Family Internet Safety Tips // Sophos Home

October 26, 2016

Parental Controls for your Computer

Sophos provided me with compensation in exchange for this sponsored blog post, however all opinions expressed here are my own.

When it comes to protecting my family, like most parents, I take that job very seriously.  For a while now it has been weighing on my mind that I haven’t been taking the proper precautions to keep my family safe during their time using the Internet.  Now that my kids are in Elementary school, they are required to use our home computer a lot more often than before. And, while I have always heavily monitored their time behind any kind of screen, I still wasn’t taking all the steps I needed to in order to keep them safe online.

Kids using the Computer Internet

Kids using the Computer Internet

It is not that I didn’t care about their online safety.   I was just unsure about the best way to do it, which software I could trust, or which one was the best.  It really was something that was keeping me up at night.  I would never leave my kids home without supervision where I knew danger was lurking, so why was I giving them access to our computer with a whole world of scary things that they could access to at their fingertips?!  Much like we take the proper precautions to send our kids off to ride their bicycles with a helmet, it is also important to take the appropriate steps to keep our families safe on the Internet.  I know I would feel horrible if they ran into something inappropriate or dangerous due to my neglect to put in place the proper procautions.

I am so glad that I was recently introduced to Sophos Home.  Sophos Home offers Free Business-Grade Security for your Home Macs and PC’s.  It is the same trusted security that protects millions of business computer worldwide, and they offer it to Families for Free!

Installing Internet Safety Software

Sophos Home protects every Mac and PC in your home from malware, viruses, ransomware, and inappropriate websites. It uses the same award-winning technology that IT professionals trust to protect their businesses. Best of all, you can manage security settings for the whole family from any browser, create custom settings,  block unwanted content, and control the content your family can view with web filtering.  And, the best part is, you can install and control it for all of your computers on your password protected dashboard.  It really was exactly what I have been looking for to protect my family.

Parental Controls for your Computer

You can download the Free Software,  and go to Sophos Home to learn more by clicking here.  And, if you sign up and download the free Software from Sophos Home between now, and November 3, 2016, you can register for the Sweepstakes!  Sophos Home will be giving away one Mac Book Pro and two Apple Watches to a lucky winner!  Pretty cool, right?!

Kids Playing Computer Games

Be sure to read on for more Home Internet Safety Tips / Cyber Safety Tips you’ll want to know to Protect your Family:

 


  1. Cover your Webcam.  Hackers can break into your devices and obtain control over your webcams.  It is important to take the precaution to keep them covered while they aren’t in use.  I just simply cut a piece of Washi Tape, and place it over the webcam.

How to Cover your Webcam2. Install Internet Safety Software.  You will want to install an Internet Safety Software like Sophos Home to keep your computers safe from malware, viruses, ransomware, and malicious apps and programs as well as for blocking any unwanted inappropriate content.  Did you know that Hackers will take all of your files, and precious family photos for ransom?  If you don’t pay them, they will wipe your entire computer.  Everything would be lost!  I not only have so many items for work on my computers, but my precious photos of my babies.  I would be devastated to lose any of them!

Kids using the Computer Internet

3. Keep the Computer in a Public Area.  Take a genuine interest in what your kids are interested in looking at online, and talk about it.  Make it a positive thing so they will want to talk with you about it, or share something that may have made them uncomfortable.

4. Make sure your computers are password protected. You’ll want to protect your computers with a password, so your children cannot access the computer without your permission and knowledge.

5. Monitor Tablets, phones, and Devices.  There are so many devices that kids have access to, it is always important to monitor all of their screen time, and know what they are doing on their devices at all times.

6. Monitor All devices, and bookmark the sites that your kids uses often, and have them stick to those sights that you know are safe.

7. Know what is going on at friends homes.  Do their friends have parental controls on their devices?  Do they get unlimited access online?  Ask these questions before your kids are allowed to play at friend’s homes.

Kids using the Computer Internet

8. Teach your children to never share private information online such as: phone numbers, home address, where they go to school, or any other personal information about themselves.

9. Never share your password so the kids can’t alter settings. Make sure that your dashboard is password protected so that they can’t override the settings you have set up for them to ensure their protection.

10. Stay informed.  Be net savvy and stay up to date on the latest apps, sites, and games.

11. Keep an open dialogue.  Chat with your kids about online dangers and the threats that are out there. Cyber bullying, predators, scams, fraud, identity theft, they need to be aware of all of the dangers that are out there.

Mom and Kids

12. Have a game plan.  Make sure you talk to them about what to do if they see something inappropriate, or if someone tries to talk with them online.  Bring up different scenarios that could happen while they searching, or if they click on certain links that could lead to not so good places.  Teach them to turn it off immediately, and tell you what has happened.

13. Set Rules/Boundaries.  Make a Family Agreement.  Agree as a family how much time will be spend on the computer or devices, what sites they can and cannot access, what behavior is expected of them when it comes to the use of electronics.

14. Educate.  Teach your children the importance of telling an adult if someone or something upsets them online.  Make sure your kids know that no matter what, they can come and talk to you if they see anything that worries them online, and try not to overreact when they do, so that they can keep an open dialogue with you, and want to share things with you without necessarily getting into trouble for it.

Mom and Kids Hugging

Because in the end, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to protect my children, and I want to make sure that my kids and family are always well protected against online threats, and dangers that could be lurking right in our own home.

This post is sponsored by Sophos Home, Free business-grade security for your home computers.
Thank you so much for supporting the brands that make this blog possible.

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