La Piazza

Today is Safer Internet Day. This day promotes safer and more responsible use of new technologies, especially among children and young people across the world. This year’s theme is ‘Connect with respect’.

The Internet has become a necessity of life for many of us, and the possibilities to stay connected to the Web 24 hours a day are endless: through your PC, laptop, smartphone, tablet, etc. The World Wide Web allows you to book a hotel room, buy a book, publish a picture with your friends or check the weather in Madagascar, just with a couple of clicks and from anywhere. However, as the saying goes, ‘With great power comes great responsibility”.

Social networks have become a huge ‘shop window’ for people, who use it to show others where they’ve been on vacation, their new leather jacket or a picture of their baby. We use them to chat, post messages on our walls, read other people’s messages, that is… to communicate. However, all these activities must be performed with utmost respect and responsibility.

All the information that you share on the Internet leaves your control and it is therefore highly advisable, especially for young people, to be extremely careful what you share through social media, and who you give access to your account. It can be very easy for people to use that information for the wrong purposes, and there are contents you might not want everybody to see.

For these reasons, we’d like to provide you with a series of simple tips for parents and teenagers that will help make your digital life a safer place:

For children and young people:

• Don’t share personal information: With chat and IM programs you can never be 100% sure who you’re talking to. That’s why you should never keep people you don’t know as contacts and -unless you’re sure you can trust the person- never share data such as your telephone number, address, personal photos or other private information.
• Always be friendly: Treat your friends and other people in the same way you would like them to treat you. If you come across activity or comments that you don’t like, tell your parents, teacher or other adults you trust. And don’t just stand by and watch, even if you are not the victim.
• If you have any doubts, ask your parents teachers or other adults: When you receive information that you don’t understand or you think looks dubious, before you do anything, speak to someone you can trust (your parents or teachers, etc.). You should never click the links in these types of messages.
• Browse the Web with caution: When you communicate via messaging or email, you often receive links inviting you to view information. It is advisable never to click directly on these links, but to type in the address in your browser instead. You should also be careful when you view movie trailers, TV ads or when you download games: These are often used as bait to infect your computer. Before opening any of these, scan it with an online antivirus or the security product you have installed. If you’re not sure, always speak to your parents.

For parents:

• Use strong passwords: Use strong passwords, and have different passwords for the different online services you use. It is also a good idea to change them regularly. If you detect anything suspicious, report it straight away! There are specific channels for reporting these activities.
• Learn how to recognize Internet scams: No matter how real it may seem, the truth is you haven’t won the lottery and nobody is offering you the job of a lifetime. Similarly, your bank will never ask for your details via email. Good software can detect these threats, and a bit of basic security training combined with common sense will help you learn to identify these scams.
• Security training + Parental control = the best formula for protection: It is important for you to recognize the main threats to your children on the Web so that you can educate them and teach them what to do when they find themselves in difficult situations. Installing a good parental control system will help you in the difficult task of ensuring that your children have an enjoyable and healthy online experience.
• Protect your computer with good security software: Keep your computer -and your family- protected at all times with latest generation security software against the sophisticated infection techniques used by hackers. If you don’t have an antivirus installed, we suggest that you download our free antivirus solution Panda Cloud Antivirus.

For more information, please visit the Internet in Safe Hands website.

The Panda Security Support Blog, The Piazza, wants to thank you for your visits, views and comments all through the year and wishes you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2013.

And remember, if during these special days you need to contact our technical experts, you can do so from the contact form available on the corporate Panda Security Support website.

If you prefer to use the networks, you will also find us in the Panda Technical Support Twitter account or in the Technical Support forum.

Happy Holiday!!!

A new post on the parenting and teenagers struggle.

I am an advocate of communication between parents and children. I think it is essential for parents to be informed and to strive to make communication with children smooth and close.

Having made this statement, I regret to say that I have serious doubts about its utility.

At La Piazza we are continually giving advice on how to help our children protect themselves from the dangers of the Internet. Again and again we emphasize how we must talk to them, we try to make them see that the network can magnify any nonsense and multiply it by “n” turning something insignificant into a real tragedy. And unfortunately, there are dramatic cases to prove so.

Sometimes we have resorted to lists to advise parents and children: Top 10 tips on Internet safety that every parent should know, The 3 basic ways to prevent sexting, The 6 golden rules for children to use technology safely. Anyway, lists, lists and more lists which in addition to help us structure the post, rank well in terms of search engines, but.. are they at all useful?

Last week the local Police Computer Crime squad gave a talk at my children’s school. They explained in great detail and with real examples the dangers children face on the network. My children returned home surprised and shocked. As if they had never heard their father and I talk about these issues. Well, I guess a uniform can be more imposing yet not imposing enough, because a few days later, several of my middle child (12 years old) classmates were expelled from school for uploading pictures of their teachers to Facebook, obviously without their authorization. My big girl (15 years) changed her Twitter profile picture to one displaying half her body only covered by a small bikini top. Well, I guess it is a quick way to get followers. To top it all, both girls tweet nonstop about every detail of their daily lives, where they are, who with, where they will be going next, upload pictures of themselves, of their brothers …

Friends of mine have a 11 year-old child who blatantly lied to their parents when they caught him bragging on Facebook about the amount of alcohol he had drunk the day before. Despite trying to convince his parents that his Facebook account had been hacked, they began to watch it closely. Result: the child created a second profile where he could publish things “unfit” for parents …

Let’s do a memory exercise. All of us, parents of teens, were teenagers not so long ago. What crossed our then young and reckless heads? The same thing as it crosses their minds. The thing is that parents are not aware of anything. Teens know exactly what they need. No one understands them. They found the love of their lives and they will love him/her forever. And above all, what really matters are friends. Best friends. True. Those to whom they tell everything and the only ones who understand.

Therefore, what is the point of insisting that not everything on the Internet is true, that they have to be careful, that it is not good to give their location coordinates with great detail, that they should not upload photos from home – geolocation enabled of course, who ever remembers to disable it? -, and so on to complete a list of 10, 20, 30 points pointing out the infinite dangers of the network.

Parents have to resign and be aware that those who really influence their children are others. If Stephanie Meyer, famous for her Twilight books or any other writer popular among teenagers and young adults wrote a novel in which the central character was a teenager who was bullied in the network and driven to suicide, tragically like Amanda Todd’s trance, the impact and exemplary positive consequences would probably be vastly superior to any maternal / paternal advice to prevent them from sending “sexy” pictures  to their current “boyfriends”. Or imagine any of the characters in Glee going through something like what Tim Ribberink  – the poor old Dutch boy who committed suicide after years enduring jokes online about his sexuality – experienced. If the actor or actress managed the problem correctly, the beneficial effect for many teens scared of their sexuality would be awesome.

As parents, one thing must be clear, our children will not tell us anything until it’s too late and therefore, they will not follow any of our tips, as these are intended to restrict what they see as their own freedom.

What is left then? Using spying programs?

My position is always the same. This type of software should only be used as a last resort when there is reasonable suspicion that something serious may be happening. All there is left for us parents is to be very alert to any changes in behavior and never lower our guard. We must explain that these issues constitute a crime and must be denounced. And if in spite of all, they are already in trouble, we will give them all the understanding, help and support they need, both to get out of the mess and to teach them how to make it in this complicated cyber world we live in.

The internet is just part of life but sometimes it is not so obvious who you are talking to. We need to make sure our children are staying safe because there are some evil people out there, looking for vulnerable, innocent people…

And always remember that boys are just as vulnerable as girls.

Grooming, another word related to the internet and children we must learn. Unfortunately, nothing good comes out of it. Grooming is a tactical approach from an adult to a child, mostly with a sexual purpose. It is about insinuation, seduction and manipulation. It’s abuse. It’s a crime.

So far, in the offline world, this type of offenders used to spend months trying to gain the trust of his prey, even to the point of making contact with the family in order not to raise suspicions. But the Internet has accelerated everything.

Pedophiles move in those chat rooms which are most popular among children. They are aware of the latest trends in fashion, music and sport, to be able to present themselves as another child, or someone who is in tune with the interests of the child. The offender may be particularly adept at identifying younger children, more naive and vulnerable in a chat room, and go for it. They try to become his “special friend”.

Slowly he will obtain the child’s personal and contact information. Using tactics such as seduction, provocation, sending pornographic images, the criminal will finally persuade the child to undress, or to perform acts of a sexual nature in front of the webcam, or to send photos of the same type. Then starts cyberbullying, by blackmailing the victim to obtain increasingly pornographic material or to have a physical encounter with the child to sexually abuse him.

The step from the virtual world to the real world is gradual. Initial contact can quickly switch from an open chat room, public or semi-public, to a private chat room, then to email, SMS text messaging via mobile phones, instant messaging, and then to direct contact direct through a mobile or phone, or even by voice via the Internet.

There have been cases where the predator has sent the child a mobile phone to ensure that the child’s parents have no way of knowing, or of controlling the contact between the two.

Therefore, usually these are the steps:

1. Friendship

He will persuade the child into speaking in a private chat room so that no one else can access the child. Often, he will ask the child for a non sexual picture of himself.

2. Establishing friendship bonds

He will show interest and concern over the child’s problems in order to create the illusion in him that he is his best friend.

3. Risk Assessment

He will ask the child about the location of his computer and about who else has access to it in order to assess the risk of being detected.

4. Exclusivity

He will build a relationship based on mutual love and trust and he will suggest that with him, the child can talk about “anything”.

5. Sex talk

He will involve the child in explicit conversations and will ask him for sexually explicit images of him. At this stage, the pedophile will try to arrange a meeting with the child.

How to Prevent Grooming

1. Prevent the predator to have elements of blackmail. If there’s no element of force, no blackmail is possible.

2. It is very important to preserve the security and confidentiality of passwords of the computer. If someone steals our photos, we could be blackmailed as much as if we had sent the photos ourselves.

3. It is essential that the computer children use is well protected with a good antivirus with a firewall. Also, it is important to make sure the antivirus is always updated. Otherwise, criminals could obtain access credentials and steal blackmail material.

4. Last but not least, as parents, it is your job to convince your children that they should never download files from people they do not know well.

Published by Leyre Velasco

Summer is finally here and online security and the protection of your computer is something that you must take seriously.

That’s why we would like to remind you of the 10 golden rules to protect your computer.

1. We love telling our friends what we are doing (Twitter, Facebook,… ). But remember: Don’t reveal any information about where you are going or if you do, don’t disclose how long you’ll be away during your vacation. Thieves are always lurking.
2. Keep your antivirus enabled and update it regularly.
   

   Security tips for the summer

3. Delete all unnecessary files and clear your computer history. Your computer will work better.
4. Configure your computer so that the Operating System updates are automatically installed.
5. Use your common sense. If you receive an email message with attachments from a dubious source, delete it.
6. Be careful when surfing the web. Avoid downloading programs from unknown websites. And even if you know the source, stay alert and take all necessary precautions before opening them.
7. Keep only those applications you really use. We all like to download and try programs that may seem attractive but… By the end of the year you usually end up with a lot of installed programs that you never use again after the first time. Remember that each of these programs may slow down your PC. Therefore, keep only those programs you normally use and you will improve your computer’s performance.
8. Be careful when you connect removable (USB) drives to your computer. They are a real source of infection.  You can use our Panda USB Vaccine to avoid any risks.
9. Do not answer any email messages that ask for your personal financial data. A bank will never request your personal data via email. Cyber-crooks use alarming message subjects and bodies like: “Urgent: Your account data has been stolen”, in order to get an answer from you.
10. Back up the content of your system so that you minimize the risk of losing it in the event of damage or theft.

Remember that the Panda Security TechSupport Forum is always at your service to resolve any technical queries, even during your vacation.

Have a great summer!

Published by Leyre Velasco, 3rd May 2012

Today in La Piazza we present a quick 10-question post for parents to test how safe their teens are online. So, if you are a parent, sit down with your kid and before he/she answers the questions, explain to him/her that this exercise is to be done jointly. The purpose is for both of you to know if he or she is safe when using the Internet and to improve security measures if necessary.

Do stress that, although he/she may not be aware of it, the Internet entails serious dangers such as fraud, sexual harassment, bullying, etc. Do not alarm him but speak firmly. The reason why most teenagers don’t take enough precautions is because they are either misinformed or disinformed.

Finally, ask him/her to be honest about it. The whole point of answering the questions is not for your teen to get a grilling but actually for you as a parent to learn how to protect your most precious treasure: your child.

Because the Internet is just another road you have to teach your children how to cross. And this is a road they love to cross. Plus, they do so every day.

Instructions

Ready? Here go the questions. Ask your kid to write down the answers on a piece of paper. Once the test is completed, add up the points per answer (check section Score points) and finally, check the Results section to see how safe, risky or dangerous your kid’s online practices are.

1. Does your screen name identify you as a boy or a girl?
2. Have you ever posted any personal information of yours or anyone else without explicit consent?
3. Have you ever uploaded your picture or family or friends without your parent’s consent?
4. Have you ever filled out online forms, questionnaires, profile pages without your parent’s consent?
5. Have you ever purchased anything online without permission?
6. Have you ever shared your passwords with someone other than your parents?
7. Have you ever downloaded and installed software without your parent’s knowledge?
8. Have you opened emails from total strangers?
9. Have you ever agreed to meet in person someone you have only met online?
10. Have you ever been involved in chat sessions with people using vulgar expressions or sexually explicit language?

How to calculate your scores

• Add 1 point if you answered YES to questions 1, 2, 3 and 6
• Add 2 points if you answered YES to questions 5 and 7
• Add 3 points if you answered YES to question 4
• Add 5 points if you answered YES to questions 8, 9 and 10

Results

If you scored… 0-2 points

You are SAFE!

Well done!!! You are cautious when you go online to chat with your friends because you are well aware of the dangers the Internet entails. Your passwords are usually strong, mixing alphanumerical characters, you never share them with anyone and you certainly think twice before you download applications. You never, ever chat to strangers and your online friends are not only acquaintances but people you know well. And you frequently talk to your parents about your online habits.

Our advise: Keep it up and teach your fellow students and friends how they can also improve their online experience.

If you scored… 3-4 points

You are at RISK!

OK, you would never meet anyone you don’t know online and you would never share information with strangers. However, you have uploaded pictures of friends or members of your family and have not told them, you don’t think downloading cool apps is dangerous and have done so occasionally. If you get a friend request from someone you don’t know, you do tell your parents.

Our advise: There is certainly room for improvement in the online safety department. You are aware certain security measures have to be taken when going online but you are still dangerously chancing it!  So, overall, you need to make sure you don’t share any personal information at all. Also, choose strong passwords and review your online practises with your parents. Afterwards, do take the test again.

If you scored… 5-26 points

You are in REAL DANGER!!!!

Your online profiles describe you so well that you have included your postal address and school you go to, plus all kinds of pictures of you and your friends, family, pets, etc. You use the Internet pretty much for everything, to download all kinds of applications, meet people online, chat, etc. You are an extrovert and have accepted friend requests from people you don’t even know because you think if he is one of your friend’s friends, it is OK. Sometimes you have chatted with people who used “bad words” but never told your parents because they will probably worry too much.

Our advise: You must RADICALLY change the way you use the Internet. First of all, sit down with your parents and review the personal information you share with others. Also, remove any strangers from your friends lists. Should you ever encounter strangers online, do speak to your parents about it. Change your passwords and choose strong, alphanumerical ones. Finally, take the test again until you get the lowest score (0-2 points – Safe).

Posted by Leyre Velasco

I have always thought that my mother was anything but naive. She has lived enriching experiences, has had a very intense working life with a high degree of responsibility and is practical, astute and witty. Let us say that she is not easy to rip off. At least, that’s what I thought.

Last Christmas, over one of many family get-togethers, she candidly announced:

“I have won an IPhone online”.

Somewhat stunned I asked:  “Win? IPhone? Online?”

Calmly, she replied:  “Yes, I won it over the Internet. I got a message on screen saying I had been selected over thousands of visitors and that the IPhone will be delivered to my address”.

At this point, my 12 year old daughter could not help the giggles.

I (rhetorically) asked: “Did you believe that?”

“Sure, – she replied -, why shouldn’t I?”

Getting seriously frightened, I asked:  “Which data did you provide?”

“Oh,  – my mother said – nothing much, just my email address and my postal address.”

So far, she has been getting emails requesting her participation on further contests but no mention of the IPhone, of course.

My mother was not at all conscious of the implications of her naivity. Because fraud through pop-ups is probably one of the oldest frauds there is on the Internet. Behind the so-called prizes there might be professional fraudsters, well able to spoof your identity or, without any scruples, make use of your personal data, all for economic benefit.

My mother is a regular Internet user. Her naivity is fruit of her lack of knowledge regarding the dangers of the Internet. That is why I believe it is so important to spread good Internet practises in order to raise awareness among different types of users. We teach our daughter security guidelines and therefore, she is cautious. My mother – up until now – has always browsed alone, no Jiminy Cricket around

How can you protect yourself?

• It is very important to have an antivirus program that includes a spam filter installed and up-to-date. Any of Panda Security’s solutions will protect you against these kind of threats.
• Check the source of information received. Ignore any pop-up that asks for your personal or financial information.
• Scan you computer for free.
• Inform yourself. We recommend pages on security, for instance, this blog or the Security Info page.

Luckily, my mother never provided her credit card details. Otherwise, she could have been in serious trouble. She has now installed the antivirus, scanned the computer and hopefully, from now onwards, she will be more cautious when browsing the net.

How about you? Have you ever been ripped off online? Tell us your experiences!

Posted by Ana Etxebarria

When my oldest daughter turned 13, she got a brand new smartphone, signed up for Facebook and Pandora and went on an apps downloading spree. At the same time, my brand new teen lost many protections over her privacy online.
The online games she plays know her location at any given moment through her phone’s GPS technology.

She’s given my VISA card number to buy apps, iTunes has our family’s email address and everyone’s full names and Facebook knows her birth date and the school she goes to…

At an age at when I still don’t let her go to the shopping center by herself or open the door to strangers, she has a growing dossier about her habits, likes and dislikes, etc.  accumulating on the Web. And even though laws have been passed that protect the youngest of Internet users from giving away much information about themselves, once children become teens, the same privacy rules no longer apply.

Leaving aside the laws that regulate these aspects, experts on adolescent development say youths between 13 and 18 deserve special attention, and teenagers are among the most voracious and precocious users of new Internet services, constantly making grown-up decisions with grown-up consequences. However, as experts say ‘Their ability to make decisions is still forming and clearly different from that of adults.”

With few restraints, teens are creating digital records that also build their reputation offline. All the status updates, tweets and check-ins to specific locations can be reviewed by prospective employers, insurance companies and universities.

Despite Internet companies say personal data can be collected only with permission and parents can set security controls on phones and computers, the Web offers so many opportunities to share information online that teens just don’t stop to think about the consequences.

Anyway, don’t think this is something of the future. It’s the present and it’s here to stay. Becoming a controlling, paranoid mother won’t help either, as they will still have endless possibilities to access the Internet. Therefore, once again I think that the only way to get rid of these fears is to educate teenagers about the dangers posed by the online world as we have been doing forever in the offline world.

How to do this? By helping them make thoughtful decisions, giving them the confidence to turn to you if they make a mistake, and having first-hand knowledge of those sites, games and apps they love so much.

What do you think?

Published by Ana Etxebarria, November 2011

I have recently read an article claiming that millions of preteens have signed up for Facebook, as indicated by a recent survey carried out in the US which showed that parents actually helped them lie to do it. I have 4 kids under age 12 and all of them have Facebook accounts, so I feel very much related to this issue.

Facebook sets the minimum age for using its service at 13 to comply with US federal laws that protect children’s online privacy.

However, a new survey from Microsoft and such top universities as Berkeley and Harvard has found that half of all parents with 12-year-olds and 1 in 5 parents of 10-year-olds knew their kids were using Facebook.

Asked how the children signed up for the service, thus violating the site’s terms of service, nearly 7 in 10 parents admitted they helped their kids set up the accounts.
The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, drew from a random sampling of 1,007 parents with children ages 10 to 14.

The survey comes amid a debate over children’s online privacy protection in a new era of mobile apps and other technologies. Consumer reports recently reported that 7 million underage users were on Facebook.

Do age limits for Internet services really stop children from using age-restricted sites? Should companies be allowed flexibility to experiment with new services and technologies without new regulations?

Most parents, me included, want our kids online as early as possible. We don’t want to be told how to be a parent. We want our children to be part of the digital world and be able to communicate with relatives and friends using current technology tools.

But, what do privacy advocates say? Well, they say that parents are not fully aware of what data is being collected about their children. If parents knew that sites such as Facebook collect information to deliver customized ads, they would be more cautious. This is total nonsense in my opinion. Or is that TV stations don’t bombard our kids with advertising in children’s networks?

Now, the question is: Is it really good for Facebook to have those underage users illegally? Well it must be, otherwise they would do something about it.

What do you think?