The deadly Blue Whale online suicide game targeting teens: Is it a hoax? What parents should know.
We all issued a collective gasp around here this week, reading about the online game called Blue Whale, A.K.A. The Suicide Game. And of course right away I was hoping it was a big hoax. When I checked out the details, I was kind of hoping it was some awful...
An 8-year old boy learned how to drive on YouTube, then drove his sister to McDonald’s. Um.
Just when we parents were worried about all those scary parody videos on YouTube, an eight-year-old boy watched a regular old driving how-to video and decided to hit the road with his sister for a McDonald’s stop. Nope, we’re not kidding. Can you imagine...
Beware of this fake Netflix phishing email scam! It looks incredibly real.
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 provide your personal...
3 simple questions to ask before you purchase a WIFI-connected smart toy for your kids
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 love smart toys and...
Why you should stop charging your phone and tablet in public ports right now
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 those because from what...
What you need to know about the VIZIO privacy breach. And how to fix it right now.
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 claim on the FTC...
How to opt out of Family Tree Now. Because, yikes!
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 heard everyone from my...
This lawyer rewrote the Instagram Privacy Policy in child-friendly language. Go talk to your kids, parents.
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 why we think...
A change to the Google Privacy Policy that you should know about
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. If you were an...
Facebook Safety Center: Resources to help make Facebook a safer place
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...
Apps parents should know about: Whisper
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 offender through the app, which is...Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz
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