National Internet Safety Month: A Family-Friendly Digital Hygiene Check-Up for Summer

Summer break is just around the corner, and while the school backpacks are stowed away, your family’s devices are just heating up. Whether your kids are gaming, scrolling, or streaming, or your parents are forwarding funny cat videos and recipe links, now is the time for a family-wide digital hygiene check-up.

June marks National Internet Safety Month, but smart online habits matter in every season. Here’s your friendly reminder and toolkit to help protect the people you love most.

Why Digital Hygiene Is a Family Matter

Digital hygiene isn’t just an individual responsibility, it’s a family-wide priority, especially as summer begins.

While kids may be tech-savvy, they are often too trusting and may not recognize the subtle red flags of online scams or inappropriate content. Parents are balancing work, apps, vacation planning, and online shopping, making them prime targets for phishing attempts and booking scams.

Grandparents, meanwhile, are spending more time online than ever, but they may not be as familiar with newer digital threats, such as impersonation, smishing, or malicious links. And let’s not forget that scammers don’t take vacations. They exploit them. That’s why a simple digital safety check today can help prevent months of stress, identity theft, or worse. Every family member plays a crucial role in maintaining online safety.

For Kids: Summer Fun, Safer Screens

While school’s out, screen time often goes up. That means more YouTube, Roblox, TikTok, or Discord—and more risk of cyberbullying, inappropriate content, and scams.

Encourage these good habits:

• Don’t talk to strangers online—even if they seem friendly.
• Never click links in random chats or pop-ups.
• Ask a parent before downloading anything new.

Pro Tip:

Ever wanted a scam expert at your disposal 24/7? With our free scam detection tool, Bitdefender Scamio, you and your family can easily double-check any message or suspicious encounter online. Additionally, you can set up Parental Controls from Bitdefender to help manage screen time, filter age-inappropriate content, and monitor digital activity. It's a powerful way to support safe exploration without constant oversight.

For Parents: Stay One Step Ahead of Summer Scams

Summer means vacation planning, online shopping, and deals that are too good to be true. Unfortunately, it’s also peak season for phishing emails, fake booking sites, and malicious links disguised as gift cards or sweepstakes.

Smart Digital Hygiene for Parents:

• Update weak passwords. We have a great free tool to help you generate strong and unique passwords for every online account. Check out Bitdefender’s Free Password Generator to ensure that you every password you generate is top notch and secure.
• Use multi-factor authentication for online banking, email, and work apps—especially when using shared or public Wi-Fi. Remind kids to log out of accounts after using shared devices.
• Be mindful of oversharing on social media. Posting vacation plans or location tags in real time can signal scammers (and burglars) that your home is unattended.
• Watch for “too good to be true” summer deals, giveaways, or fake promotions in your inbox or social feeds.
• Secure your home network by changing the default router password and updating firmware before your kids’ devices go into summer marathon mode.

Pro Tip:

Try Bitdefender Link Checker (It’s free!). Paste any link to make sure it's safe before you book that “perfect beach resort.”

You might also want to read:

• Summer 2025 Travel Scams: How to Avoid Fake Hotel Booking Websites and Protect Your Vacation
• Am I Being Scammed? Finding Out Has Never Been Easier.
• Fake Antivirus Pop-Ups vs. Real Security Alerts: How to Tell the Difference
• Phone Scammers Target Ohio Residents Following Cyberattack on Local Health System
• Help your child, not a scammer. Everything you need to know about the “Hi mum, Hi dad” scam on WhatsApp

For Grandparents: Simple Protection with Big Impact

Seniors are often targeted by scammers posing as grandchildren in trouble, tech support agents, or banks. And they may not realize that clicking an innocent-looking link could lead to malware.

Encourage:

• Asking for help before acting on urgent or emotional messages.
• Avoiding unknown links in emails or texts—even if they appear to come from friends.
• Talking about scams to raise awareness. Staying informed helps the entire family stay safe. For up-to-date insights, check out the Bitdefender blog where we regularly break down new scam tactics, tricks, and trends.

Pro tip:

Use a trusted security solution from Bitdefender, designed to quietly protect against viruses, risky downloads, and malicious websites. We also offer free antivirus versions that are simple to install and use, making them a great starting point for anyone new to cybersecurity.

Your Digital Safety Checklist

✅ Update old or reused passwords
✅ Install free antivirus on all family devices
✅ Use Link Checker before clicking any suspicious links
✅ Check scammy texts,  messages and online offers with Scamio
✅ Lock down privacy settings on social media
✅ Talk openly about scams and online dangers

Important Reminder: Security isn’t seasonal!

While June is the official month for online safety, these habits belong year-round. Bitdefender’s free tools make digital hygiene simple for every member of your family, from your youngest gamer to your oldest email-forwarder.