Keeping kids safe on the Internet

It can be hard to protect your children when they play online, but Internet security solutions can help keep their experience safe, fun and secure.

Over 50% of children aged six to nine are on the Internet every day*. And just like when they’re at school or on the playground, they’re going to make a few decisions—and mistakes—of their own.

Keeping kids safe in the internet playground safe can be challenging. There are no teachers to watch over them—and you certainly can’t monitor them every minute!

So, how do you keep kids safe on the internet? Let’s look at the ways you can safeguard against the everyday dangers your kids could face…

Block inappropriate websites

Not surprisingly, not all websites are kid-friendly. Your child could accidentally stumble across an inappropriate site through a simple search-engine query or by clicking on a link that a friend sends them.

How can you keep your kids safe on the internet and protect them without being over-bearing?

Parental control software may be the answer. Available as a standalone solution and also provided in Internet security packages, a parental control ‘safe search’ feature blocks inappropriate content. Most also give you detailed reports to make sure you are fully aware of what you child is doing on the Internet.

But sometimes it’s the apparently safe sites that can spoil the virtual playground.

Don’t talk to strangers

It can be fun for your child to play the latest online game with friends, communicating with them via chat rooms. But these chat rooms also contain cybercriminals, hiding behind avatars to trick children into giving out personal details. These details can then be used to steal your identity and money.

Sticking to well-known games or those from reputable sites can help protect your child. But even then, it can still be hard to keep your child safe on the internet by monitoring who they talk to online and what they say. Total internet security products, like Kaspersky PURE 3.0, help by preventing your child from sending information such as bank account details, names and addresses through chat rooms and instant messengers.

And it’s not just cybercriminals who operate in these chat rooms. Sadly, as in real life, bullies exist on the Internet.

Stand up to online bullies

On these gaming sites, some participants play to simply harass and taunt other players. These players are known as cyberbullies.

Controlling and preventing cyberbullying in video games is difficult. In most online games, moderators attempt to ban them, but with so many players, it can be hard to get every single one.

Again, parental control functions can keep your child safe from internet bullies in the online playground. They work by monitoring who your child talks to online and providing you with the power to block any undesirable contacts. You can also receive alerts when any specified word is used in online communication.

Please note: Even with all this protection, it is still impossible to monitor your child 100% of the time. Seemingly innocent sites can still contain malicious links that can compromise the security of your whole network.

Don’t download a virus

Cybercriminals know children seek out free software, music, and games. They also know children are more likely to trust links and email attachments.

If your child clicks on one of these links, they may download a virus that has the potential to not just compromise expose the security of their PC but your whole network. They may do this inadvertently, simply clicking on a banner ad while the malware invisibly loads compromising your kid’s safety on the Internet.

Either way, the best protection is a decent Internet security suite that blocks unsafe links and checks every download for signs of malware. A total security product like Kaspersky PURE will do this for everyone in your house. You can monitor the whole network from your PC and adjust the security settings of each computer individually.