School is finally out for summer! While kiddos and parents alike are looking forward to the break and the fun that comes along with these warmer months, it is important to be sure to set yourself and your family up for success when it comes to your cybersecurity in the summertime. This topic is a little easier to keep in mind during the school year when assignments and projects have your child consistently on the Internet for educational purposes. Implement these quick tips now so that you and your family can have a sweet, special, and cyber-safe summer!
Don’t connect to public Wi-Fi - When traveling locally, domestically, and abroad, your children will likely use technology in one way or another to keep themselves preoccupied on their way to your destination. Do not connect any of your or your children’s devices to public Wi-Fi as these are some of the most vulnerable connections out there. It is just as easy for cyber attackers in your vicinity to connect to these networks as it is for you to connect your devices, and in massive public places such as airports, you never know who has nefarious intentions near you. Try to download some shows, movies, and/or games on your devices prior to leaving your home for vacation so that you are prepped with entertainment going into your travels. If you do need to access the Internet while on the way to where you’re headed, either use your data plan if this is an option or use one of your phones as a password-secured hotspot so that you are on a private network.
Wait to post your vacation trips - Especially when we find ourselves in some of the most beautiful places the world has to offer, it can be hard to keep it to ourselves. You may have just snapped the perfect family vacation picture and now you’re itching to post it to your social media accounts, but stop right there. For your cyber and physical safety, it is best to wait to post until you are back home. When you post pictures or posts with your current location included, it not only tells your friends, family, and acquaintances that you are not home and therefore your house is likely unattended, but it tells others in the location you tag in your posts that you and your family - who are not fully familiar with your surroundings - are where you are. Avoid both of these threats by waiting to share your fun memories until you have returned home from your travels.
Review screen time limits - While not vacation-related necessarily, the beginning of summer break is a good time to reevaluate your family’s policy on screen time limits. There is not right or wrong way to approach this, but if limiting screen time is important to you, consider shortening or lengthening the amount of time you allow your children to use screens. A concern many parents have, particularly in the summer, is that some older children spend a decent amount of time unsupervised, or at least less supervised, than other points in the year. Unrestricted, unsupervised access to the Internet is not ideal for most families, so while you take time to review your screen time limitations, also consider reviewing your parental restrictions to ensure your kids are accessing content that you are comfortable with whether or not you are there to monitor. Again, this is a topic which will look very different from family to family, so take the time to figure out what is best for your home and enjoy your summer!
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