Victims of cybercrime
The very first three results belonged to him. The first two links directed me to his pages on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. The last link was a reference to a run he had competed in. He was hugely active on these sites and on Facebook in particular. And since most of his stuff was open to the public, I read the various threads he had going. The threads were the usual mix – most were forgettable, a couple were interesting and one was slightly disturbing.
Every bit of this story would have been perfectly fine, except for one minor fact – my son is 13. To say the accidental discovery was an eye-opener would be a massive understatement. But there was more to come. When I casually asked him about the disturbing Facebook post, he replied that it wasn’t by him. His account had been hacked and various pictures and posts would mysteriously appear on his Facebook page. As I enquired further, I realised that he had indiscriminately clicked on harmful links sent by his friends and his account had been compromised.
It suddenly brought home the fact that the threats of the Internet were not nearly as far away from my family as I had been deluded into assuming. That I had been grossly negligent in preparing my young son to get the best out of the Internet while avoiding the dangers that come with it.
I sat him down and explained that the Internet was filled with both good and harmful stuff. Then I signed up for SafeSurf and SafeShield by StarHub Security Solutions to protect both my son and my home network.
SafeSurf a web filtering service, automatically blocks out unsafe sites and undesirable content. Simply put, it keeps out the bad while giving access to the good stuff. And you can turn the service on and off as and when you need it. From end September, the benefits of web filtering will also be available on the mobile platform, ensuring a safe Internet surfing experience both at home and on the go.
SafeShield, on the other hand, protects the integrity of my home network. It keeps away the endless threats of viruses, email spam and phishing. Features such as Anti-spyware, Anti-spam, Anti-phishing, Anti-virus, Personal Firewall and Browsing Protection keep your home network safe. StarHub Security Solutions also let you know where your kids are, monitor your home remotely while you are at work and even back up your mobile phone data. For complete details on how StarHub can help secure all that’s important to you, visit www.starhub.com/security or any StarHub shop today.”
