Children often lack the skill to distinguish friend from foe, and when it comes to the online world these dangerous are only intensified. Parents need to know how they can prepare and protect their kids from the dangers of the internet.
According to Bitdefender’s Teen and Online Threats, December 2017 Report, seven out of 10 teenagers have strangers on their online friends list and interact with them willingly. Shockingly, almost 20% of children have 50 strangers on their lists.
These scary facts raise the question, what can parents do to protect their children, because the age-old “don’t talk to strangers” doesn’t cut it when it comes to online communication.
The false sense of protection when interacting with other online is misleading, especially so for children, and although the online world seems far away the threat of a predator can become real in the blink of an eye.
Take these steps now:
1. Teach children not to share any personal information online, whether to a friend or a stranger.
2. Tell your children under no circumstances should they meet a stranger face to face and, importantly, provide them with the platform to talk to you honestly about any requests or interaction that might feel uncomfortable.
3. Invest in reputable security software that will enable you to proactively monitor and control your child’s online activities. Bitdefender Internet Security 2019 and Total Security 2019 security software options come with a compelling Parental Control feature.
“Both Bitdefender Total Security and Internet Security 2019 can be installed on multiple devices which means you can run it on more than one child’s laptop and mobile device. Once installed, a profile for each child can be created and then parents can monitor and gain access to a myriad of online activity alerts and features,” explains Leo Meyer, representative of Bitdefender Country Partner for consumer products.
Bitdefender Parental Control which is accessed from the Bitdefender Central app or web console enables parents to create individual profiles for their children and then stay one step ahead of their online activities.
– Once a profile is created parents can set-up perimeters such as what applications children can gain access to. The easy-to-use “block and save” feature enables parents to quickly go through the application list and select the suitable options
– Parents can block websites by specific categories
– Parents can also allow and block phone contacts
– Parents can set-up child locations
– Screen time can also be controlled.
Once the above is created, parents will then have access to Children Activity Reports, provided via e-mail daily, weekly or monthly. These activity reports will give parents insight into important information such as:
– Attempts to access blocked apps and websites
– Blocked call attempts
– Children entering safe or restricted locations
In a world developing new and advanced dangers parents must also adopt to ensure their children are safe.
Picture: Unsplash