16/03/2016
India Parents Worried For Their Children's Online Security - Here is Experts Tips
When a child is using your computer, normal safeguards and security practices may not be sufficient. Children present additional challenges because of their natural characteristics: innocence, curiosity, desire for independence, and fear of punishment. You need to consider these characteristics when determining how to protect your data and the child.
You may think that because the child is only playing a game, or researching a term paper, or typing a homework assignment, he or she can't cause any harm. But what if, when saving her paper, the child deletes a necessary program file? Or what if she unintentionally visits a malicious web page that infects your computer with a virus? These are just two possible scenarios. Mistakes happen, but the child may not realize what she's done or may not tell you what happened because she's afraid of getting punished.
Online predators present another significant threat, particularly to children. Because the nature of the internet is so anonymous, it is easy for people to misrepresent themselves and manipulate or trick other users (see Avoiding Social Engineering and Phishing Attacks for some examples). Adults often fall victim to these ploys, and children, who are usually much more open and trusting, are even easier targets. Another growing problem is cyberbullying. These threats are even greater if a child has access to email or instant messaging programs, visits chat rooms, and/or uses social networking sites.
What can you do?
Be involved - Consider activities you can work on together, whether it be playing a game, researching a topic you had been talking about (e.g., family vacation spots, a particular hobby, a historical figure), or putting together a family newsletter. This will allow you to supervise your child's online activities while teaching her good computer habits.
Keep your computer in an open area - If your computer is in a high-traffic area, you will be able to easily monitor the computer activity. Not only does this accessibility deter a child from doing something she knows she's not allowed to do, it also gives you the opportunity to intervene if you notice a behavior that could have negative consequences.
Set rules and warn about dangers - Make sure your child knows the boundaries of what she is allowed to do on the computer. These boundaries should be appropriate for the child's age, knowledge, and maturity, but they may include rules about how long she is allowed to be on the computer, what sites she is allowed to visit, what software programs she can use, and what tasks or activities she is allowed to do.
You should also talk to children about the dangers of the internet so that they recognize suspicious behavior or activity. Discuss the risks of sharing certain types of information (e.g., that they're home alone) and the benefits to only communicating and sharing information with people they know (see Using Instant Messaging and Chat Rooms Safely, Staying Safe on Social Network Sites, and the document Socializing Securely: Using Social Networking Services for more information). The goal isn't to scare them, it's to make them more aware. Make sure to include the topic of cyberbullying in these discussions (see Dealing with Cyberbullies for more information).
Monitor computer activity - Be aware of what your child is doing on the computer, including which websites she is visiting. If she is using email, instant messaging, or chat rooms, try to get a sense of who she is corresponding with and whether she actually knows them.
Keep lines of communication open - Let your child know that she can approach you with any questions or concerns about behaviors or problems she may have encountered on the computer.
Consider partitioning your computer into separate accounts - Most operating systems give you the option of creating a different user account for each user. If you're worried that your child may accidentally access, modify, and/or delete your files, you can give her a separate account and decrease the amount of access and number of privileges she has.
If you don't have separate accounts, you need to be especially careful about your security settings. In addition to limiting functionality within your browser (see Evaluating Your Web Browser's Security Settings for more information), avoid letting your browser remember passwords and other personal information (see Browsing Safely: Understanding Active Content and Cookies). Also, it is always important to keep your virus definitions up to date (see Understanding Anti-Virus Software).
Consider implementing parental controls - You may be able to set some parental controls within your browser. For example, Internet Explorer allows you to restrict or allow certain websites to be viewed on your computer, and you can protect these settings with a password. To find those options, click Tools on your menu bar, select Internet Options, choose the Content tab, and click the Enable... button under Content Advisor.
There are other resources you can use to control and/or monitor your child's online activity. Some ISPs offer services designed to protect children online. Contact your ISP to see if any of these services are available. There are also special software programs you can install on your computer. Different programs offer different features and capabilities, so you can find one that best suits your needs.
‘Start discussing online safety at an early age’
David Emm, senior security researcher at internet security company Kaspersky Lab
‘If you wouldn’t do it face to face - Don’t do it online’
Shelagh McManus, online safety advocate for security software Norton by Symantec
‘At least I don’t feel like a spy...’
Paul Vlissidis, technical director at cyber security firm NCC Group
‘Teach them to beware of strangers bearing gifts’
Amichai Shulman, CTO of network security firm Imperva
‘Once you’ve written something you can’t delete it’
David Robinson, chief security officer at Fujitsu UK & Ireland
‘Never, under any circumstances, browse unaccompanied’
Dave King, chief executive of online reputation management company Digitalis
‘Try and be vigilant and monitor what you can’
Chase Cunningham, lead threat intelligence agent for cloud security company Firehost – and creator of educational comic The Cynja
‘Educate early and often’
Samantha Humphries-Swift, product manager at cybersecurity firm McAfee Labs
‘Not just to tell them the rules but also to spend the time’
Jesper Kråkhede, senior information security consultant at IT security company Sentor
‘Become friends and contacts in your child’s social media’
Tracy Hulver, senior identity specialist for telco firm Verizon
‘Imagine a responsible adult standing behind them’
Kevin Gourlay, head of technical assurance at Platinum Squared, and head of the (ISC)2 Safe and Secure Online cybersafety initiative
‘It’s about them understanding simple safety rules’
Lucy Woodward, director at Disney’s Club Penguin virtual world for children
‘Just apply standards you adopt offline to the online world’
Sue Gold, partner, data privacy team at law firm Osborne Clarke
‘Anything that is put online should assumed to be permanent’
Chris Hoff, vice president, strategic planning, security, Juniper Networks.
‘Get them involved when installing patches’
Neil Thacker, information security and strategy officer at cybersecurity company Websense
‘A few simple steps will help keep data secure’
Deema Freij, senior vice president EMEA & APAC at technology company Intralinks
‘Learn about something yourself if you don’t know’
François Amigorena, chief executive of software firm IS Decisions
‘Boundaries also bring freedom’
Ben Densham, CTO of cybersecurity testing company Nettitude
‘We talk about anything and everything’
Mark Gibson, sales director at web filtering firm Bloxx
‘Staying safe now goes beyond the old computer security issues’
Catalin Cosoi, chief security strategist, Bitdefender
‘Follow the same rules you would follow in the real world’
Darren Anstee, director of solutions architects at network security company Arbor Networks
