The internet-age kids are entering the cyber world at progressively younger ages. The level of internet proficiency that their parents might have achieved in their 20s is child’s play to kids by the time they reach their teens. Their fingers fly over the keyboards, they are expert at searching online for games and friends and they can prepare amazing projects with no help from adults at all! According to a survey commissioned by McAfee, 42% of the kids aged between 13-17 years spend 1-2 hours online in a day and what’s more startling is the fact that 64% of 9-12 yr olds are members of social networking sites. My blog on ‘Excerpts From A Panel Discussion: Are Indian Kids Safe Online?’, throws more light on this McAfee commissioned survey.
The Internet is a great learning place and the modern, competitive lifestyle demands that kids are conversant with the latest gadgets and technologies. But as parents we have some duty. First and foremost, we got to ensure that the kids are safe online and secondly that they know how to tackle problems, if any, that they face in the virtual world.
Keeping kids safe online is not a simple task-no way. It involves a three-pronged approach involving parental supervision, cyber safety training and use of advanced security software. This means (and understand this clearly) that just following one of the steps mentioned above is not enough.
Let’s deal with security software today:
- Install the latest security software, and not just any anti-virus. Free anti-virus that you can download offers only basic protection to the PC
- Ensure that parental controls are turned on. It’s really very simple and ensures web filtering
- ALL Internet-enabled gadgets MUST have security software. For instance the McAfee Site Advisor helps in differentiating the authentic sites from the malicious ones
So how do you go about securing all your gadgets? You can install suitable security software on them individually, or, use a product like McAfee AllAccess that secures ALL your Internet-enabled products. This product is simply magical. It covers all your gadgets, even the Mac, and so saves you from the trouble of remembering to buy and install separate products for separate gadgets every time. The product offers all the features of advanced security software. Specifically, it also enables you to block sites, conduct safe searches and filter out unsuitable videos and songs from iTunes to prevent kids getting exposed to these accidentally. Doesn’t that take care of a big problem and takes a load off your mind? It does for me.
Installation is very easy. Once you purchase the product (it can be done online too), log in with the e-mail id you used to create your account and follow the prompts. Done! After that, you can set separate monitoring parameters for individual kids, based on their age and maturity level. They will have to access the net by logging in under their own names.
Your gadgets are now safe to be used by your kids. But remember, you must also talk to them about responsible surfing and net etiquette as well as monitor them when they go online.
Happy surfing folks!
By: Anindita Mishra
