodgy website and are bombarded with giant download buttons and flashing ads, finding it hard to not make the click.
Many grown-ups are wising up to the risks of clicking and downloading anything from shady sites or shared by strangers, but children may be less cautious. The consequences can come in the form of frustrating ads and popups, but can also be much more sinister and involve having personal details stolen or losing access to your important data .
And aside from downloading ‘stuff’ from dodgy websites, kids can be tempted to buy from legitimate sites and rack up nasty credit card bills for their parents. Indeed, one mother recently announced she was ‘cancelling Christmas’ after her son racked up a hefty bill buying Xbox add-ons .
So, what can parents do to protect their children, their personal data, and their bank balances?
Just like we encourage kids to stop at a road crossing to gauge their circumstances and the cars passing by, we need to teach our children to stop and think before clicking on download buttons. With careful guidance and ensuring that the message of ‘stop and think’ is consistently reiterated, children will soon learn that – while it is exciting to play on the internet – it comes with risks just like many things in life. No child wants an extra game feature at the expense of Christmas being cancelled, so chances are good they’ll take the message on board.
To learn more about more dangers faced by children online as well as about how not only technology can help, head over to https://saferkidsonline.eset.com .
To read how you can instill safe selfie habits in your kids, please refer to our recent Selfies for kids – A guide for parents article.
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