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Given the climate surrounding COVID-19, many of us have had to substitute in-person social interactions with virtual communication. For parents, this includes organizing virtual playdates, hangouts, and video chats for their kids. While this provides an excellent solution for children to continue interacting with their peers, it has also opened up a new avenue for potential risks and dangers. It is imperative to ensure these virtual platforms are safe for all involved. In this article, we will provide some essential strategies for maintaining a secure and enjoyable online social environment for everyone.
The advent of technology has significantly transformed the way we communicate and interact with each other. However, as with any great invention, it also comes with potential risks and dangers, especially for kids who may not fully comprehend the implications of their online activities. With cyberbullying, online predators, and inappropriate content being just a few of the digital risks, it is crucial to establish robust safety measures when kids engage in online social activities such as virtual playdates, hangouts, and video chats.
In this article, we will explore the different ways parents and caregivers can keep these activities secure and fun. By understanding the risks involved, staying informed on the latest developments in online safety, and taking actionable steps, everyone can navigate the digital world safely and confidently.
Navigating the potential pitfalls of online interaction requires proactive measures and informed strategies. Let’s take a look at these tips on how to safeguard everyone from the inherent dangers of virtual communication, promoting a secure and positive digital experience for all.
The first step in ensuring a safe online environment for children is understanding the potential risks and how they can be mitigated. Internet safety is not just about blocking and filtering inappropriate content; it’s also about educating ourselves and our children on how to behave responsibly online and understanding the potential repercussions of our digital footprint.
Online activities, especially those involving video chats, can expose children to various risks, including cyberbullying, identity theft, and exposure to inappropriate content. These risks can have devastating consequences on a child’s mental health, self-esteem, and overall well-being. As such, it is vital for parents and caregivers to have regular conversations about these potential dangers with their children. It’s also crucial to ensure that children feel comfortable expressing any concerns or reporting any uncomfortable situations they encounter online.
→ Dig Deeper: Messenger Rooms: New Video Chat Option is Fun But Has Risks
The market is flooded with countless communication platforms, each with its features, safety measures, and potential loopholes. As a parent, choosing the right tool for your child’s online activities can be quite overwhelming. Not all platforms are created equal, and while some prioritize user safety and provide robust parental controls, others may not provide the same level of security.
When choosing a platform for your child’s virtual playdates or hangouts, consider aspects like age restrictions, privacy settings, and whether the platform allows parental controls. Additionally, evaluate the platform’s reputation regarding safety – a quick internet search can provide insights into any security issues or breaches the platform may have had in the past. Remember, the goal is to create a safe and enjoyable online experience for children.
One of the essential ways to ensure online safety for kids is by properly setting up privacy settings and parental controls on the communication tools they use. These settings can limit what information is shared and with whom, restrict access to certain content, and even set time limits for usage. Parental controls are a fantastic way of managing and monitoring your child’s online activities without being overly intrusive.
However, it’s important to note that these controls and settings are not foolproof. They should be used in conjunction with open communication and education about online safety. It’s essential to explain to children why these measures are in place, rather than just imposing them. They are more likely to follow these guidelines if they understand their purpose.
McAfee Pro Tip: Parental controls are effective in monitoring children, but nothing beats proactive digital parenting. Managing digital parenting doesn’t need to be daunting, especially when you approach it step by step. Know how parental controls and digital parenting can help create good habits.
Establishing clear guidelines for online communications is another critical aspect of ensuring a secure online environment for kids. These guidelines should be age-appropriate and cover aspects like sharing personal information, accepting friend requests, and how to behave respectfully online.
It’s also important to educate kids on the permanence of their online activities. Once something is shared online, it can be difficult, if not impossible, to completely remove it. They should understand the potential impact of their online behavior on their future, such as college admissions or job opportunities. Encouraging safe and responsible online behavior can go a long way in mitigating many of the potential risks associated with online communication.
→ Dig Deeper: Teens’ Online Behavior Can Get Them in Trouble
In addition to safety measures, it’s also important to establish some etiquette for virtual playdates to ensure they are enjoyable and respectful for everyone involved. These guidelines should include respecting others’ time, muting when not speaking to avoid background noise, and understanding when to use the chat feature versus when to speak up.
It’s also important to discuss how to handle disagreements or misunderstandings that may arise during these virtual gatherings. Encourage kids to express themselves respectfully and listen to others’ perspectives. Remind them that it’s okay to disagree with someone but that it should be done in a respectful and kind manner.
