Police warn of internet dangers, leaving cameras turned on

Police on Sunday issued advice to parents on how to protect their children from online risks.

“The dangers lurking on the Internet are many and often very big,” a written statement from police said. “How many of us know how to protect ourselves? How many of us take measures, so we don’t come across any nasty surprises?

Precautionary measures, if taken, can reduce to a minimum the risks that may arise from the use of the internet, it added.

These include parents teaching their children firstly that whatever they read or see on the Internet is not always true and should encourage them to ask if you have doubts.

“Check your child’s internet activity using advanced software. Parental controls can help you filter dangerous content, to record the sites your child visits, and find out what they do there,” it said.

Parents should always connect to the internet along with children younger than 14 and add acceptable sites in their ‘favorites’ to create a personalised safe online environment. Adblockers should also be used, and setting up email filters.

It is also preferable that computers be located in common areas of the home and not in children’s bedrooms.

“When children use chat rooms and instant messaging they are at risk of coming into contact with online predators,” police said.
Children should be told never to give out their names or reveal any personal information such as addresses or phone numbers, and be made aware that if a stranger online starts to ask them such questions, they should tell their parents.

“It is also important to know the risks that may arise from web cameras. NEVER leave them on when you are not using them, and it is even better to cover them when we are not using them,” the warning said, because others can hack in and videotape users even if they are not aware of it.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.