The best way to do this would be to set up a program similar to a built-in game that regularly tests them by presenting them with realistic situations and gauging their response. Pen testing with built-in realtime negative feedback of some kind when they make a mistake would keep them learning.
Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
41–50 of 215 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#42Maybe 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. Sh…
> She's "not technical", which means she's a librarian instead of a software engineer
Funnily enough, librarians are some of the most computer-savvy people I know. I wouldn't be surprised if your mother's "librarian training" of recognizing bad information and tracking down good sources is a big part of what makes her that good at navigating the net.
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#43I scared them a lot initially (run away from exes, read all the things, never press next without reading), told them to Google everything before asking and a little bit of shouting to them. Also did a lot of explaining to them of what the green lock means, incognito, email attachments, etc. (essentially, that they are never safe online).
From my side I made sure all their browsers had ad-blockers. Also tried Ubuntu with them, but they preferred windows.
Few years later, my mom can now boot into Ubuntu if a family computer has a blue screen many times and run a hardware check and tells everyone, "google it!" when they ask her for questions. They also are way more confident now and don't fall for as many shit as before. I mean, they used to copy shortcuts to floppies, thinking they copied the whole program, and got scared of ads that the FBI was watching them, and that they had to pay.
Parents are 60 something, so I guess its never too late to teach them. In contrast however, my younger aunts are unteachable, like bricks, so it really depends on the character as well.
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#44You can't make them safe, any more than you can give them a car and make them safe on, say, a freeway. I think a better attitude is to teach them that the internet is a dangerous place, and they should 'drive' defensively.
Get them the simplest device possible. A cheap iPad is great. Preconfigure it to be even simpler (maybe using parental controls), and tell them not to mess with anything. Keep notes for yourself, and be prepared to restore from factory defaults every once in a while when things go weird.
Install as many layers of ad-blocking as possible, whether DNS blacklists, browser filters, etc. Some sites/apps won't function correctly, but rather than try to open holes, just say, 'Sorry, that doesn't work.' Trust me, your folks will just move on to something that does (maybe with your suggestions), and is likely safer.
Buy them a few subscriptions to reputable news sources (a good discussion itself) so they don't have an excuse that they can't pay for decent journalism and so have to pick it up from a Facebook/Youtube algorithm.
If you're up for it, be explicit and direct about them asking you for advice. For example, teach them how to forward an email to you -- or a screenshot or image from another camera -- so you can give them an idea of whether its safe or not.
If they're willing, teach them to use a password manager that creates/saves random passwords. If you can't, at least make sure their important accounts (email, bank, etc.) are adequately secured. I've (mostly) convinced my mom to write down all her passwords on pieces of paper, which are stored in an envelope in a known place in her apartment. It's not perfect, but way better than discovering every password is 'hello123'.
Try to teach them a little about the technology. I don't mean system architecture or code, but the basics of how online economics work (e.g., advertising vs personal data) and what algorithms are (use the analogy of meal recipes). If you discover accessible journalism that is critical of problematic technology (like privacy issues with Facebook), share it with them. I've done this a lot with older/non-tech folks and I've ever met someone who couldn't understand at least the basics.
Don't be afraid to tell them that you feel some technology is bad for them. You'll discover it's actually a relief for them to hear, as mostly what they're going to hear is that all technology is great, and much less about being critical about tech.
Finally, don't push them into any more tech than they truly need. Most non-tech people aren't that interested in exploring tech; they probably aren't going to be the folks downloading apps or plugins and trying random websites just for fun. If they're comfortable walking into their bank and dealing with their accounts in person, let them continue to do that. Even if it costs a little, they're actually better off than you (or someone else) convincing them online banking is 'better.' Don't digitize their lives without a really good reason.
(I'm saying all of the above with the experience of being online for 40+ years, and helping other folks over that whole time. Sadly, it's gotten more difficult.)
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#45If you can manage it, get them set up with a security key for their Gmail and Facebook accounts. You can do this unilaterally for them if it would be overwhelming.
They won't need to use the keys if they stay on the same device all the time, but it will have a big impact on anyone trying to steal their passwords. Instructions here: https://techsolidarity.org/resources/security_key_gmail.htm.
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#46Similar to how I’d protect young children: get them an iPad, pre-install essential apps, whitelist some web domains, and require your authorization for any new app installs or domain whitelisting. You’ll find that their web browsing actually is limited to a few domains, and they should never learn to bank, etc. outside the apps.
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#47I'm really surprised at the replies in this thread, some are almost patronising.
Parents might be old, but they're not dumb. People underestimate older people.
Obviously there are some vulnerable adults that need a helping hand, I get that, but try just talking and teaching, it works wonders.
The key is patience really.
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#48Avoid 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.
I disagree. I've Ubuntu LTS setup on my mother-in-law's PC since more than 6 years and it's been no problem. Very low maintenance, too.
All she needs is email and web browsing. I'm pretty sure as far as security threats are concerned she is vastly better of with Linux. The usual exploits targeted at end users simply won't work.
What makes you say "Avoid Linux"?
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#49I'm really surprised at the replies in this thread, some are almost patronising. Parents might be old, but they're not dumb. People underestimate older people. Obviously there are some vulnerable adults that need a helping hand, I get that, but try just talking and teaching, it works wonders. The key is patience really.
Yeah, well. A colleague of mine is an historian, in her early 50's I think.
For three years now she has been taking notes in her small notepad of the four same shortcuts: ctrl-A, alt-tab, etc. She still doesn't get attachments and doesn't understand the differences between a zip file and a folder (I blame windows but still...).
I think she's good at her job (research and producing articles) but she isn't catching up with the tech.
The struggle is real.
Re: Ask HN: How do I make sure my non-technical parents are safe online?
#50The only thing, I did for my mom was to install adblock plus in chrome/firefox and taught her a thing or two about 2FA. I set that up for her bank accounts. Most of her work gets done by Google products. Not that great for privacy, but keeps her relatively safe.