{"id":36352,"date":"2015-02-10T14:12:29","date_gmt":"2015-02-10T22:12:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/?p=36352"},"modified":"2023-10-26T23:13:13","modified_gmt":"2023-10-27T06:13:13","slug":"how-to-keep-your-family-safe-and-protected-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/how-to-keep-your-family-safe-and-protected-online\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Keep Your Family Safe and Protected Online"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"how<\/p>\n

As a parent, ensuring a safe online\u00a0experience for your family can be challenging. The same, of course, applies to keeping relatives informed about the online threats that can affect them without their knowledge. If you have been appointed the task of ensuring your family is safe and protected online, I encourage you to accept the challenge!<\/p>\n

Stopping hackers, data interceptions and other negative consequences of unguarded web surfing can appear daunting for most parents, but your efforts are critical to helping your family maintain its privacy on the web. This is especially true for those who can be more prone to poor judgement online, such as children and older relatives\u2014mainly due to their naivety and lack of education around the dangers of the Internet. Your time spent setting up a safe web experience<\/a> will greatly benefit your loved ones.<\/p>\n

To help you succeed in your Internet safety goals, I have put together some important guidelines for your to follow. So let’s get started, shall we?<\/p>\n

Family Password Security<\/h3>\n

\"Family<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the most significant online threats is leaving your private accounts vulnerable to unscrupulous individuals. Your best line of defense is to create secure passwords<\/a> that are near impossible to crack. Of course, remembering multiple, hard to guess passwords can be difficult and is often the reason why most people do not follow such advice.<\/p>\n

A lot of Internet users think a simple password such as \u201cpassword\u201d or \u201c123456\u201d is good enough. These are easily hackable passwords<\/a> that you should avoid at all costs. Instead, you need to make sure your family members fully understand the importance of using strong passwords for all of their online accounts.<\/p>\n

A combination of upper- and lower-case letters, symbols and numbers is wise, and no password should be used for more than one account; this way, even if a hacker gains access to one of your accounts, they won\u2019t be able to gain access to others.<\/p>\n

There are password managers<\/a>, such as Bitwarden or 1Password, which help you generate strong passwords while safely storing them. Although using a password book<\/a> or writing down your passwords is an easy way to keep track, it can be disastrous if it gets into the wrong hands. It is also commonly recommended in the security community that everyone update his or her passwords on a regular basis for extra safety.<\/p>\n

Keeping Your Computer Updated and Clean<\/h3>\n

\"Keep<\/a><\/p>\n

In order to properly accomplish your family\u2019s online security goals, you need to ensure your family\u2019s computers and third-party software on it are\u00a0updated with current security patches. It is imperative for everyone in your family to keep their anti-virus<\/a> malware definitions up-to-date, and to consider additional security tools\u2014like a firewall<\/a> and a VPN<\/a>\u2014to strengthen online privacy and avoid becoming prey to malware.<\/p>\n

Web browser security is particularly crucial, as is learning the basics about cookies, pop-up windows, and any software that helps secure your web experience; inform your children, husband or wife, nephews or parents on how to remain up to date with the latest versions of useful software. If you\u2019re unsure where to start, here\u2019s a list of questions to ask yourself that can help you determine if your computer is secure<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Additionally, Intego provides many security products that clean and protect your Mac<\/a> from the latest online threats. Encourage your family\u00a0to consider such solutions and engage in regular cleaning to maintain privacy on the Internet<\/a>. Help them to be aware of suspicious sites and not to click blindly on every single link.<\/p>\n

Family Mobile Device Security<\/h3>\n

\"Unsecured<\/a><\/p>\n

According to a security report published in 2014<\/a>, mobile malware samples have grown by 167%. The uptake of mobile devices has led to an increase in vulnerabilities. There are four major risks to be aware of:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Unencrypted Wi-Fi hotspots<\/li>\n
  2. Bluetooth and how it can be used to gain access to devices<\/li>\n
  3. Fake ‘trusted\u2019 Wi-Fi access points<\/li>\n
  4. Vulnerable mobile devices carry extra risk of being infected with malware<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Mobile devices that make use of unprotected public Wi-Fi hotspots are especially prone to breaches or personal information being intercepted. It is paramount to educate your family on the dangers of mobile Internet use:<\/p>\n