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Check Point Introduces ZoneAlarm SocialGuard to Help Parents Protect Their Kids Against Social Threats on Facebook | |
Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 04:15:31 PM | |
New, unique application enables parents to protect against cyberbullying and other social threats, while maintaining their children's account privacyRedwood City, CA — April 26, 2011 Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP), the worldwide leader in securing the Internet, today announced a new product in an emerging social networking security category, ZoneAlarm® SocialGuard – designed for parents who want to protect their kids against social threats on Facebook, such as online predators, cyberbullies, hacked accounts and malicious links. SocialGuard enables parents to monitor their children’s Facebook accounts for illicit content in status updates, wall postings, messages, and friend requests – providing them with real-time alerts when suspicious activity is detected. “Too often in the past year, we have seen instances of real-world consequences of social threats including cyberbullying. In fact, many surveys have indicated that one in five kids today has been a victim of social threats online,” said Bari Abdul, vice president of consumer sales at Check Point. “With SocialGuard, we are offering Facebook users a simple way to embrace social networking safely. For parents, it’s about protecting your kids from the social threats out there, while still respecting their privacy and fostering open communication.” ZoneAlarm SocialGuard allows parents to monitor all activity in the child’s Facebook account wherever they use Facebook, including Windows PCs, Macs, iPads and other mobile devices. By scanning profiles, communication and friend requests within the monitored account and using unique algorithms to identify threats, SocialGuard will send real-time alerts to parents by email or through the SocialGuard interface when suspicious activity is flagged. SocialGuard runs silently in the background, only alerting parents to specific dangers based on their customized security settings, keywords or pre-defined categories. ZoneAlarm SocialGuard enables parents to protect their kids against social threats, while still respecting their child’s privacy as they cannot see or comment on wall posts or join in their conversations. “Parents are increasingly concerned, and rightfully so, about the dramatically increasing trend of criminals, predators and bullies targeting children over social networks,” said Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst for the Enderle Group. “SocialGuard provides a strong suite of tools that can effectively protect children from these types of social threats that are keeping parents awake at night – and it can become an effective method these parents can use to keep their loved ones safe.” SocialGuard can monitor children’s Facebook accounts for a variety of social threats, including:
“Cyberbullying, online predators and malicious links continue to be a concern in the U.S. and around the world. Check Point remains committed to raise awareness of the issue and provide parents and youth with the security tools they need to safeguard against social threats, a new generation of Internet risk,” concluded Abdul. |