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Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?

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Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?

#201

Post by pinusc »

Thinkx220 wrote: post #191
system2 wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NEVER get them a linux laptop. ChromeBook is fine. Linux can be very advanced even for a regular starbucks user.

My dad is in his mid 60s and has been happily using Ubuntu for the better part of a year. He now no longer has to worry about most malware or windows updates interrupting his workflow. I think you are really overestimating the complexity of using Linux as a normal user.

This. Choose the right distro (ubuntu or derivatives, or elementaryOS) and it's as easy as windows for everyday tasks.

And for not-everyday tasks, you can just ssh in and fix it for them.

Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?

#202

Post by pugworthy »

My father just turned 90, and my mother is 85. They both have Macs, as well as iPhones. No landline phones at all. They've had a Mac since around 1990 when I gave them my old Mac 128 that I'd upgraded to 512.

They LOVE the Internet. This morning I helped my dad install an antenna for a HAM radio, and he needed to terminate some coax cables, so found a YouTube video on how to do it. We watched it together and then did the cable.

My mom's an avid old time fiddling (violin but not classical) musician, and likes to find videos, recordings, and music online. Also a lot of things about knitting, plus finding podcasts to listen to.

That said, I worry about them. My father specifically. He's starting to have cognitive problems, and his long standing (and good in the past) habit of installing and trying things is starting to hurt his experience and his computer.

First, I keep finding extensions in Safari that are injecting ads into his web browsing - not sure where they come from.

Then the other day we found out Chrome and Firefox was completely uninstalled, and Chromium was installed. My guess is he downloaded some "bundle" that had it.

Then when his computer started getting slow, he found some "speed up your computer" thing for just $70 - that ended up being Linux on a thumb drive, and the idea was you boot from it, and your computer is now "faster". I tossed it before he ever tried it.

So right now, I'm thinking of installing a limited (can't install things) account for him on his Mac. Or turn on child protection settings.

So basically, his curiosity that's had him using a Mac since 1990 is his very downfall with the computer now that he's having cognitive decline. Ironic in a way.

Honestly it would be nice if someone like MS or Apple would make an "Elderly Parent" mode to go along with Child Mode. Similar idea, but different needs.

Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?

#203

Post by dictum »

pugworthy wrote: post #202

My father just turned 90, and my mother is 85. They both have Macs, as well as iPhones. No landline phones at all. They've had a Mac since around 1990 when I gave them my old Mac 128 that I'd upgraded to 512. They LOVE the Internet. This morning I helped my dad install an antenna for a HAM radio, and he needed to terminate some coax cables, so found a YouTube video on how to do it. We watched it together and then did…

Apple's "elderly mode" is the iPad.

(I know it's not the same as a Mac, even if you try hard, which nobody should. However, the very things that make iOS more secure for some users are what sets it apart from macOS, making it less flexible but more resilient.)

Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?

#204

Post by pugworthy »

dictum wrote: post #203
pugworthy wrote: post #202

My father just turned 90, and my mother is 85. They both have Macs, as well as iPhones. No landline phones at all. They've had a Mac since around 1990 when I gave them my old Mac 128 that I'd upgraded to 512. They LOVE the Internet. This morning I helped my dad install an antenna for a HAM radio, and he needed to terminate some coax cables, so found a YouTube video on how to do it. We watched it together and then did…

Apple's "elderly mode" is the iPad. (I know it's not the same as a Mac, even if you try hard, which nobody should. However, the very things that make iOS more secure for some users are what sets it apart from macOS, making it less flexible but more resilient.)

Not a bad suggestion. Combine with a Bluetooth keyboard and he can write his long nightly emails.

The idea of "iPad mode" for a Mac is not bad. Basically it's very locked down, but has the full advantage of mouse and keyboard along with large screen.

Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?

#205

Post by ThePirateofOz »

agf wrote: post #21

The number one thing you can do to help them is talk to them about being conned / scammed. That's by far the most likely way for them to get victimized online, and the only way that's seriously affected anyone I know. Since they're not technical, their natural self-defense against this kind of this has trouble functioning online. Talk to them about real world analogs to pop-up ads that look like virus scanner alerts,…

Show them some Kitboga videos. He actually will imitate an elderly woman to mess with the scammers. It shows how the scammers work and could be educational... and entertaining.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-j12NvUwhw

Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?

#206

Post by wittedhaddock »

mcv wrote: post #161
jakecopp wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never imagined a phone company that aims to improve overall quality of life using phones, rather than just providing mobile service, fascinating to think about. Are customers able to opt out of additional support and if so do any choose to?

I imagine it's not the cheapest phone company due to the additional service, so if you're not using it, you might be wasting money. In any case, I think it's good that there are phone companies that compete on quality service rather than price, and specialised service for a specific demographic makes a lot of sense.

You don't have to imagine! We're $15 a month for unlimited talking and texting, and each gigabyte is $5. Or in other words, we beat Google Fi by $5. Support is our marketing budget, and it works rather well :)

Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?

#207

Post by wittedhaddock »

srndh wrote: post #184
wittedhaddock wrote: post #58

I work for a phone company, Community Phone, whose majority customers are seniors. We periodically check in with our customers over text message (helping make sure they achieve their goals, like using Uber, or whatever... which is our business: to enable an improvement in overall quality of life via phones, rather than phones in themselves). As a result, many of our customers FB message/call/email/text us as a sanity…

I am not sure how this will work between "a company & a customer". But I would like filter my parents SMS, so that they can see messages from known & trusted contacts, while I can ensure that the messages from unknown sender is not spam. 95% of unknown senders are spam.

That pesky 5% can be really pesky though. Though if they naturally resort to POTS, like I would suspect, I have seen that compensate for potential shortcomings.

In the same way that a speech recognizer with 99% accuracy sounds amazing, and is a great technical achievement, is all the while still really hard to use if it misses 1 out of 100 phonemes...

Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?

#208

Post by whenchamenia »

MRD85 wrote: post #131
PakG1 wrote: post #14

Honestly, 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…

Damn, I see my mum sharing all sorts of right-wing stuff on social media that is obviously fake news designed to spread virally. People are allowed to hold whatever political views they want, but the stuff she's sharing is obviously designed to enrage and cause itself to be spread.

Maybe she knows that?

Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?

#209

Post by kazinator »

barbecue_sauce wrote: post #39

Keep them offline. Get them smartphones, preferably iOS. Educate them about scams. My parents still conduct the majority of their personal business offline, and though I have scoffed at this in the past, it makes more sense for them and also keeps them safe. Their bills come in the mail, and its not uncommon for them to go to a department store and pay the bill for that chain's credit card in person. They meet with t…

Keep people offline by getting them smartphones? What?

Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?

#210

Post by thr0w__4w4y »

marmot777 wrote: post #187
m12k wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, tell them to be suspicious of email links that require them to log in. If "PayPal" sends an email saying you need to change your password or log in for some other reason, teach them to go to type paypal.com in the browser themselves instead of clicking the link.

Absolutely, repeat this a bunch of times even at the risk of being a bit annoying. It's worth it. Make that point. Anyone asking for your password or other sensitive info is very likely a fisher (aka a thief).

Well, they may or may not be a fisher, but they are almost certainly a phisher.
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