Depending on the age of your child, you may need to monitor the amount of time they spend on virtual activities. It’s easy for kids to lose track of time when they are engrossed in a fun virtual playdate or hangout. Setting and enforcing time limits can help prevent screen addiction and ensure your child has a balanced life with ample time for physical activities, schoolwork, and offline social interactions.
To make this process easier, you can use the built-in screen time management features available on most devices or utilize third-party apps that provide more detailed monitoring and control. Talk to your child about the importance of balancing online and offline activities. Make sure they understand that these limits are set out of concern for their well-being, not as a form of punishment.
Just like offline interactions, teaching kids to be respectful in their digital communications is crucial. They should understand that the same rules of kindness and respect apply, whether they’re interacting with others face-to-face or through a screen. Cyberbullying is a significant concern for many parents, and teaching children to treat others respectfully can help mitigate this risk.
Encourage your child to empathize with others by imagining how they would feel if the roles were reversed. Foster an online culture of acceptance, understanding, and respect by setting a positive example through your own online interactions. Remember, kids often emulate the behavior they see around them.
→ Dig Deeper: 5 Digital Family Values to Embrace to Make the Internet a Better Place
Open communication is the key to any successful relationship, and this holds true for your relationship with your child. Encourage them to talk to you about their online experiences, both good and bad. This can help you identify any potential problems before they escalate and provide guidance on how to handle various situations.
Ensure your child feels comfortable coming to you with any issues or concerns they may have. Make it clear that you’re there to help, not to chastise them for making mistakes. Remember, the online world can be a confusing and intimidating place for kids, and they need to know they have a trusted adult to turn to when they need help navigating it.
The online world is constantly evolving, so staying up-to-date with the latest safety tips is crucial. Regularly check reliable online safety resources and learn about the latest threats, trends, and best practices. This can help you prepare for and mitigate potential risks before they impact your child.
Consider joining online communities where parents share tips and advice about online safety. These platforms can be a great source of information and support as you navigate the digital world with your child. Remember, knowledge is power, and the more informed you are, the better you can protect your child.
In conclusion, ensuring online safety during virtual playdates, hangouts, and video chats involves a combination of selecting the right communication platforms, using privacy settings and parental controls, establishing guidelines for online communications, and promoting open, respectful interactions. As parents and caregivers, it’s essential to remain vigilant and proactive in teaching our children about online safety.
However, it’s equally important to remember that our ultimate goal isn’t to eliminate all online risks but to create a balance where our kids can enjoy the benefits of the virtual world while being mindful of its potential pitfalls. By employing the strategies discussed in this article, you can provide a safe and enjoyable online environment for your child, fostering their growth and development while ensuring their safety.
The post Keeping Virtual Play Dates, Hangouts, and Video Chats Safe for Everyone appeared first on McAfee Blog.
What does a hacker want with your social media account? Plenty.
Hackers hijack social media accounts for several reasons. They’ll dupe the victim’s friends and followers with scams. They’ll flood feeds with misinformation. And they’ll steal all kinds of personal information—not to mention photos and chats in DMs. In all, a stolen social media account could lead to fraud, blackmail, and other crimes.
Yet you have a strong line of defense that can prevent it from happening to you: multi-factor authentication (MFA).
MFA goes by other names, such as two-factor authentication and two-step verification. Yet they all boost your account security in much the same way. They add an extra step or steps to the login process. Extra evidence to prove that you are, in fact, you. It’s in addition to the usual username/password combination, thus the “multi-factor” in multi-factor authentication.
Examples of MFA include:
With MFA, a hacker needs more than just your username and password to weasel their way into your account. They need that extra piece of evidence required by the login process, which is something only you should have.
This stands as a good reminder that you should never give out the information you use in your security questions—and to never share your one-time security codes with anyone. In fact, scammers cobble up all kinds of phishing scams to steal that information.
Major social media platforms offer MFA, although they might call it by other names. As you’ll see, several platforms call it “two-factor authentication.”
Given the way that interfaces and menus can vary and get updated over time, your best bet for setting up MFA on your social media accounts is to go right to the source. Social media platforms provide the latest step-by-step instructions in their help pages. A simple search for “multi-factor authentication” and the name of your social media platform should readily turn up results.
