In addition to putting safety precautions in place, one of the easiest ways to reduce your child's risk of a cyber attack is to limit their exposure to technology.
Technology is here to stay, and it continues to advance and grow all the time. Given its pre-eminent position in the world, it may seem that today's generation has practically been born with an iPhone at hand.
As of 2015, 61% of children between the ages of 3 and 18 had access to the Internet at home, and today that number has undoubtedly increased, becoming more and more essential in everything from distance learning to teens looking for Jobs in the field of cyber security.
And speaking of cybersecurity, which is an important topic to discuss with your kids even though it may not seem like the most exciting topic in the world to talk about with kids, data breaches happen every day.
It also happens to some of the most powerful companies in the world, with professional IT staff. Needless to say, it is usually not difficult for a hacker to break into a home computer or mobile device.
So, what can you do to manage the cybersecurity of your children?
Prevent security breaches from within
There are many things you can do to reduce the risk of a data breach in your home, especially when your child is online. First, talk to your children about what cybersecurity is and why it is important. based on their age.
You can teach them the warning signs of phishing scams, especially those in emails, including frequent grammatical errors, requests for money or information as well as links that direct them to the wrong site.
You can also teach them how to be careful about how much information they share online. It's not uncommon for kids and teens to have multiple accounts on social media, so teach them password protection and the importance of keeping some information confidential.
If your children are doing e-learning in light of the Corona pandemic, there are also some steps you can take, as a parent, to better protect your home network.
One of the best things to do is to set up an encryption policy. Encryption converts the data on your computer into an encrypted format instead of a readable format. A private "key" is needed to decrypt the data, making it difficult for hackers to crack.
If you don't know how to set up an encryption policy on your home devices, it may be worth talking to an IT professional.
Cyber security on the go
More children are using mobile devices today than ever before. Even though they may be old enough to text their friends and download social media apps, they are probably not old enough to manage their mobile security.
It's up to you to make sure their mobile devices stay safe. Fortunately, there are some easy ways to do this, including having the latest security software on the device, making sure it's always up to date with the latest software, asking them to ask for permission before downloading the app, and encouraging them to only use a password-protected WiFi network.
Again, kids also need to be careful about the information they share on their mobile devices. They may not even know that they are sharing things like their location, so make sure you have security measures in place, or even some apps installed that will hide your child's identity as much as possible on their device.
If you need to know their location, there are specific apps designed for parents that will track them without having to manage the settings inside their phone.
Exposure Reduction
In addition to putting safety precautions in place, one of the easiest ways to reduce your child's risk of a cyber attack is to limit their exposure to technology.
This is often easier said than done, especially if your child is connected to school. But this is not impossible. In fact, this step can benefit your child's physical and mental health.
Going out or encouraging activities to treat your child's "boredom" can help stimulate their minds. Spending too much time online can actually lead to anxiety, depression, or even feelings of isolation.
In these current times of uncertainty, resistance to risk factors for mental health conditions is more important than ever. If you need some ideas to get your child off the screen every day, consider playing outdoor sports with them, going on a bike ride, or doing an art project together.
Don't be afraid to be creative when it comes to limiting your child's exposure to the Internet. Help them find a balance between spending time online and staying active when you're not around. If you do this, along with opening up to them about the importance of cybersecurity, you can make them (and your entire family) safer and more secure online.
A simple iPhone trick that many people don't know will make it easier to use
The iPhone has a secret trick that will help you get things done faster. The unpopular “two-finger” trick can be used in a large number of applications, to help you choose multiple features quickly.
One of these applications that the two-finger trick can help you with is the Voice Memos application.
By tapping with two fingers on the first item in the list of files, and then dragging the two fingers down, it will select all the items in the list very quickly.
The same trick can be applied in the Apple Mail app with your email inbox if you want to select all the files, as you'll be able to quickly select a lot of emails at once.
The scam was revealed by a TikTok account called theapplecollector, which has garnered hundreds of likes.
But it should be noted that the trick does not work in all applications. For example, Gmail does not support this method.
But in Apple's apps, you'll have a chance to try this method out, and see how it can help you save time.
For example, the animation will work in iMessage and Notes, both of which are official Apple apps.
Also, there are other little-known iPhone tricks that you might be interested in.
Select the text you want to copy, then pinch 3 fingers together on the screen, this will copy the text. Then do the opposite gesture (by opening fingers outward) to paste what you copied. This trick works on anything you want to copy, even photos.
And if you go to the Photos app and pinch 3 fingers, you can quickly paste that photo into another app. It's an easy way to quickly transfer an image to WhatsApp or Messages.
For the text, you can also add an extra tap with one finger, and it will convert your copy to cut, meaning that the text will be deleted instead of copied.
This isn't the only weird way to transfer photos, you can go to your Photos app with your finger on a photo.
Then without editing, go to the Messages chat and drop the image onto the character bar. The image you want will then appear in the messages. You can even select multiple photos and keep them at once. Many applications support this feature.