Internet Safety

As parents, we are often concerned about how are children are accessing the Internet and will they become a victim of Cyber bullying. Listed below are some practical tips on how you – as a parent – can feel safe in the knowledge that, having taken all reasonable steps, your child (ren) will not become victims of Internet fraud and cyber bullying. If you wish to know more, then you can click on the link below where most of these practical tips were taken.

https://esafety.gov.au/education-resources/classroom-resources/digital-citizenship

Protecting your child's personal information:

Personal Information includes the following.

  1. Your full name

  2. Your address

  3. Your Phone numbers

  4. Your school

  5. Your Date of Birth

  6. Your email address

  7. Your User Names and Passwords.

  8. Your Bank details.

Spam, scams, identity theft and identity fraud are some of the more serious on line issues that your children may face if they share their personal information on line.

Spam is electronic Junk mail – unwanted messages sent to their email address or their mobile phone via email or text.

How to limit the amount of spam your child receives?

  • Advise them to limit who they share their email address or Mobile phone number with.

  • Make sure your child uses an Anti Virus Program.

  • Tell them to check the terms and conditions when they buy on line.

  • Advise them not to agree to receive any marketing materials.

Cookies

Cookies are a web browser tool that store information about your on line activities. Your On Line activities can then be accessed by other websites. Make sure your child clears their Cookies on a regular basis.

Identity theft

This involves someone stealing money or gaining benefit by pretending to be someone else. Make sure as a parent you only purchase goods on line using your credit card with reputable websites. Check out the website before you hand over your credit card details.

How can I protect my personal information?

  • Only disclose your financial information on a secure website.

  • If in doubt, call the organisation that the website claims to represent.

  • Banks will never send you an email asking for your user name and password. DO NOT disclose such information on line.

  • Read the User agreements and the Privacy Policies.

  • Select your passwords carefully.

When choosing passwords:

  • Use 8 characters or more.

  • Use a combination of words that are not predictable.

  • Use a combination of numbers/letters including capitals and punctuation marks.

Eg Say you attended Fairfield High school in 1970, a password might be

Field1970Fair?

Dont's

  • Don’t use passwords that contain the names of members of your family, or pets.

  • Don’t use family members birthdays.

  • Don’t share your password with anyone.

  • Don't use the following as passwords:

A. 1234 OR 4321.

B. 123456 OR 654321.

C. The word “Password.”

What are parental controls?

Parental controls tools help parents monitor and limit what their children do On Line. But please remember that no tool is 100% effective.

What do parental controls do?

  • They can be used to block children accessing particular websites.

  • Filter different types of content including Violent or sexual content.

  • They allow parents to monitor how long their child is accessing a particular website.

  • They allow parents to change the tool settings to reflect each child’s age.

Finally

Make sure you have a regular chat with your child (ren) in terms of what sites they are accessing on Line.