For quick reference, you can find the appropriate help pages for some of the most popular platforms here:
Another important reminder is to check the URL of the site you’re on to ensure it’s legitimate. Scammers set up all kinds of phony login and account pages to steal your info. Phishing scams like those are a topic all on their own. A great way you can learn to spot them is by giving our Phishing Scam Protection Guide a quick read. It’s part of our McAfee Safety Series, which covers a broad range of topics, from romance scams and digital privacy to online credit protection and ransomware.
In many ways, your social media account is an extension of yourself. It reflects your friendships, interests, likes, and conversations. Only you should have access to that. Putting MFA in place can help keep it that way.
More broadly, enabling MFA across every account that offers it is a smart security move as well. It places a major barrier in the way of would-be hackers who, somehow, in some way, have ended up with your username and password.
On the topic, ensure your social media accounts have strong, unique passwords in place. The one-two punch of strong, unique passwords and MFA will make hacking your account tougher still. Wondering what a strong, unique password looks like? Here’s a hint: a password with eight characters is less secure than you might think. With a quick read, you can create strong, unique passwords that are tough to crack.
Lastly, consider using comprehensive online protection software if you aren’t already. In addition to securing your devices from hacks and attacks, it can help protect your privacy and identity across your travels online—both on social media and off.
The post How to Protect Your Social Media Passwords from Hacks and Attacks appeared first on McAfee Blog.
Happy World Social Media Day! Today’s a day about celebrating the life-long friendships you’ve made thanks to social media. Social media was invented to help users meet new people with shared interests, stay in touch, and learn more about world. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, LinkedIn, and the trailblazing MySpace have all certainly succeeded in those aims.
This is the first World Social Media Day where artificial intelligence (AI) joins the party. AI has existed in many forms for decades, but it’s only recently that AI-powered apps and tools are available in the pockets and homes of just about everyone. ChatGPT, Voice.ai, DALL-E, and others are certainly fun to play with and can even speed up your workday.
While scrolling through hilarious videos and commenting on your friends’ life milestones are practically national pastimes, some people are making it their pastime to fill our favorite social media feeds with AI-generated content. Not all of it is malicious, but some AI-generated social media posts are scams.
Here are some examples of common AI-generated content that you’re likely to encounter on social media.
Have you scrolled through your video feed and come across voices that sound exactly like the current and former presidents? And are they playing video games together? Comic impersonators can be hilariously accurate with their copycatting, but the voice track to this video is spot on. This series of videos, created by TikToker Voretecks, uses AI voice generation to mimic presidential voices and pit them against each other to bring joy to their viewers.1 In this case, AI-generated voices are mostly harmless, since the videos are in jest. Context clues make it obvious that the presidents didn’t gather to hunt rogue machines together.
AI voice generation turns nefarious when it’s meant to trick people into thinking or acting a certain way. For example, an AI voiceover made it look like a candidate for Chicago mayor said something inflammatory that he never said.2 Fake news is likely to skyrocket with the fierce 2024 election on the horizon. Social media sites, especially Twitter, are an effective avenue for political saboteurs to spread their lies far and wide to discredit their opponent.
Finally, while it might not appear on your social media feed, scammers can use what you post on social media to impersonate your voice. According to McAfee’s Beware the Artificial Imposters Report, a scammer requires only three seconds of audio to clone your voice. From there, the scammer may reach out to your loved ones with extremely realistic phone calls to steal money or sensitive personal information. The report also found that of the people who lost money to an AI voice scam, 36% said they lost between $500 and $3,000.
To keep your voice out of the hands of scammers, perhaps be more mindful of the videos or audio clips you post publicly. Also, consider having a secret safe word with your friends and family that would stump any would-be scammer.
Deepfake, or the alteration of an existing photo or video of a real person that shows them doing something that never happened, is another tactic used by social media comedians and fake news spreaders alike. In the case of the former, one company founded their entire business upon deepfake. The company is most famous for its deepfakes of Tom Cruise, though it’s evolved into impersonating other celebrities, generative AI research, and translation.3
When you see videos or images on social media that seem odd, look for a disclaimer – either on the post itself or in the poster’s bio – about whether the poster used deepfake technology to create the content. A responsible social media user will alert their audiences when the content they post is AI generated.
Again, deepfake and other AI-altered images become malicious when they cause social media viewers to think or act a certain way. Fake news outlets may portray a political candidate doing something embarrassing to sway voters. Or an AI-altered image of animals in need may tug at the heartstrings of social media users and cause them to donate to a fake fundraiser. Deepfake challenges the saying “seeing is believing.”
