going down the ios route is safest option.Pretty much in same boat as you taught my dad on online bill payments and banking in iPad . Set up a password manager and store all their personal information in there , make it available via touch id.
Chromebook and linux are still tech stuff which can not be handled by elderly.
Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
11–20 of 215 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#12It is an understandable wish, sadly it is not something you can control without them living with you and having all of their outside world access go through you.
This sad state of affairs because swindlers can get at them in many different ways. I have a sign near the phone that says "If they are asking you to buy gift cards hang up, what they have told you is a lie."
Of course online access is essential today, so it isn't easy to tell them they don't get to use the computer. Or Facebook. Or NextDoor. Or any other social media site. Or Chat service. Or other Forum.
There isn't any just "read only news" (no commenting) from sites with journalists, maps, phone numbers. Kind of appliance that you can get them.
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#13Maybe this is off-topic, but everything I know about personal security I learned from my mom. She gets spam calls like we all do, claiming to be health insurance or the IRS or something, and she'll always hang up, look up the right phone number, and call that back and see if there really is anything going on. Same with emails, she doesn't click links but instead goes to the website independently and logs in there. She taught me that if it's actually your health insurance or credit card company calling, they'll already have your information, so asking for your SSN or address is a red flag.
She's "not technical", which means she's a librarian instead of a software engineer, but she still knows much more than me about online security, and I'd bet most of our parents are kinda the same. She "runs" an iPhone and a Chromebook, which I think is the best setup for most people.
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#14Honestly, while getting phished and hacked are big issues, I would also worry about them being sucked into social media bubbles where they could start latching onto conspiracy theories, fake news, and the like. It was not too long ago where their generation believed it was a bad idea to believe anything on the Internet. I'm not sure what changed. I have seen my own parents fall suspect to that stuff now and then, so it does scare me.
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#15Manage their PC, apply good security measures to it (use pihole, browser selection, disabling extensions, use extensions that prevent phishing). Teach them elementary online security and how to use a password manager. On a more OOtB note, have all their web traffic route via a web proxy that will prevent phishing, MITMs, scan against viruses etc.
Do you have a recommendation for such a proxy? Is this something that could be accomplished at the router level without the need for additional configuration or hardware (on their part). Ideally, I’d love to flash OpenWRT or similar onto their router, enable some simple block lists and settings, and have reasonable assurance they’re protected (at least on their home network).
As I’m writing thing, I wonder if there is a “senior mode” distro/plugin for OpenWRT.
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#16Avoid Linux, Windows, etc. For non tech users, iOS is pretty safe. Ipad + iPhone and you're good to go. Leave the notebooks and PCs in the 80s where they belong.
Is this the same iOS that recently allowed anybody to remotely activate the microphone and camera using Facetime?
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#17Walk through privacytools.io with them for at least their browser and their browser extensions, and possibly the email portion. That 30 min lesson may do them years worth of good.
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#18Can recommend Chromebook from personal experience.
Auto-updates painlessly. Probably worth getting one with touchscreen and ability to run Android Apps. I've just updated my mum's one to Acer Chromebook R11 CB5-132T (old one was no longer getting updates after c. 5 years)
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#19going down the ios route is safest option.Pretty much in same boat as you taught my dad on online bill payments and banking in iPad . Set up a password manager and store all their personal information in there , make it available via touch id. Chromebook and linux are still tech stuff which can not be handled by elderly.
iOS/macOS with 1blockerX/1blocker and keychain has worked wonders for my parents.
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#20Can recommend Chromebook from personal experience. Auto-updates painlessly. Probably worth getting one with touchscreen and ability to run Android Apps. I've just updated my mum's one to Acer Chromebook R11 CB5-132T (old one was no longer getting updates after c. 5 years)
Chromebooks are great, but there is certainly still some risk if extensions are enabled. My daughter was having problems with her Chromebook, and I found that a bunch of shady extensions had been installed (I had a flashback to the 90's and toolbars). Apparently they were masquerading as games and themes.