tips to stay safe on the web

1. Make sure the computer your child is using is in a public place, such as the living room , and not in their private bedroom. Placing the computer in a group area will allow parents to see exactly what their teenager or young adult is doing online and allow them to monitor the activities on the computer.

2. Don’t allow your teenager to password protect their identity on the computer. Parents should have full access to the computer to monitor the child and know exactly what your teen is doing on the computer.

3. Talk to your teen and insist that no compromising personal information is added to their profile such as their last name, school they attend, place of employment, address, phone numbers, date of birth, or where they hang out.

4. Talk to your teen about not using a real photo of themselves. If they must have a photo advise them to use a fake or modified photo or an anime (popular Japanese artistic drawing). This provides some anonymity. Their real friends will already know what they look like.

5. If you suspect your teen is doing something inappropriate online, try to find their profile and talk to them about it. If they aren’t forthcoming about it, you could install parental filtering software or a keylogger to change their minds.

6. Ask your teen not to interact with people who are over 18 unless they know them personally. They may end up receiving some material that was meant for adults instead. Although, a person’s age could be forged, most predators will probably fake their age to be younger instead of older.

7. If you are over 18, don’t flirt with minors. Be an adult.