ChatGPT is everyone’s favorite creativity booster and taskmaster for any writing chore. It is also the new best friend of social media bot accounts. Present on just about every social media platform, bot accounts spread spam, fake news, and bolster follower numbers. Bot accounts used to be easy to spot because their posts were unoriginal and poorly written. Now, with the AI-assisted creativity and excellent sentence-level composition of ChatGPT, bot accounts are sounding a lot more realistic. And the humans managing those hundreds of bot accounts can now create content more quickly than if they were writing each post themselves.
In general, be wary when anyone you don’t know comments on one of your posts or reaches out to you via direct message. If someone says you’ve won a prize but you don’t remember ever entering a contest, ignore it.
With the advent of mainstream AI, everyone should approach every social media post with skepticism. Be on the lookout for anything that seems amiss or too fantastical to be true. And before you share a news item with your following, conduct your own background research to assert that it’s true.
To protect or restore your identity should you fall for any social media scams, you can trust McAfee+. McAfee+ monitors your identity and credit to help you catch suspicious activity early. Also, you can feel secure in the $1 million in identity theft coverage and identity restoration services.
Social media is a fun way to pass the time, keep up with your friends, and learn something new. Don’t be afraid of AI on social media. Instead, laugh at the parodies, ignore and report the fake news, and enjoy social media confidently!
1Business Insider, “AI-generated audio of Joe Biden and Donald Trump trashtalking while gaming is taking over TikTok”
2The Hill, “The impending nightmare that AI poses for media, elections”
3Metaphysic, “Create generative AI video that looks real”
The post Be Mindful of These 3 AI Tricks on World Social Media Day appeared first on McAfee Blog.
Waiting in the checkout line. Waiting to fall asleep. Waiting for your boring work call to finally end.
When you find yourself in these situations, do you usually have your phone in hand? And does it usually include scrolling through videos on TikTok? You’re far from alone! The app has 150 million users in the United States and more than a billion daily users worldwide.1
However, governments around the world believe that while you’re exploring the world through short-form video, unscrupulous characters are lurking in the background collecting your personal data. Here’s the real story behind TikTok bans and what they mean for you and your online privacy.
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company. Much of the data privacy unease surrounding TikTok is ByteDance’s opacity in their data mining practices. It’s unknown how much data it collects on users and what it does with that information. Since the Chinese government has a hand in many of the businesses based in the country, it’s unclear if the government is party to the mined data. Because many countries are tense politically with China, some governments are being cautious about limiting ByteDance’s access to personal information and potentially government secrets.
So far, various countries have banned TikTok from the work phones of government employees, including the United States, Australia, Canada, Taiwan, and various European Union members.2 India completely banned the app in the country in 2020. Various other countries with strict limits on self-expression have also attempted to forbid their citizens from accessing TikTok.
Montana became the first state to ban TikTok in May 2023. The governor cited “protecting Montanans’ personal and private data” as the reason behind the new bill, which is set to go into effect in January 2024.3
For the general population, bans of TikTok on government-issued devices will not affect your access to the platform Even for government employees, this just means that you can’t access the app from your work phone, laptop, or tablet. On your own time and your personal devices, you can still scroll to your heart’s content.
Montana’s TikTok bill could pick up steam with other states claiming to protect the PII of their citizens; however, the Montana law and any similar ones that may arise are likely to be scrutinized as a violation of freedom of speech. As of now, it’s unclear whether the bill – and future ones like it – will be invalidated due to a violation of the First Amendment.
How these TikTok bans and the news headlines may affect you is that they emphasize the necessity of social media best practices and guarding your personally identifiable information (PII) more closely.
Because it’s unclear how much and with whom TikTok is gathering and sharing your data, it’s best to play it safe and limit the amount you reveal about yourself on the app. Here are a few tips to give you peace of mind and improve your online privacy:
This is a good practice on any social media platform. Geo-tagging is a function where the app uses GPS to track your location and then publish it alongside your post. This feature may put your personal safety at risk, since stalkers can use the geotag, context clues, and video background to guess at your location.
TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and gaming apps depend on advertisers’ dollars to make money. To provide users with the most relevant ads (and improve their chances of making a sale), companies gather information about you and build a profile based on your online comings and goings. Most apps that allow tracking must ask your permission first to do so. Always uncheck this box and disable ad tracking, because there’s no guarantee that the PII the ad company collects will stay a secret. Did you know that 98% of people have their personal information up for sale on the internet? Personal Data Cleanup is an excellent tool to erase your private details from the internet and keep it out of the hands of strangers.
