Setting Up Parental Control Options

 Setting Up Parental Control Options

Most operating systems, applications or programs have parental control options on PC or mobile devices . We are going to see how to configure these options in some of the main internet services.

In Windows 10

The parental control in Windows includes:

• Blocking inappropriate apps, games, and media
• Require children to ask a parent before buying from the Microsoft store
• Inappropriate website blocking

Blocking inappropriate apps, games, and media:

• Go to this page and sign in with your Microsoft account.
• Set up a secondary account through Windows Settings. If you already have one, find your child's name and choose Content Restrictions
• Go to Apps, games and media and the inappropriate apps, games and media lock toggle
• Under Allow rated apps and games, choose the age limit you want to apply for your child.
• When your child requests access to a blocked app or game, you can approve it by going to Content Restrictions and adding it to the Always allowed list.
• In case your child downloaded something before these limitations, you can block it by going to the Activity page. your child will need permission to use it again and you can approve or disapprove via email.

Inappropriate website blocking:

• Sign in to your Microsoft account.
• Find your child's name and click on Content Restrictions
• Scroll to Web browsing and turn Block inappropriate websites from Off to On
• To block specific sites, add their URLs in Always blocked.
• To limit your child from only browsing specific websites, check the box next to Only allow these websites.

Ask children to ask you before buying from the Microsoft Store:

• Find your child's name and then choose Content Restrictions
• Toggle adult approval needs to buy things.
• Approve or reject your requests through your personal email or at account.microsoft.com/family

In addition, with Windows Live Family Safety you could enjoy free parental control on all your Windows devices.

On Mac

When configuring parental control on Mac , it is first necessary to create a dedicated account for the minor, so that the restrictions do not affect adult browsing. You can create this new account from the "System Preferences"> "Users and Groups" option.

Parental control option settings are similar on different Mac operating systems, with a few subtle differences.

If you are using Mac Catalina, you have to go to "System Preferences"> " Screen Time ".

If you use Mac Mojave or an earlier version, you should go to "System Preferences"> " Parental Controls "

In Google

To configure parental controls in the Google browser :

• Sign in to your Chromebook.
• Click on your account photo located in the lower right corner of the screen.
• When the pop-up window appears, choose the gear icon for Settings.
• Scroll down to the People section and click Manage other users.
• The user interface must be visible. Select a check mark next to the Enable supervised users setting. Then select Done to return to the previous screen.
• Click on your account photo again and select Sign out. Select More at the bottom of the screen with three vertical dots.
• Then select Add supervised user. Click Create supervised user.
• It will ask you to choose the admin account for its new supervised user profile. Choose the desired account from the list and its password. Select Next to continue.
• Enter a name and password for the supervised user. Add an image and click Next.
  You now have a supervised profile and if you are successful you will receive an email with more details.

In Youtube

YouTube Kids is available on iOS and Android platforms. It is parental control on YouTube enabled and filtered only for children. YouTube Kids focuses its content on music, education, and other categories.

We recommend downloading this to your iPhones and keeping YouTube blocked. To do this, follow these steps.

• Launch YouTube and log in.
• Click on their profile picture in the upper right corner of the screen and select Restricted mode
• Then a drop-down menu will open where you can activate Restricted Mode
• For iOS, click on your profile and, in Settings, activate the Restricted mode button. For Android users, the option can be found in Settings - General.

On the Nintendo Switch

To configure parental control on Nintendo Switch you must follow these steps:

• Download the Nintendo Switch Parental Control app, which is available for both Android and iOS.
• Press Sign in or create account, and enter the email and password of the same Nintendo account that you use on the Nintendo Switch that you want to manage through parental controls.
• Choose the user to link with parental control. The normal thing is that you have a single user, so you only have to press the red button Choose this person.
• The Nintendo Switch Parental Control app will tell you that you are linking a Nintendo Switch console to the app. Click Continue.
• You will see a code that you will have to use on the console, so your next step will be to turn on your Nintendo Switch.
• Go to the bottom menu where several options appear with round icons. There, click on the Console Settings option.
• Once in the settings, in the options column on the left select Parental control and click Parental control settings.
• Enter the registration code and then press yes to link the parental control app.

On Netflix

There are several parental control options on Netflix . They have hard and soft controls that parents can set along with maturity levels for each individual profile.

