Internet Safety

Phishing cons are getting increasingly sophisticated, as even my tech-savvy boyfriend and I did a double take at this Netflix phishing email -- before realizing it was complete crap. The goal, as with most phishing emails: To get you to …

With the recent CloudPets hack , and others like it (remember Hello Barbie ?), it's becoming clearer that smart toys, particularly the stuffed animal kind, could pose a privacy risk that parents should know about. Don't get us wrong, we …

There have been plenty of times I've been stuck with a low charge on my smart phone or tablet, especially when I'm traveling, and have used one of those public charging ports to juice my device up again. Well, you might want to skip thos…

If you own an Internet-connected VIZIO smart television, you might have heard that they've been collecting data on your viewing habits for years, and surprise, it's a serious breach of privacy. We took a close look at the reports and the…

Online privacy is becoming harder and harder to wrangle. Remember Spokeo ? Well, recently there's been a ton of buzz about a newish site called Family Tree Now . It's been around for a couple years, but within the last 24 hours I have he…

We share a lot about Internet privacy and talking to kids about web safety here on Cool Mom Tech, because we're parents too, and let's just say parenting in the digital age is no easy feat. Sometimes, it can be downright scary. That's wh…

I'm sure I'm not the only one who always finds it a little disconcerting when an item I was shopping for on the web pops up as a Facebook ad. Well, get ready to see more of that on Google, unless you opt-out of their new privacy policy. …

As much as I love social media, I'm also aware of how scary of a place it can be, whether it's dealing with annoying comment trolls or full-blown cyberbullying. That's why I'm really pleased that Facebook has listened to the concerns we'…

A few years ago, we warned parents about Whisper , a free app that allows users to post about anything and everything anonymously, then connect in groups based on interests and location. But recently, a Denver teen was lured by a sex off…

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard something about Pokemon Go , the new, free app that's blowing up the Internet. In fact, it's about to take over Twitter in user activity. Seriously. We've been getting lots of…

Parents are always asking us how to monitor the safety of their kids online. Combine that with social media, and it can be really overwhelming for parents to know how to educate their kids while still keeping track of their activity. And…

Just a few days ago while perusing new Cool Mom Picks Instagram followers (hey, thanks new followers!), I clicked over to the Sesame Place Instagram feed and noticed something pretty surprising in their bio: Photos using #sesameplace bec…

A lot of our readers have been asking us about Circle with Disney , a new device on that market designed to connect to your WiFi specifically to help parents monitor their kids' internet usage and manage screen time. We were really curio…

We're continuing our series about kids and cell phones on behalf of our sponsor, the premium authorized Verizon retailer, Cellular Sales , because wow, do parents need help with this! And by parents, we mean, ourselves too! Because we kn…

One of the most frequent questions we're asked at Cool Mom Tech is at what age we think kids are ready to get their first cell phones. And, well, the short answer is... it depends. Unfortunately, it's not an easy fill in a number here an…

It seems the whole National Do Not Call Registry isn't always effective. Legit marketers have a lot of loopholes; charities, pollsters, political fundraisers and others are exempt; and then there are those shady marketers who simply don'…

Trying to manage my three kids' time spent and content viewed on all of the various devices we have in this house is one of the most thankless, naggy job out there. They don't fully understand why I say "no" to the newest app, or why You…

This is a sponsored message for Webroot No matter how much you or your family is online, the last thing you want to worry about is malware, viruses, and data and identity theft. That's where the award-winning Webroot security software co…

Everyone's favorite photo-sharing app rocked the parenting world yesterday when they announced the possibility of banning all photos of minors on Instagram . Our Twitter and Facebook feeds were going nuts, as you can totally imagine. Evi…

See below for a breaking update about the Burnbook app If you haven't yet heard of the Burnbook app , it's the latest anonymous social app that's causing a stir among teens and parents and even law enforcement around the country. Next in…

It's been a whole year since we discovered unlicensed Plastic Surgery Barbie apps for kids that made wonder what the freaking heck is wrong with people, and now, hooray! Here comes another series of games to file under Kids Games That Ma…

Remember when we had to buy magazines like Tiger Beat to get the scoop on our teen crushes? These days, tweens can get up-to-the-minute details on their favorite Instagram and Vine stars, right on their smartphones. ( Niall, Harry, Liam,…

This is a sponsored message from F-Secure Freedome The trouble with Internet security in public places is that it often leads to a lot of nervous insecurity for the user. After all, how private could searches and page visits really be wh…

We've covered the Snapchat app extensively since its launch, and it's grown to be extremely popular with tweens and teens, and now even brands are jumping into the app, finding new ways to promote to users there. Now that Snapchat has an…