Oversharing on social media may leave you vulnerable to social engineering schemes. This happens when a scammer gathers details about you and then tailor-makes a scam that’s likely to get your attention. For example, if your social media profiles make it clear that you’re an animal lover, a scammer may write a heartfelt post about needing donations to save their beloved pet.
A virtual private network (VPN) scrambles your online traffic, making it very difficult for someone to digitally eavesdrop on you or pinpoint your location. Plus, a VPN works on any device, not just desktops. So, while you scroll on a computer, tablet, or smartphone, a VPN can keep your internet traffic a secret.
Don’t worry: TikTok – the constant companion in times of boredom, transit, and when you’re in need of a laugh – isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. For the general population in most parts of the world, the app is staying put.
However, just because it’s not banned doesn’t mean that it’s 100% safe for your online privacy. Keep our tips in mind the next time you scroll through or post. To fully cover your bases and give you peace of mind, partner with McAfee+ Ultimate. This all-in-one service includes unlimited VPN for all your devices, Personal Data Cleanup, and more.
Laugh, cry, learn, and explore the world through TikTok with confidence in the security of your online privacy!
1TikTok, “Celebrating our thriving community of 150 million Americans”
2Associated Press, “Here are the countries that have bans on TikTok”
3CNN, “Montana governor bans TikTok”
The post Why Are Some Countries Banning TikTok? appeared first on McAfee Blog.
If you were to ask me what I consider to be the most attractive attribute in a person, it would be kindness but only closely followed by a sense of humour. There’s something about somebody who can tell a funny story that I just love. And humour can be a great bonding experience for us humans. Laughing over a funny video or sharing a hilarious story is pure friendship gold! But humour can often be murky territory online.
One of my favourite things about being a mum of boys is the jokes. My boys can make me laugh till I cry. And the jokes and banter they share amongst themselves warms my heart. Sometimes it feels like slapstick comedy other times its brutal and direct and often a little cheeky. Over the years, ‘safe’ boundaries have been developed for their banter so that no-one gets hurt. But it hasn’t always been perfect. It takes a certain level of maturity and a healthy dose of empathy to know where to draw the line with your humour and, unfortunately, not everyone gets this right.
All friends will joke around with each other, and our tweens and teens are no exception. Whether it’s sharing comments on funny memes or TikTok’s or leaving witty comments on each other’s online posts, online banter can be quite the demonstration of friendship and connection.
But sometimes it is hard to tell if someone is just having fun or trying to ridicule or make fun of another online. Without being able to see someone’s face and read their body language in person, the joker’s intention can often be ambiguous. It may be laughed off with a ‘just kidding’ or ‘relax, you’re too serious’. And so, here we are in the grey area. One of the most common questions I am asked by parents is how to differentiate between jokes and cyberbullying online. And my answer is simple.
If you feel hurt by a joke or think others are laughing at you (instead of with you) then the joke has gone too far. Yes, we all have different levels of sensitivity but if you are offended then it’s time to take some action. Now, if it continues after asking for it to stop and you are still feeling upset then this is bullying.
It really is simple – a joke is intended to be humorous without causing harm whereas bullying is intended to cause harm to others. And, of course jokes can sometimes go too far but in most cases an apology and an explanation can remedy any hurt.
Navigating friendships when you’re in thick of being a teenager can be really tough for some kids particularly those who aren’t as mature or worldly as others. Kids who are a little younger or less experienced with life may feel that they are on the outskirts of their social group. And in my experience, this can be a tough place to be. Regardless of how many times we tell our kids that being popular or accepted doesn’t matter, when you’re 15 it really can. So, if your shy 15-year-old receives a joking message from a kid at school (who he’d like to be friends with) that upsets him, do you need to take action? Or will it jeopardise any chance your child might have to be friends with this child?
I always like to give a person the benefit of the doubt. So, my advice here would be to continue to monitor the situation. If your child receives additional messages that upset him, then he needs to ask the ‘joker’ to stop. Some kids would be OK to manage this themselves while others might need some help. If they need help, I suggest contacting the school or sporting club that your kids have in common and asking them to intervene. Do not contact the child directly yourself.