Tough controls at the account level:

• Require a PIN for specific maturity ratings - Sets a 4-digit PIN that is required to play any video content above a selected maturity level in any profile. The PIN ensures that your child does not view content rated above the selected maturity level.
• Require PIN for specific video content - Sets a 4-digit PIN that must be entered to play specific video content on any profile. This ensures that your child does not watch the particular video content.

Set your PIN:

• Go to your account page from a web browser.
• Choose the link for Parental Controls in the Settings section.
• Enter your Netflix credentials and select Continue.
• Enter four numbers in the PIN field: this will be your PIN.
• Sets the PIN protection level for the following options:
• Young children: all ages
• Older children: 7+, some 13+
• Teens: 13+
• Adults: 16+, 18+
• Choose Save

Smooth account-level controls:

Choose a maturity level for a profile to control the video content available for that profile. The parent or guardian makes sure that their child only uses their correct profile.

Set the maturity level for a profile:

• Go to your account page and select Manage profiles
• Choose the profile you want to edit
• Under allowed TV shows and movies, choose desired maturity Mild
• Young children only - G, TV-Y, TV-G: video content suitable for all ages
• Older and younger children: PG, TV-Y7, TV-Y7-FV, TV-PG: video content suitable for older children
• Teens and Minors - PG-13, TV-14: Video content suitable for teens
• All maturity levels: R, NC-17, TV-MA - Watch all video content, including adult content
• Select Save.

Parental control filters for mobile

The best parental control apps for smartphones can help you physically track your children, see who they communicate with online, prevent them from viewing objectionable or dangerous websites, and even help children understand limits while preventing them from viewing content. for adults or chat with strangers.

However, you can not only spy on your children, and we do not recommend that you do so. Instead, these apps work best when they are part of a comprehensive approach to teaching your kids to behave responsibly online.

That means talking to your kids about what they should and shouldn't do with their mobile devices, clearly communicating how you expect them to act, and making it clear that you will be monitoring what they do with their phones.

No parental control service is perfect, but Net Nanny provided the best combination of web filtering, location tracking, and app management on Android and iOS devices.

Norton Family is also considered a good parental control app. Unlike Net Nanny, Norton's service offers text message logging and monitoring, but only on Android devices.

Parents on tight budgets should consider Kaspersky Safe Kids. Its free tier includes web monitoring, time limits, and app management, and its full-featured paid plan costs just $ 15 per year for an unlimited number of devices, including PCs and Macs.

All of these apps can do more on Android than on iOS, due to strict Apple restrictions. In fact, Apple stopped some of the apps in mid-2019, and although they later regained much of their functionality, Apple could remove them at any time.

On Android

To configure parental controls on Android :

• Sign in with your own Google account or use their account if they have one.
• Launch the Play Store app and tap the three horizontal lines in the upper left.
• Scroll down and select Settings, scroll until you see Parental Controls.
• Tap the parental controls and create a PIN code. Re-enter the PIN.
• The settings will be activated and then you can touch each category to configure the restriction you want each category to have.

On the iPhone

The parental controls on iPhone allows you to set content restrictions and privacy:

• Go to Settings and tap Screen Time.
• Tap Continue, then select Use Screen Time Password to create a password. Re-enter the password to confirm.
• Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. Enter your password if applicable, then turn on Content and Privacy

Prevent web content:

• Go to Settings> Screen Time
• Tap on Content & Privacy Restrictions and enter your Screen Time password
• Tap Content Restrictions, then tap Web Content
• Choose Limit Adult Websites or Only Allowed Websites

Avoid buying from iTunes and App Store:

• Go to Settings> Screen Time
• Select Content and Privacy Restrictions. If prompted, enter your password.
• Make your selections to Allow in Store Purchases and Downloads
• Select Always request a password.

Prevent explicit content and content ratings:

• Go to Settings> Screen Time
• Tap on Content & Privacy Restrictions, then choose Content Restrictions
• Choose the settings you want for each feature or setting in Store content allowed

 

Parental Control & Safety of Minors on Internet

 Parental Control & Safety of Minors on Internet

The parental control can help you in your efforts to get Internet experiences for your children safe, funny and productive. These measures work best when used openly and honestly in association with your children, not as a covert spying method. Whatever you are looking for, this guide can help you understand the wide range of options for managing your family's devices. Find the answers to the most frequently asked questions by parents about parental control.

