Protecting Your Family Online

Cybersecurity is a critical part of our digital world, as the number of devices we use to stay connected has increased, and digital communication and social media usage have become a fundamental part of our daily lives. Thus, it is more important than ever to discuss internet safety with your kids and other young family members.

The seven steps below outline best practices for protecting your family from cyber threats, which are on the rise.

1. Start the Conversation Early

It is crucial to maintain a healthy dialogue with your children as their online behaviors change as they grow and as the digital landscape evolves. We encourage you to have regular family conversations and to spend time together online. Teach your children how to safely and responsibly use the computer and internet, starting with the tips below.

• Do set expectations for appropriate use of the internet and social media, including time limits. Consider establishing a digital citizenship agreement 
• Do teach responsible information sharing online: “Would I feel comfortable if my teachers, college admissions officers, or bosses saw this post?”
• Do pay attention to your child’s social media usage (platforms and posts)
• Do enable history browsing and parental controls to monitor usage
• Don't ignore privacy settings on your family’s devices
• Don’t give your children administrator access to their mobile devices. This will help prevent accidental purchases, mobile app downloads without your consent, and more

 

2. Practice Strong Password Hygiene

It is critical to teach your child to use unique, complex passwords — a great first step toward stopping bad actors.

• Do utilize long, memorable, and hard-to-guess pass phrases, such as a favorite song lyric
• Do use two-factor authentication. For younger children, the parent’s phone number should be used for greater control
• Do consider a password application, such as LastPass, 1Password, or Dashlane, to help manage multiple passwords
• Don’t reuse passwords
• Don't record passwords on sticky notes or in notebooks, documents, or text messages
• Don’t use easily guessed passwords, such as “password”, “user”, or “first name_last name”

 

3. Protect Personal Devices

Configure devices securely and use a difficult-to-guess passcode as a backup to a biometric security measure, such as a thumbprint or Face ID.

• Do enable automatic screen locks and disable notification previews on a locked screen
• Do enable phone location tracking services, including location sharing with family and Emergency SOS
• Do enable automatic updates for devices with security patches and software updates
• Don’t share PINs and passwords with your children
• Don't use email for long-term storage of sensitive information
• Don’t rely on a single point of storage—instead, enable cloud storage from a reputable service, such as Dropbox, iCloud, or Google Drive

4. Monitor Online Activity

If your children have smartphones or tablets, consider configuring their devices to control app usage, website access, and purchases. Some tablets allow you to create parent-controlled profiles that restrict your children to preapproved apps and to install parental control software. 

• Do understand the apps and programs that your child is using by researching and learning about each one
• Do set and enforce internet rules and regulations. Poor behavior could lead to rescinded college offers, termination of employment, or legal issues: “Anything you post could be permanent”
• Do use parental control apps to monitor online activity
• Don’t share personal information on public forums, such as your real name, addresses, phone numbers etc, when you're on vacation
• Don't allow your child to use a tablet or device without setting up controls
• Don’t ignore your child’s online habits and browser history

 

5. Teach Email or Text Message Red Flags

Educate your children to be suspicious of unexpected email or text messages, particularly those containing attachments or links.

• Do identify common phishing email red flags, which include spelling and grammatical mistakes, aggressive subject lines, and fake website displays
• Do look for misleading domain names in an email address or URL
• Do avoid clicking a link from a suspicious source. Hover over a URL, as opposed to clicking, so that you can see the hyperlinked address
• Don’t provide personal or financial information via email or text to a suspect bank or government agency
• Don't open attachments from unknown sources
• Don’t install a program or software you did not choose to download

6. Make Gaming Safe

Online gaming and social media can both show a dark side in the form of competitiveness and bullying. Make sure your children know what to do if they encounter harassment while playing games online or using social media platforms. Encourage your children to report suspicious messages to an adult. 

• Do discuss inappropriate content, such as hate speech, violence, explicit material, or invitations to meet without parents present. Encourage your children to share anything that makes them feel uncomfortable
• Do talk to your children about why cyberbullying is damaging and hurtful, and let them know you will be there for support
• Do be diligent in observing behavioral or mood changes, and if harassment appears online, use privacy tools to block the individual concerned. You can also report the incident to ensure someone else isn’t harassed
• Don’t delete all evidence of the incident so that there’s no record
• Don't retaliate and respond to the bully, which reinforces bullying behavior