What dangers do kids need to look out for on the Internet?

I guess the three biggest concerns online are harassment, viruses and the law.

To deal with these (in order) they should:

1. Never give out their real name or anything else that could identify them. That way no matter what happens, they can always just walk (click) away.

2. Never download anything without asking you (except maybe pictures). Obviously when they get older they'll need to learn which files are safe, buy for now "always ask first" is a good policy.

3. Obey the law. Or learn to be really sneaky when you don't. :p This is probably a bigger concern for older kids (and adults) though.

The only thing that I can remember worrying about when my son was younger, and he was on the pc, was thinking 'shite, did I log out of eBay'. That was my main worry, that he'd click and buy something lol.

My son's used the internet since we first got a pc, when he was 4. Up until he was 6, it was in the living room as I didn't have anywhere else to put it. Since then, I've never felt the need to hover over him or set up any restrictions, other than limiting Google explicit results (or whatever it's called).

He hasn't been bullied, bought things on my credit card, been groomed, or whatever other online 'dangers' there are. Surely they're more at danger when they're outside, in the real world, rather than sitting behind a computer screen?

The worst trouble, I've had with my son and the internet, is that the child thinks he knows more than I do regarding computers and the net. I have 3 computer science degrees, and was programming way back in the day, when code was written the hard way in basic... and he knows more.

That's why I was able to go for over a year with no virus protection, and a clean computer, and his was only expired for a few months, and his computer was LOADED with viruses!

The hardest thing to get him to understand, is that there is more to viruses than downloading things and clicking suspicious links. Simply going to an infected website will do it, and you can't tell just by looking at the site that it's infected.

Now that he's crashed his expensive laptop that his uncle gave him, he's finally gotten the message, but it's taken years!

As for real dangers to your child. I've warned about friending strangers on facebook, giving out personal information over the net, that sort of thing, all forbidden.

like with playing outside this is all about teaching them responsibility.

when they are young, perhaps too young to really understand the dangers of the web keep any computer in the family room or a dinning room, don't allow them to skulk off with a laptop or tablet PC. download and install a filter to block out the harmful content, check age rating on games and like if they where playing, just pop in every now and then and see how they are doing.

as they get older have an honest discussion with them, tell them the truth. some people will use the internet and sites like facebook and chat rooms and pretend to be children in order to try and do harmful things to them. you don't allow them to talk to strangers on the street, why is it different on the internet?

my rule with my boys has always been if you don't know them in real life don't tell them anything you wouldn't tell a stranger, don't tell them your phone number, your address, don't send pictures, don't webcam with them etc etc.

give them some amnesty, if that rule does get broken and the feel they may have crossed a line, tell them so long as they tell you your not going to be cross with them, you will only be cross if you find out some other way and depending on what's happened you can decide what to do.

install a decent anti virus, a good free one is avast (google it), that will auto update and take care of the virus issues mostly

with computer games again make sure as you would with a movie its age rating matches up with what your happy with, if your not going to let them watch a 15 rated move, why would you let them play a 15 rated game? if they have an xbox or playstation read the manual and put the parental controls on so it blocks games that are rated as adult, I think you can set different rating for different accounts so an older child can play more games, you can turn off web browsing as well I think

with PC's and tablets and the like make sure if they them or use those free android market place games that you put parental controls on and passwords so they can't spend money on the games.

smart phones I would avoid getting until you feel your kid is old enough to use the internet responsibly

you can leave the blocker/filter on or take it off, its up to you if you feel like they can be trusted. but id avoid checking up on them. don't be afraid to ask what they are doing from time to time, take an interest but don't let them feel like they are being watched. give them some trust and responsibility and you will find they will in most cases respond positively to this and won't want to break it. if these rules are broken on purpose then just like if they broke the rules which keeps them safe outside they get grounded from the internet for however long you feel is right.

Well your partially wrong.

You can download spyware.

It's perfectly legal.

A lot of companies do it on employee computers.

It depends on his age.

I found porn when I was 9.