Parents Internet Guide - Parental Controls

Online Safety, What Parents Need to Know

2006-03-03T11:11:00.000-05:00

Keeping kids safe online means teaching them to be smart, responsible users of the Internet. Here's some information for children of all ages from WiredSafety.com:

Teach Your Children To:

Think before they click: With whom are they chatting or e-mailing, what are they saying and how are they saying it? Will the person on the other end know they are joking?

Walk away from the computer and "Take 5" before responding to something that upsets them online.

Avoid spreading rumors, assisting in cyberbullying or sharing private communications online.

Follow the golden rule of cyberspace: Don't do anything online that you wouldn't do in real life.

For age specific online safety tips read the Online Safety Kit.

Internet Needs Social Order!

2006-03-03T10:20:00.000-05:00

Browsing through MSNBC this morning I found no less than three articles on incidents related to the social networking site, Myspace.com. On the radio this morning, two local radio shows were discussing the repercussions the site is having just in my area alone. This is absolutely ridiculous!

Every other place teenagers go there are rules regulating their behavior. Schools, malls, rec centers, even just walking around the streets there is a mandate to keep their behavior in check or risk being removed from the area or, in extreme cases, punished by law. When then, are there no such rules for these online social networks? This is still a place for kids to congregate and exchange thoughts and ideas. Written threats and pictures of drugs, weapons and debauchery cover the pages of many Myspace profiles.

Whose responsibility is it to regulate this? Do we throw this on the schools? Do we expect the government to step in? Do we need Myspace creators to be held responsible? Or do we simply hope that parents are keeping up with what their kids are doing online? Throughout the media there is a quite a bit of finger pointing surrounding this, but I think all parties share some responsibility. Just as we expect mall security to keep the peace in our local shopping centers, so we should expect Myspace to be regulating their online version of a teen hangout. Anything that in anyway involves the schools should be punishable by school officials. This includes threats made against particular students. The government has set such minimal law online at all its no wonder people think they can get away with anything and everything on the Internet. Lastly, parents are the first line of defense when it comes to the safety of their children. You wouldn't let your kids go out at night without knowing where they are going and who they are going with or meeting up with. Why then, do parents allow kids free rein on the Internet which, in essence, is a virtual world?

How many articles have to be posted and how much media needs to get involved for the adult population to realize the seriousness of the dangers online? Why don't we stand up to this? Why don't we form parent groups and teacher associations to spread the word about the seedy side of the Net? This is a message that needs to be told. Who else is willing to speak out in order to keep our kids safe?

It Is A Virtual World

2005-12-28T10:30:00.000-05:00

Parents need to view the Internet like they would a large American city. You wouldn't take your child to some big city and drop them off and tell them to have a nice day. The Internet is like that. Its a vast metropolis, and you need to make children aware of what they are accessing. ~Shawn McElroy from the Ohio Attorney General's Office

Read real life Internet horror stories at Netsmartz.org. Learn how to protect your children online.

Website Highlight

2005-12-20T18:19:00.000-05:00

I generally talk about the negative aspects of the Web while supplying information on parental control software. Well, in my surfing I recently stumbled across Family eJournal, a site aimed at connecting families through communication. Basically you sign up for a family journal. This way you can talk to your family online in writing, which isn't nearly as intimidating as in person. Its completely private from the rest of the world.

So each day the members of your family login into the site and fill out a daily experience worksheet consisting of simply questions regarding your day. Each family can read the worksheets of all other family members. So you always know what's going on in evrybody's little world. It may take some time to get everybody to do it, but the benefits are worth the effort. Acoording to Ellen Pill, Ph.D.

My daughter and I have enjoyed writing back and forth with each other in a journal for years and now the FamilyeJournal has made this same experience easy and available to everyone! It is a terrific way to keep up in the course of busy lives and the written word can't be beat for discussing sensitive and emotionally laden topics. I recommend FEJ to any and every family!

I've added the site to my list of links if you're looking for it later.

Why You Should Be Watching Myspace

2005-12-02T14:33:00.000-05:00

Because everybody else is.

This past summer gay rights activists got wind of a Myspace blog written by Zach Starks, a gay 16 year old. In the blog he discusses his parents sending him to Camp Refuge, a camp aimed at setting homosexuals straight. The activists rallied to his side and protested the group running the camp.

In September two college students, Mellie Carballo and Maria Pesantez, died from over dosing on heroin. Both girls had Myspace profiles and their profiles on the site contained many drug references. Many people found their profiles and left remarks both nice and rude.

Also in September Taylor Behl's abduction and murder was eulogized on her Myspace page. Taylor actually spent time talking with her alleged murderer on Myspace.

Just last month it was discovered that David Ludwig and Kara Beth Borden both had Myspace pages. David shot to death Kara Beth's parents in early November and the two fled the state together, though they were caught a few days later in Indiana. On David's page pictures were posted of him hunting and gutting animals.

17 year old Joshua Ballard posted his suicide note on Myspace just 15 minutes before he killed himself with a shotgun. That was only a few days ago.

The press and the blogosphere quickly found these kids' pages as soon as the events occurred. In some instances simply viewing the pages may have prevented the events. There's no way to know for sure. All that is known is that these Myspace pages are peak into the perception of these kids. If parents aren't watching what they're saying who is?

Cyberbullying Leads to Arrests

2005-11-17T16:05:00.000-05:00

Three boys age 17 and one girl age 18 were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder after posting threats in a chatroom. The boy against whom the threats were made was unharmed.

How many times has a story like this appeared in the news this year? Cyberbullying is a serious offense. Your kids can get arrested for it whether the threats are real or made as a joke. This isn't school yard bullying where it comes down to a he said/she said match. These are conversations transcribed and saved on the Internet. Anybody can find them and anybody can print them out. This is hard evidence against your child. Install monitoring software and pay attention to what your kids are saying.

Easiest Identity Theft Targets are Kids

2005-11-16T16:22:00.000-05:00

This is because identity theft may not be realized until years later. For instance, when your child tries to open a new bank account or apply for a credit card. Indications that your child's identity may have been stolen:

Pre-approved credit card offerings arrive in the mail for your child.
Bank, credit card or other financial statements arrive in the mail for your child (excluding accounts held jointly by you and your child).
Collection agency notifications or calls to your child.

Identity thieves get personal information from the Internet and use it on credit card applications. Talk to your child about the identifying information they put on the Net and the what could happen if it got into the wrong hands.

Check Your History

2005-11-14T16:05:00.000-05:00

If you're interested to see where your kids have been online, but don't have monitoring software, here are step-by-step instructions on how to check their history:

Click on My Computer
Click on Tools
Click Folder Options
Find the tab that says Hidden Files and Folders
Select the box below it that says Show Hidden Files and Folders
Click Apply and Okay
Close My Computer and go to the main desktop

To view the files:

Click on My Computer
Open the C: Drive
Open Documents and Settings
Find the user you want to access and Open It. Some computers have only one user and others have many; the user file is usually labeled with the user's login name.
Click on the folder labeled Local Settings
Open the History File. In this file you can see the various days that have been logged and view them, print them or delete them. You can safely delete anything in this folder.

The hidden files and folders are hidden so they aren't accidentally deleted, so it's probably a good idea to re-hide them after you have checked them. To do this simply follow the steps you took to unhide the files, instead selecting Do Not Show Hidden Files and Folders.

You can also check any recently opened documents by clicking the Start button and holding the arrow over the Documents tab.

MySpace Not the Only Danger Zone

2005-11-11T16:14:00.000-05:00

So many articles and blogs are about the hazards of MySpace, but that is not the only teen focused networking site. Another popular one, Xanga, has been thrown into the news recently after more and more parents are discovering what their children are posting on their blogs. Xanga also offers an instant messaging system, so anybody can contact your kid. So many lewd photos and raunchy comments about sex and alcohol are posted on these sites.

The thing is, blogs aren't bad things and the sites mentioned are intended to be playgrounds for pedophiles. Kids are just naive. It is a parents' responsibility to keep them safe. It is my belief that anything published on the Internet is public viewing so a parent has just as much reason to read as a stranger does.

Research Your Safety Software

2005-11-07T15:27:00.000-05:00

You never make a purchase without shopping around first, right? So don't do it with parental monitoring software either.

Identify what the problem areas are. Are you worried about chat rooms, instant messengers, emails, adult websites, etc.? Different programs target different safety issues and some are all inclusive. Know what you're paying for.
Check reviews. Sites like Tucows, About and Download frequently review Internet products. Read up on what you're interested in.
Check FAQs. Some software programs are annoyingly difficult to use or understand. Read the FAQs to get s sense of the kinds of questions the software developer is asked most often. If the answers seem technical or very details that may be a sign that the program isn't user friendly.
Look for a help desk. Any quality E-Product website will have a help desk. Make sure its easy to use. Also, look for easily accessible e-mails addresses. Sites that are confident in their products, won't hide their contact info from you.

Safe surfing!

