Aussie families turn to new security controls to combat cyberbullyingTrend Micro’s parental control features are helping families to control screen time

SYDNEY, 8 June 2017 – Trend Micro’s new parental controls features for its Home Network Security (HNS) solution, allows parents to have visibility of all online activity so they can manage internet usage accordingly. This comes off the back of increased reports of cyberbullying after a new claim that cyberbullying is up 60 per cent year-on-year in Australia.

Cyberbullying occurs on popular social media sites and can have disastrous effects on children. It has been reported that around one in five children aged between 14 and 17 have experienced bullying or harassment online.
Tim Falinski, consumer director for Trend Micro in APAC, says that families have more devices at home than ever before so parents have less visibility of online activity, increasing the risk of cyberbullying.

It is currently estimated that Australian households have an average of 14 connected devices, with this figure expected to grow to 25 connected devices in 2020. Children are also spending an average of 12 hours a week online compared to 10.5 hours spent in front of the TV.

“The rise in popularity of connected devices at home means that kids are on the internet for longer periods of time - which makes it harder for parents to keep track of their child’s online presence,” said Falinski.

“Social media can make parents uneasy - but it doesn’t need to if there are some clear rules in place. Parents can now protect their children against internet dangers such as cyberbullying and online predators by monitoring their internet activity 24x7 from anywhere - enabling them to take immediate action.”  

Trend Micro’s HNS parental controls features allow parents to:

• Specify how children use the Internet and prevent specific categories of websites from being opened
• Limit internet access to only certain periods of the day
• Manage and create profiles for children making it easier to set the appropriate controls for all their devices
• Easily view activities that children are doing online via their profile

 

HNS’s Inappropriate App Detection also notifies parents when social networking apps are being used by their child so they can keep track and educate them about safe social media use when they use apps where cyberbullying could occur.
“As parents, there are many tools at our disposal that can help us to have full visibility of what our children are looking at online, and who they are talking to. The next step is education, and the data helps to have that conversation,” added Falinski.

Trend Micro Home Network Security also provides protection against cyber-attacks for every internet-connected device in your home. Trend Micro Home Network Security offers a new and additional layer of protection for the home network and internet connected devices like game consoles, smart TVs, smartphones, tablets and smart home gadgets.

With no security software installation required, Trend Micro Home Network Security simply plugs into the wireless router from an easy to use app with immediate access to protecting the home network and all devices connected to the internet.
For more information on Home Network Security visit here.

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, helps to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Its innovative solutions for consumers, businesses and governments provide layered security for data centres, cloud environments, networks and endpoints. All Trend Micro products work together to seamlessly share threat intelligence and provide a connected threat defence with centralised visibility and control, enabling better, faster protection. With more than 5,000 employees in more than 50 countries and the world’s most advanced global threat intelligence, Trend Micro enables organisations to secure their journey to the cloud. For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com.au