10 Tips to Keep You Protected

Internet Security for Teens and Tweens- 10 Tips to Keep You Protected

There are a lot of safety risks out there for teens and tweens who use the Internet. However,

this doesn't mean that they have to stop using the 'Net. Instead, they should use good

judgment and try to make wise decisions. The following article lists some helpful tips to keep

your teen and tween's internet security protected.

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.Don' let your username say too much about you. For instance, don't make it your name and

age, like Susan16. Instead, make it something that doesn't say much about your name, age, or

sex. Keep it as neutral and vague as possible.

2.Don't ever post your social security number, driver's license number, phone number,

ome address or credit card information on the internet. If a friend asks you for your number

on Myspace then either email them a private message or wait until you see them in person.

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.Don't add friends on the Internet that you don't know. People often misrepresent themselves

and pretend to be something they are not. It happens all the time and they are very good

about it. Don't think that you will know the difference.

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.Never agree to meet someone in person that you have met off of the Internet. If you are part

of a group and someone wants to get together to discuss something that sounds legitimate,

ave a parent go with you and meet in a public place. Never substitute a friend for a parent.

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.If you have concerns about someone who is harassing you on the Internet, tell an

adult. Cyber stalking is being controlled these days and awareness is growing.

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.Make your profile private so that only the people you know can see your information and

photos.

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.Do some research on sites before you sign up for them. Don't just join them because

everyone else is. Learn how they work before you post anything.

8.Don't store your passwords on your computer. It can make hacking easier.

9.If you purchase something with a credit card, ensure that you are using a secure server.

This should be noticeable by a little emblem on the bottom right hand side of your screen.

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0. consider not using your full name when you join a site. Not posting your last name is a great

preventive measure when it comes to Internet security.

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Internet Security- Parental Control Software

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eeping your child safe is one of the biggest challenges that parents face today. Good

communication is an excellent tool and necessary when it comes to warning your children about

dangers that they may face. However, sometimes it takes more than just good communication

when it comes to protecting your child online.

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lthough you can go through the process of putting your family's computer in a common room,

looking into the Facebook and Myspace accounts from time to time, and talking to your child

about the risks of posting personal information, risks still arise.

The fact is that sometimes your child will be subjected to adult material, or material that is

otherwise inappropriate for children, by mistake. There are some pornography websites

whose addresses are very close to popular websites with the same name. Sometimes, the

only difference is whether it is .net, .com. or even .gov.

One of the things that you can do to protect your child's internet security is to install parenta l

contro l  software. Although it might seem extreme, a parent will do whatever it necessary to

protect their children.

So what can parental control software do?

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Create alerts. You can be notified at once troug eiter text messages, pone calls,

or e-mails when someone in your home visits an inappropriate website.

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Time controls. Tese are good because you can actually set a pre-determined

amount of time that your child can spend on the Internet. Of course, when their time runs out,

they can still access other features of the computer such as word programs which they might

need for school purposes. A common complaint that parents have is that their child spends

too much time on the Internet.

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Usage Logging. Wit tis feature, you can produce and review logs of your child's

internet activity. You can see what websites were visited, logs of Instant messaging chats,

as well as the various programs that were used during the Internet session.

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Content controls. Tese allow you to choose wat types of content, such as

adult content, that you want your child to avoid access to.

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Program controls. Program controls control te access to certain programs such

as downloading music files or other files that could be dangerous.

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All in one solution

. Look for an advance piece of software that has all its bases

covered. Email recording, Content filtering,  and Keystroke logging are among the most

important.

There are many great products available. To save you some time I have provided a link to the

software I use personally. C li ck here

Internet Security- Online Safety for Your Children

Every parent wants to keep their child safe. Protecting your children when they are on the Internet

is no exception to this. While you don't want to think about people harassing your child

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or trying to bring harm to them, there are still those out there who might try. The following is

an article that contains tips on how you can provide online safety for your children.

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You can purchase online tools for added internet security. These contain features that

allow you to control your child's access to adult material. Some ISPs also contain parent-control

options that block some types of material. In addition, you can purchase programs that block

access to sites that is based on a list that your ISP makes.

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You can also purchase filtering programs that restrict personal information from

being sent online. This is particularly helpful in protecting your financial and personal

information.

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Install a program that lets you set a time limit on how long your child can stay online.

This way, you can ensure that they are not spending a large amount of time on the internet.

However, they will still be able to use office programs for school.

