Unlike the generations before them, today’s children are growing up with unprecedented access to the internet, with an incredible wealth of information at their fingertips.
We can’t deny that the web offers incredible opportunities for learning, entertainment, and connecting with our peers. But it also exposes our kids to a wide range of potential dangers.
To make sure our little (and not so little) ones stay safe online, we parents need to educate ourselves on the threats that are out there and take a proactive approach to safeguarding our children against online predators, inappropriate content, cyberbullies, phishing attacks, and other kinds of malicious behavior.
Let’s take a look at the best practices, tools, and iolo products that can help ensure a safe online experience for browsers of all ages. We’ve collected our top internet safety tips for children here.
Use comprehensive security software
Robust anti-virus and anti-malware tools are your first defense against the darker side of the web. Children are often less aware of sophisticated hacking techniques, meaning their devices can become prime targets for malware, phishing attempts, and other types of cyberattacks – so you need to equip all their devices with software that delivers a reliable layer of protection.
System Mechanic Ultimate Defense from iolo features everything you need to keep your kids safe, from anti-virus tools that monitor your device in real-time to firewall features, password management options, PC optimization functions and more. It’s our best and most comprehensive security package, and one subscription can be used across up to 10 devices, ensuring everyone in the family is covered.
Implement parental control features
Parental control software can be used to boost online safety for kids by restricting access to inappropriate websites, providing a much-needed protective barrier against violence, adult content and hate speech, and allowing you to keep a closer eye on exactly what your kids are up to online.
These kinds of tools don’t just allow you to filter content – they also include time management features to help you set limits on screen time and encourage responsible digital habits. Communication monitoring enable you to track messaging apps, social media interactions, and your children’s activities across gaming platforms, so you can quickly see if they are unknowingly engaging in harmful behavior or being targeted by online predators. Location tracking on mobile devices can give you peace of mind as to your kids’ whereabouts, too.
Utilize secure browsers and safe search tools
Using secure browsers and configuring your settings can go some way to creating a safer environment for your children online.
Secure browsers and safe search tools come equipped with features that automatically block harmful or explicit content. Security-heavy browsers often include built-in security features like anti-phishing and anti-malware protection tools, which guard children against malicious websites and downloads behind the scenes. These browsers detect unsafe sites or files and either warn the user or block access altogether, reducing the chances of younger surfers falling victim to phishing attacks or unintentionally downloading malware.
Safe search filters also restrict search results to show only child-friendly content, limiting access only to educational or entertaining websites that have been vetted as safe. Many can also disable dangerous features like chat rooms.
Be aware that, while browsers like DuckDuckGo can help to maintain privacy, they don’t save data or searches, so there will be no record of what your child has been viewing. They’re not always the best choice for younger children who need more robust monitoring.
Set up a VPN for secure internet access
Virtual private networks (VPNs) – like ioloVPN – cloak the user’s IP address and encrypt internet traffic to and from a device, which helps to protect the person’s profile and location, and prevent them from becoming a target for cybercriminals.
Identity theft is among the top scams aimed at children, so anything that stops them from being visible online will help to reduce the likelihood of data loss or picking up dangerous viruses or malware from suspicious sources. For maximum peace of mind, we recommend setting up a VPN on all your children’s devices.
Regularly update your software and devices
Cyberthreats are evolving all the time, and it’s becoming harder for apps and systems to keep up with all the sophisticated methods and techniques used by today’s hackers.
One surefire way to protect your children and your devices from harm is to ensure that all your software, operating systems and devices are kept up to date with the latest security patches. You can request the most recent updates manually at a time that suits you or set your anti-virus software to install the newest developments at regular intervals, so they are implemented automatically.
Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)
It’s important to teach your kids about not only internet safety, but the permanence of their digital footprint, and why they need to be careful about the nature of the information they share online.
Logins and interactions on social media are the data points that are perhaps the most visible for children, so always make sure your kids’ social accounts are set to private and review each site’s individual privacy settings to make doubly sure their content is not visible to the public and you’re making the most of the controls that are available to you. If you spot something you don’t like, or have concerns over your child’s safety and privacy, the best thing you can do is remove them from the site altogether.
If you’re planning to sell or recycle your child’s device, make sure all sensitive data has been removed with iolo’s Drive Scrubber®, which will erase everything on the hard drive in line with Department of Defense security standards. You’ll find this handy tool in our System Mechanic® Ultimate Defense™ antivirus package, which contains dozens of other features and functions to protect you and your loved ones from malicious activity.
Educate yourself and your family about phishing and scams
Prevention starts with education! Talk to your children about how to recognize suspicious emails, messages and websites; reiterate the dangers of browsing on sites with adult or inappropriate content; and encourage them to share as little personal information as possible online – their future selves will thank them for it!
If you’re not too confident in your own cybersecurity knowledge, there are plenty of resources and courses out there, many of which can be accessed for free.
Use secure password management tools
It can be tempting to use the same password across all accounts for ease, but this is a hacker’s dream. Teach your kids to use strong, unique passwords for every app or site they use, and store this data in a safe place.
Password managers like iolo’s ByePass™ simplifies the process across all your digital devices, using local data encryption to store your passwords safely and an autofill function to save time while browsing. ByePass™ is integrated into our System Mechanic® Ultimate Defense™ offering.
Set up regular backups
Despite you and your children’s best efforts, sometimes data can be corrupted, and systems can be compromised. To protect schoolwork, photos and personal information from being damaged or lost, it’s essential to back up your data regularly.
The easiest and most cost-efficient way to do this is usually to schedule periodic backups to a cloud storage system, because you can adjust the amount of space you need on a third-party server at the click of a button. There are plenty of free or low-cost solutions out there that can help you back up your information effortlessly, including Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive and iCloud. However, you might also want to place any particularly important files onto an external hard drive and keep it in a safe place.
Don’t rest on your laurels when it comes to protecting your children online. Internet safety for kids is an ever-evolving topic, and you need to stay ahead of the game if you want to prevent your little ones from stumbling across something they shouldn’t or falling victim to scams.
Implement the tips and measures listed here and use all the cutting-edge safety tools that are at your disposal. iolo offers a wide range of enhanced security software that deliver 24/7 protection against all kinds of threats, across all kinds of devices.
