Photo by Peter Miranda on Unsplash

Computer Safety For School From Home

For some of us computer security is simple, easy, nothing new HOWEVER, that's right ...a big however, I'm very sure most of us are not used to having our children being in front of a computer for 5+ hours a day! We as adults also have self control and avoid what needs to be avoided especially in a professional environment like work or in this case, school.

With the pandemic a lot of schools are facilitating their classes strictly online which means more screen time and it can mean security risks. Despite installing an anti-virus I hope to provide a few pointers to make your computer safe and more importantly your child safer!

Please read: Unfortunately I will only be covering what can be done on Microsoft Windows, specifically Windows 10 however this should work with most Windows platforms and other operating systems/devices in a similar fashion.

First things first, the talk. (Here comes the fluff, click here to skip to an easy outline)

Photo by August de Richelieu from Pexels

The dreaded talk haha. Don't worry its not the "birds and the bees" but depending on how old your child is it can be and just as awkward. Just like anything potentially hazardous it is very important to talk to your little ones about the dangers of the internet. 

For most children entering this digital world and mostly on their own, you really don't need to say much. You just need to let them know that not everything on the internet is real and that it can be scary and dangerous. Follow your teacher's instructions and you'll be A-O-K! Provide some key points of how to avoid these things and they should be fine.

Here's a few sample points I use with my daughter

• Remind them they're online for school, nothing else. Let them know that they're their to learn and that they need to do what they normally would do and act how they normally act at school. If they do want to look something else up, encourage them to show you after school. In their eyes this shows that you have an active interest and they won't be afraid to bring things up to you if something fishy happens.
• The internet can be a strange, scary, and dangerous place. Let them know that going on different sites not related to school or without supervision could give them nightmares or could break the computer disallowing them to do fun stuff after or during class. If they're older, lean more toward the broken computer part and throw in a few "articles you read about circulating computer viruses".
• Give an example. I see the internet as relatable to the Amazon forest; there is so much to learn and so much undiscovered, but if I take a wrong turn I can be eaten by a giant catfish or bitten by a venomous spider. But if you don't wonder on your own, and you stay on the trail, you'll be out of danger's way 😉.
• Reassurance: Although it sounds like I'm telling you to terrify your child, I'm not. Reassure your child you are there for them. Let them know if they make a mistake your are here to help and no matter how bad the situation is. Let them know, they can always ask for permission if they're not sure.

Preparing their computer

Image by Hannes Edinger from Pixabay

A good step in making a computer safe for your child is to set it up so they do not drift. Put some digital blinders on your child so they don't go astray while browsing the web or playing games during class. For older kids it is tougher but here's a few precautions you can take. 

Make their very own profile!

In this day and age you can make a personal profile for almost any device and computer. Essentially a fresh start for guests on your devices. Although not pertaining 100% toward internet safety this is super useful for you, as a parent, to have some control over your child's computer. You can limit what programs they can use, screen time, and even potentially damaging things like installing software (potential viruses). Another great feature is if there is something suspicious going on or if your child is attempting to access something without permission, you will be notified by e-mail.

Something to get them excited about making a profile is that they can customize their log in icon, set their background, and some other personalizing options that'll allow you to sell the idea to your children. Also, if your are sharing a computer with your child this is a good way to keep yours as yours and theirs as theirs.

Lets make a profile.

Heads up! There will be visual aid for every step after step one at the bottom of the section.

1. Turn the computer on and log in as you normally would to your profile or just wait for your desktop to load.
2. Click on the start menu 🠊 then click on settings. 
3. Click on account or look for account settings.
4. Click on Family & other users. Sometimes this can just be labeled as users.
5. Click the plus sign to add a family member. The nice thing about this is at this point Windows can provide you with more information and straight out tells you what I just told you about being able to restrict your child from shenanigans. 
6. The next step could be a little tricky. For most pre-Windows 7 you won't need to do this step but likely if you are using a school provided computer or your own newer computer, you will need to create an e-mail address for your child. Luckily it is 100% FREE!!! Also, you are able to monitor some of your child's activities by using this account. 
7. Select a role. Click on member 🠊 then click invite. We're here to regulate and limit.
8. Now the profile will show up on the original family and other users menu. Click on the blue "Manage family settings online".
9. When clicking this Windows will bring you to a Microsoft Family Safety page. You can choose to accept the invite now or you can do it later to officially finalize the profile
10. Scroll all the way down, this is the important section. This section will provide you with tutorials and videos of how to turn off and on features that your child may need or want access to.

