Security threats to information systems have increased 65 percent over the past two years, and the number of network intrusions has quadrupled. As a parent with a broadband Internet connection, you need to guard against becoming a cyber-crime victim.
Kids these days may be computer savvy but they don't know how to protect their email (Yahoo, Hotmail, and Gmail), Facebook, MySpace and other account passwords. Alternatively, how to create secure passwords. Additionally, they generally use simple passwords that can easily be hacked or stolen.
As a concerned parent, it's important you teach your child the importance of creating passwords that are unique and not easily hacked. Many kids will use their birthdays, social security number, which should never be used, or other personal information.
When they create unsecured passwords it becomes easy for friends and enemies to hack their passwords, gain access to their accounts and begin to upload damaging information to their online accounts; even create a video using photos and personal information they gained access to on YouTube. If personal information is available, the aggressor could steal their identity or create accounts with any social network or even a fake account with MySpace, Facebook, or any social media network.
Therefore, the question is how to protect my child's password? In addition, how can you gain access to their password if they are unwilling to share it with you?
The first step is education you need to start teaching your child when they are young about the online dangers and what to do if they encounter a threatening email, changes to their account or become a victim of Cyber Bullying or a sexual predator (sex offenders).
Next, you want to understand and teach your child how to create a secure password. Most kid’s will uses information that can be easily hacked, such as birth dates, cars liked, home or cell phone numbers. Visit, How to Choose a Secure Password or Microsoft's Online Saftey site to learn how to create secure passwords. Granted, you may find some of the steps suggested as a bit cumbersome; however, it’s important not just for your child but for your own online safety to prevent identify theft.
Fianlly go to websites such as www.guardchild.com and others, to select one of the Parental Control Software programs, and install it on your computer. There are several popular programs you can purchase depending on the age of your child and how advanced they are with computers. Some of the most popular software is, WebWatcher, Spector Pro, Net Nanny, IamBigBrother or Safe Eyes. These programs are sometimes referred to as spyware and act as a web filter and monitoring software.
Some of these programs operate in Stealth mode (stealth keylogger), meaning they are completely secret. Your child will not see a start menu button or icon. Once installed you will be able to secretly monitor what and where your child goes on the Internet and capture all keystrokes (keylogger) they make.
You should also take advantage of free parental controls that is available from Microsoft and Apple's operating systems as well as check with your Internet cable provider to use the tools they have available to monitor your child's activity and protect children online.
Another important tip is to check your child's web search history in the browser used, i.e. Explorer, Firefox or Safari. This will give you a detailed listing of the websites they visited.
