KUCHING: Your ‘friend’ whom you just added to your social media network could turn out to be a cybercriminal.
Symantec Asia Internet Safety advocate and director (Consumer Business) Effendy Ibrahim said the high risk group who tended to add strangers to their ‘friends’ were children. The Internet is a playing field for cybercriminals, and children are not only at risk of infecting their computers with viruses but also from strangers who try to befriend them online.
Even the Norton Online Family Report 2011 found that 29 per cent of children globally have been approached by strangers who tried to ‘add’ them as a ‘friend’ on social networking site.
“Children may think it is safe to chat with a stranger online as it’s behind a computer screen, but this could translate to real world danger if private information is shared or if kids are lured into meeting these strangers in person,” he said in a press release emailed from Kuala Lumpur.
Although there are comprehensive security software like Norton Internet Security or Norton 360, and a parental monitoring tool like Norton Online Family in place to protect our online activities, he suggested parents hold regular open conversations with their children on their Internet use to ensure their safety.
Today’s children are born into a world where information is easily within reach, therefore parents have to make sure precautionary measures are in place while they enjoy this easy access to information.
“Children must be encouraged to be accountable for their actions online,” he stressed.
“Unfortunately, not all children are as aware as they should be of the dangers on the Internet so as parents, we need to educate our children about the dangers that lurk online,” he said.
Effendy also suggested a list of questions parents can ask their children such as ‘Do you really know everybody on your friends’ list?’, ‘Do you ever get messages from strangers?’ and ‘How do you handle them?’
Other questions include ‘Do you know anyone who’s gone to meet offline someone they’d been talking to online?’, ‘Are people in your group of friends ever mean to each other online or on phones?’ What do they say? and ‘Sometimes children take nude or sexy photos and send them to others. Has that ever happened at your school?’