Category: Internet Security

YouTube is one of the most popular online platforms, and it is used by people of all ages. While it can be an enjoyable experience for kids, there are also some risks involved with allowing young children to use this platform. That’s why it’s important for parents to take steps to make sure their children are having a safe and secure experience while using YouTube.

For those people who use Roku TV it is natural to want their children to watch YouTube Kids on Roku. Unfortunately, currently, Roku is not optimized to use the YouTube Kids app, but we have some tips for parents who want to make YouTube more kids-friendly.

Set Parental Control

With the Parental Control feature, parents can now create various rules and adjust the settings in their child’s account, including which videos they can watch and which YouTube content should be blocked. Parental Control also allows parents to block certain channels and set time limits for watching YouTube videos.

Adjust Content Level

YouTube also allows you to adjust the content level for your child’s account. This setting allows you to choose between “General Audience” and “Younger Audience”, which will help filter out potentially mature or explicit content from appearing in their recommendations.

Monitor Their Activity

Parents should keep a close eye on what their children are viewing and interacting with on YouTube. This includes any comments they make, as well as the type of content they’re consuming. Parents should also consider setting up an account specifically for their child to monitor their activity.

Teach About Safety and Online Etiquette

The more knowledge a child has about how to behave on the Internet, the easier it is for parents to control him or her. Parents should talk to their children about how to stay safe online, how to behave in certain circumstances, and whom to report if any problems occur. They should also teach them about online etiquette, such as not leaving mean comments or participating in Cyberbullying.

Discuss Advertisements

Many videos on YouTube are accompanied by advertisements, which can sometimes be inappropriate for children. Parents should talk to their children about this and explain why certain commercials may not be suitable for them. Even if you have an ad blocker installed or purchased a Premium subscription, not all ads can be blocked on YouTube. Some YouTubers insert ads in the middle of videos, and they may be not suitable for a younger audience. So you need to warn children about the content they may come across.

Use YouTube’s Restricted Mode

YouTube’s Restricted Mode is an optional setting that parents can use to help filter out potentially mature or inappropriate content. To enable it for your child’s account, simply visit the “Restricted Mode” setting under your child’s account settings.

Use Content Filtering

Another way to help ensure your child’s safety on YouTube is to use a content filtering service. These services allow you to customize what types of videos and websites your child can access, which helps keep them from viewing potentially inappropriate or age-inappropriate content. Using such services allows one to up the security level and feel much less stressed.

Pause Watch History

You can also pause your child’s watch history. To do this, simply visit the “History & Privacy” setting under your child’s account settings and toggle the Pause Watch History option to “On”. This will prevent any videos they watch from being stored in their search history. By pausing their watch history, you ensure that any recommendations YouTube provides them are based solely on the type of content that is appropriate for their age.

Disable Search

One of the surefire ways to make YouTube more kid-friendly is to disable the search feature altogether. To do this, simply visit the “Search & Discovery” setting under your child’s account settings and toggle the Search option off. This will prevent them from seeing potentially mature or explicit content that may appear in search results.

Create Custom Playlists

Finally, you can also create custom playlists for your child to help keep their viewing experience kid-friendly. To do this, simply visit the “Playlist” setting under your child’s account settings and click “Create Playlist”. You can then add any videos that are appropriate for your child to watch.

These tips, combined with regular conversations with your child about YouTube safety, will help ensure that they have a safe and enjoyable experience using the platform. Remember, the most important thing is to empower them to make smart decisions while using YouTube.

Cybersecurity is a growing topic of conversation, and one of the most important things parents can do is start talking about cybersecurity with their kids.  There are so many things that go into it—from how to communicate with your kids about it to the best ways to teach them about the basics of cybersecurity and overall risk management.

We’ve put together this handy guide to help you talk to your kids about cybersecurity.

These tips will help you start teaching cybersecurity to kids easily and effectively.

So, What Is Cybersecurity?

Simply put, this is a term that refers to computer security or protecting computers and other devices from being hacked. It includes things like installing antivirus software on your computer, changing your passwords regularly, and making sure all of your software is up-to-date.  In most cases, it is a part of a company’s risk management plan a lot can be learned from this for families and schools like.

