The internet is a wondrous source of information, shopping, educational resources and general fun but there is a dark side to our online adventures, with identity theft and online bullying a real concern for almost everyone. How then are we supposed to keep ourselves safe while also experiencing the best that the web has to offer? BullGuard believe they have the answer in the form of their Identity Protection Software which they’ve asked me to review today.

Cyber Bullying Concerns

It’s all over the news that cyber bullying is a big problem for kids today but there is a thin line between protecting your children, respecting their privacy and snooping. BullGuard offer a solution in the form of their social media monitoring service. When added to a Facebook account it monitors for any messages or activity which could be of concern and reports back to the parents on its findings. This little infographic beautifully explains the problems all parents face.I tested out the Bullguard Facebook feature and was really pleased with the results, the child can see that BullGuard has been added to their account and it gives them a feeling of control rather than being spied on. Each week an email report is sent to the parent detailing BullGuard’s findings and explaining the level of risk each alert represents. Here is the email I received:

This is the first Alert Report for your newly monitored social media account Good news, no new alerts were recently detected while monitoring ……….’s social media account.    

To get more information about each alert, please click here to access your online Dashboard and review your Alert Report. You’ll be able to see details about what was flagged (link, photo, message or tag), the reasons why the alert was issued and lots more. In order to prevent any hazards, we advise you to pay special attention to High Alert risks.             

It seems really comprehensive and while it found no alerts in our case it certainly gives a level of security that otherwise seems lacking from social media.

Identity Protection   

Having you’re own little guard dog scouring the web to protect your data sounds like a fabulous idea doesn’t it, BullGuard offers a unique service in this regard and I think it’s a brilliant idea. I found this great video to explain.

I love this feature! The internet is becoming a part of everyday life and we’re being encouraged to drop paper bills, pay online and practically run our lives from our computer screens, this makes protection a must!

Would I recommend this software?

I think this is a great add on in the fight against cyber bullying and online crime, I fail to see how more protection can ever be a bad thing. The only issue I have experienced with BullGuard was when I entered my license key into my online account, I was told to refresh but on doing that I received an error message saying that my license key had already been used. Somewhat puzzled I clicked on my account and was instantly able to see all the features of my protection package so it was a minor inconvenience really.

Aside from the license key issue I found the software really easy to use and fairly intuitive.