Best Ways to Keep Your Kids Safe When Browsing Online • The Havok Journal

Best Ways to Keep Your Kids Safe When Browsing Online
by Avery Devereaux

Do your kids spend time on the internet? Then it’s really important that you take steps to keep your children safe, as there are a lot of scams out there, and a lot of child predators and con artists too.

To get started, continue reading for a few of the best ways to keep your kids safe while they are browsing online.

Run Background Checks on All of Your Kids’ Online Friends

It’s best to tell your kids that they should only interact with friends they actually know in real life, such as other kids from school. But, if you do allow your kids to have any online friends, be sure to run background checks on all of those people to determine if they are truly who they say they are. Thankfully, this is an easy thing to do with the help of Nuwber, where you can just type in a person’s name, address, phone number, or email address to access information like where they’re located, how old they are, and if they have a criminal record.

Set Parental Controls

If you haven’t yet taken advantage of parental controls, it is definitely time to do just that. Install high-quality antivirus software on your computers at home. This can help prevent attacks from malware and viruses that your kids might end up accidentally downloading while they are browsing the internet, interacting on social media, chatting with friends, and opening emails. Beyond that, also set strict parental controls that will block certain websites so that your kids won’t be able to access them. This will prevent them from seeing content that is inappropriate, and it can also prevent them from going to a site that could be infected with malware.

Take Advantage of a Virtual Private Network

Another one of the many ways to keep kids safe online is by using a virtual private network, which is also known as a VPN. This will be able to mask the IP address and provide a more secure connection. It essentially prevents your child’s location from being tracked by connecting your device or computer to a secure offsite server. It also uses a connection that is encrypted, so it can keep your data secure as well.

Keep the Computer in a Common Area in Your Home

To be able to more closely monitor what your child is up to when they’re online, it’s a good idea to set up the computer in a common area of your home, such as your family room. Your kids might not love the idea, but it can give you extra peace of mind if you’re worried about them messaging strangers or going on video chats with them and revealing personal information.

Talk to Your Kids About Internet Safety

Rather than setting up a bunch of rules that your kids don’t understand, clearly explain the risks of using the internet in an irresponsible way. Let them know about the importance of keeping personal information private, and let them know the reasons why it isn’t wise to talk to strangers.

Be Sure to Keep Your Kids Safe While They Surf the Internet

Whether your kids are doing research for a school assignment, they’re playing in an online game with strangers, or they’re interacting with their friends on social media, it’s wise to keep a close eye on what’s going on. By taking a few simple steps and precautions, you can keep your whole family and your personal information safe.

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