Cybersecurity is very important because it keeps our personal information safe. If someone gets hold of your information and uses it against you or steals from you, then they can really ruin your life! They can also use it for illegal purposes like identity theft or tax fraud.

When talking to kids about such a tricky subject, include examples like:

• Don’t click links in emails from people you don’t know
• Always log out of websites when you’re done using them
• Set up two-factor authentication on all accounts where possible

By teaching your kids about online safety and showing them how to protect themselves on the internet, you can help prevent them from falling victim to identity theft, online fraud, and other dangerous situations.

5 Guidelines for Talking to Kids About Cybersecurity

Whether your kids are old enough to use the internet or not, it’s important to teach them. The sooner the better! Here are 5 essential tips for teaching cybersecurity to kids.

1. Teach Your Children Why They Need to be Safe and Responsible While Using the Internet

It’s not enough just to tell your kids that they should be safe online—they need to understand why they should be safe and how they can stay safe.

You can even create a small poster with some key points that you can hang in their room or on their desk so that it’s always in front of them when they are working on their computer or smartphone.

2. Create a Cybersecurity Club at School or at Home

Such clubs are great ways for kids to learn about cybersecurity, practice what they’ve learned, and make new friends who share similar interests.

Encourage your child to join a club where other kids will be talking about cyber threats and learning more about it together. This will help them learn from other people who are also interested in this topic, as well as from each other.

3. Make It Interactive and Hands-On

One of the best ways to teach anything is by making it as interactive and hands-on as possible. When you make an activity fun and exciting, kids are more likely to want to learn more about it—and they’ll remember what they learned much better than if they simply sat in front of a screen and listened passively.

Therefore, try making cybersecurity hands-on by having your child create their own code or by having them write down what they think should be done differently on an app or website. When you make learning interactive like this, it helps build skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity that will serve your child throughout their life.

4. Show Them Examples of What to Do in Real-life

When talking about exact threats like spam emails or phishing scams, show your kids examples of real-life attacks so they understand what happens when someone tries something like this on them.

And be sure to explain to them how they should respond. This way, they will be able to see what happens when people don’t take proper precautions when using the internet.

5. Make It Fun and Lighthearted

Security is a serious issue, but it doesn’t have to be scary. Instead, try making cybersecurity a lighthearted activity. One of the best ways to teach kids about cyber safety is through play. For example, try taking them on a scavenger hunt through the house or neighborhood to find hidden “hacker” signs.

Account Security Explained (Video)

Parting Shot

We hope you found these tips helpful, and that you’ll use them to talk to your kids about cybersecurity. If you’re still not confident starting the conversation with your kids, here are some best practices:

• Explain to kids that the Internet is amazing but there are some risks.
• Encourage your kids to tell you if they come across something inappropriate online.
• Use the correct terminology.
• Identify the red flags in cyber bullying and explain what to do in a cyberbullying situation.
• Explain to your child why they shouldn’t share their personal information with strangers online.
• Don’t assume that your kids already know about this topic — start from square one whenever possible.

Kids are growing up in a digital world and will be exposed to cybercrime as soon as they turn on their first computer. It’s up to us as parents to teach them about all threats in an age-appropriate way so they can navigate the internet safely and confidently.

Social gaming networks are now the primary way gamers play and interact with each other. Playing video games online with others provide fun and improve social skills as gamers need to connect, engage in discussions, and share strategies.  It also helps develop team player skills.

However, social networking for gamers poses some risks to cyber security as anyone can contact other gamers there. In this way, online predators can potentially harass your children and teenagers. Cyberbullying is also an issue with kids play with those who are not kind.

This blog aims to guide parents so they can ensure safe gaming on social platforms for their children by following some important safety tips.

Different Social Gaming Platforms

There are different social gaming platforms, each with its own rules, chat room, privacy, strategy, etc. Most social games are designed for education and fun. Each game developer team invests a lot to promote these games to mass people.

Popular platforms for social gaming and networking are as follows:

• Stream
• PlayStation Network
• Xbox Live
• Nintendo Network
• Discord
• Twitch
• Google Play Games
• Gameloft Live
• Game Center.

