Internet Security for Teens- What You Need to Do

Everyday you hear about teens being attacked or compromised by people who take advantage of them by using the internet. For a parent, this can be a frightening concept. However, there are measures that you can take to protect your teens on the internet. The following is a list of tips to help ensure internet security for your teens.

1. Talk to your teen. First, make sure that you talk to your teens about internet security. Having good communication is always the most effective preventive measure. After all, you can put security features on your computer at home, but teens have access to computers almost everywhere they go. Make sure that your teen understands the dangers associated conversing with people they don't know on the internet, meeting people off of the internet, and using their financial information to purchase something online.

2. Be aware. There are thousands of chat rooms, message boards, and forums out there for teens. As a result, there are thousands of people out there who pretend to be teens in order to converse with them. This is a dangerous situation. When your teen is at home, monitor their internet use without being too overbearing. Know what chat rooms they use, what people they converse with on a daily basis, and ask to be able to access their facebook and myspace pages. Let them know that if they are going to have a computer in their room you have the right to look at their internet usage from time to time.

3. Report any suspicious behavior. If your teen tells you that someone on the internet wants to meet them, do some investigating yourself on this person. Likewise, if your teen tells you that they are troubled by someone who is contacting them on the internet then report this person to the police. It is better to be safe than sorry.

4. Don't let cyber bullying go unnoticed. Cyber bullying is a very real threat to internet security, as well as physical and emotional well-being to teens. If your teen is being cyber bullied then report the offenders to that website that it is occurring on and then let the school know as well. More and more organizations and websites are taking this seriously this days. On facebook, if you block someone now, it actually asks you if it was due to cyber bullying.

Internet Security for Teens- What You Need to Do