Gen Z and the younger generation following them, which is now being called Generation Alpha, are at a major disadvantage when it comes to online security. They might have grown up in a world where the internet and digital devices are everywhere, but they’ve also learned to take these things for granted. They’re also overly used to accessing the internet through a limited number of apps instead of navigating the wild west of the open web, where Gen X and early Millenials first broke digital ground. This has left these younger generations less able to adapt to clever hacks and deceptive bots, which are suddenly becoming much more advanced.
The simplest way to get youths to think about browser security is to teach them how to customize their internet experience with browser extensions. Here are some you might consider starting with:
Unshorten.link to See Hidden Threats
As the internet gets bigger, it’s become commonplace for links to be automatically shortened when they appear in chat messages, on ads, and on some sites. You’ll see these as the more obvious tiny URLs or as things like bit.ly and t.co links, but there are many more that can be hard to pick out at a glance. These can hide the truth of links, leading to malware, phishing attacks, fake websites, or countless other kinds of online fraud. A website safety checker extension is a common piece of a browser toolkit.
Privacy Badger to Ditch Trackers
When a website tells you that cookies are there to customize and streamline the experience, it’s often being truthful. Sometimes, however, tracking cookies sneak onto your computer and begin to collect data about your online activity. Privacy Badger is one example of a plugin that stops this from happening. If a website is trying to track you, these extensions can identify and stop this.
MalwareBytes Browser Guard for All-Around Defense
The MalwareBytes PC application has been defending computers from malware for a long time, but this browser extension is a much more recent arrival. It’s an example of a holistic security extension that focuses on blocking malicious websites from requesting info from your computer and blocking suspicious activity from websites you visit. This new program takes advantage of AI to identify unexpected activity, an unfortunately important innovation as threats become more advanced. If you happen to download the wrong software you can end up compromising your computer. At that point it’s a good idea to contact a tech support specialist to help.
Click&Clean to Keep Your Browser Cookie-Light
This user-friendly browser extension is used to clear unnecessary cookies and temp files that might otherwise clog up your browser and give malware and tracking cookies a place to hide. Unlike other cookie cleaners, this one has a more nuanced touch that lets you keep login cookies for your email and social media but clear everything else.
Use This to Create a Dialogue
With each browser extension installed, be sure to discuss what it is and why it’s necessary. Ultimately, you’ll want your family members to form their own understanding of what online security looks like and be able to make decisions that keep them safe. Understanding the strength of browser extensions will help them see how powerful online threats can be. Soon, they’ll be reminding you to stay safe online, as well, and maybe even recommending extensions they’ve found on their own.
