keeping kids safe online – General Concern

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1578035901_84ff68301c_m.jpgNote: This is an on going part of a look at six issues that we face in keeping our children and students safe online. We’ll be looking at the issue, discussing some solutions and recommending some free and commercial software that can help protect the children you work with online.

The issue: General Concerns

Every parent has areas that they feel strongly about. Some common issues can be limiting online gaming time, preventing sites in areas such as weapons, drugs, chatting, and other topics that you may deem inappropriate for your child

Solutions:

– Clear, simple, easy-to-read house rules should be posted on or near the monitor.
– Without overreacting, establish clear and reasonable rules for computer use in your home and outside your home. Limit the time and the hours of the day your child can participate in online activities. Make sure you create, explain and implement consequences for breaking the rules.
– Internet accounts and profiles should be in your name and you should control passwords and screen names. Help your child choose a screen name that is nondescript. Do not allow children to have personal profiles because these can often be easily accessed by predators.
– Know who your children exchange e-mail with. If they have a “buddy list”, check it often for changes.
– Keep the lines of communication open with your child. Be supportive of the educational and fun uses of technology and spend time exploring the Internet with your child. Work to establish an atmosphere of trust within your family, encouraging your children to tell you about their online activities.
– Have your children show you what they can do online, and visit their favorite sites.
– Have your children use child-friendly search engines when completing homework.

– Talk to your children about what to do if they see something that makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused. Show them how to turn off the monitor and emphasize that it’s not their fault if they see something upsetting. Remind children to tell a trusted adult if they see something that bothers them online.
– Get to know your child’s “online friends” just as you get to know all of their other friends. Ask about who is on their buddy list & whom they talk to most frequently. This way you get a feel for whom they are talking to.

Some rules to consider implementing in your home

  • to tell you immediately if they are threatened, scared or made uncomfortable by someone or something online. (Be sure you respond in a helpful and calm manner.)
  • never give out their own or their friends’ names, addresses, phone numbers, parents’ names, school names, or other personal information.
  • never agree to personally meet someone they met online.
  • never send photographs online without your permission.
  • never fill out forms or questionnaires online without your permission.
  • not to enter areas that charge for services without your permission.

Warning Signs:

  • Your child changes the computer screen when you enter the room.
  • Your child becomes uneasy or defensive when you are close to their online activity or discussing online behavior. (If you see your child type POS this is a red flag. It means “parent over shoulder”.)
  • There are unusual charges on credit card statements or phone bills. Be especially alert to charges with seemingly benign identification. Pornographers and con artists are careful not to attract attention by using descriptive names.
  • Your child has a sudden influx of cash or gifts.
  • You notice changes in your child’s behavior or habits (secretiveness, inappropriate knowledge, changes in interests, sleeping problems, etc.)

Teach your children to exercise good judgment in cyberspace, just as they do off line. It is just like taking your child to their first day of school. You can’t always be there with them. But you can hold their hand along the way. The same applies online. “Hold their hand” by becoming educated, being open, building trust, and, most important, learning to let go.

keeping kids safe online – issue #5 – online predators

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410262257_e06cf7e529_m.jpgNote: This is an on going part of a look at six issues that we face in keeping our children and students safe online. We’ll be looking at the issue, discussing some solutions and recommending some free and commercial software that can help protect the children you work with online.

The issue: Predators

Children are very trusting and have a hard time discerning between truthful adults and deceitful ones. Steps need to be taken to protect your children from strangers online. If your child chats in a public chat room, chances are very high that they’ll be approached in a sexual way.

Solutions:

– Set firm rules on chatting, IM’ing, email,  and other uses of technology that allow direct communication with strangers
– Discuss the dangers of strangers online. Ask your children if they’ve ever been asked personal information online.
– Create a open avenue of communication with your children. Be sure they feel comfortable coming to you if a situation arises online. You need to be firm on your rules, yet approachable and understanding.

keeping kids safe online – issue #4 – illegal downloading

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312692685_c0fdcf8b55_m.jpgNote: This is an on going part of a look at six issues that we face in keeping our children and students safe online. We’ll be looking at the issue, discussing some solutions and recommending some free and commercial software that can help protect the children you work with online.

