12 April 2010
This month, parents and teachers should open dialogue with children about online safety
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and BitDefender�, an award-winning provider of innovative anti-malware security solutions, is warning parents and teachers to avoid overlooking the dangers associated with the Web and the risks they pose to children. Kids today are fascinated by the Internet and extremely skilled when it comes to using a computer. It�s for this reason that parents and teachers should be aware of the abuse that can occur via the Web, including those abuses inflicted by online predators, cyber bullies, con artists, even friends - and how to talk to their children/students about avoiding online traps.
�Children are naive targets for corrupted individuals on the Web who aim to use them for pornographic, financial or other illegal purposes,� warns Catalin Cosoi, BitDefender senior researcher. �Fortunately, these undesirable repercussions can be avoided by staying educated and having open conversations about Web usage and safety practices.�
Good communication is the key to online safety � parents and teachers should become allies to openly discuss various aspects concerning safety as children spend more time online, at home and in school.
Every child, regardless of age, should be entrusted with a certain amount of information around Internet threats and how to avoid them -- it�s up to parents and teachers to discuss the appropriate amount of information to disclose to their children/students. BitDefender offers a few points of conversation that parents and teachers can use to start a dialogue.
To read more about talking to children about online safety please click here to read our extended Children�s Online Safety Guide with tips from child and adolescent therapist, Samantha Murphy.
For more information regarding BitDefender products and their parental control feature, please visit www.bitdefender.com. To stay up-to-date on the latest e-threats, sign-up for BitDefender�s RSS feeds here.
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