Technology is the one thing that is changing at a very fast pace universally. Every age bracket is being addicted to its consumption so much that it has certainly become impossible to have an existence without it. Even the kids today are being exposed to technology at a very tender stage. The internet can be amazing and extremely helpful for children. They can use it watching their fav cartoon, play interactive games, attend their school post covid and so on.
But it has equal threats and uncertainty like cyberbullying, sexting, grooming, pornographic content, or online predators when an anonymous identity can ask for personal information, their address, phone numbers, or photos and then threaten them.
Parents are the best fit for tracking the online behavior of children. When they encounter online risks, they are also the most trustworthy adults most children would turn to. To protect them from digital threats, learning what your kids or teens do online is important.
In this digital world, parents should become well equipped with what exactly the kid is doing online, parents’ unawareness can cost their children growth, parents should become that shield between the digital world and its excess use.
There are plenty of practical things available for parents to save their kids from online hazards.
Encrypting Your Home Network
Most of the online networks are unencrypted. Your child surfing on the internet may not know about the malicious online stalkers. Surfing on the unencrypted network can lead to loss of privacy and personal data. This is where VPN comes in handy. VPN is a tool that establishes a secure connection between the internet and the user. It encrypts the online traffic, therefore hackers won’t be able to see the real IP address or the personal details about the user. Such encryption is even more essential when your kids need to surf the internet for academic purposes as well. So, what better than the freedom to browse with intact security in place. Find out more about VPNs here.
Set a screen time limit for the device
The recent crisis has changed the way kids used to study. Online schools and tuition classes have led to excessive use of gadgets. The increased screen time leaves kids vulnerable to visit fake sites and contact fake people. This increases the risk of personal data sharing and many other threats to children. You might consider limiting and enforcing the number of hours per day or week your kids can use these devices. Parents should keep a watch of the types of devices their kids can use. Do not let them spend much time free on the internet. Setting alarms is also a good way to check and restrict the screen time of kids. Many applications have online surfing time hours. It notifies in case a user uses the device longer than the pre-set time.
Turn on the notifications and surf history
Children keep their personal computers and gadgets with them full time. In this case, it is very difficult for the parents to watch the online activity of their students. The hackers took advantage of the kids and targeted them. Clicking on the wrong website or a checkbox can add malicious malware to your systems. Nowadays, a single account manages all the device activities. If your kid gets hacked, it’s very easy for the cybercriminals to attack their other gadgets’ private data. Therefore, safeguard your kid’s from the cybercriminals by connecting their gadgets with your additional accounts. It will give you a notification about their online surfing. You can easily see their surfing history and will get a notification on time.
Restrict unnecessary websites
Landing on an inappropriate website is quite easy so it becomes essential for every parent to restrict the certain kind of websites. Opening spam websites can leave your child vulnerable to cyber attacks. The website creates cookies that automatically get saved onto the browser as one visits those sites. Parents must restrict the website’s access so that children are not able to access them. Restricting sites will also help in controlling children from binge-watching anything randomly while studying. Turn on the system account setting to “ask permission before saving”. This will prevent the cookies from getting auto-saved. These restrictions are for good only.
Parental Controls
Kids are fast at learning and exploring new things. The world of the internet is full of adventurous and exciting things from them. The wrong websites and cyber hackers target these small kids in different ways. Hackers trick the children by offering a certain amount to download any game or any app. These tactics are the general way of trapping the kids in their scam. Many apps have the facility of parental control, wherein parents can put a control on the feature of the app which they don’t want a kid to access. It could be in the form of Passcode or pattern. Online payment has made everything possible by selling just by a click, so it’s very important for parents to see what kinds of apps are being used and does it involve any money involvement.
Conclusion
As a parent, one can do whatever for the safety and security of their kids. The world of the internet has grown so large and complicated that it is very difficult to protect the small kids as its users. Within a click, they can get exposed to the dark side of the world. The online hackers and cyber attackers are waiting to grab these simple opportunities for their interest. Kids are the future of every country so it is important they become a fine human being and not indulge in wrong ways. A right safety and protection by the side of the parents can save kids from such attacks. Parents must know this virtual world. They should know the solutions and hacks to protect themselves and their kids from cyberattacks. The above-mentioned tips will help you in managing the safety of your kids online. Follow these best practices and educate your children about the same.
