The most common dangers for children on the Internet are cheating in online games, bullying, online dating and self-publishing confidential information on social networks. Scenes of violence and the use of illegal drugs and alcohol can also threaten children. Vitaly Fomin, the information security expert of the Digital Economy League, told socialbites.ca about this.
According to the expert, one of the biggest dangers for children on the Internet lies in online games. There they often encounter phishing, that is, theft of personal data and funds by deception. This often happens, for example, when a child wants to improve their character in the game, tries to deposit money into an online wallet and enters their bank card details. If the page is phishing, the money is stolen: they are withdrawn from the account, but not to the online wallet.
“To protect yourself from this type of phishing, it is recommended to use reliable applications from the official store. It is worth paying attention to the number of downloads: if it does not exceed a thousand, it is safer to find another official version. The fact is that application stores control the content, but due to the large amount of data it has unpredictable content they don’t always remove fake copies quickly,” explained Vitaly Fomin.
The same goes for buying and selling characters or coins from strangers in online chats. It is safer to buy such goods on popular brokerage sites, and ratings and reviews will help you find an honest seller. With this option, you should not pay for purchases made using a link in chat, even if discounts and gifts are promised. It is impossible to check the accuracy of the information in Messenger, so the risk of encountering scammers is high.
“Children on the Internet regularly face aggression. Online bullying is not much different from bullying at school, and the result can be withdrawal, prolonged depression, or even a suicide attempt. To protect the child, it is necessary to quickly block the aggressor and exclude any communication with him. Guys often face blackmail after online dating. So a stranger is added to them as a friend and looks like a peer of the opposite sex. A dialogue is started and when trust is established between the interlocutors, the attacker asks to send a candid photo. If the child sends a picture, the scammer continues to blackmail. He recommended teaching children not to send their photos to anyone and to warn them that a scammer might be sitting on the other side,” he said.
Children should also be warned about posting confidential information on social networks. For example, some children and parents post photos with geolocation – an attacker can find and capture a child in a particular location. Some make it easy for criminals to steal by posting pictures of vacation tickets and absence dates on social media. The main advice is not to post anything on the internet that could be used maliciously.
“Parental controls will help protect your child from content that includes scenes of violence and the use of prohibited substances. It is also recommended to install an antivirus on the child’s smartphone and computer to prevent the appearance of malware on the device. For younger children, you can set search results to hide explicit content on Yandex, Google and YouTube. Suggestions work up to a certain age: teenagers easily circumvent bans. But for younger children, these tips will be very helpful, ”said the expert.
happened before knownHow often do Russians go on sick leave because of children’s illness?