What is parental control?

Parental controls are   filters that allow parents to establish controls over their children's Internet use . They are a great way to help prevent kids from accessing inappropriate content online.

In essence, there are three types of parental controls that parents should be aware of:

• Network level controls are configured on the hub or router and apply to all devices connected to that hub or router (which covers your entire home).
• Device-level ones are set on the device itself, like a smartphone, and will apply regardless of how and where the device is connected to the internet.
• Application controls are set on the platform or application that is being used. Examples of this would be the settings applied to Google or YouTube. Verify that they are configured on each device that your child has access to.

There are many types of controls available, and they allow you to do a number of different things, such as:

• Filter and block content that you don't want your kids to see, like violence and pornography.
• Restrict the information that is shared.
• Set time limits on how long kids are online.
• Control the time of day that children can access the Internet.
• Set up different profiles so that each family member has an appropriate access level for them.

Why is it so important to control the content our children see on the internet ?

Parenting in this digital age is no longer as easy as it was in the past. The rapid advancement in technology presents new and difficult challenges for parents to keep up. Protecting your children from the dangers posed by digital technology and the Internet has become essential.

Fortunately, there are some excellent and advanced tools available, including parental control apps , that monitor children's network behaviour and thus allow parents to establish controls over their children's Internet activity.

With ease of access, the Internet exposes minors to various threats such as identity theft, cyberbullying, social media scams, and malicious content. That is why parental control has become an essential requirement to protect your children.

Here are some reasons why parental control on the internet is important in this digital age.

• Protect children from inappropriate content : Parental controls is the only effective way to manage your children's digital devices. With these controls, you can restrict access to your child's device to avoid viewing inappropriate content. YouTube also has an age restriction feature to avoid suggesting and viewing adult content to children.
• Allows website and category blocking : In many cases, parents cannot identify all the websites that are inappropriate for their children. Such websites can be restricted by blocking all categories. Parental control tools allow you to do this. For example, if you want to block access to all websites that contain adult content, you will only have to block the category 'Adult'.
• Ability to combat cyberbullying : Mobile phones and the Internet have made children more vulnerable to bullying and abuse through social media and text messages. KidSecured is a parental control application that allows you to view incoming and outgoing calls and messages via Viber, Tinder or GSM. This way, you can know who is contacting your child and what conversation they are having with their friends.
• Limiting downloads to keep devices safe : Children can be easily fooled and this makes them prime targets for cybercriminals and hackers. Children are more likely to download applications and programs that appear to be genuine but are actually malware and viruses. It can lead to dangerous results and your data can leak and contain sensitive information such as passwords or bank account information. Parental controls allow you to limit downloads from untrustworthy and suspicious sources.
• Increase familiarity with technology : One of the main benefits of using parental control apps is that it increases your familiarity with new apps, devices, social sites, and more. Sometimes parents can find it difficult to navigate the apps and sites that their children use. Taking control of children's devices allows for a better understanding of what they are using and how they are using them.

At what ages is parental control recommended in the use of technologies?

The use of parental control would be recommended mainly for minors of school age, that is, between 6 and 14 years old.

This is a great age to introduce your child to the Internet, as they will likely have supervised digital learning in school. With this increased exposure to the internet, it is important to educate your children on proper online etiquette and the various dangers of the web.

As a parent, a primary concern about your child on the Internet is cyberbullying . Even kids who wouldn't do it in person sometimes feel more comfortable making harsh comments about others when behind a computer screen. This type of behavior can begin as soon as children get a mobile phone or social media accounts.

Predators are another concern once children gain more access to the Internet. They can use social media to find out about children's interests, places of residence, schools, and specific locations. Often times these people will pose as children on social media in an attempt to connect with other children, so teach them to only communicate with people they have met in person.

Parental control features

The main features of parental control tools are:

Web control

The main characteristic of a parental control tool is to limit the web pages that minors can access.

If you want to limit what your children can search, the best option is to enable Google SafeSearch in whatever browser or browsers you use. First, you need to make sure that your browsers use Google as their default search engine, and then you need to turn on SafeSearch. This is a good precaution to take as soon as your kids start to connect and you want to make sure they don't accidentally stumble upon inappropriate content.

