Keeping your family safe on the Internet

26 February 2020 Smart Home Automation

Keeping your family safe entails more than installing a physical security solution that provides barriers (gates, burglar bars, walls/fences and security doors), intruder detection, surveillance and access control. While that is a desirable line of physical defence, it is equally important to secure your family during their engagements on the Internet.

“Material well outside the bounds of good taste and common decency can be found online. This includes offensive, illegal ‘adult’ content that would likely scar the viewer for life. An article in Wired, for example, reports that 80% of Dark Web hits are connected to paedophilia and child pornography,” says Simon Campbell-Young, CEO of MyCybercare.

Campbell-Young points out that it is not only the Dark Web that poses a threat to the safety of children and adults, but furthermore, simple interactions on readily accessible websites can be deemed risky. According to Javelin Strategy & Research, “Children are increasingly the victims of identity fraud. While children have long been a target for Social Security Number misuse and credit card fraud, it appears the impact is growing.” The security firm found that over 1 million children in the United States were identity theft victims in 2017.

These sobering statistics, combined with equally disturbing evidence that phishing, for example, results in the loss of millions of Rands annually, are a clear incentive for individuals to consider a total package geared around providing tools to counter cybercrime against family members.

The Cybercare4U Family/Kids Security Bundles are available in three variants. The Platinum package comprises McAfee total protection for up to 10 devices (including Safe Family), the MyCyberDNA (including access to the Cyber Helpline), Cybercare 4U R10 000 warranty per annum, and advisory services (including cyberbullying and ID theft remediation).

This advanced threat detection solution provides security for intrusion detection; online monitoring across the Internet, Dark Web and chat rooms (including cyber education); advice on protecting your children from insidious and highly damaging cyberbullying, and a warranty against loss of funds.

The various elements within each bundle have been selected to optimise protection and are based on the budgetary restraints of individual families. These elements are:

McAfee Internet Security. This cloud-based threat analysis solution provides ransomware protection, safe Web browsing, performance optimisation, password management and multi-device protection.

McAfee Total Protection. This anti-virus package has a two-way firewall with McAfee NetGuard, a vulnerability scanner, WebAdvisor (warns about risky websites), Shredder (permanently deletes important files from your PC to protect your identity and privacy), Quick Clean, security for mobile devices, online advice from security experts, anti-spam, password management, File Lock, and Safe Family (protecting the whole household).

MyCyberDNA with Cyber Helpline. MyCyberDNA includes Cyber Security Store, identity theft monitoring, vulnerability protection, security awareness guidance, and major threat alerts. The Cyber Helpline allows users to connect to cyber experts via phone, email or a chat room facility. Advice will be provided on removal of viruses, adware, ransomware and spyware; with clean-up and recovery after an account takeover; and with file restoration after an attack.

Cybercare4U warranty covers fraudulent online purchases, phishing scams, fraudulent in-app purchases, fraudulent EFTs and virus attacks.

The advisory services include legal advice in terms of civil and criminal law matters, with the goal of assisting clients to restore their identity profile if it has been compromised, providing informative steps to claim back one’s identity, coaching the client through dealing with a breach or incident, advice on reporting the matter to the SAPS and advice on cyberbullying and obtaining protection orders.

“Given the increasing presence of children and other family members online, there is a similarly increased risk of one or another cyberattacks occurring. Instead of being a ‘could have, should have, didn’t’ victim of online crime, why not invest in a security bundle that costs less per month than a burger and chips?” says Campbell-Young.




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