Here are INTERNET SAFETY TIPS FOR RURAL FAMILIES you must Know.
The perks of living in a countryside are many including large open spaces, fresh breath of air, a small community that acts as a family living together etc. However, being in the countryside also means there might be some infrastructure limitations. Rural communities face some unique challenges with regards to the internet facilities they are being provided with. Urban areas have the ease of access to instant tech support and a better infrastructure whereas the ruralites have to be a bit self reliant on these matters. This is why today we will discuss some useful safety tips that can help the rural families to protect themselves from unwanted internet breach and keep their family members safe online.
One of the most essential steps to ensure rural internet security is by ensuring your home network is protected. Alot of rural homes have wireless routers in them for accessing the internet. This can be a problem if the network is not properly secured.
Use a minimum of WPA2 encryption or above. Also, keep a regular check on your router’s firmware and be sure to update it whenever it's available in order to protect against any unwanted access.
A secure and strong password is an essential part of online safety. You should change your router’s default password into something that is stronger and hard to crack. Passwords are usually compromised easily which can give access to hackers. This will compromise your personal information and data. Hence, always make sure you have a hard to break password setup that only your household members have access to.
You can be creative in generating passwords that are not easy to break-in. Use a complex pattern like mixing up letters, numbers and special characters from your keyboard. Try to avoid passwords that are easily guessable like your name, birthday etc. In case you happen to forget your passwords, you can use a password manager to keep a track of all the passwords you have used in multiple accounts, or simply write them down on a piece of paper and hide it in your room!
Two factor authentication is a step to add an extra layer of security for your accounts. It usually combines entering your password with some other step to ensure only you login. This additional layer of security may involve answering any security questions to which only you know the answer to, tapping on your mobile notification to enable logging in anywhere outside your home, receding OTP (One Time Password) on your device which can then be entered to gain access to your account etc.
All of these additional layers of security ensure that your data remains safe and no unauthorized access is granted to people. You should use two factor authentication on your emails, bank accounts and social media to prevent breach of your personal information and data.
Educating your family and community members is a key factor to maintain rural internet security. Make sure your family members and your loved ones living in rural areas are well-informed about the potential risks that are present online and how to tackle them.
You can share some articles and videos to them which guide them on the do’s and don'ts of using the internet. Teach your little ones about the risk involved in sharing their personal information with strangers and suspicious websites.
This feature is very useful for parents as it helps them keep a track on their children’s activities online and helps to protect them from exposure to inappropriate content.
You can set up parental control on your home network and block any unwanted sites that may have inappropriate content on it, use content filters to avoid harmful sites and monitor activities of your children online along with setting limits on screen time. All of these steps are just there to make sure your kids remain safe from online scams and hazards.
Data loss is not restricted to old and broken devices. It can happen to anyone regardless of their security features. Hence it is always crucial that you keep a local backup of all your important data somewhere safe e.g on a local harddrive or USB etc. In case there is any data loss, you will have it backed up securely.
Public WiFi networks are not the safest options out there. They are quite vulnerable to hackers. Your data might get hacked without you even having a clue. Living in the rural areas, public WiFis can be less secure like the ones installed in libraries, cafes etc.
Therefore you should avoid using them for accessing your banking apps etc. You can use a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to encrypt your internet usage as well. Make sure to never leave your device connected to a public WiFi when not in use.
This might not be directly linked to your personal safety, but in the long run it will help to bring about the change needed in the rural areas. If more people become aware about online hacks and risks, they would demand the local authorities to work on a secured internet infrastructure which will be of great benefit to the overall rural internet security.
By implementing the above mentioned practical tips, you will have a far safer internet experience living in the rural community. As the technology gets advanced day by day, more scams and hackers are on the rise as well. Keeping your privacy and data secured is a responsibility that cannot be overlooked. Therefore we recommend our readers to keep an eye out for themselves by securing their internet connections as well as by keeping themselves aware of any new threats that might make their data exposed to the scammers. We hope you have a safe and secure experience from now onwards on your internet!