One of the best things you can do for your kids is ensure they know what to do if they are on the receiving end of behaviour online that they find upsetting. Even if it doesn’t qualify as cyberbullying, having an action plan can empower them. Here’s what I suggest:
It’s often hard to know when to get involved in your teens’ battles. At the end of the day, our job is to help our kids grow into independent adults. But when your gut tells you things are not right then it’s time to start investigating. Insomnia, anxiety, refusing to go to school and a change in the way they use their devices, are all signs they maybe on the receiving end of aggressive online behaviour. And remember, you know your kids better than anyone!
Till Next Time
Stay Safe Online
Alex
The post Is My Child Being Cyberbullied Or Is It Just Banter? appeared first on McAfee Blog.
Social media platforms often get a hard time by us parents. But a recent announcement by TikTok of industry first screen time limits might just be enough to win you over. On March 1, the social media platform announced that it will automatically impose a 60-minute daily screen time limit to every account belonging to a user that is under the age of 18. How good??
I hear what you’re thinking – maybe we can cross TikTok off our list of social media platforms that we need to get our head around? But no, my friends – not so fast! Tik Tok’s new screen time limits are all about parental involvement – which is why I am a fan! So, buckle-up because if you have an under 18 on TikTok (and you’re committed to their digital well-being) then my prediction is that you’ll soon know more about this social media platform than you even thought was possible!
Over the coming weeks, every account that belongs to an under 18-year-old will automatically be set to a 60-minute daily screen time limit. Once they’ve clocked up an hour of scrolling, teens will be asked to enter a passcode, which TikTok will supply, to keep using the platform. TikTok refers to this as an ‘active decision’.
So, clearly this isn’t quite the silver bullet to all your screen time worries as teens can choose to opt out of the 60-minute limits. But if they do choose to opt out and then spend more than 100 minutes a day on the platform, they will be prompted to set a daily screen time limit. ‘Will that actually do anything?’ – I hear you say. Well, in the first month of testing this approach, TikTok found that this strategy resulted in a 234% increase in the use of its screen time management tools – a move in the right direction!
But here’s the part I love the most: TikTok offers Family Pairing which allows you to link your child’s account to yours. And as soon as you enable Family Pairing, your teen is no longer in control of their own screen time.
Now, don’t get me wrong – I am not a fan of the authoritarian approach when it comes to all things tech. I do prefer a consultative ‘let’s work together’ vibe. However, TikTok’s move to involve parents in making decisions about their child’s screen time means that families will need to talk digital wellbeing more than ever before and here’s why…
Within the Family Pairings settings, parents are able to set screen time limits based on the day of the week which means homework and holidays can be worked around. There is also a dashboard that shows your child’s screen time usage, the number of times the app was opened plus a breakdown of time spent during the day and night. Now, with all this control and information, you’ll be in quite the powerful position so be prepared to be sold hard by your teen on many the benefits of TikTok!
For years I have been a fan of creating a Family Digital Contract which means you get to outline your family’s expectations around technology use. Now the agreement can include time spent online, the sites that can be visited and even the behaviour you expect of your child when they are online. So, if your kids are avid TikTok users then I highly recommend you do this ASAP. Check out the Family Safety Agreement from the Family Online Safety Institute as a starting point but I always recommend tailoring it to suit the needs of your own tribe.
But let’s keep it real – your kids are not always going to comply, remember how you pushed the boundaries when you were young?? And that’s OK if they understand why their actions weren’t ideal and you have a suitable level of confidence that they will get back on track. However, if you have concerns that they need an additional level of structure to ensure their digital wellbeing remains intact then that’s when TikTok’s Family Pairing can work a treat!
It’s no secret that social media can be incredibly captivating, possibly even addicting, for so many. And it’s not just TikTok – Instagram, Facebook even Twitter has all been designed to give us regular hits of dopamine with each scroll, like and post. And while I know that parental controls are only one part of the solution, they can be very handy if you need to bring your tween’s usage under control.
But when all is said and done, please remember that the strength of your relationship with your child is the best way of keeping them safe online and their wellbeing intact. If your kids know that they can come to you about any issue at all – and that you will always have their back – then you’re winning!!
So, be interested in their life – both online and offline – ask questions – who do they hang with? How do they spend their time? And remember to share your online experience with them too – get yourself a little ‘tech’ cred – because I promise they will be more likely to come to you when there is a problem.
‘Till next time – keep talking!!
