Creating fun and secure passwords, using access codes, always updating, not clicking on everything and never talking to strangers online, are the measures all girls and boys should learn to stay safe online.

Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), a leading provider specialising in cybersecurity worldwide, wants to warn of all the dangers to which children are exposed when they go online and stress that it is everyone’s responsibility to educate them and give them the right tools to surf the Internet safely:

1. Create fun and safe passwords

Social networks are becoming more and more popular and abundant, video games or fashion applications necessary for different functions. There are many passwords that the little ones must think of to access these platforms and not creating them with the right characteristics can put them at risk. Children are the most web-savvy, they are born into an online world, so they have to learn to create strong passwords capable of protecting them:

• It should be a combination that only they know and for this they should never use personal data such as birthdays, age or the names of known players, as this is very easy to find out.
• Think of something that is going to be difficult to guess and never share it with anyone.
• If you see that any IoT device or App comes with a default password, it is essential that you change it, otherwise it can be very easy to breach.
• The best passwords should be different for each platform and should always be long, with different characters, symbols and numbers, such as %Atletimadrid22#!

2. Use access codes

If you have a tablet or mobile phone, you should always have an access code that restricts any attempt to enter. This way, if one day our children leave the device in a public place, we will prevent anyone from entering and obtaining all the data it stores.

3. Updating is cool

More and more games and applications can be installed on mobile devices and computers, they are fun and can be played with friends online. But these pastimes have a dark side, especially if they are free: sometimes the free stuff can hide viruses or malware hidden by a cybercriminal and can infect all the devices connected to the same network and ruin them or worse.

Updating when necessary is essential because it will apply security solutions against new threats and new viruses.

4. Don’t click without thinking

The first thing to know is that “phishing” means tricking someone into clicking on a link that will do something bad on your device. To avoid falling into the trap of this attack you should only open emails from people you know, never click on a link it contains and always check that it is not infected before opening any file or image attachment.

5. Beware of strangers on the net

There are now many video games or social networks that allow you to have a conversation with other people who are part of the online world. Although you may think that they are children or young people like everyone else, nothing can be certain. So if you don’t know the online gamers personally, it is best to avoid any kind of conversation, even if there is a screen in between, they can be just as dangerous as in real life.

The Internet is in many of our daily activities, so it is essential to protect the youngest members of the household against any kind of danger online and it is essential to take every precaution by training them thoroughly in all aspects of cybersecurity. When they are online they should only talk to people they know in real life, they need to know that sharing personal information online is a danger, they only need to click on links in known emails, passwords have features that make them more secure and that updating them always brings advantages and a higher level of protection.