There is a whole ecosystem of online threats, so how you counter them depends on which ones you're worried about.
- Malware: Apart from virus protection, DD also surfs under a user account that lacks admin privileges (so she can't accidentally install malware), and in Firefox with the NoScript plugin (which prevents a lot of those accidental malware installations from ever beginning or ever showing her a pop-up to begin installation).
- Privacy: I helped DD set up an email address using fake identifying information that she can use to register to websites, and we had a number of conversations over the value of anonymity during the process and since setting it up. At this stage DD9 is a consumer of the internet only, so she's not having interactions in which she might be tempted to share personal information. Nevertheless, we've already educated her on the dangers, so we've gotten in front of that problem.
- Age-inappropriate content: Google safe search is turned on, and otherwise, I haven't seen much of a need. DD9 loves to surf Youtube, but the most objectionable material is only accessible when you log in and identify yourself as over 18. Easy enough to bypass, but at this stage, DD9 has no motivation. This is a threat I'm not worried about.
