How to protect your children online | Cyber Security | UC Davis Health

As children get out of school and spend more time online, it's crucial to educate them on the dangers of the Internet and the importance of being safe and responsible. Here are some tips to get you started.

Share With Care

Help your children to understand that they can never be sure about who is seeing what they share online. Help them to think about potential risks that can arise when they share information online.

• Don't share passwords with friends. This includes social media and streaming accounts like Netflix and Hulu because they could lock you out of your accounts and access your payment information.
• Be careful when sharing important documents via email or cloud-based sharing services like Dropbox and OneDrive because you can't control what the other person is going to do with that information.
• Be careful with who you allow use of your electronic devices because they may accidentally put your device at risk.

Social Engineering for Kids

Social engineering refers to methods that cyber criminals can use to gain access to their personal information. Social engineering tactics include asking for information to acquire information, so make sure your children understand the danger of sharing information.

• Don't share your birthday or identifying information like social security numbers.
• Don't post personal information (such as addresses and phone numbers) on social media.

Click With Care

Think twice before clicking on links or opening attachments. Even if the message looks like it is from someone you know, take that extra second to verify the message source.