The Best Way to Prevent or Stop Cyber-bullying | Free Antivirus

Our children's lives are spent online. Unfortunately, their bullies followed them.

Cyberbullying is frequently in the news, with reports of teenage suicides due to online harassment.

Cyberbullying occurs on all of the platforms described above and comes in many forms: spreading rumours and sending threatening messages through social media, texting or emailing, pretending to be someone else child and posting embarrassing material on their behalf, sending private photos without consent, and generally posting material online about another child with the intent to humiliate or disparage them.

Cyberbullying is particularly dangerous because it is public. Before, if a child was bullied in the yard, only a few of their peers witnessed it. Currently, a child's most confidential information can be posted on the Internet and will remain there unless it is exposed and removed.

Cyberbullying is likely to damage the online reputation not only of the victim but also of the perpetrator and to have a considerable impact on the future of the child in question, including at the level of admission. university and job search.

It is also a continual assault. When a child is the victim of classic bullying, the home is often a place of refuge. With digital platforms constantly available, victims of cyberbullying struggle to find respite.

It is often difficult to tell if your child is being bullied online. It happens online, so parents and teachers are less likely to hear or notice it. According to internet safety organization i-SAFE, less than half of children who are bullied online report it to their parents or another adult. In fact, according to a United States government survey, 21% of children between the ages of 12 and 18 have been bullied and around 16% have been bullied online.

The best way to prevent or stop cyberbullying is to be aware of your child's behaviour. A number of warning signs can present themselves.

A bullied child can close their social media account and open a new one. He can begin to avoid social situations even if he was very social in the past. Victims (and perpetrators) of cyberbullying often hide their screen or device when in the company of other people, and avoid talking about their activity online. They can become emotionally distressed or withdrawn.

Confidentiality and information security

As parents, we are concerned about the impact of the online world on the emotional and physical well-being of our children. Children are exposed to information security threats that can cause financial damage. These are exactly the same threats as adults: malware and viruses, phishing scams and identity theft.

The problem is, kids are much less experienced and generally much more confident than us cynical adults. For children, sharing their personal information, such as their full name or where they live, can seem like a trivial matter. They can even be tricked by a malicious third party and share your credit card information.

Hackers and thieves can get information about your children in several ways. Free downloadable games, movies, or even ring tones marketed to children can spread a virus to your computer and steal your information.

Hackers masquerading as legitimate companies like Google send out emails claiming to ask for your child's password. They can also pose as one of his friends.

How can you tell your children about it?

Talk to your kids about the top online threats today. Make sure they know what a phishing attack and a bad gaming website look like, so they don't fall for it.

Make sure that all of their information is kept private and that they never publish their full name, phone number, address, or the school they attend in a public place.

Talk about passwords with your kids: A strong password is a first and best step to preventing identity theft and hacking. Using a secure password generator like the one we created allows you to try passwords together and in a fun way make sure your kid's password is as strong as possible.

Advise your kids to avoid public Wi-Fi, it's an easy way for hackers to infiltrate their devices.

What you can do to create a safe environment:

Install a powerful free antivirus program on your personal computer and on the devices of all family members.

Consider installing a VPN on your computer. A VPN, or virtual private network (a virtual private network ), encrypts your connection and ensures the anonymity of your web browsing. This makes it much more difficult for hackers to access, and steal your private information.

If you and your kids use multiple devices at home, consider installing a VPN on your router so that all internet traffic that passes through the router is protected, without having to install the VPN on each device.

Install an ad blocker so that your kids are not exposed to deceptive ads that encourage them to download malware to your computer.

If your kids have smartphones, make sure their safety settings are on maximum.

Watching inappropriate content online

The Internet is an open and public space, and as a result, children are likely to come across content intended for adults which they may find overwhelming, confusing or distressing. “Inappropriate content” can mean different things depending on your point of view, from slurs to violence to content of a sexual nature.

It's not easy, but sooner or later you will have to have a conversation with your kids about what content they are likely to see online. Many children do not let their parents know when they see something they might not have seen for fear that their parents will get angry and confiscate their devices or deny them access to the Internet.

If your child brings this type of issue to you, the best thing to do is to respond calmly and be open to discussion. If the content in question is of a sexual nature, your child will probably be embarrassed already, and even more so if he tells his parents about these kinds of issues. Let him know that you are there for him and ready to answer his questions without being judgmental.

Young people are likely to see sexual content online for all kinds of reasons. They may have seen it by mistake, a friend may have sent them, or they may have looked for it themselves out of natural curiosity.

Talking honestly and candidly to your kids about sex is very helpful, and a discussion of online pornography is essential. Much research has shown that pornography can have a detrimental effect on young people, giving them distorted and unhealthy notions of sexuality. Pornography can also cause people to view others as objects, rather than people with thoughts and feelings. However, it's okay to be curious about sex and relationships. This conversation is a great opportunity to direct your children to positive resources about sexuality.

There are also several measures that can be taken to prevent your children from being exposed to content they are not ready for, for example setting up parental controls on your internet connection. However, keep in mind that technical solutions cannot replace open communication with your child.

Communicate with your child:

Let your kids know that they can always talk to you if something is bothering them, or if they have questions about what they have seen online.

Tell them that it's okay to be curious about sex. Direct them to positive online resources such as Brook and Thinkuknow. Thinkuknow is particularly suitable for young children, and it includes several sites suitable for different age groups. For example, you can visit the site together and discuss it.

Steps you can take to block inappropriate content:

Set filters to block inappropriate content like pornography. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) probably offers free parental controls, like most game consoles. They are usually relatively easy to set up.

Set Google to “safe” mode so that your kids don't inadvertently see inappropriate content in search results.

Install an ad blocker to prevent viruses that may contain inappropriate content.

Online predators

In our final section, we take a look at the most sinister and frightening online threat of all: online child predators. According to the US Department of Justice, 13% of young people with Internet access have been victims of unwanted sexual advances, and one in 25 children have been asked for offline contact.

Predators use a coaxing technique called "grooming" in English. In other words, they are trying to form a relationship with a child so that they can abuse it.

Unfortunately, the internet has made life much easier for child predators. Predators target their victims through all online media: social networks, emails, text messages and more. By far the most common method is through an online chat room: 76% of online encounters with sexual predators start in a "chat room".

13% of kids with internet access are victims of sexual advances

Predators often create multiple identities online, masquerading as children to entice young people to talk to them. They find out all they can about the kids they target by researching them through their social media profiles and what they've posted on discussion boards.

They may contact several children at the same time, but they tend to focus their efforts on the most vulnerable. These predators do more than just chatting online with children. They often incite or coerce their victims into sexual activity online, via webcam or through sexual images. They may also attempt to meet and abuse their victims in person.

It's not always easy to tell if a child is a victim of coaxing, especially since most of them don't tell their parents about it. There are several warning signs: Children coaxed by predators can be very reserved because the predator often threatens the child not to share information with his parents or friends. Children can also become sad, withdrawn, distracted, and have sudden mood swings. It is absolutely crucial that you let your child know that you are there for them and that they can talk to you about anything.

What should you tell your children?

Talk to your kids about the risks of online predators. Make sure they are cautious about who they chat with online and don't share personal information with strangers.

Let your children know that they can talk to you about any problem.

Consider checking out educational content with your kids on this topic, like the great videos from Thinkuknow.

If you think your child is in danger, seek help from their school, a social worker, and the police.