The feeling of safeness is one of the most desired emotions that people want to deal with. This desire can be found in many dimensions in everyday life. Financial security is the most important, because it gives the opportunity to make other aspects of life better. However there are some spheres in life where even money cannot guarantee 100 % security. The Internet is the environment where most of the threats cannot be defeated just by spending money. It is similar with pedestrians on the highway. It is in 90% up to them if they will be safe on the roadside because it depends on their behavior and their visibility. Very similar situation is when we concerned Internet security. It is user’s choice to click on a particular link and visit certain websites. That’s why it so important to be aware of all the threats and to know how to prevent them.
How to protect yourself?
To be sure that the whole family is protected during using the computer, the first thing that parents should do is to educate themselves a little bit in IT. At first they have to know how the whole Internet works in order to transfer the knowledge to the youngest. Kids are the people that are the most exposed on any type of dangers mainly because of lack of experience and naivety. So at the very beginning parents should check how the few types of websites works. They should create account on some social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat and after that make some interactions to see what actions the users are able to perform. They have to set up an email account to figure out what type of messages can be sent and received. Another very important task to complete is to do a very strong internet research to get a knowledge about the methods and software that can significantly increase the level of safety.
How to protect kids?
After the parents gain some knowledge and experience, it is the right time to transfer the knowledge to the children. At first it is crucial to explain why we want them to be safe, describe some examples of dangerous situations that may take place as a consequence of not using the Net properly. For instance, parents can tell some stories about kidnapping or sexual offenders. Next thing is to create an open area environment at house, where the home PC or laptop will be situated. Open area where everybody can see what is on the screen gives a big advantage regarding controlling children’s activity. After the kids know more or less why we want them to be safe in the Web, it is time to teach them how to properly use the computer. Learning by doing is the best way to teach the kids some practical skills. In this way they will also understand the mechanisms and rules that run the social media portals. Last thing that adults should take into account is software that can be really helpful to keep computer users safe. Parents can think about implementing some antivirus and firewall in order to keep the computer clean. The last program, but in my opinion the most reliable, is third-party parental control software. This kind of programs gives an opportunity to ensure that kids will not enter any website that contain undesired content as well as their email box will be secured.
