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Includes FREE Norton Antivirus SE (6 months) and Ad-Aware SE Personal AntiSpyware
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Keeping Children Safe Online* |
Children present unique security risks when they use a computer — not only do you
have to keep them safe, you have to protect the data on your computer. By taking
some simple steps, you can dramatically reduce the threats.
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What unique risks are associated with children? |
When a child is using your computer, normal safeguards and security practices may
not be sufficient. Children present additional challenges because of their natural
characteristics: innocence, curiosity, desire for independence, and fear of punishment.
You need to consider these characteristics when determining how to protect your
data and the child.
You may think that because the child is only playing a game, or researching a term
paper, or typing a homework assignment, he or she can't cause any harm. But what
if, when saving her paper, the child deletes a necessary program file? Or what if
she unintentionally visits a malicious web page that infects your computer with
a virus? These are just two possible scenarios. Mistakes happen, but the child may
not realize what she's done or may not tell you what happened because she's afraid
of getting punished.
Online predators present another significant threat, particularly to children. Because
the nature of the internet is so anonymous, it is easy for people to misrepresent
themselves and manipulate or trick other users (see
Avoiding Social Engineering
and Phishing Attacks for some examples). Adults often fall victim to these ploys,
and children, who are usually much more open and trusting, are even easier targets.
The threat is even greater if a child has access to email or instant messaging programs
and/or visits chat rooms (see
Using Instant Messaging and Chat Rooms Safely for
more information).
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What can you do? |
- Be involved — Consider activities you can work on together, whether
it be playing a game, researching a topic you had been talking about (e.g., family
vacation spots, a particular hobby, a historical figure), or putting together a
family newsletter. This will allow you to supervise your child's online activities
while teaching her good computer habits.
- Keep your computer in an open area — If your computer is in a high-traffic
area, you will be able to easily monitor the computer activity. Not only does this
accessibility deter a child from doing something she knows she's not allowed to
do, it also gives you the opportunity to intervene if you notice a behavior that
could have negative consequences.
- Set rules and warn about dangers — Make sure your child knows the
boundaries of what she is allowed to do on the computer. These boundaries should
be appropriate for the child's age, knowledge, and maturity, but they may include
rules about how long she is allowed to be on the computer, what sites she is allowed
to visit, what software programs she can use, and what tasks or activities she is
allowed to do. You should also talk to children about the dangers of the internet
so that they recognize suspicious behavior or activity. The goal isn't to scare
them, it's to make them more aware.
- Monitor computer activity — Be aware of what your child is doing
on the computer, including which web sites she is visiting. If she is using email,
instant messaging, or chat rooms, try to get a sense of who she is corresponding
with and whether she actually knows them.
- Keep lines of communication open — Let your child know that she
can approach you with any questions or concerns about behaviors or problems she
may have encountered on the computer.
- Consider partitioning your computer into separate accounts — Most
operating systems (including Windows XP, Mac OS X, and Linux) give you the option
of creating a different user account for each user. If you're worried that your
child may accidentally access, modify, and/or delete your files, you can give her
a separate account and decrease the amount of access and number of privileges she
has.
If you don't have separate accounts, you need to be especially careful about your
security settings. In addition to limiting functionality within your browser (see
Evaluating Your Web Browser's Security Settings for more information), avoid letting
your browser remember passwords and other personal information (see
Browsing Safely:
Understanding Active Content and Cookies). Also, it is always important to keep
your virus definitions up to date (see
Understanding Anti-Virus Software).
- Consider implementing parental controls — You may be able to set some parental controls
within your browser. For example, Internet Explorer allows you to restrict or allow
certain web sites to be viewed on your computer, and you can protect these settings
with a password. To find those options, click Tools on your menu bar, select Internet
Options..., choose the Content tab, and click the Enable... button under Content
Advisor.
There are other resources you can use to control and/or monitor your child's online activity. Some ISPs offer services designed to protect children online. Contact
your ISP to see if any of these services are available. There are also special software
programs you can install on your computer. Different programs offer different features
and capabilities, so you can find one that best suits your needs.
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* Excerpted from the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team "
Keeping Children Safe Online"
Authors: Mindi McDowell, Allen Householder
Produced 2005 by US-CERT, a government organization.
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