How I Protected My Parents (and My Sanity) From Scams
One mom's plan to stop reacting—and start protecting
Credit:
Reviewed / Abi Ayres
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There comes a moment in adulthood when you realize you have quietly become everyone’s tech support. Honestly, in our house, it’s more my husband, Ammon, than me, but still. Your kids can’t log in to their math portal, no one remembers the Wi-Fi password, and your parents are calling because a pop-up says their computer is “critically infected” and they must call a number immediately or civilization will collapse.
Welcome to the sandwich generation. We are raising children in the digital age while also helping our parents survive it. Technology is moving faster than most of us can keep up with, and now with AI in the mix, scams are getting very real and very convincing. Fortunately, I found Avast was able to finally get a handle on all of it.
Protecting my parents and scam protection
I can handle frozen iPads and forgotten passwords. What I cannot handle is that tight feeling in my chest when my mom says, “Abi, this looks serious.” Modern scams are polished, fake delivery texts seem real, phishing emails that look exactly like your bank, tech-support pop-ups that feel official, and even deepfake-style videos that make you pause for a second. I have almost clicked things myself.
The shift for me happened after yet another urgent pop-up told my mom to dial a number immediately. It looked real and it sounded urgent. Because my parents run a school in Africa, international messages don’t automatically feel suspicious. That was when I realized I did not want to keep reacting to these moments; I wanted to prevent them.
We (Ammon, my parents, and I) decided to treat digital protection the way we treat home security. We lock the doors before someone tries to break in. Why wouldn’t we do the same for our devices?
Installation process was easy
We installed Avast Ultimate bundle on my parents’ computers and added it to our overall digital protection plan. It took about five minutes, which I deeply appreciated. What I love most is that it works quietly in the background to help us stay safe. Avast’s AI-powered Anti-Scam technology helps detect phishing attempts, suspicious links, and scam messages in real time. Email Guard helps protect inboxes. Deepfake Guard helps flag manipulated videos. And Avast Assistant explains potential threats in plain English instead of tech jargon. It just feels a little bit safer to be online. In other words, it lets us live our normal online lives without constantly bracing for disaster. My parents can run their school. My kids can do homework. We can shop, bank, stream, send photos, and move through our messy, beautiful lives without overthinking every notification.
The whole family feels protected— and I couldn't be more relieved
For me, this is about mental load. I already carry schedules, grocery lists, swim team, doctor appointments, and approximately 47 passwords. Reducing the risk of a tech-support scam is one category of stress I am very happy to remove.
Being in this season means protection flows in two directions. We safeguard our kids as they grow into the digital world, and we safeguard our parents as that world grows more sophisticated.
If you are part of the family IT department too, moving from reactive to proactive is a gift to your future self. Avast is currently offering up to 60 percent off, which makes putting strong protection in place feel like a smart, grown-up decision. Peace of mind is quiet. And right now, quiet feels really good.
This article originally appeared on abiayres.com.