by Kate Etue | Internet Safety
My internet at home has been so slow lately, so I recently upgraded to the top-of-the-line WiFi option our cable company offers. Even still, our service can get spotty when 6 people all arrive home, and want to get online at the same time. So I was excited for the...
by Kristen Chase | Internet Safety
When Snapchat (or just Snap, as it’s being called these days) rolled out it’s Snap Map feature earlier this summer, there was a lot of buzz about the safety risks it could present, especially with so many younger users. Basically, the Snap Map tracks your...
by Kristen Chase | Internet Safety
A recent survey of more than 1600 U.K. kids revealed some fascinating results when it comes to kids’ online behavior, leading the UK’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) to make some pretty strong recommendations for parents....
by Liz Gumbinner | Internet Safety
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...
by Kristen Chase | Internet Safety
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...
by Liz Gumbinner | Internet Safety, Tips and Tricks
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...
by Kristen Chase | Internet Safety, Tips and Tricks
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...
by Kristen Chase | Internet Safety
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...
by Kate Etue | Internet Safety
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...
by Kate Etue | Internet Safety
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...
by Kristen Chase | Internet Safety
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...
by Kristen Chase | Internet Safety
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...