Good News in MySpace Abduction

2005-11-01T09:37:00.000-05:00

17-year-old, Monica Sharp is back at home with her family after having runaway to be with 57-year-old Jeff Nichols whom she met through MySpace. Nichols positioned himself as a 12-year-old boy at first, eventually revealing his real age. Nichols has been arrested on other charges as the authorities gather evidence in the cyber crime.

Please read more. Also, regularly check Perverted Justice for information on other children that have gone missing through cyber related crimes.

Kids Get Away With More at Home

2005-10-31T11:17:00.000-05:00

A recently published survey done by the Business Software Alliance shows that kids engage in riskier online behavior at home more than they do at school. The kids surveyed attributed this to the more stringent school computer use rules. Schools are more likely to use blocking software and enforce online safety rules. One reason for this is that students are much more likely to be under adult supervisions when using the computer at school as opposed to using it at home. The three most common "risky" behaviors described in the survey are downloading digital copyrighted works without paying for them, chatting with strangers and surfing inappropriate websites.

Please visit the Business Software Alliance's website for resources to help you talk with your children about safety and legal issues associated with the Internet. To read more about the survey please click here.

Teen Blogging Stats

2005-10-26T12:53:00.000-05:00

According to Perseus Development Corp. (a Web survey software provider):

About half of all blogs are authored by teens.
A majority of the top 15 sites visited by teens aged 17 and under in January 2005 were blogs or social networking sites.

According to Children's Digital Media Center at Georgetown University:

2/3 of teenage bloggers provide their age and first name.
60% offer their location and contact information.
1 in 5 divulge their first name on their sites.

Responsible Netizen

2005-10-25T12:22:00.000-05:00

Looking for more information on Internet safety? Check out the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use. The site offers

Effective strategies to assist young people in acquiring knowledge, decision-making skills, motivation and self control to in behave in a safe, responsible and legal manner when using the Internet and other information technologies.

The site offers publications and links to resources for problems such as cyberbullying. Check it out. Its going up in my links section.

Myspace Abduction

2005-10-21T10:17:00.000-05:00

17-year-old, Monica Sharp met 57-year-old, Jeffrey Nichols through Myspace. Monica has been missing since September 17 from Richmond, VA and was last seen with this Nichols. Get the details from Perverted Justice.

Do you need more evidence that you should be monitoring your child's blog?

4 Rules ALL Teen Bloggers Should Live By

2005-10-20T15:14:00.000-05:00

Nasty comments and insulting photos have a way of finding their way to the target. If you wouldn't say something to the person's face, think twice about posting it. Think of it this way, its no longer a matter of he said/she said. When its found on the Internet, your name is attached to it.
Don't assume you won't be held responsible for something you copy from another source. Just read this article to see how one student got suspended for copying an image and placing it on his Myspace homepage.
The Internet is not private and information lives longer than you think. If you post comments about drinking, drug use or sexual activity, consider that it could be read by relatives, school officials, prospective employers and future girlfriends or boyfriends. From my own experience, my college when I applied, my current employer and my current boyfriend all searched for me over the Internet and found information about me (including my personal blog). It's that easy.
The more personal detail you put over the Web - photos, your real name, names of schools, hometown and friends - the more likely it is that strangers can identify you. Withholding your address and phone number isn't enough to ensure privacy.

Massachusetts Man Caught in Teen Sex Bust

2005-10-19T15:35:00.000-05:00

Lured by an undercover officer posing as a 15 year old girl, Robert DeMarco was arrested and charged with attempting to commit statutory rape, attempting to entice away a person under the age of 18 for unlawful sexual intercourse and attempting to disseminate harmful material to minors. Police arrested DeMarco after he attempted to meet what he thought were two 15-year-old girls he met online for a sexual encounter. There were numerous instant message conversions between him and the "girls" and one phone call with an undercover female deputy sheriff posing as one of the girls.

This is one more creep offline who, hopefully, will soon be behind bars. Read more.

Is You Kid Web Wise?

2005-10-18T13:30:00.000-05:00

Web Wise Kids is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating children about the dangers of online predators and showing them how to make wise choices online. To do this the have created a computer game entitled MISSING. The game is based on a true story of a teenager who was persuaded by an online predator to leave home and cross an international border in order to meet. In the game (designed for kids aged 11-15), kids become detectives so as to find the teenager before he disappears. In so doing, children learn about the methods predators use to harm children and at the end of the game kids are asked to create a personal Internet Safety Plan, which, basically, is a list of guidelines for the child to follow when s/he goes online.

The website has great information regarding family friendly sites, how to obtain the computer game, tips for Internet Safety and more. It will be up in my links section for your future reference. The game actually aided in the capture of an online predator in San Francisco. Definitely check out this site!

Finally, 7 rules for your children from Web Wise Kids:
I will not tell a stranger who I am or where I live.
Me and my parents are a team.
I can say no.
I will share e-mail from strangers with my parents.
Strangers in chat rooms can be good or bad, but they are still strangers.
Safe distance from strangers.
My family and teachers care about me - bad things that happen on the Internet are not my fault.

Yahoo! Regulates Chat Rooms

2005-10-14T10:38:00.000-05:00

Yahoo! has stepped up to the plate. Until recently Yahoo! allowed users to create unrestricted chat rooms promoting sex between adults and minors. Titles of such chat rooms included "5-13 kiddies who love sex" and "Girls 13-16 for much older guys". With the help of law enforcement agencies Yahoo! has taken such chat rooms and down and revised their rules. Now Yahoo! will pre-screen all chat room names before publicly listing them, has made it easier for users to report child safety threats, eliminated teen category rooms and requires all users to be 18 and older. Read the article.

I'm surprised these rules were not established earlier, however I can't condemn Yahoo! as they have now implemented the necessary precautions. Hopefully when the smaller companies, such as Myspace, see this they will follow suit.

Do You Know Where You Kids Are in Cyberspace?

2005-10-12T15:15:00.000-05:00

Two teens lured a man to their house via the Internet with the promise of sex with a Hispanic woman. When the man got to the house the teens hit him over the head with a crowbar, robbed him, drove him out to the woods of Anderson County, South Carolina, stabbed him in the neck and left him for dead. The man was dragging himself along the side of the interstate. There is no word on his current condition. The two teens have been charged with assault and battery with intent to kill, kidnapping, armed robbery, and grand larceny.

Do you know what your kids are doing out in cyberspace? Read the article.

How to Check Your Kids on Myspace

2005-10-10T15:05:00.000-05:00

As I was reading through news articles looking for a topic for today's update I noticed that so many local level newspapers are publishing articles about Myspace. I thought it might be helpful for parents to know how to navigate the site in order to find their children.

First, thing from the homepage, click the search link. It will be at the top of the page underneath the Myspace banner, this is called the top nav (short for navigation). From here I find the easiest way to search is to type in a name in the friend finder. You may have to try nicknames as well, when searching. If this doesn't work you can try looking for the child's school under the classmate finder or their interests under the affiliate finder. Look through the results until you find your child's profile and click on the link. This will take you to your child's Myspace page. If you are not a registered member this is all the information you will be able to see. If you would like to view all of your child's photographs, search through their friends list, read their blog, or anything you need to become a member. It is a simple process and you are not required to upload photographs or reveal your address. Also, your last name will be suppressed, unless you otherwise specify. Once you become a member you are free to search through your child's profile. There may be material that you cannot access if you are not added to their friends list (only they can add you), but it will give you a good idea about the kind of information your child putting out into cyberspace.

I hope this helps some. Also, Myspace officials are willing to work with you to make the site a safer place. They are available by email and will automatically delete any profile posted by someone under the age of 16.

How To Tell Your Children They Are Being Monitored

2005-10-07T09:35:00.000-05:00

First, express to them that Internet safety is a family concern and the software is installed for the protection of everyone. Stress that the child is not being singled out. It is important to let the child know before hand that they are being monitored as the child may feel like they are being betrayed if they are confronted with the information after the fact. In order to receive passwords from children or as an explanation for why you are not giving children certain passwords, you can use identity theft as an excuse, explaining that security of any kind affects the entire family.

If you are reluctant to "spy" on your children you may want to consider installing monitoring software anyway because the software will keep an accurate record of where your child has been online and whom they have spoken with. This is important if a crime occurs because you will have records to hand the authorities. This information could save a life, catch a predator or even keep your child out of trouble with regards to cyberbullying or piracy. Also keep in mind that there are parental control programs that limit the amount of time your child spends online, deny access to certain websites and chat rooms and keep certain individuals from contacting your child through email and instant messengers. So, even if you do not want to "spy" on your child, you can be sure they are being safe online.

Lastly, do not let the child set up the parental controls. If you are uncomfortable with this process notify technical support for the product you have purchased and they can walk you through the process. Also consider contacting a support center, such as the Geek Squad, who are certified and may have a quicker response than some software specific support techs.

British Mother Taking on ISPs

2005-10-06T12:59:00.000-05:00

Carina Stephenson committed suicide at the beginning of this year after making a suicide pact and finding information online about how to do it. While her parents had monitoring software on her computer, Carina knew how to override that software by installing software of her own. Now, her mother is trying to get legislation passed forcing ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to become proactive in preventing certain material from getting into the hands of children. In the interim she's suggesting that ISPs regularly send statements detailing which websites have been visited on a particular account. The name of the monitoring software the Stephenson's were using is not mentioned and neither is the name of the software Carina installed to override it. Read the article.

