How to ensure information security of children on the Internet

Today it is impossible to imagine life without the use of the Internet, it has become an integral part in all spheres. The development of technology leads to the fact that children from early childhood spend most of their free time online. Unfortunately, along with the necessary and useful information, young users are faced with unwanted content that can harm mental and physical health, become a threat to life.

The article deals with the topic of safety of children on the Internet and basic rules of behavior.

Classification of information danger for children on the Internet

For small users, there are different types of dangers on the network, which can be classified according to different topics. These are mainly websites and forums:

• Suicidal orientation;
• Propaganda drugs;
• Inciting racial rejection and national strife;
• Related to pornography;
• Dating;
• Promoting violence, extremism, various types of fraud, deviant forms of behavior;
• Sects.

Content.

What you will not find on the World Wide Web today. A child may come across content that is related to violence, animal cruelty, sexual perversion, murder. It is important for adults to take care of the safety of the Internet for children and take advantage of the “parental control” function. Below, we will talk about special features that help limit children’s access to unwanted sites and control time spent online:

• How often the child sits on social networks;
• How much time you spend watching videos on YouTube or TikTok
• What games are you playing (age rating)?

Cybercrime

Cybercrime is the activity associated with the illegal use of the Internet. A wide range of violations can be identified here. For example, involving children in drug trafficking, fraud, obtaining personal data. The task of parents is to tell the child that you need to be very attentive and beware of strangers who try to involve him in questionable activities:

• not to disclose the data of documents and maps;
• Do not disclose personal passwords and addresses;
• Do not buy anything from anyone without the knowledge of adults.

cyberbullying

If parents began to notice that the child became aggressive, irritable, nervous, anxious, you need to ask him about the reasons for this behavior. Often this is due to negative communication on the network, where there is psychological pressure, or he is threatened, bullied.

Adults need to identify the aggressors and isolate the child from communicating with them. You can use the blacklist, and if the case went too far, contact law enforcement.

How do you identify an intruder?

Often, it is not difficult for an attacker to deceive a child, taking advantage of childish naivety and credulity. Therefore, mom and dad need to explain how to recognize the first bells of danger:

• This is a stranger;
• He's much older.
• he has no photos, friends, personal information on the page or it is fake;
• a stranger makes strange requests: to clarify personal data, bank card numbers, replenish a mobile phone account, send a photo, etc.

Basic rules of information security for children on the Internet

Before allowing a child to use the Internet, it is important to discuss and consolidate the basic safety rules for children.

1. At first try to visit various Internet resources with children. Ask them to share the information they have learned.

2. Explain how to behave on the Internet:

• Do not communicate with intrusive strangers. Tell your child what strangers on the Internet can demand from him, teach him to say “no” and defend his opinion, explain that you must necessarily share with you if someone tries to pressure him to get something.
• Photos and personal information should be placed in a private account so that only close friends can see it. If the page is open, it is better to use a pseudonym as a name (preferably without a gender definition, so that attackers can not guess who is in front of them), and also not to indicate geolocation in publications.
• Never use a webcam to communicate with strangers.
• Check the sites for security. Explain which sites should cause suspicion in the child: with an abundance of advertising, with headlines promising prizes, money, gifts, etc.
• Save logins and passwords from your pages in a safe place. For example, in a notebook that is kept at home.
• Do not meet in real life with unfamiliar virtual friends.

3. If your child already has a Google account, set up parental controls. With it, you can protect the child from unwanted content and limit the time of his stay on the network.

If your child has a gadget with Android, go to the Play Market and download the Parental Control app. In the settings, you can select age restrictions for various programs and applications.

In iPhone and iPad devices, you can also set limits on content, applications, total screen time. To do this, go to “Settings – Main – Screen time”.

This feature can also be installed on the Windows operating system in version 10. Sign in to “Accounts – Other people – Add a family member” and add an account for the child, specifying the necessary restrictions.

If necessary, additionally specify the age of the child, then the system itself will restrict access according to the permissible age.

4. Enroll your child in programs that do not require the use of personal information, but only the registration name and email address. To do this, you can create a separate email in your Google account.

5. Tell your child that the difference between good and bad in real life and online is the same.

6. Explain the rules of etiquette in the network: illegal downloading of computer games, music, programs, applications is theft and punishable by law. The intellectual property of others must be respected.

7. The child should learn that on the Internet you also need to follow the rules of good manners: do not be rude, do not write bad comments, do not engage in disputes and do not react to provocations.

All these rules are quite simple. If you initially build a trusting relationship with your child, it will not be difficult to convey them to him. After all, today the correct use of the Internet and modern technologies opens up limitless opportunities for us.