Access to applications

With this option we can prevent our children from accessing certain applications, such as social networks or instant messaging. Access to Google Play or App Store can also be prevented so that minors cannot make online purchases.

Call blocking

If you don't want your children to call or receive calls from certain phones, you can block them. You can also configure international calls or calls from unknown numbers.

Alarms

It is also possible to configure alarms on your child's mobile to notify him of anything.

Use time

These tools also allow you to keep track of the time your child is using certain applications on the Internet, such as games or browsers.

Geolocation

With the parental control tool you can know where your child is in real time.

Panic button

By adding this option to your child's mobile, you will receive a warning in the event of a dangerous situation.

 

Why Its One Antivirus Software for One PC

 Why Its One Antivirus Software for

One PC

No, it is not like having a double lock on your front door. According to most computer security experts, having more than one Antivirus Software is not a good idea. Instead of increased security, you can end up with unwanted side effects.

·                How to get rid of annoying viruses that stick in browsers

·                The fearsome virus that cannot be eliminated and that can destroy your cell phone

 

No antivirus package is perfect.

 

"The product needs to intercept events in the system. The intercepted data then goes to the antivirus engine, which analyzes it." If the user runs two or more programs for the same purpose, it is "likely that there is a conflict, with one of two consequences: one of the two antivirus fails to intercept (malicious) events in the system or attempts to installing parallel interceptors will make the system crash. "

 

Low risk

Several other specialized sites echo this warning. Microsoft's site says emphatically that "you should never use more than one antivirus program simultaneously" and PCWorld's compares it to "mixing a fine wine with a breakfast cereal." 

 

"It can simply happen that the two programs contradict each other: one can detect something like malware while the other does not. Which one to believe? False positives exist in all antiviruses, so it is a complex issue," he told BBC Mundo Javier Pastor, blogger for the technological site Xataka. Viruses are a huge headache for users, businesses, and governments.

 

But others, like Alejandro Ramos, from the blog specialized in security SecurityByDefault, find that this risk is, in fact, low .

"It can happen. It can happen that one antivirus identifies the other as antivirus, or even that an antivirus identifies itself as such. But the probability is small ," he told BBC Mundo.

 

How they operate

Antivirus Software are programs designed to prevent, search, detect, and remove malicious programs on an ongoing basis. As a general rule, when the program encounters a problem, it alerts the user, who then has the option of blocking, deleting, or setting aside the dangerous file. "To be effective in the detection work, the antivirus must be able to penetrate the computer at an adequate level, deep in the core of the system, " explains the site of the company specialized in computer security Kaspersky Lab.

 

Performance

Instead, for Ramos the key question is how the use of two or more antivirus programs can impact the performance of the computer. "Antivirus analyzes all the files that the computer opens and are saved. If this process is done in duplicate, it slows down the computer's operation," he explained. "There may also be other 'blocking' problems. When a file is analyzed by an antivirus, it has to read it from the hard disk and several applications cannot read the same file at the same time. If two antivirus 'stick together' errors can occur unexpected ".

 

Choices

So if you are worried about the possibility that an ANTIVIRUS is not enough, what can you do to protect yourself from rogues on the internet? "You can increase (the effect of the antivirus) with a malware scanner, " proposes PC World .

 

This requires some additional explanation. Viruses are indeed types of malware, but specifically designed to spread by infecting existing files, like a disease that attacks the cells of the body.

Every virus is a form of malware. But there are others too, such as spyware, ransomware, and Trojans. And, in fact, many antivirus programs already protect against things that are not strictly viruses.

 

Antivirus Software run continuously, behind the scenes, and warn when they find something suspicious. According to experts, there are two fundamental differences: on the one hand, so-called antimalware programs do not work continuously behind the scenes, but can be activated, used and closed. On the other, they tend to include a range of different threats. "The antivirus protect you from malware established, predictable but still dangerous. Latest antimalware products are threats, " says the company Malware bytes on your website. In any case, it will require a little research on your part to specify what your antivirus package protects you from, as well as to choose a complementary tool.

