When your children go back to school, many parents have discussions with them regarding of how to stay safe inside, or on their way to school. It’s important to also discuss digital security with them. This new era presents a new host of security risks that today’s parents didn’t have to be concerned about when they were children, however any missteps can be serious. Before you send your kids off to the brand new school year, here’s five things to teach them.
Keep your files backed up.
Nothing is more frustrating than spending hours writing an essay or working on a project only to have the entire thing deleted in one second when your computer crashes. It’s essential to backup all files – not just schoolwork, but any personal data as well.
Don’t share personal information over the internet
Don’t share even what seems like innocuous information over social media – it can be accessed by hackers or identity thieves and used to exploit or steal your identity. This includes information ranging from your birthday, to what city you were born in, or even answers to security questions including the name of your first pet. Explain to your children that any information that you publish on the internet can be easily shared- even when you have privacy settings set up, screenshotting allows for instant capturing of information – and with instant capture, there’s also the risk of instant share-ability.
Learn how to discern spam
Children should have spam filters set up on their computer in order to avoid unsafe content online. You need to explain to children how scams like Phishing are made, so they don’t fall for one of those faulty chain emails where someone pretends that you won a contest, or are the sudden recipient of an inheritance.
Keep your electronics on a tight leash
Make sure that children keep mobile devices secure, including having a hard to guess passcode. Make sure to stress to your children the fact that if somebody is able to access the personal information contained inside one of their mobile devices, that they can effectively steal their identity – or hack their accounts, posting embarrassing things or harassing their friends.