Check out some links to ratings of monitoring software:

PC Magazine rated IamBigBrother, PCTattletale, eBlaster and Spector Pro with and editor's choice of Spector Pro.
About.com rated software for younger children and older children and contains links to all of the rated software programs.
TopTenReviews is another good place to start.

Remember, no matter what you decide for monitoring software it will never be enough. Parents need to be proactive in learning about what their kids are doing online. No software program will ever replace a parent.

Four Ps Regarding Children and the Internet

2005-10-04T12:12:00.000-05:00

They are Predators, Privacy, Porn and Piracy. Here's how to protect against each:

Predators: Keep the computer in a common room in the house. Learn who all the names are on your child's instant messenger buddy list. Screen all emails going in and out of the house. You monitoring or blocking software that records conversations as this make become useful later on.

Privacy: Check any online profiles or blogs that your child may have to be sure they are not revealing any personal information about themselves. Do Google searches of their names to find any occurrences of their name being published online and find out what information is published. If necessary contact Webmasters and/or your Internet Service Provider to have private information about your child removed from websites.

Porn: Install monitoring and/or blocking software that prohibits particular websites and chat rooms from being accessed. Keep the computer in a common room and set time limits, as often children use the computer late at night, when parents are asleep in order to access adult material.

Piracy: Learn about peer to peer sharing sites, whose purpose is, generally, to distribute pirated material and block those sites if necessary. Disable any file sharing programs your child may be using such as Kazaa or Limewire. Explain that, although something is available on the Internet, it does not mean that it can be taken without paying. This is the same as stealing and is punishable by law.

How to Raise Digital Kids

2005-10-03T13:42:00.000-05:00

Basic ideas every parent needs to know according to the "Internet Mom", Robin Raskin. Raskin is the former editor of both PC Magazine and Family PC and served on the Internet commissions during the Clinton administration. Here are the five most important things every parent should know about the world wide web:

Cyberbullying: When kids are online, in e-mails, chat rooms or using instant messaging, they often think they are anonymous and so feel free to say extremely cruel things to each other. This includes real life examples such as kids voting for the ugliest girl in school, calling a classmate a whore, claiming a teacher is gay and threatening to beat someone up.
Messages have staying power: Many kids don't realize that what the e-mail or even instant message doesn't just disappear. It leaves a physical record that gets passed on from kid to kid. This concept is true for blogging as well. Kids think that everything is private so they say and send things rashly that, potentially, can be found by somebody else later on.
Finding personal information: Most families know the rules about not giving out personal info online, but they don't realize that computer predators can sometimes learn enough from IMs, cell phone messages and blogs to figure out where to find a child. People who are using the Internet are often not who they say they are and infiltrate an IM circle and try to set up meetings. Many parents are finding them facing problems such as these with sites like facebook and myspace.
Copyright issues: While there's been a lot of talk about lawsuits in the music industry for downloading songs, parents are often unaware of just what their kids are taking from the Internet. Just because something is on the Internet doesn't mean that it is free. Kids can get in trouble for downloading music, movies or other peer-to-peer files of property that they haven't paid for the right to use.
Internet use away from home: Parents may have done the right thing by refusing to allow a kid to have a computer in the bedroom, behind closed doors, but they need to remember that kids don't have to be home to access the Internet. That's why parents need to prepare them for what they might find and prepare them for how to deal with it.

For more information read up on Robin's site, which I will have posted in my links section.

Safe Site for Teens

2005-09-30T12:52:00.000-05:00

Parents, check out safeteens.com with your kids. The site offers guidelines for both parents and teens and gives advice without sounding like they're preaching. Also included are some cell phone safety tips. I'm also putting their link up in my links section for your future reference.

Give them a look over. See what they have to say.

Internet Safety Quiz

2005-09-29T14:48:00.000-05:00

Is your child protected from Internet hazards? Are you sure? Take the Internet Safety Quiz for Adults to find out how secure you really are.

StandUp! Against Cyberbullying

2005-09-27T08:17:00.000-05:00

Experts in Internet safety tell parents its OK to snoop. Checking a kid's cell phone or computer usage is a good thing says The Empower Program, which is a national, non-profit organization who work to create safe schools and communities by stomping out all kinds of bullying. Unicel, a wireless phone service, has teamed up with Empower to create StandUp!, a speaking tour about the harms of cyberbullying. According to the speaker, using parental control software on your computer is essential. The most common ways children harass each other over the Internet is through blogs and IMs. Monitoring these mediums is necessary.

If you know your child is using AIM or Yahoo! Messenger, check out this monitoring software targeted specifically for those programs. It's a good place to start.

Online Predators Strike Again

2005-09-26T12:04:00.000-05:00

This time in Illinois. 22- year-old Samuel Levitan is accused of raping at least 5 teenage girls from the area that he met through chat rooms on the Internet. Each of the girls agreed to go for a ride with him and he took them to his home and raped them. Investigators from the area believe that there may be more victims afraid to come forward.

Creeps like this prey on the insecurities of teenagers. They find a common interest with these young girls and talk to them about things going on in their lives. Some curious kids actually enter chat rooms with adult titles. Parents should know where their kids are online and how to get in out of these places themselves. They should also know the screen names of every person speaking with their children. Finally, the old fashioned rules still apply. If somebody new comes to pick up your children, make sure you meet them first.

Read the article.

Teens Spreading Hate Through Myspace

2005-09-21T08:29:00.000-05:00

One 17-year-old boy posted one single question, "Who do you hate?" Over eight months the responses poured in totaling in 16 pages of 240 comments. This is a prime example of cyberbullying. It's not only teenagers partaking in the meanness, kids from middle school to college bully one another. See the whole story.

Kids need to learn etiquette online, just as they do offline. Comments like these don't go away. With search engines becoming more powerful many college admissions counselors and even employers will conduct searches on applicants. Is this the garbage that you child wants coming up associated with his/her name?

New Defense Against Cyberstalking

2005-09-20T07:59:00.000-05:00

Computer Science researchers at Florida State University (FSU) together with Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) have come together over the creation of the predator and Prey Alert (PAPA) system. The FSU professors developed hardware and software prototype that is basically a "forensic toolkit" for the prosecution of cyberstalking cases. PAPA system allows a law enforcement agent to remotely shadow the victim online by communicating with the victim through a separate side channel and, if necessary, taking control of the victim's computer to interact with the cyberstalker directly. There is potential for the prototype to be released for commercial sale within the next few years. Check out the press release.

I think this is a huge step in Internet crime prevention. Cyberstalking is a rapidly growing trend and District Attorneys in most states have been pushing hard for its criminalization in the recent years. Cyberstalking is, basically, stalking via the Internet. For a more complete definition and discussion please see the wikipedia definition. Kids, many times, find themselves both the victims and pursuers of cyberstalking, which can quickly stem from cyberbullying. The last thing any parent wants is to have the police knocking on the door to arrest their child for an Internet crime the parents didn;t even know existed. That is why it is so important to know where your child is going online and with whom they are speaking.

Google Blog Search

2005-09-16T09:18:00.000-05:00

Concerned about what kind of information your child is writing in the blog? Google has just launched its own blog search, though still in beta. The tool works the same way the Google search engine works, though it own searches through blogs. You can try searching your child's name, school, or any identifying information that you wouldn't want broadcast to the public. This is a good way to prove that anybody can find info on your child if they want it. Start searching at www.blogsearch.google.com.

Those living in the tech world find this advance by Google great. Since blogging has spread into political and business worlds it takes much less to find a blog by a popular author. However, with this new search it also takes much less to find your children and their online diaries. While they may claim that a blog is like a diary and shouldn't be read, the difference is that blogs are searchable and are seen by the public. I don't think there is anything wrong with using them, however, it is important to screen what kids are putting out onto the World Wide Web.

IMing Gets Teens in Trouble

2005-09-15T19:59:00.000-05:00

Mimmicking the soon to be released film Cry Wolf, five high school kids sent out death threats via AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). It was easy for the police to trace the messages back to the teenagers after they were reported. It seems that the whole thing was a hoax, however neither the school nor the police department are taking the threats lightly. All of the teens face charges. Read more.

Teenagers do crazy things like this all the time without thinking about the consequences. This is why it is important to know what your child is doing online. You wouldn't want them making death threats in person, whether real or imaginary, so why would you want them doing it online? It only results in the police banging on your door.

Take Some Advice from John Rosemond

2005-09-13T10:02:00.000-05:00

John Rosemond is a family psychologist. Many parents out there may have heard of him as he is arguably the most widely read parenting authority. In one of his weekly newspaper columns he answered a question from a parent about how much freedom she should give her 11 and 14 year old children with regard to e-mail and instant messaging. His first response was not to give kids this privilege at all, but conceded that if it is already in place it would be difficult to take away. However, he claims that as a responsible parent randomly checking e-mails, IMs and visited websites is encouraged and any rebellious behavior from the children should be punished with the prohibition of Internet privileges for a said amount of time. I must say that I am inclined to agree with this. Read the column.

