Digital safety can be a tricky subject to tackle, especially with kids. We all know how important it is to stay safe online, but when it comes to making a game plan for how to introduce basic digital safety to our kids, many of us may be left scratching our heads on where to start! After all, the subject is a little more complicated than the good old-fashioned “look left-right-left” when crossing the road.

Fortunately, you don’t have to be a digital whiz to help young ones learn how to stay safe on the web. Google’s Be Internet Awesome program gives you access to a range of resources that will help teach the kids how to use the internet safely. If you’ve got young ones who are ready to start exploring the internet, this program is the perfect way to get started!

(more…)

Did you know that February 5th is Safer Internet Day? This worldwide event aims to draw attention to the ever-important issue of online safety, including cyberbullying, digital security and even offensive or illegal content. This year’s theme, ‘Together for a better internet’, encourages individuals to create a better internet by working on the ‘4 Rs’: Respect, Responsibility, Reasoning and Resilience. We decided to pitch in by shining the light on one aspect of the internet that may slip our minds until we need it – public WiFi networks.

Public WiFi networks can be a blessing – whether you’re quickly taking care of some business on your laptop while you have a coffee, or you’re sending some holiday snaps home while on a trip abroad. However, as convenient as that free WiFi access is, there can be security risks associated with using public WiFi networks that you should know about. You don’t need to stop using public WiFi altogether but there are a few things you should keep in mind before you connect. We’ve put together a handy guide to help you stay safe while you surf the ‘net – all you need is a little bit of reasoning and resilience.

(more…)

Back in the day, an unexpected bill racked up by your kids was most likely something like a broken window after a game of cricket gone wrong. As technology became a bigger part of daily life, it became important for parents to sit down and have a chat with their kids about using a mobile phone responsibly so they didn’t make calls to premium numbers or use tons of excess data.

Fast forward to today and microtransactions in games are becoming a serious problem. They’ve been a common pest in mobile games for a few years now, but thanks to the massive popularity of “free to play” games such as Fortnite, more parents are learning about them the hard way.

Fortnite is a battle royale shooter game that made waves when it was released on mobile devices, making it extremely accessible. After all, most kids are more likely to have a mobile phone than a certain gaming console or gaming PC. Fortnite doesn’t cost money to start playing, but a number of in-game items such as different costumes for your character to wear cost V-Bucks, which are actually bought with real-world cash. A quick Google search will show you there’s already dozens of stories of kids blowing hundreds of dollars on the in-game currency.

Fortnite isn’t the only game to have a big microtransaction problem and mobile phones aren’t the only device you may need to lock down to stop kids racking up a bill on supposedly “free” games. To help you (and your wallet!) we’ve put together a guide on how to stop kids making purchases in games across a range of devices including mobiles, tablets and gaming consoles. Just follow these steps for some peace of mind that your littles ones won’t be making any in-game purchases, by accident or otherwise.

(more…)