About a decade ago, when the internet was still young, it was possible to be online and remain anonymous at the same time. You could easily hide behind a screen name, unable to be tracked by search engines, companies or any other entity which wishes to collect information on all your moves.
The internet today has expanded way beyond our expectations. It's no longer the safe and a private haven it once used to be. Now, everything we post on the internet can be viewed by people and entities from all over the world. And in most cases, it cannot be deleted or removed.
Too Much Exposure Can Be Bad!
Many a times, too much exposure to anything can have unhealthy consequences, and this is exactly the case with the internet. The risks associated with revealing too much private information on the web are the same as revealing your private information to a stranger.
The cases related to identity thefts we hear about daily can help us understand how risky it is to reveal too much private information online.
Kids Will Be Kids!
"It’s about the approach: Parents should strive to be active partners with their children as they go online."
Michael Kaiser, Executive Director, National Cyber Security Alliance
Adults are mature enough to avoid dangers, but what about kids? With the advent of tablets and laptops, children today can easily access and surf the online world.
Most children today are attracted to the internet. They think of it as a magical kingdom capable of giving them all the entertainment they need, from providing printable templates of pretty much any animal to images to color, and serving up endlessly-repeatable videos of startled cats and loom-band tutorials.
However, they obviously lack the know-how regarding internet privacy and security and are often eager to over-share. Throughout this learning curve, parents and educators can step in and offer guidance and teach them a bit about online privacy and security.
Teach Your Children A Few Basic Guidelines of Using the Internet
First of all, you need to setup some ground rules and educate your children on what online security really is. This can be done by telling them a few basic guidelines. You can start by telling them that nothing on the internet is remains 100% private.
Tell them not to disclose personal information. Educate your child about what personal information refers to. Draw up a list and tell them to always consult with you before sharing this information. Talk through scenarios where sharing personal information could lead to negative outcomes.
Extreme emotions can go against your children in later years of their life. Therefore, you need to guide them to be selective while sharing emotions and only sharing them with their close friends on trusted networks.
Use Cyber Security Software
For complete online privacy and security, it's always best to install cyber security software like Anti-virus software, Firewall and a VPN. While firewalls block all types of malicious stuff from entering your computer, anti-virus cleans it from viruses and other dangerous stuff.
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, connection is equally important for the online security of your child. A VPN like PureVPN, secures you in a much better way. It basically encrypts your online communications, disallowing any person whether he is a hacker or a cybercriminal, from accessing or monitoring them. It also disallows any malicious stuff from entering your system.
Apart from this, when you connect to another IP address using a VPN, you are virtually anonymous. No one will be able to spot you out or monitor whatever you're doing on the internet. PureVPN in this case is one of the most secure and feature-filled VPN on the internet.
To Conclude…
Helping your children learn about Internet privacy and security is absolutely essential in today’s age. Our advice is to always keep your device and network secure. Installing anti-virus software is absolutely essential. For ultimate protection, you can install PureVPN on your devices to employ encryption.
ABOUT THE EXPERT
Danyal Effendi is currently working as Digital Marketing Strategist for PureVPN. He is an avid reader, learner and occasionally writes to spread knowledge through different blogs and discussions. He loves Sports, Beaches and Chocolate. You can reach him anytime through twitter @DanEffendi
Danyal Effendi is currently working as Digital Marketing Strategist for PureVPN. He is an avid reader, learner and occasionally writes to spread knowledge through different blogs and discussions. He loves Sports, Beaches and Chocolate. You can reach him anytime through twitter @DanEffendi
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