John Rosemond has his own website with all kinds of parenting information. Raising teenagers is no easy feat, I am sure (though I have no experience in the matter). He gives great advice and ideas and makes himself available by e-mail to all of his readers. I've added his link to my list for the benefit of my readers.

Cyberbullying Arrests Made

2005-09-12T12:03:00.000-05:00

Two girls form West Haven, CT were arrested for harassment of another girl over the Internet. The bullies sent messages to the victim through chat rooms and e-mails, making the victim believe the harassment was actually coming from a 34-yr. old man. Police traced the messages back to the girls. Read the article.

As a parent its important to know that harassment of this nature is taken very seriously. Being arrested in high school is something that will follow these girls. They will have to admit to this crime on their college applications. Kids don't realize the long term effect of their actions a lot of the time. Parents really need to know where their kids are going and who they are talking with online. Also, at least knowing their e-mails addresses, IM usernames and blog accounts is important, even if you aren't reading their messages.

Couple Uses Their Own Children in Porn Case

2005-09-09T09:19:00.000-05:00

How disgusting to use your own kids to distribute child porn throughout the Internet? The kids, aged 5-14, have been taken into protective services. An estimate of 17 videos were taken from the couple's home. Read the article.

I feel for these poor children who were unknowingly being tortured by their parents. If you or your children are ever sent child pornography through and instant messaging system or through e-mail, report it to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) immediately. Distribution of such images are illegal. For more information please follow my links to the right.

Difficult to Catch Maryland Internet Predators

2005-09-08T13:57:00.000-05:00

The Maryland Court of Appeals overturned the conviction of Richard J. Moore, a 38-year-old man who solicited a police officer whom he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. The Court claims that they could not uphold the conviction because the law says the offender must be soliciting a minor. Apparently, simply believing he was conversing with a minor is not illegal. Please read the article.

This is a sad circumstance. How are the police supposed to prevent these crimes? This man has now been released to go solicit another young girl. It seems to me that it's probably time to amend the laws and allow the police to catch these criminals before they start speaking with our children.

Another Child Porn Case

2005-09-07T15:34:00.000-05:00

A retired police officer, Dennis Lee White, from Virginia plead guilty to transporting child pornography through his computer. He will be sentenced in December. As he was found out by an FBI agent he was charged and will be tried in Federal Court.

It's good to see that the FBI is diligent catching these creeps, but its disappointing to see that it was a police officer this time. It just goes to show that you can't really trust anybody over the Internet.

Find out more.

A Lesson in Internet Safety

2005-09-06T15:12:00.000-05:00

Riling said she will never forgive herself for not being more intrusive and vigilant about her 13-year-old niece's Internet use, but said her new purpose was to use the power of Christina's story to warn other parents.

Christina's case is probably one of the most publicly known of all Internet related murder cases to date. In 2002, 13-year-old Christina was strangled by 24-year-old Saul Dos Reis, Jr. while he was having sex with her in the back of his car. The two had met in an Internet chat room and exchanged many obscene e-mails before they met. Since that time, Christina's aunt (who was her guardian) has become a spokeswoman for Internet Safety. She warns other parents not to make her mistakes.

There's always something that happens that makes me relive the whole thing again," Riling said. "I wish I had known more about what goes on on the Internet, which I'll always have to live with."

Don't let this be you. Check into parental control software. Find out what your child is doing online. Be safe about the Net!

Coach Found with Child Porn

2005-09-02T15:07:00.000-05:00

An Oregon basketball Coach, Rodney Andre Howard, was found with child pornography on his computer. He had already admitted to sending and receiving via e-mail. Howard was first discovered when his Internet Servive Provider, AOL, informed The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that child porn had been sent from his account. He is suspended from work until the after the outcome of the trial. Read the article. I am impressed at the diligence and attentiveness of AOL. If not for them Mr. Howard may be coaching basketball at a high school, trying to solicit teenagers there.

I wish everybody a safe and happy holiday! Please keep the Hurricane Katrina victims in your thoughts. Also, I wanted to point out that phishing scams are already popping up around the Net. Keep yourself from being duped. Read Brian Kreb's article to find out how. Please, go to the Red Cross.org to donate online safely.

How Effective Are Parental Control Software Programs?

2005-09-01T09:41:00.000-05:00

Computer Which tested six monitoring software programs and found none of them to be up to par as they let through pornographic and racist Internet sites, as well as one Website offering hacking codes. The worst of the bunch were MSN Premium and Norton Internet Security 2005 while Apple's Tiger performed the best. McAffee's Internet Security Suite performed better than both MSN and Norton yet they still only scored a mere 51% in tests. NetNanny, was another popular program that allowed porn and racist material through its software. Here is article 1 and article 2 from which this information has been pulled. When interviewed these companies all responded with the same thing, "Software isn't enough, parents need to be monitoring also."

Well, I agree with that statement, however it disappoints me that parents are paying for programs that aren't working as they are claimed to work. I did a little research myself and found the top four monitoring programs as rated by About.com.

I will also cite an article on About.com which discusses whether or not you should monitor your child's online activity. It offers and interesting perspective as well as other ways monitoring software has been used (i.e. such as to monitor a spouse). Monitoring has the potential to become much like big brother and I'm sure that none of us interested in going that far. Please read the article and decide for yourself the best way to protect your children on the Internet.

Ruling Could Change How Police Target Sex Offenders

2005-08-31T09:57:00.000-05:00

A federal judge in Kansas is has questioned the legality of the way police target online sexual predators. Since the police pose as kids in chat rooms, the predators are not literally propositioning children (even though they believe that they are). If this ruling stands the only way police would be able to entice these predators is to actually use children in the sting operations, which the police department says they will never do. Currently, prosecutors are working up and appeal to the ruling.

Now, this decision only applies to the state of Kansas, but that doesn't mean that other states, or even the federal government, won't follow suit if the ruling sticks. I don't know enough about the law to really debate this topic, but it would seem to me that if the predator really believed to be speaking with a child it shouldn't matter who is actually using the chat room screen name. I hope this ruling falls through or the police can come up with another creative way to stop these criminals. It is a bad system to not be able to go after a predator until after they have solicited their prey.

In light of this news, parents need to be ever more diligent when it comes to the Internet. Find out where your children are going and who they are talking with before its too late!

Teens are the Easiest Identity Theft Targets

2005-08-30T12:38:00.000-05:00

Over 10 million people were victims of identity theft last year and young people with no credit records were the number one target. Teenagers and young people are more vulnerable to identity theft than adults because most have not established credit records that can be monitored. Read more.

As it stands, getting background info about a person online is fairly simple, teens who readily give out their personal information are basically handing over their identity to possible thieves. Repairing the damage can take as long as ten years and can hinder some kids from going to college, as they will not be able to take out loans for tuition.

Some Prevention Tips:

Check credit reports once a year from all credit agencies.
Carry your social security card with you at all times.
Delete without replying to any suspicious e-mail requests
View more...

If your teen does fall victim to identity theft, find out how to recover at the Identity Theft Resource Center, a non-profit organization.

From SheKnows.com

2005-08-29T13:24:00.000-05:00

Mom and Dad, wake up: If you assume your child is using that fancy home computer to stimulate his brain, think again. The hottest new trend has kids using those keyboards to send vile, hateful and highly slanderous messages about their peers through the Internet. Once confined to playgrounds, bullying has hit cyberspace, cell phones and pagers, and it's both serious and sophisticated. So what should a parent do if their child is cyberbullied?

To find out, read the article. See just how common place cyberbullying really is.

From The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

2005-08-25T14:33:00.000-05:00

One in five children ages 10 to 17 receives unwanted sexual solicitations online, according to a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice. The NCMEC provides these Internet safety tips for online users:

Don’t give out personal information about yourself, family situation, school, telephone number or address.
Never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone you first “meet” in a chat room unless your parents or guardians have said it’s OK.
A way to avoid harassment in a chat room is to choose a name that doesn’t let people know if you’re a girl or guy. Just make sure the name doesn’t let anyone know anything about you or mean something that may encourage others to bother you.
If you become aware of the sharing, use or viewing of child pornography online, immediately report it to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at (800) 843-5678.
When in chat rooms, remember that not everyone may be who they say they are. For example, a person who says “she” is a 14-year-old girl from New York may really be a 42-year-old man from California.
If someone harasses you online, says anything inappropriate or does anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, contact your Internet service provider.

Tips for parents from the NCMEC:

Establish guidelines and rules. n Know who communicates with your children.
Familiarize yourself with the programs your children are using.
Consider using Internet filters or blocks.
Place the family’s computer in a common room.
Explain to your children that Instant Messenger is only for chatting with school and family friends who are known personally and are approved by you.
Make sure they can put a face to every screen name on their IM “buddy list.”
Reinforce that people are not always who they say they are when online.
Make sure your children know how dangerous it is to give out personal information such as their names, mailing addresses or e-mail addresses.

