parental control

Do we protect our children from the internet dangers?

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We invite you to read SecureKids’ post, our special guests:

Smartphones, as well as many other devices, are already fully in the daily lives of people of all ages. They are very useful tools for many things, but they can also become very dangerous if they are not used properly.

Nowadays, it is very common that children receive their first smartphone during the 8 or 9 years, this age is sometimes reduced a little more when we talk about tablets. What many fathers and mothers are not aware of is that while they are being given a very powerful tool that opens the door to many possibilities for development and also many possible dangers.

And is that according to a study prepared by S2 Group, a company specialized in cybersecurity. In this study, we conclude that 75% of the parents did not implement any type of parental control in the mobile of their children. This percentage is alarming, parents cannot forget their role of educating and protecting their children against new technologies.

Most importantly, before being a parental control it is that parents should educate them and tell them about the potential dangers and misuses that may be given to the connected devices. The best way to prevent this from happening is the dialogue of parents with children. This work can then be supported with parental control tools, which can block access to dangerous content or even regulate the number of hours that can use it to prevent some addiction.

If you choose to use a parental control tool, it is equally important to explain to the little ones that they have it installed, that will give them security, and that step by step, as they are learning and reaching their age, they will have increasing access to more uses of the device. Since a child who is hiding all this information, will end up trying to remove it by force, or even access that content, even by other means. They have to understand the danger!

Nowadays, there is a great variety of very competent parental control programs, and among these is SecureKids. The philosophy of SecureKids is nothing more than transparency between parents and children, that is, the parent can manage and monitor the device remotely. In addition, the children will know at all times that they have put parental control and what configurations have put, as well as request permissions.

What features does SecureKids have?

Some of the features that SecureKids offers are:

  • STATS: The parent will be able to see which applications the child uses the most.
  • ALARMS: This functionality is designed so that alarms can be programmed remotely in the devices.
  • APP CONTROL: This is one of the most important modules of the service, due to its great utility in mobile devices. Here you will be allowed to block the use of certain applications, or even set a time of daily use.
  • BREAKS: It is designed so that parents can schedule breaks in which the child can not use the device.
  • EMERGENCIES: This module is composed by a widget that can be added in the device. This widget is a button that can be pressed by the child when they are in danger, and will automatically send the parents their location, an image captured at that time and the exact date you pressed.
  • CALL CONTROL: Designed so that parents can see the contacts in your child’s agenda and block those numbers that are not to your liking. Also, block calls from any unknown number.
  • WEB CONTROL: Another of the most important features of SecureKids. With the web control, parents can manage what content the child can see on the internet.

From SecureKids we encourage you to try our tool or any other, in order that you can create a safe environment for your children.

There are many dangers on the Internet

Another fact that is of great concern to parents is a large number of cases of cyberbullying that is occurring in recent times. Adding some of these applications can alleviate some of the harassment that your child may be subjected to. It is also clear that you should always talk to them and educate them in every way so they have the ability to know where they can navigate and where not.

I hope this serves to awaken some parents who live asleep and oblivious to all these technological advances.

The Internet is the largest library in the world, let’s use it with head, both old and young!

What you need to know to choose a good antivirus

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One of the first steps you must take to protect yourself from a cyber attack is to have an antivirus, the web is full of threats, so we should be prepared for any eventuality of this type. The question is: how to choose a good antivirus between many options that exist in the market? And which one best suits your needs?

The risks of not being protected are very high, the fact of not having a good antivirus, could bring serious consequences just by accessing the most common sites: an infected email or websites with malicious codes, could bring any virus type or malware such as: Trojans, a computer worm or the feared ransomware, which would allow the cybercriminal to take control of your computer and your personal information.

Each user has different needs, so it is important to define which antivirus is the one that suits you best. Follow some basic tips to protect your computer and your most important information.

How to choose a good antivirus for my devices?

Before choosing an antivirus, you must define the use that you give to your computer, so you will know the protection level you need, it is not the same an antivirus for a company to a personal one, also, if you only check the mail or social media, or if on the contrary, you use your computer for downloading videos and entering many unreliable websites. There are risk in both cases, but precaution levels can be adapted.  

Take into account the computer speed, if it is a new and fast computer you won’t have problem using a powerful antivirus, but if it is an old and slow computer, you will need a lighter program, so that it does not affect your PC efficiency.

After you determine these characteristics, you can start to choose features, which can be adapted to the computer and your budget. Also, choose an antivirus compatible with the operating system you are using.