Risks of Social Networking and Gaming

41% of parents say their children chat with other known and unknown gamers through live streaming while playing social games. But 64% of parents consider online gaming and networking as the same risks to post something on social media.

There is no doubt that there are some risks of social gaming that parents should consider before allowing their children to play these games.

• Online safety is a major concerning issue. While gamers are playing games on social media they may chat with unknown people. Most multiplayer games allow joining anyone of this platform, which is very risky. So, there is a high chance that children may be bullied.
• Not all games on social platforms are safe for children as some of them point to adult content that could be harmful to them.
• It’s also important to consider what the children learn from these games. Each parents needs to decide what they will allow their child to be exposed to, such as violence or games with criminal activity.
• Whenever computers connect online there are cyber security risks, including identity theft due to gaining access of to personal information as players interact with each other.

Tips to Prevent the Risks of Social Networking for Gamers

There are almost 2.8 billion gamers globally, and the majority of them were children and teenagers. The number is increasing. With the rise of gamers on social platform, the rate of cybercrimes is also increasing alarmingly.

As a parent, you can do the following things to make social networking in gaming quite safer for the children.

1. Know About the Game

Before allowing any game you should read its reviews, safety features, age limit, and other things about the game. Try to understand the games that children have access to. Learn about the features and how they work, and familiarize yourself with the platform’s safety and privacy settings.

2. Educate Children

It’s important to educate your children about the basics of internet safety and risks. This includes:

• Educate children not to share personal information on social media gaming networks. Tell them not to share sensitive information such as your full name, address, phone number, financial information, etc.
• Teach your children not to connect or have conversations with unknown people. Social media gaming networks are a breeding ground for online predators. Be aware of whom they’re talking to.
• Tell them to report to the platform’s moderators of the social media gaming network if any suspicious or harmful things come up. They have the tools to take action that can help protect your kids.
• Teach your children to avoid spam messages or links from unknown sources, as they could be phishing scams. Clicking on these links could be harmful to them.

3. Privacy Settings

Most social media gaming networks have privacy settings from where you can do some controls. This includes;

• Control who can see your children’s profiles, what information is visible, and who can chat with them. These settings will protect the information.
• Some social platforms allow you blocking of inappropriate or adult content. If there aren’t such features, keep your children away from these platforms.
• You can also set time limits so kids can’t get engrossed in the virtual world.

Activating privacy settings does not fully remove cybersecurity risks of others on the server accessing to a players personal information.  Further security measures can be taken and even speed up game play by reducing your ping with a VPN.

4. Parental Control

Most reliable social gaming platforms have parental control features. Use these controls to limit your child’s exposure to inappropriate content or interactions with strangers. Moreover, you can take quick action if any bad things happen to go. Look for parental controls within the gaming console your child may be using, or the online account from which they are accessing the gaming network.

5. Use Anti-Malware Software

You can install good anti-malware software on the device your child is using to access the gaming platform. PC’s and Android tablets are the most at risk. This will help protect your kids from malware and other cyber threats.

Internet Safety and Monitoring Friendships

Social networking for gamers provides hours of engaging fun for people to connect and play with others one-on-one or within a team.  Kids and teens will delete friendships overtime and you may even find that they spend time online with their friends watching movies or simply chatting while they play games with others.  This is important to be aware of so that you can be involved with your child’s online activities through regular conversations with them.

It’s also vital that parents are within ear shot of their child’s online gaming activities. You may require that your child keeps their bedroom door always open while they are connected to the internet. This way you can hear conversations taking place online on a regular basis.  You will hear what your child is saying to their online gaming friends during game play and otherwise.

Any online activity poses potential risks of cyberbullying, identity theft, and your kids encountering unscrupulous people with ulterior motives.  Setting up building parental controls on gaming consoles and social media networks for gamers is the first step that parents need to take. Additional parental controls that monitor and filter all online activity is an add-on resource that will do the best job at keeping kids from harmful internet activity.

In order to understand the information in this article, you should be made familiar with the term “data subject”, which is the person to whom the data belongs. The data subject has legal rights that say how a company is allowed to use your data – for example, your address and name.