The issue: Illegal Downloading

Many legal places exist to buy digital music and movies, such as iTunes and Amazon’s unbox. However there are countless sites and ways to access software without paying for it. Children who know how to download software and music illegally can often download thousands of songs before being noticed. Regardless of our beliefs on copyright law, downloading illegally puts you at risk for massive lawsuits and possibly prison time.

Solutions:

– Talk to your children about the ethics and issues in illegal downloading.
– Filtering software can help block illegal sites, as well as keep a log of visited sites that can be checked to see where your child is going online.
– Remember, you’re working to instill practices that will keep your children safe after they leave your home. Work to instill an integrity in your child to respect copyright laws – no matter how easy it is to break them, how little the chance to be caught may be, and no matter what the benefit to them might be. While many might believe copyright laws are outdated and need to be updated in this digital age we live in, your children should be taught to follow the law or be prepared to pay the consequences.

keeping kids safe online – issue #3 – spyware

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319711606_f13f17598e_m.jpgNote: This is an on going part of a look at six issues that we face in keeping our children and students safe online. We’ll be looking at the issue, discussing some solutions and recommending some free and commercial software that can help protect the children you work with online.

The issue: Spyware

Spyware is software that can be often installed while the user is unaware. Spyware often displays popups, records your computer use for marketing and can even be used to capture passwords to gain unauthorized access to your accounts.

Solutions:

– Have a spyware remover/scanner installed and running on your computer. Keep it up to date. Some good spyware scanners are Ad-Aware Free and Spybot.

– Set a policy for your family on downloading and installing software. Many parents might find it necessary to restrict installing software. If you allow your children to install software, be sure  to teach them how to recognize software that they should stay away from.

-Never install software designed to exchange music, movies or software illegally. Limewire and other peer-to-peer software can often be riddled with spyware.

-Google is your friend! Run a quick search on the software followed with spyware to see if it’s been identified as something to stay away from!

 

Keeping Kids Safe Online – Issue #2 – Phishing Scams

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Note: This is an on going part of a look at six issues that we face in keeping our children and students safe online. We’ll be looking at the issue, discussing some solutions and recommending some free and commercial software that can help protect the children you work with online.

The issue: Phishing Scams

Phishing scams are intended to get you (and your child) to give up important information that can be used in identity theft. You may be directed to a site that looks exactly like the true site, but the information you enter such as your user name and password, are received by the scammers who now can access your accounts.

Solutions:

– Teach your children never to submit their full name, address or other personal information without your consent.
– If you go to a link offered in an email, check to see if there is an “s” after the HTTP in the address at the top and a lock at the bottom of the screen that indicates the web site is secure and encrypts data
– Most companies never ask customers to confirm personal information by sending an email.
– A good practice is to not use links offered in an email, but to go to the website directly (type the address you usually use to access the site)

Keeping Kids Safe Online – Issue #1 – Pornography

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Note: This is an on going part of a look at six issues that we face in keeping our children and students safe online. We’ll be looking at the issue, discussing some solutions and recommending some free and commercial software that can help protect the children you work with online.

As a parent, one of your many responsibilities is to monitor your child’s media habits. The end goal should be a fully mature adult who can discern right from wrong with or without guidance. It’s very important to lay down some ground rules, as technology has a great amount of potential to effect our lives positively or negatively. Here’s a few areas to be concerned with, and how to help monitor or filter those areas.

The issue: Pornography

Steps need to be taken to protect children from both accidentally discovering pornography during innocent surfing, as well as those children who might be actively searching for it. It’s quite easy to accidentally access a porn site during a search for a report or for an image during a google image search.

Solutions for parent concerns:

General Tips:
– Place the computer in a family area. Children shouldn’t have access to a computer in a private place.
– Be sure to keep your password confidential and to turn off your own automatic logins. Children can run up quite a bill accidentally (or purposefully) after going to a site that you have left yourself logged into.

– Pornography
– If you suspect your child is purposely searching for pornography, talk to them about the issue. It can be a difficult discussion, but it can save your child from a lifelong addiction.
– Set up a filter that can protect your family from stumbling across undesired content.
– Just know that no filter is perfect. Always, always, know what your kids are doing while surfing the web, because a filter never takes the place of a curious and caring parent.