 

 

How Antivirus Software Functions

 How Antivirus Software Functions

Over the past few years, scareware (rogue security software) quickly emerged as the most profitable monetization strategy for cybercriminals to exploit. Due to aggressive advertising practices by cybercrime gangs, thousands of users are scammed on a daily basis, and the gangs themselves earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process. In this post you will learn what scareware is, the risks its installation poses, what it looks like, its distribution channels and, most importantly, how to recognize it, avoid it using antivirus software or any other method, and report it to the security community.

What Is A Scareware?

Basically, scareware, also known as rogue ware or in simple terms, fake security software, is a legitimate looking application that is delivered to the end user through illegal traffic acquisition tactics from compromised websites, malicious advertising u black hat search engine optimization, to finally try to fool the user into thinking that their computer is already infected with malware, and that buying the app will help you get rid of it.

Upon execution, certain versions of scareware will not only prevent legitimate antivirus software from loading, but will also prevent it from reaching their update locations in an attempt to ensure that the end user cannot obtain the latest signature database. Furthermore, it will also try to make its removal a slow process by blocking the execution of system tools and third-party applications. There have also been cases where scareware with ransomware elements has been encrypting an infected user's files, requiring a purchase to decrypt them, as well as a single reported incident where a scareware domain was also embedded with client-side exploits. At the moment, the scareware versions are exclusively aimed at Microsoft Windows users.

How Does It Work?

Due to the fact that the scareware campaigns maintained by partners on the affiliate network use a standard template distributed to all of them, all scareware sites share a very common set of deceptive advertising practices, which can help you easily detect them before you perform. A purchase.

For example, most scareware sites try to add more authenticity to their proposals by using "clickable" icons from reputable technology websites and performance evaluation services. Another popular social engineering tactic is bogus benchmarking templates, which basically show a graph where scareware outperforms software offered by some of the major security companies.

Since the end user who is about to make an impulsive purchase decision does not have the box to verify these claims.

The diverse list of tactics leads us to the ubiquitous fear-driven social engineering tactic of simulating a real-time antivirus scan in the progress dialog, which is actually nothing more than a static script, with anecdotal cases where the Mac users are presented with a Windows such as the My Documents folder window. The scan results are static, bogus, and have absolutely no access to your hard drive, hence the claims that “You are infected! Windows has been infected; Warning: A malware infection is detected; A malware threat has been detected” should be considered a tactical alarm.

Among the key features of the scareware are the professional design of the site, as well as the persistent rebranding of the template in an attempt to divert the end-user's attention from the increasingly bad reputation of the previous brand on the web. Combined, these features result in an efficient scam powered by social engineering that continues to mislead thousands of victims on a daily basis.

Examples of Scareware

Some of the most common scareware attacks take the form of pop-up windows that pretend to be messages from an antivirus software program, a firewall application, or the Windows operating system.

Usually, they will inform you that your computer has been infected with malware and ask you to purchase an antimalware program to remove the virus. There really are no viruses and the antimalware program they are trying to get you to buy is not real. In the best case, you will lose the money you have spent on malware and end up with a rogue program that does nothing. In the worst case, the newly downloaded program will damage your computer or steal your information.

These are the main types of scareware:

·          Spysheriff

·          Antivirus XP

·          Punisher adware

How to Protect Yourself from Scareware?

·         Defending yourself against any online scam and also against computer scareware is about being skeptical and being vigilant: always question any offer, paid or free, whenever a window pops up and says you need to download and install something.

·         Only use a legitimate antivirus product that you trust.

·         Read emails in plain text. Avoiding HTML email is not aesthetically pleasing with all the graphics removed, but the Spartan appearance prevents fraud by displaying suspicious HTML links.

·         Never open attachments from strangers or from anyone offering software services. Be wary of any email offer that includes attachments. These emails are almost always scams and you should delete them immediately before they infect your computer.

·         Be skeptical of any offer online and be prepared to close your browser immediately. If the web page you found gives you any sense of alarm, pressing ALT-F4 on your keyboard will close your browser and prevent any scareware from downloading.

What To Do If You’re Computer Has Been Infected With Scareware?

·         While scareware alerts are fake and should be avoided, they should not be completely ignored. Its mere existence is a sign that your computer is infected.

·         To remove it, you may need to find best antivirus software. Do your research; see if others are experiencing similar problems or symptoms and how they fix it. The goal is to remove any signs of viruses and immediately reinstall any antivirus software that the virus may have missed or disabled.