In this instance, the data subject will be your family and we will explain what counts as personal data.  In 2021, this happened 1,243 times, up from 1,120 in 2020. This resulted in 5.13 billion pieces of information containing sensitive data being accessed by people who should not see them.

Here, we explain what a data breach means, who is responsible for protecting your family’s data, and what the best steps to take are if data involving my children has been “breached” (viewed by someone not allowed to see it).

Who protects my data?

In the UK, the organisation that protects your family’s rights concerning personal data is called the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

You may have heard of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is the law that protects the data of European citizens. In the UK, the GDPR laws were largely copied and developed to protect our citizens. In UK law, this is known as the Data Protection Act 2018, and there are many similarities between them both.

The ICO states that anyone who handles personal data must follow a set of rules, which they call the “data protection principles.”

Any organisation that stores and uses personal data must make sure that the data is:

• Used lawfully, fairly and openly (which means telling you exactly how they use it)
• Used to reach goals clearly set out
• Accurate
• Not stored for longer than necessary
• Well-protected, by adopting security steps to prevent the chance of the data being lost, destroyed, or damaged

The ICO takes seriously the protection of the privacy of personal information relating to:

• Race
• Ethnicity
• Political beliefs
• Religion
• Union member position
• Biometrics
• Health
• Sexual orientation

What does an organisation have to do if they notice a data breach?

If an organisation notices a breach, by law it must tell the ICO within 72 hours on the ICO website.

The 72-hour time limit begins when the organisation first notices the breach, not when the breach actually occurred. If the ICO is not notified, there is very little chance the data will ever be recovered, meaning that it will be lost forever.

If you find out that there was a breach in an organisation that stores your family’s data, asking for expert help from solicitors who specialise in data breaches can make sure that the breach of your data is fully investigated and that the necessary steps were taken to react to the breach. Often, if the organisation was found to not have protected data well enough, or used someone’s personal data inappropriately, they may owe compensation to the data subject affected.

How can you prove that your data was used unfairly?

Proving that an organisation used your family’s data unfairly is possible. However, you can keep a log of the events surrounding the breach, as it could help to build your case that your data was used unfairly.

Keeping a log should include a timeline of the following:

• What happened to the data (for example, did you or your children send it to the organisation or fill in a form?)
• Who was involved in the data sharing?
• How did you find out the data was breached? (Did your child have a credit card?)
• What has been done since finding out?

The “data controller” – the organisation storing your family’s data – will also have to keep a similar log. If the ICO has a complete picture of the facts surrounding the breach, it can react better and more efficiently.

Contain the data breach

Finding out what happened to breached data is essential and can limit any spread. The data controller must follow security steps to protect anybody who could be exposed to future security breaches.

In some cases, you can also take action to minimise the damage of the breach. For example:

• If your family’s sensitive data was accidentally sent to someone, you can simply ask that they delete it or send it back safely.
• Trace your or your child’s steps to pinpoint where the breach began
• If you can remotely delete data or erase a device of its data, do so immediately.

Why you should know your rights

As a data subject, you should get in touch with the organisation that stores your family’s data directly if you believe it has been used unfairly or not kept secure, so they can respond appropriately. If you are unhappy with the business’s response or think that more should be done to respond to a breach, you should get in touch with the ICO.

Do I have a claim for damages following a data breach?

The organisation in charge of maintaining the data may be held liable and ordered to pay compensation. Usually, this involves the sharing of private information that is not already in the “public domain” (it is available to the public as a whole), such as sensitive financial or medical data.

The ICO has the authority to look into data breaches and try to identify the parties legally responsible. An ICO ruling that finds that the data controller unfairly used or stored data can result in the victim being paid compensation.

A data subject does not have to go through the ICO or wait for the results of its investigation to make a data breach compensation claim.

Often, organisations at fault for a breach might try to minimise their responsibilities to recover the data they have lost or share details of the breach. This is another reason why many families who are victims of a personal data breach find that getting help from legal experts with knowledge of data breaches makes sure that their legal rights are respected.

By Stuart Snape, Managing Partner at Graham Coffey & Co. Solicitors