Friday, July 17, 2009

10 Tips to Protect Your Child Online

Children's Online Safety


Your child is no longer safe at home like before. The advance of information technology is making your child vulnerable to online threats and dangers. Here are tips to protect your child while she is surfing online: 

 1. Sexting: Don’t send racy photos to anyone not even to a person you can trust. It is dumb and stupid. It is also illegal and morally not right. The danger is that it may be circulated and seen by everyone on the Net. You are risking your privacy and your reputation. 

 2. Chatrooms: Chatrooms allow you to carry out a live conversation with anyone and anywhere. The person you talk to may not be who he is. Never give away your personal information and never allow a face-to-face meeting without getting approval from your parents 

 3. Instant messages: It is faster than an email. You can instantly exchange messages. Try not to have a public profile about your personal information such as sex, age, and interests You may be subject to harassment Do not disclose personal details, like chatrooms, you may be talking to the wrong person. 

 4. Spyware: Do not download free applications. They may be tracking your movement and preferences secretly. 

 5. Virus: Beware of email from unknown sources. It could contain viruses. Do not open the mail or the attached files. 

 6. Use a different email address: You can get free Yahoo or Hotmail email account and send it to websites requesting your email address. You can keep your personal email private. Never send photographs of yourself or personal information to people you don’t know. 

 7. Spam mail: Do not respond to spam mail or mail from someone you don’t know. If you do, spammers will know they have got a valid email address and will spam you more in future 

 8. No download: Cancel download of programs to play free games or to browse free images. It may hang up your internet connection and dial a long-distance overseas number and cost you a bomb. 

 9. Leave the computer in the living room or dining area: Do not allow a laptop to be used by your child. She can surf the Net in her room without your knowledge. 

 10. Keep your privacy private: Do not disclose your home address, name of your school, telephone number, or photograph. Don’t post anything online that you don’t want people to know. 

 Talk to your child about rules for going online so that there are mutual trust and understanding. Be open to your child so that she will come to you when she encounters a problem online 

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