There are a whole host of reasons why you should allow your children to use the Internet. By granting your kids access to the world wide web, they will be able to remain in touch with family members that they don’t see in person every day, they will be able to explore their interests on a much broader scale, and they will be able to study using the best research tools and the biggest encyclopedia known to man.
Should you allow your little ones to surf the Internet, however, it’s imperative that you go above and beyond to safeguard them. For all the benefits
Talk openly about the Internet with your kids
As soon as your children start accessing the Internet regularly, it’s important to talk openly with them regarding their use of the web. By opening up this clear and coherent flow of communication and continuing it as your kids grow, they will always feel comfortable talking to you about the content that they unearth and engage with online. Importantly, this will help you to retain a crucial insight into how they are using the web, which in turn will help you to protect them should any problems arise.
When you do start discussing the dangers of the world wide web with your children, be sure to talk openly and effectively about the following points:
- Be honest and make them aware of the fact that there aren’t nice people on the Internet
- Establish a set of rulesregarding what sites they can access from the offset
- When discussing abstract concepts regarding the Internet, use child-friendly analogies
- Don’t just talkto your kids about what they must to remain safe on the web — be a good role model and actively show them
Teach them about email spoofing
Email spoofing is a common phishing technique used by the lowlife cybercriminals of today. It involves tricking Internet users into thinking an email message has come from a friendly source when, in actual fact, it has come from a malicious one.
Regardless of how innocent their intentions may have been, your children could inadvertently put your personal information and sensitive data at risk if they fall victim to this type of phishing scam. It is for this reason why you should teach your kids all about email spoofing and the level of threat that it poses.
As stated by Proofpoint, here are just a few of the things that your children must do to avoid the dangers of email spoofing:
- They must avoid clicking links that ask them to authenticate
- If in doubt, they should copy and paste email messages into search engines to see if that content has already been used in previous phishing attacks
- They should always be suspicious if they notice obvious spelling or grammar mistakes
If you want to protect your kids while they surf the web, you simply must put all of the above advice into practice. The earlier you set the wheels into motion in this instance, the more likely your children will be to grow up knowing right from wrong when it comes to their Internet usage.