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The following is a straightforward Q&A that can inform you of basic IT security and privacy issues. It can also help unravel some security jargon and provide other useful information to help protect you, your family or business online.
How can I keep my children safe online?
Have the PC in a family room rather than the child's bedroom, give your child sensible guidance about not giving out personal information or meeting people they have encountered online without you as a parent or guardian present. Look at some of the useful information sites for both parents and children. You can also use filtering software to reduce the risk of exposure to undesirable information such as pornography.
Is the Internet safe for my children?
The internet offers wonderful opportunities for children, and is often useful for school work. There are several sites offering excellent advice for both parents and children, including:
I've heard something about filtering software to restrict access for my children - What is this and does it work?
Filtering software can restrict access to certain types of site, so can be used to screen out, for example, pornography. This can be done in various ways.
How can I stop my children accessing unsuitable sites?
Using filtering software can obviously help, although it is also advisable to keep the PC in a family room rather than in the child's bedroom.
What is a chatroom? Is it safe?
A chatroom provides an environment where people can go and communicate about a common interest. There are a wide variety of chatrooms on the Internet covering all sorts of interest for all types of people. They can be enjoyable and a good way to get together with like-minded people, but there can be dangers, particularly for children. As you cannot see the person at the other end, you cannot guarantee that they are who they say they are. So beware of giving out any personal details, and warn children not to give out their address or telephone number, and never to arrange to meet anyone they have encountered in a chatroom without their parent or guardian present.
What is a virus?
A piece of malicious code which can make unauthorised changes to your PC, including deleting and changing files, and may e-mail itself automatically to others from your PC. Recent examples include the Love Bug and Kournikova viruses.
How do I know if I've got a virus?
Strange things may happen, your PC may not work properly, or it may run slowly, or files may not open as expected. But you may not notice anything untoward. Some viruses can lie dormant before activating on specific dates or following specific events.
How can I avoid getting viruses? And cure them if I do?
Most viruses are transmitted by e-mail. You should avoid opening any e-mail attachments, which you do not expect, often they have enticing titles to induce you to open them. Do not open any attachment with a double file extension (e.g. file.jpg.exe). Make sure you use anti-virus software, and make sure it is up to date to guard against the most recent viruses. Your anti-virus software may help you eliminate the virus, but in extreme cases it may be necessary to completely reload all files on the PC (even the operating system). Don't forget that viruses can also be introduced on floppy disks and CD-ROMs though this is less common nowadays, it still pays to check with your anti-virus software. You can dramatically reduce the risk of catching a virus - but you can never absolutely guarantee against it so make sure you make backups of important information.