The basics

  1. You can find on internet paid versions or the free ones, generally, the paid versions will give you many more options, analyze if it is worth making the investment. It is best to choose one with a trial version, with you can test antivirus before paying the license.
  2. It is essential that the antivirus you choose has a firewall, this will allow you to protect your device from any unauthorized access to your local network by some cybercriminal.
  3. Consider the product reputation: buy products with have good references in the market, recognized manufacturers will give you credibility and confidence, in some cases you can see awards and recognitions given by associations and specialized media, as well as the opinions of others users through forums or specialized websites.
  4. Make sure buy it at the official store
  5. Even if you have a fast computer, it is advisable to look for an antivirus that consumes few resources. A good antivirus should protect your computer without delaying processes.
  6. Choose an easy-to-use software, an antivirus must perform its work automatically, in real time and almost without you noticing.
  7. A point to value is that the antivirus has customer service, which can provide technical support in case of any problem.

Plus+ to value

  1. Some antivirus programs also offer a multiple devices license, this allows you to protect not only your computer but other devices such as your mobile phone or tablet.
  2. If you have children, you could use an antivirus with parental control, with this you can limit the children access to the internet.
  3. To reinforce your computer security, some antivirus programs bring other advanced features, for example: Protection against ransomware, artificial intelligence that updates defenses while computer attacks evolving, antispam, phishing protection, protection against banking trojans, among others. Depending on your budget, you can add it to improve your security.

HushApp: Another type of information protection

Do not think that just by choosing an antivirus you will be completely safe, the technology advances and with it the cyber attacks, si If you have more security, it will be better for your computer. The good news is there are other solutions to continue protecting your privacy, many of them are free, and will not modify the budget that you have prepared for cybersecurity.

For example HushApp, which in its FREE version allows you to store and share your most important files easily and securely, through end-to-end encryption systems and other features that will help protect your privacy.

We invite you to try HushApp…

17 essential tips for parents on Cybersecurity for children

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There is no doubt today that children have the ability to use electronic devices and the internet, even the smallest kids already know how to play their favorite online games. This opens a debate among parents about what age should kids start using technology and how much time they should spend on it. Although there is no precise answer to these questions, here, parents can learn some tips about Cybersecurity for children.

According to a research by Norton, 87% of Spanish parents consider it risky to allow their children to use computers and mobile devices without any supervision; in fact, among the 3 biggest concerns are: children can suffer cyber bullying (92%), spend too much time in front of the screen (88%) and download malicious programs or applications (88%).

Despite the active awareness of these latent dangers, statistics say that most parents are not adjusting their parenting.  The study found that 68% do not limit access to certain websites or applications, 19% allows their children to buy online without surveillance and 57% allows them to use the internet without supervision.

Children on the Internet have a lack of supervision due to many reasons, one being parents not intervening to check the safety of their children.

Therefore, we invite you to read the following basic cybersecurity tips, which you can apply to control and protect your children about the dangers they are exposed to on the web.

Cybersecurity for children: tips for parents and children

  1. Limits how long your children can spend connected to the web, set those limits and make sure they are met.
  2. Watch the pages they visit, who they communicate with and what other actions they do on the web. And if you detect any access to some undesirable content for their age, you can talk with them about the subject and block access to the web or game.
  3. Recommend your kids to not use their real name on the web and never give personal information, such as phone numbers, your address, their school, or where they will go on vacation, etc. to strangers.
  4. Establish a VPN connection in your home to ensure that no online predator will have access into your system.
  5. Teach children to create unique passwords that they can remember or keep in safe places.
  6. It is important for children to understand that the digital world can be as dangerous as the real world. If they are usually taught not to talk to strangers, the same should apply on the web.
  7. Watch who they contact on the web and teach them never to meet a stranger in person they met online.
  8. They should never respond to any threatening messages. Let them know if this happens, they have to discuss it with you or the adult that is in charge.
  9. Try to place the computer in a common area, where you can monitor what they do. This can be challenging by the usage mobile phones or tablets, yet still possible, you have the ability to monitor it other ways.
  10. Bookmark their favorite sites to facilitate access.
  11. Pay attention to any changes or attitudes regarding the time they spend on the web: Do they receive phone calls from people you do not know? Have you noticed any unsolicited gifts that have arrived in the mail? do they not like to talk about their online activities? Although these questions may seem unimportant, they could be signs that your children are being cyber bullied by a criminal.

Cybersecurity for children in Social networks:

12. Show them how to recognize and block unwanted contacts. 

13. Specify that they must only add contacts from people they already know.

14. Monitor their social networks, check who their friends are and what they publish.

How to use parental control

15. Disable online purchases, or set parental controls on their devices to control they use it.

16. Use applications to monitor what your children do online: what do they download? How much time do they spend connected?

17. You can also configure parental control in browsers to be sure which pages they can enter.

Technology is changing our way of life, therefore, encouraging parents to monitor their children online will allow the child to grow up understanding how to navigate the online world in a safe way. The web can be as dangerous as the real world, however they don’t need to stop enjoying it. The important thing is that parents start to implement this change in their daily lives. Cybersecurity for children is important and if done properly can be hassle free.