Milwaukee Boy Rescued from Phoenix Internet Predator

2005-08-24T08:59:00.000-05:00

It happened again. An investigation ensued when a 13-yr.-old boy turned up missing. Police found communication between the boy, from Milwaukee, and a Phoenix man, Vernon Monk, on the boy's computer. The Monk used the Internet to lure the boy to him in Phoenix. Read the article. The article references cybertipline, as I also have done.

Its becoming more and more common to see this kind of thing happen. With the Internet making people anonymous it is increasing easier for predators to meet children this way. Parents need to know what their kids are doing online. Please see Parental Controls Software Review to learn what is right for your family.

Help Delete Online Predators

2005-08-22T12:15:00.000-05:00

CyberTipline, a site that handles leads from individuals reporting sexual exploitation of minors, is working with the adcouncil on a campaign to stop online sexual predators, HDOP: Help Delete Online Predators. This campaign gives parents advice on how to talk to your child about being safe online. Also included are true stories. Here is an excerpt from a mother talking about her daughter meeting up with a predator she had met in a chat room:

But something told Sara the ordeal wasn't over. She said, "Three weeks later this man came to our home. [Amy] slipped out...with him. He had continued to contact her and it wasn't until this meeting that the man assaulted [Amy], in a motel in our town."

They have included a downloadable reference to online lingo. Even when the computer is located in a central room in the house, kids will use acronyms and abbreviations when talking with friends online. They do this, mainly, so parents or siblings won't be able to read over their shoulders and know what they are saying. You may have seen something like, WIBNI meaning 'Wouldn't it be nice if...' or maybe TTYL meaning 'Talk to you later...'.

Lastly, the HDOP site offers and easy to use reporting system, through cybertipline, if you suspect an online predator. This is a site every parent should have bookmarked. It's a relief to see such positive strides in the right direction when it comes to Internet safety for our children.

CyberAngels

2005-08-19T09:05:00.000-05:00

Have you experienced a cyber crime or think you may have? If so, please visit cyberangels.org, one of the oldest online safety educational communities. This site offers comprehensive on and offline programs for educators, community groups, parents and kids. They also offer general advice and people to look out for. Plus, they have an area specifically to report cyber crimes and a support center for cyber crime victims. Established in 1995, this site has grown with the Internet, being the first to uncover and report new crimes and problems as they emerge.

I'm adding this link to my so please reference this site periodically to keep yourself up to date on what's happening online.

The Latest Internet Crime

2005-08-17T13:00:00.000-05:00

A 22 year old Missouri is accused of raping a minor whom he met through a chat room. Read the article for details.

This type of crime will not stop. It's such a simple way to for predators to get to children. Kids need to be taught to be safe online and parents need to monitor what their children are doing online. In this case, the man drove to the girl's house, called her and asked her to come outside. After she did so, she agreed to take a drive with him around the neighborhood, never once being suspicious of him until he started driving her out of familiar areas. Children need to know that the people they meet online aren't all necessarily good. We teach children to be weary of real life strangers. That same principle should go for online strangers as well.

Web Etiquette

2005-08-16T08:18:00.000-05:00

I ran across an article by Deborah Radcliff posted on msn.com. She gives advice to parents about teaching Netiquette to teens and offers real life examples of, not only hurt feelings, but criminal offences cause by kids online. Now I've covered quite a bit of what she discusses in this article, but I thought showing that this topic has gotten all the way to main stream media may help drive home the point that cyberbullying is a serious problem.

Read the article and check some of my links and previous posts for additional tips and advice.

Safer Surfer

2005-08-15T11:55:00.000-05:00

A new site, safersurfer.org, has emerged. The site provides easy to navigate statistics and tips as well as procedures to report suspicious sites and/or people. They offer a chatroom tip of the week, that's great for parents who need some guidance. Plus they offer free paper materials if you want them.

I've added them to my list of links so you won't have to bookmark this entry. Check them out, they have some interesting things to say.

First Ever Cyberbully Summit

2005-08-12T13:01:00.000-05:00

This event is hosted by Wired Safety and will take place in Westchester County. It is a nationwide summit and will be discussing everything from "Internet, cell phone and interactive technology safety, privacy and security." Also, Wired Safety Director Parry Aftab is willing to hold similar summits in your local community. Simply send an e-mail to events@wiredsafety.org for more information.

To learn more about cyberbullying, what it is and what affects is has please read a previous post, Cyberbullying - A Problem for Everyone. Also check out wired safety's cyberbullying section or check out Netbullies.

Food for Thought

2005-08-11T08:53:00.000-05:00

Its not surprising that more than one teen chat/forum website has been upset by this blog. What I think most of them fail to do is their research. They don't actually follow my posts or actually read up on the topics I discuss. They make grand assumptions. For instance, a while back "crux" tried to teach me about his technical supremacy but simply by following his links I found out a great deal of info that I'm sure he didn't think I could or would find.

J-Revolution was the next to become agitated by what I have to say. While these young adults were much smarter in their approach than crux was, they still failed to do the research that somebody with a bit more life experience would, I think. The biggest mistake they made was in assuming that since I am older, I would not have their technical prowess. See, I go by a pseudonym on all of the blogs I author simply so that my personal info doesn't leak out. I sincerely hope that they haven't harassed Ms. McCoy too much, poor girl. I felt it was best to take her personal info down for that reason.

In both instances what these teens actually did was prove my point. This is what kids do online. This is how they act. This is why parents should teach Netiquette, get acquainted with their kids' favorite sites, learn how to use IMs, chat rooms, blogs, P2P sites, and forums and teach kids how to be safe and smart about what they do online. Do you want your child cyberbullying and posting other people's info? Or how would you feel if your child was the one being bullied because they put too much of themselves online?

I will say again, although I'm sure my loyal readers will know by now, that I think the Internet is a great resource. I author three blogs, I use multiple instant messengers, I surf sites regularly, so it would be hypocritical of me to suggest that these things are "bad". Simply, I think that teens need to be taught to safeguard themselves. They also need to learn that what they do online will follow them throughout their lives. Many colleges and employers now do web searches on prospective students/employees. What will they find on your child?

Another Dies From Too Much Gaming

2005-08-11T07:35:00.000-05:00

This time it was a 28 year old man from South Korea who spent 50 hours in an Internet Cafe playing online games, stopping only to use the restroom and take quick naps. If it takes 50 hours to kill a 28 year old how brief a time would it take to kill a teenager? As I posted before in Computer Games Kill?? it only took a Russian teenager 12 hours of non-stop play before he had a heart attack. This is why it is so important to limit the amount of time your child spends online.

Gaming addictions are common in kids as well as adults. Please visit the International Game Developers Association for more details.

What One Mother Says

2005-08-10T11:41:00.000-05:00

Back from vacation! We had a blast and it's hard to get back to the daily grind, though we must. To make my life a little easier, I found a blog entry written by a mother stating her opinion on monitoring kids online. This mother has a 12 year old son.

Please read Joy's Page.

Vacation!!

2005-08-02T23:05:00.000-05:00

As of tomorrow afternoon I will be in Las Vegas with Joe for 5 days, so I will be unable to update until I get back. It should be a good time. I need a vacation for serious!

Until I return... ;)

How Much Online Time is Too Much?

2005-08-02T11:47:00.000-05:00

An article released in a Connecticut newspaper revealed that many teens are spending of 10 hours a day online, particularly on instant messengers, in chat rooms or involved in role-playing games. It's a well known fact that kids need to spend time socializing in person and they need to spend time outside. As I previously wrote in computer games kill, computer addictions in teenagers are not uncommon and can be health detrimental.

The best way to keep kids from spending all their time online is to monitor and limit that time. Parent Tools for AIM has a built in time limiting function that allows you to specify what time your child can sign into the program and how long they can use it before it turns itself off. This function is password protected.

Internet Safety and Child Protection Act

2005-08-01T12:15:00.000-05:00

The new stats from Pew Internet and American Life Project say that the number of teens online has increased 25% in just 5 years. That's 87% of kids ages 12-17. The teens surveyed said that they prefer IM to email hands down, whereas adults where of the complete opposite opinion. Interesting indeed. Here's my favorite IM monitoring software.

With such a continuous upward rise of tech savvy teens, Sen. Blanche Lincoln has introduced the Internet Safety and Child Protection Act of 2005. Basically, this legislation would make it more difficult for minors to have access to online pornography. The bill proposes age verification requirements for all adult sites and a 25% sales tax added to Internet porn transactions. This seems to be a smart step.

If you follow the above links some startling statistics are revealed.

Back to Blogging

2005-07-28T13:50:00.000-05:00

I'm not opposed to blogs (obviously as I author three of them). I started my first when I was 19 and I use to keep in touch with friends as we've all moved away from each other since graduation from college. I think, in this way, it's okay for teens to have blogs as well. Ranting and raving with friends about things that are happening in your life is going to happen whether it be online or off.

The problem is that posting negative things online leaves a trail. It's no longer a matter of he said/she said because there is physical evidence of who actually said (or didn't say) what. This can also come back to haunt them later in life when a future employer googles their name and stumbles upon their blog, which is happening more and more frequently. A good way to see just what is out there is to google your child's name and see what comes up. If personal info or private stories come up, instruct them to take those entries straight off their blogs.

