AsiaLIFE

Learning to use a computer can be child’s play, but as Sok Yeng points out, therein lies a tale.

 

When they think of child proofing their computers most people think only as far as managing the content their children can access. This is very important, but as a New Zealand couple recently found out, there are other precautions necessary. Last month, three-year-old Pipi Quinlan, logged onto an internet auction site and proceeded to purchase a US$12,000 Kobelco excavating digger, which she thought was a toy. Fortunately for her parents, who were asleep during the purchase, the seller and the website were willing to undo the sale. The moral of the story – be wary of automatic logins!

The automatic sign in option is a big advantage, and one you might still want to use. For Firefox users there is a solution. All you need to do is set the ‘master password’ that controls all the other passwords. Go to Tools>Options>Security and follow the links to set your master password. For those of you who haven’t made the switch to Firefox yet, you’re out of luck. To prevent unwanted logins you will have to disable automatic logins on all your favourite sites.

Equally as important is to ensure a safe environment for children using computers. Teach children early and be strict about food and drinks around the computer, not only to protect the hardware, but to prevent electrocution. Ensure all cables and cords are secure and out of reach. A terrible mistake that people might make is to leave a pen or pencil on the keyboard of the laptop. The next thing you know, your child unknowingly closes the lid and the screen is gone.

Internet chat sites should be banned for children who are too young. It’s up to you to decide when your child is old enough for Messenger or Skype or other internet chat programmes and sites, but many potential dangers lurk here. Make sure your child understands the risks in giving out personal information, sharing files and photos or arranging to meet someone in person. Using Skype in Cambodia, I get requests daily from strangers to be included in my contact list. Teach your kids about blocking these unknown people and not accepting any file downloads from people they don’t know.

Finally, content protection is key. You don’t want your child to accidentally view web pages that might harm them emotionally or expose them to violent or pornographic images they are not prepared for. A very popular and effective programme is Net Nanny. This filters websites and prevents inappropriate websites from being accessed by your children. Some internet browsers have content filter options so have a look around the help section to see what is available. Again, Firefox is the winner here with several free add-ons to suit your needs.