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If your child has a Myspace of Facebook account, get one as well and befriend them

in order to monitor their use. Only intervene if there is a safety concern in order to give them

more privacy.

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on't let your child participate in chat rooms. Some ISPs offer programs that block chat

rooms. Sometimes people enter chat rooms designed for children and teens and pretend to be

one themselves.

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If you're aware of any child pornography contact the National Center for Missing

and Exploited Children. If your child receives pornography, contact your local law

enforcement office.

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Talk to your child about their screen name creation. A screen name should be neutral

and should not reveal any of the child's personal information such as their name or age.

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Talk to your child about posting personal information like their address, age, and full

name on social utility sites. When they create an account, have them make it private to

ensure that only people they know can access it.

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Continuously monitor your credit cards and banking account in order to be aware of

any unusual activity. Talk to your child if you become aware of something different on the

account. Then, talk to your credit card company or bank.

Cyber Bullying- Another Aspect of Breaking Internet Security

When you think of Internet security, you are probably thinking of protecting your personal and

financial information. However, there are other types of internet security breeches. One type is

cyber bullying.

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phrase that is becoming more and more prevalent in the world wide web, cyber bullying can

be very invasive and emotionally upsetting to children, teens, and even adults. It's difficult to

control because in many cases the perpetrator is known but can not be proven. How? Because

they will give just enough information to let their victim know who they are, but not enough

information to actually be convicted of anything. They can do this by using pretend user names,

fake pictures, and revealing very little information about themselves.

So what types of things happen with cyber bullying?

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Threats- a lot of times, a cyber bully will make threats. These can be thinly veiled or

outright vicious.

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Harassment on victim's out website- another type of cyber bullying occurs when the

bully posts negative material in abundance on the victim's own website. This can come in the

form of negative comments, threats, and other types of general harassment.

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Slander- if the bully has their own site (like a blog or a facebook or myspace page) they

might make slanderous comments about the victim. These can be falsities, such as claiming

that the victim is cheating on their spouse/significant other, or they can be harmful truths that

the general population doesn't need to need.

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ccusations- a rare form of cyber bullying, but equally dangerous, is when the bully actually

accuses the victim of doing the same thing that the bully is doing. An example would be this: the

bully sends negative e-mails to the victim. Then, the bully gets on their own blog or website and

writes about ow upset they are due tot he fact that the victim is sending THEM negative emails. In

such cases, the bully might even receive sympathy and the victim is then harassed even more by

people who feel sorry for the victim.

So why do things like this happen?

It is very difficult to know why. Anger, resentment, lack of self-esteem, or sometimes plain

boredom can lead to cyber bullying. In addition, the anonymity of the internet makes it easier

than every to bully someone. Still, cyber bullying can be emotionally devastating and can

threaten your own emotional security. If it is happening to you, don't sit back and let it continue.

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Tips to Ensure Internet Security

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o you want to keep your computer and personal information safe? Of course you do. Here

are 5 tips to help ensure your internet security.

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. Be careful of em-mail attachments

One of the most common ways to threaten your internet security is to open an e-mail

attachment that contains a virus. Sometimes, just clicking on the attachment itself will unleash

the virus. If you receive an email from someone that you don't know and it contains an

attachment, don't open it just to be on the safe side. You can always send a message to that

person to verify that the email is legitimate. It's best to invest in an anti virus software program

that can scan the attachment before you open it. Some e-mail systems will scan emails for you.

However, if you go through a free program (like hotmail) don't count on the system being as

complete as an email account that you pay for.

2. Anti-virus software

You must invest in anti-virus software. It is one of the most important things for your computer.

In addition to keeping you safe from viruses, it can also scan your hard drive and clear out

unnecessary information, thus making your computer run more efficiently as well. Anti-virus

software programs are everywhere but it helps to do some research before investing in one.

With some of them, you have to update them and pay again every year.

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. Update security patches for your browser

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On Windows, you can go to “Windows Update” under the “Start” menu it will update security

patches for you. This is necessary because holes are formed on the Internet frequently and

while you might be protected this week, that doesn't guarantee that you will be next week.

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. Protect your passwords

While it is easier to use your same password, or a variation of it, for all of your accounts, it is

safer not to do so. When forming your password, it is better to use a combination of letters

and numbers. Also, never give your password out to anyone and resist the urge to store them

on your computer. From time to time, change your password on your important accounts that

contain personal information or financial information for added internet security.

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. Install a firewall.

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firewall blocks unwanted access to your computer. Some systems, like Windows Vista,

ave firewalls built into them. You can also download others.