Another problem is that its common to post pictures in blogs. While this may seem harmless, it is easy to to copy those same pictures and edit them a program as simple as photoshop. Doing the same google search will also pull up any pictures online related to your child's name. If this occurs, instruct your child to take those pictures down.

The good news is that online journals such as livejournal, xanga and myspace have privacy settings. In other words, they allow the user to limit who, if anybody, can read any particular journal entry. The bad news for parents is that you have to be a user of that journal and be added as a 'friend' by your child to be able to read what they are posting under those settings. Again, the AOL Red Blog allows parents to restrict their child's blog. If you think your child needs your help in restricting their blog, this is the way to go.

Some good news is that I've heard a rumor that a private software company is starting to work on a blog monitoring program. The only downside is that writing software of this magnitude will take a while. At least we're on the right track!

Is This What You Want YOUR Kids Doing Online?

2005-07-26T19:40:00.000-05:00

"crux" proved my point.

I'm sure my readers will notice the profanity laden comment on the previous entry. Generally I would delete things of that nature because there was not one well founded opinion in it whatsoever. However, upon following crux's link I was taken to the vampirefreak website and I, consequently, stumbled upon crux's xanga blog .

It turns out that crux is 16 and describes himself as a nympho. He has posted pictures of his, self-defined, body modifications. Again, I don't think I need to add too much commentary here. If you want to see what's out there on the Net; what teens are doing, who they are talking with and what they are saying, simply follow the link. Remember that crux is an extreme example, but a good one nonetheless.

Also, crux vulgarly tells me that he knows how to be safe, yet gives out his personal site with links to his blog, his AIM and YM user names, which give infinite information about him, although he may not realize this. Also, simply by leaving this comment (referred to as flaming) I now have his IP address which tells me his location, what type of Internet service he uses, and much more. This is how cyberbullying begins. Unfortunately, crux offers a perfect example of the immortality complex that most teenagers have.

You'll also notice in his comment that he and his peers frequently engage in sexual discussions and pass around sexually explicit pictures. My guess is that crux is over-exaggerating, probably very much so as many teens actually do go into chat with innocent intentions, however we know that this sort of activity does go on and is very common among kids in his age group.

Again I reiterate, is this what you want your kid doing and how you want your kid behaving online?

Internet Safety Classes for Girls

2005-07-25T12:38:00.000-05:00

A 2002 study by Girl Scout Research Institute found that girls between the ages of 13-18 need stringer parental guidance when navigating the Net. 30% of the girls surveyed reported being sexually harassed in a chat room and 86% surveyed said that they could chat in a chat room without their parents' knowledge. The Girl Scouts of the USAs, in turn, have implemented "Staying Safe - Issues for Girls" program which allows girls to participate in workshops on media know-how. Read more.

This seems like a step in the right direction, but unfortunately, is only open to Girl Scout participants. We need to do better than this. We're excluding all boys and a large segment of girls with this education. How can we make programs like this available to all kids?

AOL RED Blogs

2005-07-22T13:55:00.000-05:00

If you are concerned about your teen blogging, have them sign up for the RED blog by AOL. Launched in March, the RED blog is strictly for teens ages 13-17 and allows parents to set up privacy settings, which are private, semi-private and public. Kudos at AOL for starting the blog monitoring process. Hopefully the private blog services will follow suit.

Newest Alleged Sex Offender

2005-07-22T12:17:00.000-05:00

Noel Neff, an editor of Weekly Reader, a children's Newspaper, has been arrested by the FBI for soliciting a minor via the Internet. Neff thought he was speaking to a 14-year-old boy named Chris, while in reality he was talking to an FBI agent. He was apprehended at a shopping mall on July 9 where he was supposed to meet the boy. The communications had been going on since April. Apparently, during Neff's conversations with 'Chris' he sent a picture of himself in his underwear and said he'd had sex with young boys before.

Parental Controls Software Review

2005-07-20T09:05:00.000-05:00

If you are seriously interested in purchasing parental controls software, check out the review first. These reviews are done by actual product users, but are screened and posted through Windows Marketplace, so you can be sure they are genuine. Compare prices and product features, but be sure to check out the product websites as well and ask questions of the developers. Another good place to check out product reviews is at tucows. Tucows is by far the most popular and reliable rating site for downloadable software.

The Incredible Internet

2005-07-18T10:48:00.000-05:00

For am all comprehensive and easy to navigate guide to the Web check out the incredible internet site. No online protection is fail-safe, however Incredible Internet, powered by Qwest, delves into every nook and cranny imaginable on the Net and covers the best ways to safeguard them all. Beyond online safety, they have tips on shopping, Internet for men, Internet for women, etc.

Really helpful for me, personally, with identity theft protection ideas. It also explains how teens may be the most vulnerable to identity theft on the Internet. Plus, I also liked their technology section. It gives great explanations about some of the newer stuff out there. Check it out!

Monitor the Pharm

2005-07-14T13:18:00.000-05:00

Pharming parties and prescription drugs are to teens now what raves and ecstasy were to teens a decade ago. Basically, a pharming party consists of a bunch of kids getting together to buy or trade and take prescription drugs to get high. The scary thing is that these drugs not only come from medicine cabinets, but also from the Internet. Internet Pharmacies are popping up all over the place. The meds can be purchased without involvement from a doctor and because they're not being delivered by a trusted pharmacist you never can be sure of exactly what you're getting.

Check out what's for sale on one of the more popular pharmacy sites. Also, check the Google News link and do some pharming searches to read the most recent publications on the problem.

Keep Kids Safe Site

2005-07-13T13:58:00.000-05:00

The Internet Keep Safe Coalition is an organization founded by state governors and first spouses in an effort to promote Internet safety. According to the site:

Studies show that 1 in 5 youth using the Internet receive an online sexual solicitation in a 1 year period, and 29% of children will freely give out their home address if asked.

So iKeepSafe created a cartoon character, Faux Paw the Techno Cat, as their mascot and the site uses a bunch of interactive games and cartoons to teach Internet safety. The site has free stuff for kids and downloadable worksheets for parents and kids to work on together. There is also a section for parents to read up on the latest Internet Safety news. The most recent article is dated as of yesterday.

I think it's a great idea, but definitely geared toward younger kids. Of course, reaching them when they're young is the best start. Also, check out the Family Web Watch site review.

Popular Blogs

2005-07-12T12:54:00.000-05:00

If you're not sure where kids are going to get their blogs, here are some of the most popular spots:

MySpace encourages you to search for and meet people.
LiveJournal easy to use blogging tool with joinable communities.
Xanga very similar to LiveJournal, but populated more by tweens and younger teens.
Blogger not quite as user friendly or as easily searchable as LiveJournal and Xanga and used more by older teens, college students and adults.
Blog City probably the least popular of them all and, again, used more by older teens and adults.

Cyberbullying - A Problem for Everyone

2005-07-11T09:02:00.000-05:00

The schoolyard bully has turned into the cyberspace bully. The difference is that the era of technology allows a greater audience and more anonymity for the said bully. Often referred to as flaming, cyberbullies send harassing mass e-mails and IMs and leave rude and offensive comments on message boards and blogs. It is also common for cyberbullies to hack into various accounts and change passwords. This can happen to anyone of any age, but it tends to occur in the middle school age most often.

Teaching Netiquette is probably the best way to prevent cyberbullying, as comments are sometimes meant in jest, but are taken out of context, etc. Most schools do monitor Internet usage, so bullying can be easily traced. Keeping passwords private and changing screen names frequently can help. Last, if the bullying is getting out of control, print transcripts of the e-mails, IMs, chat conversations, and anything else and report them.

For more information check wired safety.

Perhaps I Should Clarify

2005-07-08T09:28:00.000-05:00

I am not a parent. I am in my early 20s and only a year out of college. In all actuality, I can probably relate better to a teenager than to the parent of a teenager because it was mere years ago that I experienced those awkward years myself. I remember when my parents first got the Internet. I was (and still am) much more Web savvy than them. I know that, at times, my curiosity got the best of me and I ventured into places and talked to people that I wouldn't have if I wasn't in the comfort of my own home. Nothing bad ever happened to me. I think my worst experiences were harassing IMs and emails from peers and I did the same to others my age as well.

I believe that parents should treat the Internet the same way they treat the 'real world' as they raise their children. Younger children should be monitored and given more guidance than older children. Parents should lead by example, keep tabs on what their kids are doing, teach online etiquette and provide information on the good and bad sides of the Internet. After all, in many ways the Internet truly is a virtual world. As children get older and earn more trust from their parents, they should given more freedom and be allowed to make their own decisions and, consequently, their own mistakes. I do feel though, that even as teenagers, kids still need some guidance and shelter from the big things, like those people or influences that can cause them serious harm.

