Minecraft’s ‘CyberSafe: Home Sweet Hmm’ adventure teaches children about internet safety

With the passage of time, the Internet becomes increasingly prevalent and influential in our lives. This is especially true of young people and children, who were brought up in the world of “internet first”. Since 2004, Safe Internet Day has been sharing the importance of Internet security education, back again on February 8, 2022. On Monday, Mojang Studios and Microsoft announced they are joining this year’s Safe Internet Day with a brand new world of educational adventures for Minecraft.

CyberSafe: Home Sweet Hmm honors the voice of the infamous Minecraft villagers and strives to remind players of the ever-important importance of stopping before you act when online. The adventure is aimed at children between the ages of 7 and 12, and will task them with overcoming four challenges. Each challenge addresses a different topic related to maintaining security and awareness while surfing the Internet. CyberSafe: Home Sweet Hmm is the perfect tool for educators and parents alike to teach their students or children about these topics.

By the end of the adventure, kids should be better equipped to protect their personal information, recognize and deal with phishing and scam attempts more easily, and most importantly, realize the importance of talking to trusted adults about online safety while they’re still having fun. All this and more is part of Safer Internet Day, of which this adventure is a small part.

In total, there are five parts to CyberSafe: Home Sweet Home, including:

• Trusted Adult Personal Interview. This non-player character, who goes by the name Trusted Adult, serves as a guide throughout his CyberSafe adventure. The trusted adult constantly provides advice and information during each of the four challenges. Always available as a source of support if a player needs extra help, Trusted Adult represents all the trusted adults in a child’s life to look up to when online.
• Play with friends online. The first challenge in the CyberSafe adventure is that players encounter a friend who wants to connect online and provide their username. Players need to pay close attention to username details to navigate the many nearby duplicates and securely connect with their friends, highlighting the importance of verifying online identities.
• Exchange login information. The second challenge in the CyberSafe adventure puts players in front of a maze, as the NPC offers tantalizing cheat codes that help the player complete the maze faster. All the player has to provide in return is their login information. Players will need to think about the ramifications of carelessly sharing login information online, and navigate the maze safely.
• Sharing of personal information. The third challenge in the CyberSafe adventure involves trusted adults to order a product and ask the player to head to the store to solve a problem. Players will have to go to the respective store, where they are asked to enter the account information. Players will have to consider whether or not it is safe to share this information, and remember the importance of protecting their personal information.
• Research and collection of information. The fourth and final challenge in the CyberSafe adventure focuses on searching online, and the importance of checking the quality of data before working on it. Players will need to choose the correct pumpkin pie product from the available options by analyzing a variety of factors, including reviews, recommendations, and more.

CyberSafe: Home Sweet Hmm is a free world available to users of Minecraft: Education Edition starting today, February 7. Kids can access it through one of the best Xbox games.