February 3rd is Harry Potter Book Night! Kids and adults around the world are looking forward to a night of magical indulgence, whether it’s re-reading the books, re-watching the movies, enjoying some trivia with friends, or having a family quiz.

If you are using online devices for any of your planned activities, remember to stay cyber safe. Even if you’ve never read the series, we can all learn a little something about cybersecurity and online child safety from these much-loved books.

🧹 Be even more protected than the Sorcerer’s Stone – make sure you change your passwords regularly and update your privacy settings. 

🧹 Mrs. Weasley’s marvelous clock keeps her family safe by letting her know where her family members are at all times. With a parental control app, you can use location settings to help keep your children safe.

🧹 Always make sure a person is who they say they are – they may not be under the influence of Polyjuice Potion, but if you’ve met someone online, and intend to meet them in person, make sure their story checks out.

🧹 The Order of the Phoenix relied on the Secret Keeper to protect the Potters in Godric’s Hollow, and to protect their headquarters at 12 Grimmauld Place. Muggles can’t rely on the Fidelius Charm to protect their identity – so make sure you don’t pass out personal information freely online. 

🧹 Likewise, Ginny confided way too much personal information using Riddle’s diary. Be wary of data privacy – hackers can use personal details against you. 

🧹 No one wants a Howler – if an email doesn’t look legitimate, don’t open it!

🧹 It may not be deadly like the Basilisk snake, but a computer worm is pretty annoying! Be careful when opening attachments in emails, to avoid this type of malware infecting your files.

🧹 Hermione’s clever Protean Charm on the fake Galleons allowed her to alert members of Dumbledore’s Army. Set up your own alerts and notifications with a parental control app, to help protect members of your family from offensive language or inappropriate content.

🧹 Unfortunately, our Muggle money isn’t protected by dragons and cavernous vaults. Be super careful not to use public Wi-Fi when doing your online banking.

🧹 Invisibility cloak or VPN? As much as we would wish to own a cloak like Harry’s, it’s not looking likely – but using a reliable VPN will successfully cloak your IP address.

🧹 And last but not least – Hogwarts is protected with layers of magical enchantments, to build the best defense possible. Make sure you are protected with the best multilayered antivirus!

For more tips on staying cyber-safe, visit www.reasonlabs.com