I would like to, quickly, comment on the software that I support, Parent Tools for AIM and Yahoo! Messenger. The reason I like these are because there is flexibility in them. The chat rooms are set up to be disabled by key words or phrases only. So if you don't want your child involved in any chat of a sexual or violent nature you can disable those rooms while still allowing them the chat experience with their peers. Also, chat features have to be manually disabled, they do not come that way by default. Probably the most controversial Parent Tools feature is the logging feature. Remember, this only logs conversations on the specified programs, it does not prohibit Internet use beyond that. There is potential for abuse when logging conversations, but it was created under the assumption that it will be used responsibly. This software doesn't have a license. After it is sold it is the property of the buyer to use it as they wish. For more information on Joe (the developer) and his programs please check out what's right with the fight or visit his website through my links listed on the right.

My goal with this blog is to inform parents of the potential dangers of the Internet and provide them with links to resources that have more info than I do regarding education and safety tips. I believe I can offer a unique, and perhaps less biased, opinion of the topic as I have passed my teen years, but am not yet into my parenting years. I grew up with the Internet. Also, I work in the Internet business and I'm fairly tech savvy. I will try to better establish my views on the subject in my future blog updates. Again, to clarify, I do not believe in spying on responsible, trustworthy kids. I do, however, think there are great uses in logging conversations when there are well founded suspicions that something is wrong. To me, it is the same as searching a child's room when there are well founded suspicions that the child is using drugs or is affiliated with a gang, etc. Please read over my previous entries for more detailed indications of when something is not right with your child online, including warning signs of sexual predators and gaming addictions.

A Parent's Guide to the Internet

2005-07-06T20:08:00.000-05:00

There's a site sourced by the US Department of Education that gives some good information for parents regarding their kids and the Internet. Parts of it are a little bit hoaky, but you have to consider the source. It's basically anything you need to know about the web including, but not limited to, safety tips. It talks about children as young as pre-schoolers using the Internet.

So, for more ideas and advice reference parents guide to the internet according to the Dept. of Education.

Inside the Mind of a Pedophile

2005-07-05T12:27:00.000-05:00

So, I'm sure everybody has heard about Joseph Duncan, recently arrested, who "allegedly" kidnapped a brother and sister in Idaho. While he didn't meet them online, he did keep a blog which was last updated a mere two days before he "allegedly" kidnapped those kids.

I find this interesting for a couple reasons. First, it outlines what is going on in the mind of a pedophile, which is great for any parent. I mean how better to learn how to protect your kids then knowing how these people operate? Second, it just goes to show that anybody can get a blog. If you notice there are lots of comments on it (albeit some of which were posted after he was arrested, as this blog has definitely made its way around the blogosphere) and it was created on blogspot, which is one of the most popular blogging communities on the Internet. Any kid just searching through blogs could've landed on it and read through it.

I think its time to start coming up with some safeguards for blogs. I think they're a great idea (I should I keep 3 of them ;) ), but there's so much potential for kids to come across the wrong material or people. Some basic protection tips are to keep the computer in a common room in the house and become a subscriber to your kid's blog. Plus I posted previously on how to act on suspicions of your child being contacted by an online predator.

Well, that's all I have for now. I hope everybody had an excellent holiday weekend! I know I did between Busch Gardens, pool parties and fireworks. It was a nice reprieve from the daily grind. However I'm back to it now...

Happy 4th Everybody!!

2005-07-01T13:34:00.000-05:00

I don't really have anything to report today. I just wanted to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday. I'm not sure how much I'll be online this weekend because Joe and I have outdoors plans. For the first time I can ever remember my entire family is out of town without me (which I guess is what happens when you're new in a job and haven't acrewed any leave yet), so he was kind enough not to leave me stranded. ;)

Until next time, have a blast!

Don't Believe the Type!

2005-06-30T08:15:00.000-05:00

There's a new campaign to raise awareness of online predators. The campaign suggests that most predators will seek out teens (esp. teen girls) through chat rooms and IM. The campaign fails to talk about P2P sites or blogs, which I see as two of the most vulnerable places on the Internet currently. The problem is that programmers specializing in monitoring software can't keep up with all the other Internet innovations. There just aren't enough of them out there. It's sad that so many people are just interested in trying to come out with next great thing without thinking about the potential dangers of what's already out there.

The other problem I have with this campaign is that it's doing nothing but instigating fear. While I am a firm believer in information getting to the public about online predators, I think that there are good and bad ways to do this.

We have to view the Internet as a cyber world. It has the same great advantages and the same potential dangers. We teach kids to be cautious out in the real world, so we need to teach them to be cautious in cyber space as well. This is where the campaign falls flat. Yes, attention grabbing techniques, like saying, "Before you start an online relationship with a guy, think about how it could end" while a shot of police are searching an apartment are needed, but then add, something like, "Here are things you can do, people you can talk with, monitoring programs you can install, to make the Internet a safer place."

We need to cover all of our bases, make people more aware of the problem and offer all the safety advice we have. Check out the don't believe the type online campaign, which does a better job than the TV ads do, in my opinion.

The IM Generation

2005-06-28T09:37:00.000-05:00

Parents and teens often have differing opinions about the web. Teens carry their idea of immortality to the Net. Many feel that they know more than their parents and they probably aren't too far off base.

It wasn't too long ago that parents complained about teens' excessive use of the telephone. Today's youth are being dubbed the IM generation. The use of screen names allows kids to experiment with multiple personas. It's common for teens have multiple screen names and identitfy different personas with each. It also enables them to say things that they wouldn't say face-to-face or even on the phone. It's a false sense of security by not being able to see or hear who they are speaking with. Kids have said that they have harassed or been harassed by their peers on IM. Older boys often lie about their identity and age online to allow them access to adult sites. Also, many teens, girls especially, have given out their passwords to friends as a sign of trust. Plus, most teens have met someone that they didn't previously know online whether via e-mail, IM or chat rooms.

I know all this because it wasn't all that long ago that I was a teen exploring the Internet myself. That and Pew Internet & American Life Project did a study on it not too long ago. Read the study.

My point in this post is that while most parents are taking great strides in making the Internet a safer place for their kids, many kids are aware of it and are trying to find ways around this. With IM being the number one communicator for kids, logging their conversations is a good first step to take in monitoring their Internet usage. Also (and this is from personal experience) peers are the most prominant harassers online. A lot more is being said since there's no longer a fear of public confrontation.

Check my links for some good resources as well as a link to monitoring software.

Yahoo! finally stepping up to the plate!

2005-06-27T12:37:00.000-05:00

Yahoo has shut down some its public chat rooms because some adult users were promoting sexual activities with minors. Of course, it took TV station, KPRC-TV, covering the story for Yahoo to take any action.

It seems there were actually chat rooms with titles such as "Girls 13 and Under for Older Guys". You would think a company as vast as Yahoo would be monitoring their chat rooms a bit more closely. I haven't heard of any children being kidnapped or molested as a direct result of these chat rooms.

Yahoo says that they have strict policies about conduct toward minors and about posting illicit or obscene messages. It seems to be time for Yahoo to start using some blocking and filtering software themselves. Kicking out and blocking repeat rule breakers may be a policy Yahoo should practice as well.

Some companies to commend are Pepsi, State Farm Insurance and Georgia-Pacific who pulled their advertising from the chat sections as a result fo the news broadcast.

Read the article.

Computer Games Kill??

2005-06-27T10:23:00.000-05:00

A Russian teenage boy died after playing computer games for 12 hours non-stop. According to doctors the boy had a stroke after playing half a day straight. Apparently the boy stayed in the game club longer than the specified safety regulations. The autopsy revealed that the boy's brain was totally destroyed.

Read the article

This concept was kind of hard for me to digest at first read so I did some research and found that gaming addictions are common for kids and parents may not even realize that it's a problem until it's too late. Basically what happens is that the online fantasy world replaces the person's real world. This addiction can actually have psychological and behavioral ramifications. Gaming has become an addiction on the level of alcohol and drugs for kids these days. These kids have a dire need to play computer games even though they know it isn't a productive pastime. This results in intellectual and psychological problems. Behavorial traits such as being short-tempered, irascible or emotionally unstable can be indictators of a gaming addiction.

For a more comprehensive discussion of what gamiing addictions are and what can be done about them check out the International Game Developers Association.

It's EASY for Kids to View Porn

2005-06-24T07:55:00.000-05:00

I always assumed that you had to have a credit card number to access porn online. Apparently I was wrong. I read an article reporting a study suggesting that the largest consumers of Internet porn are 12-17 year olds and that children as young as 11 are being exposes to porn. To read the article click here.

In some of my previous blogs I discussed online predators and how they are likely to be sending kids porn. This is very true, but the most common way for kids to receive this material is from other kids. I know that AOL, earthlink and other ISPs come with blocking software, which filter images and blocks e-mails. However, it seems that these programs don't block all chat rooms, or any blogs or P2P (peer-to-peer) web sites. These are traps that parents need to be aware of. For definitions and info on P2P sites click here and on blogs click here.

Until next time...

Newsletter for Parent Tools Customers?

2005-06-23T09:27:00.000-05:00

I'm wondering what interest there is in a newsletter for those who follow the parent tools software. I can see the benefits, but I may be a bit biased as I'm a little too close to the project. There's quite a bit going on with the business right now that could easily be relayed to curious parties through the use of a newsletter sent through e-mail. It would probably be a monthly update on what's happening in the world of parent tools.