Alex
The post What Parents Need To Know About TikTok’s New Screen Time Limits appeared first on McAfee Blog.
Social media platforms often get a hard time by us parents. But a recent announcement by TikTok of industry first screen time limits might just be enough to win you over. On March 1, the social media platform announced that it will automatically impose a 60-minute daily screen time limit to every account belonging to a user that is under the age of 18. How good??
I hear what you’re thinking – maybe we can cross TikTok off our list of social media platforms that we need to get our head around? But no, my friends – not so fast! Tik Tok’s new screen time limits are all about parental involvement – which is why I am a fan! So, buckle-up because if you have an under 18 on TikTok (and you’re committed to their digital well-being) then my prediction is that you’ll soon know more about this social media platform than you even thought was possible!
Over the coming weeks, every account that belongs to an under 18-year-old will automatically be set to a 60-minute daily screen time limit. Once they’ve clocked up an hour of scrolling, teens will be asked to enter a passcode, which TikTok will supply, to keep using the platform. TikTok refers to this as an ‘active decision’.
So, clearly this isn’t quite the silver bullet to all your screen time worries as teens can choose to opt out of the 60-minute limits. But if they do choose to opt out and then spend more than 100 minutes a day on the platform, they will be prompted to set a daily screen time limit. ‘Will that actually do anything?’ – I hear you say. Well, in the first month of testing this approach, TikTok found that this strategy resulted in a 234% increase in the use of its screen time management tools – a move in the right direction!
But here’s the part I love the most: TikTok offers Family Pairing which allows you to link your child’s account to yours. And as soon as you enable Family Pairing, your teen is no longer in control of their own screen time.
Now, don’t get me wrong – I am not a fan of the authoritarian approach when it comes to all things tech. I do prefer a consultative ‘let’s work together’ vibe. However, TikTok’s move to involve parents in making decisions about their child’s screen time means that families will need to talk digital wellbeing more than ever before and here’s why…
Within the Family Pairings settings, parents are able to set screen time limits based on the day of the week which means homework and holidays can be worked around. There is also a dashboard that shows your child’s screen time usage, the number of times the app was opened plus a breakdown of time spent during the day and night. Now, with all this control and information, you’ll be in quite the powerful position so be prepared to be sold hard by your teen on many the benefits of TikTok!
For years I have been a fan of creating a Family Digital Contract which means you get to outline your family’s expectations around technology use. Now the agreement can include time spent online, the sites that can be visited and even the behaviour you expect of your child when they are online. So, if your kids are avid TikTok users then I highly recommend you do this ASAP. Check out the Family Safety Agreement from the Family Online Safety Institute as a starting point but I always recommend tailoring it to suit the needs of your own tribe.
But let’s keep it real – your kids are not always going to comply, remember how you pushed the boundaries when you were young?? And that’s OK if they understand why their actions weren’t ideal and you have a suitable level of confidence that they will get back on track. However, if you have concerns that they need an additional level of structure to ensure their digital wellbeing remains intact then that’s when TikTok’s Family Pairing can work a treat!
It’s no secret that social media can be incredibly captivating, possibly even addicting, for so many. And it’s not just TikTok – Instagram, Facebook even Twitter has all been designed to give us regular hits of dopamine with each scroll, like and post. And while I know that parental controls are only one part of the solution, they can be very handy if you need to bring your tween’s usage under control.
But when all is said and done, please remember that the strength of your relationship with your child is the best way of keeping them safe online and their wellbeing intact. If your kids know that they can come to you about any issue at all – and that you will always have their back – then you’re winning!!
So, be interested in their life – both online and offline – ask questions – who do they hang with? How do they spend their time? And remember to share your online experience with them too – get yourself a little ‘tech’ cred – because I promise they will be more likely to come to you when there is a problem.
‘Till next time – keep talking!!
Alex
The post What Parents Need To Know About TikTok’s New Screen Time Limits appeared first on McAfee Blog.
Google says it has suspended the app for the Chinese e-commerce giant Pinduoduo after malware was found in versions of the software. The move comes just weeks after Chinese security researchers published an analysis suggesting the popular e-commerce app sought to seize total control over affected devices by exploiting multiple security vulnerabilities in a variety of Android-based smartphones.
In November 2022, researchers at Google’s Project Zero warned about active attacks on Samsung mobile phones which chained together three security vulnerabilities that Samsung patched in March 2021, and which would have allowed an app to add or read any files on the device.
