Keeping your family and kids safe online

Keeping your family and kids safe online

May 2021

Would you let anyone come into your home unannounced or let a stranger walk in un-invited? There is no doubt we all take the security of our homes seriously as we don't want any of our possessions stolen, destroyed or, our home disrupted.  We need to be just as cautious when it comes to our cyber security.  There are simple steps we can take to help us prevent harm coming to our families and our digital life.  

Kids

Kids face an ever evolving digital landscape that a lot of adults simply don't understand. Encouraging your kid/teen to talk about their digital life will help you to understand how to approach sensitive topics, help them understand risks better and talk to you without fear should something happen.

Here are a few simply guidelines:

- Encourage trust through open communication.

- Bedrooms and computers don't mix.

- Know what platforms your kids are on.

- Know usernames and passwords and conduct spot checks using the login information.

- Join your kids social networks.

- Use parental controls.

Your home Network

Network Setup

Securing your home network is not simply a case of installing antivirus and hoping for the best. We recommend using DNS filtering that is set up at your main hub. The advantage is that all traffic will be filtered and you will be able to specify what type of traffic you want coming into your home. Check out our video on how to set up DNS filtering.

Windows and OSX Updates

Update, Update, Update! Be sure to install all recent updates for whatever operating system you are using. These updates are released when security or software issue have been found. Failure to update your operating system will leave you exposed to risk.

Antivirus

Install antivirus on devices and ensure they auto update. If you can't afford a full license head over to avast.com for a free version or bitdefender.com for a discounted price.

Your Online life​

Passwords

Updating your passwords frequently is important but what's also important is remembering not to use the same password on different accounts. If possible, enable 2 Factor authentication on all accounts, for a guide on google head over to our videos.

A good option is to use a password vault. These are password vault programs that you can purchase that store all your passwords in one central place so that you only need to remember the password to the vault. There are obvious concerns if the password vault company gets compromised but if you are using 2factor authentication on your accounts this will reduce your risk significantly. If you can't afford to sign up or simply don't want to you can also simply use a passworded spreadsheet. That said you will find Apple have a free keychain system built in and Android has a similar system.

Social Media

Secure your privacy settings using the guides our resource section. These guides will help you lock down your accounts so only the people you want will see the information you want.

How to know a website is safe

http:// or https:// - banking, shopping etc. Any financial or personal information should be entered into a site with 'https'. That said a site may display this yet it still could be a scam site. Look out for the factors such as: A padlock symbol, search for the site using a search engine, look for bad grammar, is there a contact page with a phone number or email.

If you ares unsure go to https://transparencyreport.google.com/safe-browsing/search to determine if its safe.

These are only a few simply suggestions and there are a lot more out there. If you would like anything discussed in upcoming blogs please reach out. If you would like to book any talks or training please head over to the respective form. We offer a lot of subject areas with half and full day training plans available.

Stay Safe,

GetCyberAware.ca