For instance, parent tools yahoo! messenger has been updated to work with yahoo! 7.0 beta. All bugs have been eliminated finally (hopefully ;) ) . Plus, the site is going through an entire re-design process right now. It's finally to the point of adding content I think. Joe is quite picky though (it's one of his more endearing qualities). Also, he's in the begining stages of creating a new software monitoring program. I don't want to get too in depth in the details as this is definitely the very early stages of the process, but it's shaping up to be a great project.

Another benefit would be freeing up this blog space. I would be able to write strictly about internet safety hazards, tips, and software as opposed to updating every so often about what's happening specifically with the business.

Any thoughts?

Internet Safety: Part 3 - Prevention

2005-06-20T08:25:00.000-05:00

Tips to Prevent All Communication Between Your Child and Online Predators.

Communicate with your child about sexual victimization and online dangers.

Reason: Kids will listen if you talk to them enough. This also keeps the lines of communication open if your child is ever contacted by an online predator.

Spend time with your children online and have them teach you about their favorite online pasttimes.

Reason: You want to know where they are going and what they are doing just as you would when they leave your house. Also, knowing how to navigate their favorite sites and use their favorite IMs and/or IRCs will help you retrace their steps if need be.

Keep the computer in a common room in your house, not your child's room!

Reason: It will make it more difficult for kids to have sexually explicit conversations or view sexually explicit material if the computer screen is visible to the entire household.

Utilize parental controls given to you by your service provider. For increased safety use use blocking/monitoring software.

Reason: Not all monitoring software provides the same features and not all software is user friendly. Check out what you're buying and the response time of their tech support staff. Chat rooms and IM programs should be heavily monitored/blocked as these are the two most common means online predators use to find children. Keep in mind, however, that while these software programs should be utilized, they shouldn't be soley relied on.

Always maintain access to your child's account and randomly check his/her e-mail.

Reason: This is the primary way your child will receive sexually explicit pictures. Also, after contacting your child through chat rooms and instane messages, predators will want to speak through e-mail as they can do this at any time throughout the day. Be upfront with your children your access and why you have it.

Limit your child's time spent online.

Reason: As a rule of thumb, the less time children are online the less opportunity they have to experience an online predator. Not to mention, it isn't healthy for children to stay couped up behind a computer screen for hours upon hours, just as it isn't healthy for them to do this with television. Allow them to use the Internet, but encourage other activities as well.

Teach your child about responsible uses of the Internet.

Reason: The Internet is a great resource for children. Show them that there is more to it than chat rooms.

Find out what computer blocking/monitoring software is used by your child's school, the pulic library homes of your child's friends and any other computers which your child may have online access to.

Reason: These are all places outside your normal supervision where your child has the opportunity to encounter a predator.

Remember, even if your child was a willing participant in any form of sexual victimization, it is never his/her fault!

Reason: Children can be naive about such matters and predators are master manipulators. The offender always bears complete responsibility for his/her actions!

Instruct your child to:

Never arrange a face to face meeting with someone they met online.
Never upload/post pictures of themselves onto the Internet for people they don't personally know.
Never give out identifying info about themselves such as their name, address, phone number or even school name to anybody they meet online.
Never download pictures from an unknown source.
Never respond to bulletin boards that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent or harrassing.
Keep in mind that what they are told online may or may not be true.

Internet Safety: Part 2 - Act On Suspicions

2005-06-13T09:55:00.000-05:00

What To Do If You Suspect Your Child is Talking With an Online Predator

Talk openly with your child about your suspicions. Tell them about the dangers of online predators.
Review what is on your child's computer. If you don't know how, ask a knowledgeable source.
Use Caller ID service to determine who is calling your child. Most phone companies offer features to block your number from appearing on other Caller its and to block anonymous incoming calls.
Monitor your child's access to all types of electronic communication. These include chat rooms, instant messaging, instant relay chats, etc. Also monitor your child's e-mail.

*Contact your state or local law enforcement agency if you find yourself in any of the following scenarios:

Your child or anyone in the household has received child pornography;
You child has been sexually solicited by someone who knows that your child is under the age of 18 years old;
You child has received sexually explicit material from from someone who knows that your child is under the age of 18 years old.

*If you find yourself in any of these situations, keep the computer turned off in order to preserve any evidence for future law enforcement use. Also, unless otherwise directed to do so, do not attempt to copy of the images or text found on the computer.

Check back to find out ways to prevent all communications between your child and online sex offenders.

This information found at www.fbi.gov/publications.

Internet Safety: Part 1 - Warning Signs

2005-06-09T07:43:00.000-05:00

Signs That Your Child May Be At Risk Online

Your child spends large amounts of time online at night.

Reason: Many predators work during the day, thereby spending their evenings online trying to loacte and lure children.

You find pornography on your child's computer.

Reason: Sex offenders often times supply children with porn in order to open sexual discussions and as a means of seduction. Also child porn may be used to show the victim that sex between children and adults is "normal".

Your child receives phone calls from men you don't know or is making calls, sometimes long distance, to numbers you don't recognize.

Reason: Many sex offenders find talking online to children cumbersome after awhile and prefer to talk to children via the telephone. Often times they will entice them into phone sex and/or make arrangements to meet up for real sex.

Your child receives mail, gifts or packages from someone you don't know.

Reason: It is common for sex offenders to seduce their victims with letters, photographs and various gifts.

Your child turns the monitor off quickly or changes the screen on the monitor when you enter the room.

Reason: A child looking at pornographic images or having sexually explicit conversations does not want you to see it on the screen.

A child becomes withdrawn from the family.

Reason: Computer sex offenders try very hard to build a wall between the victim and his/her family. It is also common for children to become withdrawn after sexual victimization.

Your child is using an online account belonging to somebody else.

Reason: Even if you don't have Internet service children can meet predators while online at a friend's house or at the library. It is common for computers to come preloaded with Internet software. Sometimes sex offenders will provide potential victims with with a computer account in order to talk with them.

Check back to see what to do if your child if you suspect your child is communicating with a predator online and ways to help prevent these communications initially.

This information found at www.fbi.gov/publications.

Online Predators Know What They're Doing. Do You?

2005-06-08T19:55:00.000-05:00

With June being Internet safety month, TV, radio and print ads are being run (as of today actually) warning of the dangers when sexual predators coincide with IMing. According to these ads, 1 in 5 children are solicited online, the susceptible victim being teenage girls. Solicitaions of this type have been steadily rising since the late 90s and are projected to increase in the coming years. With approximately 87% of all teens using the Internet, most communicating via an instant messenger, how likely is your child to interact with a predator at some point.

What better time to try parent tools then now?

The Long Awaited, Highly Anticipated...

2005-05-27T15:10:00.000-05:00

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Parent Tools for Yahoo released today!

After a drawn out battle with RegSoft in creating a new order form and a month or so of beta tests, Parent Tools for Yahoo is finally released today. Such excellent news to hear! The release couldn't have come at a better time with schools getting out and summer approaching. Yahoo Messenger is more popular with younger kids and pre-teens. The software is very similar to Parent Tools for AIM. It works in the same ways, so it will make an easy transition for current users. It's also shareware so download it and try out for free! Parental Monitoring Tools.

Also, I failed to mention this in my first post but, Parent Tools for AIM was featured in tucows and a 4 out of 5 rating. For those that don't know, tucows is a rating system for Internet shareware programs. So, for further proof of how great this program really is, check out the parental controls rating.

What's Right with the Fight

2005-05-23T19:14:00.000-05:00

Instant Messaging is a powerful tool. It allows us to contact and chat with others and relay information quickly not only from our computers, but from our cellular phones as well. One of the biggest downfalls, however is that anybody can contact whomever they like. You can't, necessarily, see or hear whom you're speaking with. It's easy enough to be taken advantage of face to face, but the Internet increases those odds ten fold. How do you keep from being duped?

The better question is how to keep kids from being duped. Let's face it, kids are more technology savvy than adults and one of the most popular pastimes for them on the Internet is Instant Messaging (IM) with AIM being the top messenger choice. With it's emoticons and simple user interface it's no wonder so many people use it. The problem is that anybody can use it.

It's easy for predators to get in and talk with kids. We see it every day in news broadcasts. The Internet has become the new stomping ground for many sexual predators and other creeps. Beyond that though, many kids use it and so do many of their friends. The wrong crowd is online and it's difficult to tell who is who because it's difficult to know what screen names to look for. This relatively new technology makes it hard to tell who kids are and aren't talking with.

Yet behold, monitoring tools to the rescue. There is a software program to monitor these online interactions. Parent Tools for AIM logs IM conversations, disables chat rooms, blocks users, limits time spent online, etc. It's password protected and is able to run in stealth mode so nobody has to know they're being monitored. It's a shareware program so it can be tried with no obligation for up to 10 days.

It may be helpful to know that the program was created by a young computer savvy guy. Being in his early 20s he understands the draws and temptations of IMing. He knows what young people do online. Yet, while young adults are playing Doom3, he chooses to aid in Internet safety.

To see more about the parental control software, check out his site.