Windows Security Checklist - Part 25: Safety Risks for Kids Online

by Larry Stevenson, aka Prince_Serendip, CastleCops Staff Writer
May 15, 2005

Both kids and adults get a great deal of satisfaction by interacting with others online. Talking in chat rooms, instant messaging, playing games, entering contests, filling out surveys, and file-sharing to obtain the latest music or videos are all popular activities we enjoy there. Understanding what "interactivity" is, is important in order to safeguard both you and your children's privacy and safety.

Privacy is the right to control your own personal information, to be free from outside intrusions or influence. Personal data is a valuable commodity online. Many commercial websites would love to get their hands on it so they can manipulate, use and sell it to still more commercial interests. Other commercial outfits will encourage you to download their "free" software, yet doing so will compromise your computer's security and performance with hidden spying or advertising programs. Criminal elements would like to do the same for their own nefarious purposes. Children and teens need to learn how to protect their personal information online. Lots of parents need to know too.

Some of the ways your privacy can be compromised are by:

filling out forms to enter contests on commercial websites

When I was a child, we did not have personal computers nor Internet, but there were lots of contests you could enter. I loved entering contests. I usually won a prize for about every twenty contests, on average. I recall my mother getting rather upset one day that we seemed to be getting like ten times more flyers in our mailbox than our neighbors did. Talk about bulk mail! It was physical spam. Most of those contests wanted name, address and telephone number. The companies that ran the contests had no privacy policies whatsoever, compiling the information on the entries into lists which they then sold to other companies.

Doing this same activity online is much faster, with similar results. Instead of the physical mailbox being flooded, it's the e-mail box. One of my first questions when helping someone with problems about spam is "Do you have children who are using your computer?"

registering for Internet services, software or completing a personal profile for an e-mail or instant messaging account

Many of the online forms that you fill out ask for or require specific personal information. You may feel uneasy about giving out your info, and that will conflict with your desire for the benefits you expect. Children, on the other hand, may feel that it's a matter of pride to entire all of their information. The website or email on which you fill out a form may also not be what it seems to be? It may be spoofed to trick you into to giving out information that an identity thief can use. We call it "Phishing." Children are especially susceptible to this kind of scam. For more help with this please visit our Phishing, Fraud and Dastardly Deeds Forum at CastleCops.

Personally, I do not fill out forms online that require me to enter my personal information. I only do this offline with companies and services I know I can trust. They may enter that information into their computers, but this is a safer and more secure route than using online forms. I guess I am a bit of a purest? I do not use credit nor debit cards online. I only use them in actual physical stores. Anything online can be copied, anything.

For those who still need to fill out forms online, you can use techniques that help maintain your privacy. If you have an online handle, use it in place of your real name. Rent a small post office box. Wherever you are asked for your real address online, use your P.O. Box instead. Just as you can block addresses with anti-spam email programs, you can do likewise with your Post Office. Another way, is to use the address of the place where you work but be sure to ask your boss first. If you are required to enter an email address get one of the many free webmail accounts and use it only for filling in forms. Never use your personal (ISP) email account and teach your children likewise.

giving personal information to strangers in chat rooms or through instant messaging

You can develop trust with an online chatpal very quickly, leading you to mistakes you would never make in public. Chatrooms and instant messaging services (IM) give you the illusion that your converstaions are private and secure. Here today, gone tomorrow, huh? Not likely. Anything you do in a chatroom or by IM can be copied and retained for future reference. It's of great importance that your children understand they are not to give their real name, their city, address, age, gender or any other personal information to anyone online. Show them how you protect yourself in a similar situation or sit with them when they use these applications to help them make wise decisions and responses. For more information on how to use Instant Messengers more securely please read the Windows Security Checklist article, IM Insecure.

Safety Tips for All Ages

Lots of children and teens are surfing the Internet completely unsupervised by their parents. As kids, the parents grew up with television as a kind of babysitter. Internet and the home computer are filling that same role. However, TV was passive. Internet is interactive, an information exchange. Children and teens are providing and sharing information online, not just receiving it. It's essential for them to participate in maintaining, not only their own privacy, but that of the entire family.

After my mother got upset about all those flyers, I put "two and two together" and stopped entering as many contests. The number of flyers we got went down. I had learned a valuable lesson. When children and teens share their personal and private data online, they are also revealing the same information of their entire family.

Even if some parents have no interest in computers, they need to learn all they can to guide their kids properly. Here are some tips to help you do that.

Make a list of Internet house rules with your children. Include the kinds of sites that are off-limits.

Keep Internet-connected computers in an open area, not in your kids bedrooms. Always sit with younger children when they are online.

Talk to them about their online friends and activities just as you would about their other activities.

Know which chat rooms or message boards your kids visit, and who they talk to. Encourage them to use monitored chat rooms. Insist they stay in public chat room areas.

Get parental controls installed for your Internet connection with your ISP, if available.

Talk to your kids about their Instant Message lists and make sure they are not talking to strangers.

If they want to meet an online friend, insist that they tell you first.

When your kids come to you when they come across material or messages that make them feel uncomfortable or threatened, remain calm and help them deal with it. If you get upset, they may not ask you for help again?

Talk to your older kids about online pornography and guide them to good sites about health and sexuality.

If your computer is suddenly getting disturbing pornographic popups, this may not be due to an older child visiting a porno site? Many trojan horse programs provide these when they are installed. The trojans are usually hidden in the installers of other softwares downloaded online. See Windows Security Checklist (Part 1) for more info. You may also want to get a popup blocker to prevent disturbing or porno popups from upsetting your children. An example of a good one is AbsoluteShield Internet Eraser which is available from the CastleCops Downloads section, Disk and Track Cleaners.

Teach your kids never to give out personal information without your permission when using e-mail, chat rooms, instant messaging, filling out registration forms, personal profiles, and entering online contests. Internet Explorer and other browsers have forms where you can fill in personal information, supposedly to speed up the process. Be sure to leave them blank. Automatically transferring your personal information contradicts efforts to maintain your privacy.

Help protect them from spam. Tell your kids not to give out their e-mail address online, nor to respond to junk mail. They need to use e-mail filters too.

Be aware of the websites that your kids visit. Audit those sites for personal photos, information or offensive content.

Teach your kids responsible online behaviour. They should not be using the Internet to spread gossip, bully or threaten others.

Be sure your kids, especially the older ones, check with you before making financial transactions online, including ordering, buying or selling items.

Discuss gambling, its risks and remind your kids that it is illegal for them to gamble online.

Read the other twenty-four plus articles in the Windows Security Checklist Sunday Archive so you will have more ways to protect and secure your computers and your families privacy online.

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Best regards and always take care of your family's security.