Here's the images as promised

Setting up your child's new desktop!

So now that you've set up the profile, login as shown in step 9 and approve your child's account. Next, log out of your account by clicking Start 🠊 click on your icon above documents (represented by a dog-eared page 📄) 🠊 and click sign out. You can also restart your computer if it is easier. 

Next you want to log in as your child. I recommend setting up an easy to remember pin, which a selection can be made below the log-in password, like their lunch code they use at school. When you first log in, do not be alarmed as it will run and look like a brand new fresh install of windows. It will go through an initial windows setup process which can take a while, just let it do its thing. During this process, make sure that when prompted to turn off all privacy settings, unless you choose not to.

Now comes the fun part, setting up that fresh desktop. The browser of choice may require permission to use which will be e-mailed to you to grant permission. You'll also need to setup your child's book marks for their classes.

Missing programs? No problem! They are all still installed and most of them should be able to be access from the start menu or a simple search of your root hard drive (usually C:).

Want to do something a little easier? Browser settings.

This can be very effective and very easy to set up when wanting to restrict some malicious sites that your little one may stumble on. Most browsers do work the same so I will give a general click through.

1. First of all look for the 3 dots. This is usually on the top right of the browser and can be a row or column ⁞.
2. Click on settings which is usually represented by a gear icon ⚙.
3. Click on privacy and security.
4. In chrome you can manage all sorts of things, other browsers like Microsoft internet explorer or Edge you'll need to click advanced for some of the more important stuff
5. Under permissions for you can choose what sites can access like microphone, camera, etc.

Alternatively and even easier

You can set safe search settings.

• For Microsoft Internet Explorer you want to click settings or preferences 🠊 go to the SafeSearch section 🠊 then click your desired setting. I would advise Strict
• For Firefox (Mozilla) its a bit more challenging unless they've updated their browser with the feature. To my understanding they do have something but it isn't great and to safe browse requires an add on. If you don't mind this, search for parental control in the add-on search bar and use it.
• For Google Chrome, find the three dots like before 🠊 click settings 🠊 click on safety check 🠊 security 🠊 click on enhanced protection.

The goal here is not to be oppressive

Photo by Jose Fontano on Unsplash

With these online classes and the freedom of having their very own device or more screen time privilege for education, you don't want to be oppressive. Understandably it is our responsibility to protect our children however we need to do it right. We need to educate our children about online dangers and although limiting what can and cannot be done we need to build trust. I believe the most important step in internet safety is communication.

It is VERY easy for a child to stumble on something malicious like pornography, violence, and outright crazy things (who remembers "Momo"?) however, if it is in fact a stumble, despite all the security we put ourselves through, we need to practice understanding, patience, and reassurance that its ok, we'll explain it, and we'll do our best to not do it again. If we blow up, habits can be create that are very hard to stop.

Here's the easy outline as promised. Feel like reading? (Click here to go back to the top)

1. Talk with your child about the dangerous and maliciousness of things on the internet. For older kids make sure to point out that bad installs and/or searches can result in breaking the computer.

A. Provide sample points: importance of a professional school environment, dangers of the internet, and how it can damage the computer (viruses).

2. Prep their computer (make a profile) Click here for instructions!

A. Make a profile to help monitor and restrict their usage if needed

B. A profile can get them excited as they can customize it almost any way they want without messing around with your desktop 

3. Prep their computer (browser settings)  

A. Turn on and off features

B. Turn on safesearch features or up the security rating

4. Don't oppress your child! Talk to them, let them know accidents happen, and encourage them to come to you if they walk into something strange, suspicious, or harmful.