·         Finally, make sure your computer and software are up to date with all current patches and protection measures.

·         What if an advertisement appears on the screen with dire warnings that your computer is infected? Never click on its "download" button.

·         Always close the ad. Just be careful: some scareware are difficult to shut down and designed to trick you into accidentally initiating a download. It is better to close the browser rather than the individual pop-up ads

·         If the pop-up ad does not allow you to close the browser on your PC, press Ctrl-Alt-Delete to close. If you can't close your browser, completely shut down your computer.

·         Never provide credit card information or other personal information in response to one of these scareware advertisements.

·         Don't let a scareware ad stop you from buying legitimate security software.

·         Never download anything from a company whose name you don't recognize. And beware of fakes. Many scareware scammers will use names that sound like the names of legitimate antivirus programs.

 

 

Tricks of Cyber Fraudsters

 Tricks of Cyber Fraudsters

Secure online banking - that is no longer guaranteed. More and more people are using online banking or mobile banking: According to Bitkom, 73 percent of Internet users are already doing their banking on the Internet. Even more, than half of those over 65 manage their transfers and standing orders from the comfort of their home or even when they are on the move from their smartphone. The many advantages of the convenient administration of money and financial transactions are obvious - but attacks on "personal online banking" are becoming more and more unabashed. Cybercriminals smell the big, fast money here, so that online banking is no longer secure.

Secure online banking - these are the greatest security risks:

1. Email phishing: password theft with manipulated emails. In online banking, customers use the PIN-TAN procedure to prove their identity. If online fraudsters get this information, they will ransack the victim's accounts. The procedure: The victims receive e-mails that supposedly come officially from the credit institutions. Customers are asked to click on links that would lead to the bank's website. In truth, the victims end up on "faked" websites. There, the entered account data, PIN, and TAN numbers are fished and used for illegal transactions.

Read the article Protection against phishing here.

2. Online banking less and less secure: Due to malware, Trojans, and malware: Cybercriminals bring malware such as Trojan horses onto banking customers' computers and secretly collect data. The fatal thing: the malware runs in the background, the user does not notice them. These are the two most important ways to get your money:

· “Man-In-The-Middle” attack: the banking customer in the middle of the transaction of data traffic between the computer's browser and the bank's server are manipulated. When he transfers money, the banking malware intercepts the data, modifies the amount and the recipient's account number and forwards the transfer amount to its own accounts, often abroad.

· "Man-In-The-Browser" attack: manipulation via the display of the online banking website in the web browser. After entering the correct URL, the correct online banking website of the credit institution is redirected to a registration website of the externally identical bank portal. The address bar even suggests that the selected address is correct. Enter your account number, PIN, and TAN, and the money is gone.

More about protection against malware.

3. Mobile banking: Handling banking matters in a holiday hotel in Vietnam is a great promise in the digital world for more freedom and flexibility. But especially in mobile banking via the free WLAN or in the Internet café, there is an enormous risk potential for your own account. These are the most important dangers in mobile banking:

·Theft of the smartphone. If personal banking data is regularly saved on the mobile phone, the resourceful robbers may have an easy hand when emptying the account.

·Unprotected mobile devices. Anyone who does banking on the move should always make sure that they have set the keypad lock with a PIN and that third parties cannot see the bank details entered.

·Use of the public WiFi. If the radio connection is not secure or encrypted, bank data can be intercepted.

·Use of third-party computers. If a vacationer uses the Internet café in a foreign country, there is a risk that the undeleted bank data will remain in the cache and be accessed.

·Security gaps in mobile banking apps. Almost all banks offer their customers applications for mobile banking via the app stores, which offer the full convenience of banking via the browser. Unfortunately, it is regularly announced that these are not free from security holes.

·Data espionage through SMS. Users receive a short message on their smartphone with a link to an alleged update of the banking security certificate. The link installs espionage software that spies out mobile TANs and can lead to account manipulation.

·Mobile malware on smartphones and tablets. In general, the same security risks exist on mobile devices as on stationary computers. If no antivirus or antimalware software is installed on smartphones or tablets, or if regular updates are uninstalled, such security gaps can quickly be exploited by cyber fraudsters and online banking security is at risk.