Final Comments on Teaching Kids

These are my final comments on what you can do to teach your kids to be good online citizens.

Utilize parental controls on all internet-enabled devices to filter, monitor, and block inappropriate activity.  www.onguardonline.gov gives an overview of the different types of parental controls. 

Review the privacy settings on social networks, cell phones, and other social tools your children use and decide together on which settings provide the appropriate amount of protection.

Stay current with the technology your children use.  The online world is constantly changing.

Know who to contact in an emergency.

If you know of a child in immediate risk or danger, call law enforcement immediately.

Kids - Good Citizens

Here are some additional things you can do to keep our kids safe as they explore the internet.

• Protect your children from cyberbullying by limiting where and what they can post about themselves and family.  Teach them how to respond if they witness or are a victim to cyberbullying.
• Keep the compute in a common area, not in individual bedrooms, where you can watch and monitor use.  This isn't about trust; it is about protection and open communication.
• Be aware of all the ways kids connect to the internet.  Phones, tablets, gaming systems, and even TVs have become connected;  teach your kids how to use each of these devices safely.
• Set up a separate account on your computer for your children to use that does not have administrator control if possible.  This will prevent software programs, including malicious software/malware, from being downloaded without the administrator password.  Do not share this password with your kids.

Teach Your Kids to Be Good Online Citizens

The internet is a wonderful place for kids to learn, play and discover, but it can also be a dangerous placeif not used properly and under supervision.  As parents, we must teach our kids how to safely use the internet and how to be good online citizens.

So what can we do?  I'll give you a couple suggestions today and follow up with more in a few days.

1.  Talk to your child about the potential dangers online.

2.  Spend time online together to teach your kids appropriate online behavior.  Pay attention to the sites they use, and show interest in their online communities and friends.

3.  Explain the implications of their online choices.  Information that is shared, including pictures, e-mails, and videos, can be easily distributed to others and remain permanently online.  Things that could damage their reputation, friendships, or future opportunities should not be shared online.

more later.......

Traveling Abroad

So what can you do to avoid the border agents from invading your data on your device?  Whether it's for ease of travel or to keep sensitive data out of government hands, the best thing you can do is refrain from traveling with ANY sensitive data on your devices (you may even think about your personal data).  Instead wehn you arrive at your destination, utilize a secure remote-access method, and do not have remote-access configuration saved on the machine.  Only after you get into the country should you configure for remote access.

You may be surprised about how "cloak and dagger" you must get, but be sure to NEVER let your devices leave your side.  This includes NEVER leaving your devices in your hotel rooms.  Don't underestimate how far states will go in monitoring, observing, and tracking you. 

When your journey is done, reverse the process.  Physically destroy the hard drive or perform a DoD standard erasure/wipe of the entire drive.  Don't rely on formattting the hard drive; data is forensically retrievable.

These are items once left to James Bond, but the reality of the 21st century is that we are all forced to play in the economic espionage game.