Google said it believes the exploit chain for Samsung devices belonged to a “commercial surveillance vendor,” without elaborating further. The highly technical writeup also did not name the malicious app in question.
On Feb. 28, 2023, researchers at the Chinese security firm DarkNavy published a blog post purporting to show evidence that a major Chinese ecommerce company’s app was using this same three-exploit chain to read user data stored by other apps on the affected device, and to make its app nearly impossible to remove.
DarkNavy likewise did not name the app they said was responsible for the attacks. In fact, the researchers took care to redact the name of the app from multiple code screenshots published in their writeup. DarkNavy did not respond to requests for clarification.
“At present, a large number of end users have complained on multiple social platforms,” reads a translated version of the DarkNavy blog post. “The app has problems such as inexplicable installation, privacy leakage, and inability to uninstall.”
Update, March 27, 1:24 p.m. ET: Dan Goodin over at Ars Technica has an important update on this story that indicates the Pinduoduo code was exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in Android — not Samsung. From that piece:
“A preliminary analysis by Lookout found that at least two off-Play versions of Pinduoduo for Android exploited CVE-2023-20963, the tracking number for an Android vulnerability Google patched in updates that became available to end users two weeks ago. This privilege-escalation flaw, which was exploited prior to Google’s disclosure, allowed the app to perform operations with elevated privileges. The app used these privileges to download code from a developer-designated site and run it within a privileged environment.
“The malicious apps represent “a very sophisticated attack for an app-based malware,” Christoph Hebeisen, one of three Lookout researchers who analyzed the file, wrote in an email. “In recent years, exploits have not usually been seen in the context of mass-distributed apps. Given the extremely intrusive nature of such sophisticated app-based malware, this is an important threat mobile users need to protect against.”
On March 3, 2023, a denizen of the now-defunct cybercrime community BreachForums posted a thread which noted that a unique component of the malicious app code highlighted by DarkNavy also was found in the ecommerce application whose name was apparently redacted from the DarkNavy analysis: Pinduoduo.
A Mar. 3, 2023 post on BreachForums, comparing the redacted code from the DarkNavy analysis with the same function in the Pinduoduo app available for download at the time.
On March 4, 2023, e-commerce expert Liu Huafang posted on the Chinese social media network Weibo that Pinduoduo’s app was using security vulnerabilities to gain market share by stealing user data from its competitors. That Weibo post has since been deleted.
On March 7, the newly created Github account Davinci1010 published a technical analysis claiming that until recently Pinduoduo’s source code included a “backdoor,” a hacking term used to describe code that allows an adversary to remotely and secretly connect to a compromised system at will.
That analysis includes links to archived versions of Pinduoduo’s app released before March 5 (version 6.50 and lower), which is when Davinci1010 says a new version of the app removed the malicious code.
Pinduoduo has not yet responded to requests for comment. Pinduoduo parent company PDD Holdings told Reuters Google has not shared details about why it suspended the app.
The company told CNN that it strongly rejects “the speculation and accusation that Pinduoduo app is malicious just from a generic and non-conclusive response from Google,” and said there were “several apps that have been suspended from Google Play at the same time.”
Pinduoduo is among China’s most popular e-commerce platforms, boasting approximately 900 million monthly active users.
Most of the news coverage of Google’s move against Pinduoduo emphasizes that the malware was found in versions of the Pinduoduo app available outside of Google’s app store — Google Play.
“Off-Play versions of this app that have been found to contain malware have been enforced on via Google Play Protect,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters, adding that the Play version of the app has been suspended for security concerns.
However, Google Play is not available to consumers in China. As a result, the app will still be available via other mobile app stores catering to the Chinese market — including those operated by Huawei, Oppo, Tencent and VIVO.
Google said its ban did not affect the PDD Holdings app Temu, which is an online shopping platform in the United States. According to The Washington Post, four of the Apple App Store’s 10 most-downloaded free apps are owned by Chinese companies, including Temu and the social media network TikTok.
The Pinduoduo suspension comes as lawmakers in Congress this week are gearing up to grill the CEO of TikTok over national security concerns. TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, said last month that it now has roughly 150 million monthly active users in the United States.
A new cybersecurity strategy released earlier this month by the Biden administration singled out China as the greatest cyber threat to the U.S. and Western interests. The strategy says China now presents the “broadest, most active, and most persistent threat to both government and private sector networks,” and says China is “the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do so.”
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