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:: The Digital World :: Communication :: Ergonomics ::
:: Internet Safety :: Computer Protection :: Links :: Online Communities :: |
Parenting and Computer Safety:
PERSONAL SAFETY ON THE INTERNET
Since the Internet has provided people with greater accessibility to information and communication the separation between people has dissolved. Every person on the Internet is connected to every other person and to countless pieces of information. With that comes dangerous situations that can be overcome with care and thought.
OTHER PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET:
At most, let’s say a child knows 200 people. With over 1 billion people on the Internet almost everyone is a stranger. But unlike the real world, there isn’t protection from strangers by parents, teachers, adults, windows, doors, security guards, etc.
So here are some general guidelines:
- TREAT EVERYONE LIKE A STRANGER
- Never give out personal information
- Encourage children to talk to an adult about anyone who they have been in contact with online, whether solicited or not.
- If someone is bothering them, while chatting or IMing, block that user and report them to the company that runs the service like AOL or MSN.
- Don’t contact people you don’t know.
PERSONAL INFORMATION:
On the Internet, personal information is the most valuable commodity. Protect it with your life.
Never give out any of the following information:
- Full name
- Age
- Gender
- Grade
- School
- Home address (even the city you live in)
- Pictures of yourself, friends, or family
- Email address or IM username
- Phone number
- Password
- Friend’s or family’s information
- The fact the child is a child
For adults, also include:
- Social security number
- PIN number
- Credit Card number
ONLINE IDENTITY:
A child’s identity online is as equally important to them as they identity in real life. They should be encouraged to express themselves in the digital world, but when molding their identity they need to remember to protect themselves as they would in real life.
When selecting a username, don’t include any of the following information:
- First and last name (choose one or the other and stick with it)
- Gender
- Year of birth
- Anything personal
Don’t make up a false identity. It isn’t safe…and you are lying!
You should change your password on a regular basis. A good password should be more than 4 characters and less than 10, using a mixture of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and numbers. Don’t use symbols and try to shy away from putting real words into your password. But make sure your password is something you can remember.
ACCESSING INAPPROPRIATE INFORMATION:
With the availability of information on the Internet, children will be invariably exposed to inappropriate information.
Here are some important points to remember:
- It is not your child’s fault if s/he come upon inappropriate material.
- Don’t make your child feel scared or embarrassed about inappropriate material.
- Discuss and explain why something is inappropriate and should be avoided.
- Encourage your child to tell you when s/he has come across something inappropriate, so you can limit access to that web site.
- Encourage your child to ask whether a website is appropriate before s/he visits that site.
- Use the web together and discuss what you see.
- Communicate with one another.
Some suggestions for limiting access to inappropriate material:
- Download a web-filtering program that allows for parental control. At school we use Dans Guardian as a web filter. Try to find a filter that updates regularly.
- Find a proxy server run by a private company that filters for kids and direct all your web traffic through it.
- Limit the websites your child is allowed to go on by limiting access within Internet Explorer or Safari.
- Pre-approve sites for your child to visit.
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