For Safer Internet Day, Acronis offers five tips for keeping children safe
PRAGUE, February 7, 2023 – Acronis, a global leader in cyber protection solutions, is offering five tips on how to keep children (and their parents’ wallets) safe online on the occasion of Safer Internet Day. According to some findings, an increasing number of children are taking advantage of the ease of paying online, costing their parents the equivalent of thousands of Czech crowns each month.
February 7 is Safer Internet Day, created as part of the fight against potentially harmful online activities encountered by the average online user. It serves as a reminder that the internet can be an inspiring and useful tool, but also a breeding ground for dangerous activities. Children, who do not yet have the basic habits needed to navigate the internet safely, are particularly vulnerable to becoming victims of these activities.
Acronis therefore recommends focusing on the following 5 points:
- Monitor your children’s habits when playing online games – especially who they talk to.
Online games have seen a sharp rise in popularity over the past decade, and games such as Minecraft and Roblox allow young children to connect and play with people from around the world. This attracts potential predators, who see children as easy targets. More than 40% of children between fourth and eighth grade admit to communicating with strangers online. Remind your child to use the “block” feature implemented in these games and to use it on anyone who seems even remotely untrustworthy.
- Make sure your child cannot make any payments in online apps.
It is also important to ensure that children cannot buy anything in the apps and websites they use. Mobile games in particular allow children to easily purchase in-game currency through microtransactions. These can be completed in just a few clicks, which even very young children can activate by accident. More than 8% of parents admitted that their children spend over $100 per month on purchases in mobile games. It is important for payments to be locked with a password, PIN, or fingerprint, or for payment methods to be completely disabled in apps that children can use.
- Keep your children’s information private.
The United Nations states that more than 80% of children have a digital footprint before reaching the age of two, raising concerns about the information parents share about their children. Children are also still learning what information is appropriate to share and what is not, but even conversations between trusted friends or personal information stored on an online profile can be seen by the wrong people. Teach children that certain information, such as their address or full name, should never be shared online, except on websites approved and used by their school. In addition, make sure your children’s online profiles are set to private. When posting about your children on social media, keep in mind who can see what you post and what their intentions may be.
- Check your child’s account settings.
In addition to setting a child’s account to “private,” most social networks also support enabling and disabling individual features or privacy settings. This allows you to make specific decisions about how your child can interact with the platform. For example, you can often disable direct messaging or set a daily time limit for using an app on your child’s phone or tablet. 66% of parents with children aged 12–17 report that their child has at least one social media account that could potentially expose sensitive information to anyone without properly configured privacy settings.
- Keep your eyes open.
Although monitoring a child’s internet use minimizes the potential threats they face, it is still very important to equip them with the knowledge of how to enjoy online activities safely and while maintaining privacy. The internet is a dynamic environment, and cyber threats are constantly evolving – realistically, you cannot prepare for every possibility. Let them know that they can talk to you at any time about anything they see or experience online without having to fear negative consequences. As with other social networks, make sure you are there for your child if they encounter cyberbullying. More than half of children report receiving harassing messages online, and the harm can be reduced if a child knows how to properly block and ignore such messages.
Article author: ZEBR.ai editorial team
