The Ultimate Parent Guide for Protecting Your Child on the Internet by Ariel Hochstadt

I was delighted to receive an email from EB. 

She had read my review of Black Code by Ronald J. Deibert  and noticed that I had posted a link to Stay Safe Online and their initiative National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

EB encouraged me to read The Ultimate Parent Guide for Protecting Your Child on the vpnMentor website.

Don't let the title stop you from reading the post.  You don't have to have kids to benefit from it.  My kids are in their 20's but have suffered from some of the threats listed and I discovered that I was also quite vulnerable.

The blog post covered eight broad subjects:

1.  Mobile phones and apps
2.  Streaming content and smart TVs
3.  Gaming consoles and online games
4.  Social media
5.  Cyberbullying
6.  Privacy and information security
7.  Viewing inappropriate content online
8.  Online predators

It is surprising how much data leaks from our devices and how the default settings protect us very little.  It is important to take the time to tighten things up a bit.

I was captivated by topic 6 and followed many of the links in that section.  I spent at least 30 minutes exploring my iPhone's settings, turning off location services, creating a longer lock-screen password and beginning to set up the built-in VPN settings.

I would say, after reading how vulnerable we are on public WiFi hotspots, we are much better off paying extra for a bigger data plan from our carriers than the convenience of using such free services.

Remember, if a service is free - YOU are the product.  Gmail, Facebook, Twitter all the things we download, use, but do not pay for are mining our data for their own purposes.  It is a sobering thought.  We are living through the Wild West phase of the internet and it is a pretty lawless environment so far.

I highly recommend reading the article, but try not to lose faith.  You may read it and think that things are hopeless.  But with organizations like vpnMentor and Stay Safe Online there is a wealth of information that you can use to minimize your exposure.

Some of the advice given is as simple as tweaking a setting and forgetting about it.  Other protections take a bit of work on your part but it really is worth it.

I want to thank EB for the email and for reinvigorating my desire to make things a bit more difficult for the hackers.