Today is Safer Internet Day and to mark the occasion, I’ve got together with Kaspersky to give away a copy of Kaspersky Lab. This is a one-licence, multi-platform solution for PCs, Macs & Android devices worth £49.99 for 3 devices
It’s definitely important to protect children when they are using the internet. Some worrying figures from a Kaspersky Lab Study show:
- More than a quarter (27 per cent) of parents believe their children have been exposed to online risks, such as accessing inappropriate content or cyber bullying in the past 12 months
- One in five parents (22 per cent) takes no action to govern their children’s online activity – whether on the home computer or mobile devices.
- 18 per cent of parents had lost money or data from their personal device as a result of their child’s unmonitored access
David Emm, senior security researcher at Kaspersky Lab, offers the following tips to stay safe online:
- Both Android smartphones and iPhones come with in-built parental controls – when purchasing a smartphone, ask the sales assistants to demonstrate these features. They have policies in place and a responsibility to make parents aware of these. By creating a demand, it is more likely they will let other parents know.
- Apply settings that prevent in-app purchases to save hefty bills should children stumble across a game with expensive add-ons.
- Install security software – these providers will offer apps to filter out inappropriate content, for example, adult images and senders of nuisance SMS messages.
- Encourage children to talk about their online experience and in particular, anything that makes them feel uncomfortable or threatened. Open a channel of communication so they feel they can discuss all areas of their online life without fear of judgement or reprimand.
- Protecting children from cyber bullies is especially challenging with smartphones as they can be targeted in so many ways, especially out of view of their parents. Deal with cyber bullying as you would in real life by encouraging children to be open and talk to a trusted adult if they experience any threatening or inappropriate messages. Numbers and contacts on apps can both be blocked if they are making children uncomfortable.
- Use the internet for good – there are sites that can advise both parents and children on how to manage online threats. Take a look at http://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/.
I have to admit, I never really thought of any protection on our phones or tablets. I had only considered using internet security on the laptop, so it’s definitely something to think about!
For your chance to win a copy of Kaspersky Lab, enter via the Rafflecopter below: