Cybersecurity Awareness Month, October 2016 – Potentially Dangerous Apps
Categories: Information Security
Have you considered how the internet is a worldwide playground where kids of all ages – 3 to 103 – can play, mostly unsupervised? On this playground, we can interact through real-time message apps or through post and respond methods. We keep in constant contact with friends and provide updates on our latest travels. While in this virtual playground strangers can initiate conversations. This article provides an overview of some popular social media apps used by teens and how parents can more closely supervise their kids while on the “playground”.
All users, especially kids and teens, should be aware of oversharing information – providing too much personal information that can lead to unintended consequences. But some social media apps encourage this behavior and facilitate a dangerous level of secrecy and anonymity for kids and teens. These apps have two basic troubling characteristics:
* Users can meet and connect with strangers outside their parents knowledge.
* The anonymity allows users to act with impunity and without fear of being identified.
Unfortunately the list of apps that fit into this category grows quickly; the following are some of the more popular apps used by teens:
* Kik
* Tinder
* YikYak
* Omegle
* MeetMe
* Whisper
* Ask.fm
* Blendr & Grindr
Some apps allow the teen to hide information that may have been collected (photos, screenshots, etc):
* KeepSafe
* AppLock
Parents should also be aware that many of the different gaming apps have in-game chatting or messaging. While these games can be harmless in the short term, players can be lulled into a false sense of security and give out personal information and even contact information.
How can parents stay engaged in the conversation with their teen?
* Talk to your child about the apps, not just the ones installed on their phone.
* Enable parental controls on the phone.
* Monitor their phone. Educate yourself about the installed apps.
* Install monitoring apps such Phone Sheriff or Secure Teen.
In general (kids, teens, and adults), when working with social media sites be aware of:
* Oversharing information. Providing too much online information can easily lead to identity theft.
* Friending strangers who pretend to be someone they are not.
* Location-based services that expose the user’s location and whereabouts.
Dwayne Hunter
Manager, DASNR Information Technology
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