I was sent this by AVG recently and with Facebook being many kids favourite method of communication and the internet becoming such an important part of our children’s lives I thought the following article would be of interest to many mums concerned about keeping their kids safe online.
AVG RELEASES HANDY TIPS FOR KEEPING KIDS SAFE ONLINE
Internet security company AVG today releases their top tips for keeping children safe online.
While the internet can be a great place for children to learn new things, their enthusiasm for fresh experiences can make them unwitting targets for unscrupulous online predators, virus-laden websites and other threats.
Tony Anscombe is AVG’s Ambassador of Free Products, a father and an internet security specialist. Here he gives us his advice for keeping children safe online.
1. Stay informed: Keep up to date on the kinds of things your child may be interested in. For both younger kids and teens, that means learning about social sites like Facebook and Twitter, as well as virtual communities like Club Penguin and Webkinz.
2. Keep the computer in a common room: This is a bit of social engineering. By keeping everything out in the open, you reduce the chance of activity that might be suspect.
3. Teach your kids that the Internet is forever: What we put online tends to remain there, for anyone to search and find. So it’s important to tell our kids, especially our teens, that they need to think carefully about what they put in their profiles, on message boards, etc.
4. Remember the 4 P’s: Following on the previous tip, teach your kids about the four P’s: parents, principles, predators, or the police. Never post anything online that any of those four shouldn’t see.
5. Use the most restrictive privacy settings: It isn’t made plain how best to go about protecting yourself on Facebook and similar sites, but it’s extremely important to control what information you share with the world.
You can read more of Tony’s tips at: http://free-product.blog.avg.com/2010/08/avgs-guide-for-parents-on-how-to-keep-kids-safe-online.html
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