Internet Safety
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| At first, the internet seems like a very handy everyday tool for both children and parents, and indeed, that's what it is. However, those who have spent any time online know that certain people use the internet's unique anonymity and open communication to try to exploit those who log on in any way that they can. This can come in the form of spam, spyware, adware, scams and hoaxes, amongst a myriad of other typical pitfalls that we see and hear about every day. The regular, everyday adult computer user is always finding new ways to solve these problems and secure themselves against future attacks, usually with a great deal of success. These users are making the internet a very safe place to be for those who take the time to practice being safe. However, with more parents needing the resources of the internet in their own homes, exploiters have a new target - children - who are getting online unsupervised more and more frequently than ever before. Alongside noticeable increases in E-Crime over recent years has been a growing phenomenon of increased online sexual solicitations of underage children. Chat rooms fill up with sexual predators everyday, many of which are only targeting underage children. While an adult is well guarded from such solicitations, children are often ripe targets, especially when unsupervised. MomsAgainstPredators or M.A.P as its called teams up with the community and law Enforcement groups to help suppress the threats online . |
Safety Tips for Parents to Keep Your
Children and Teens Safer When Using
Social Networking Sites
Discuss the dangers and future
repercussions with your child.
Enter into a safe-computing contract with
your child about his or her use of these sites
and computer use in general.
Enable computer Internet filtering features if
they are available from your Internet service.
Install monitoring software or keystroke
capture devices on your family computer that
will help monitor your child's Internet activity.
Know each of your child's passwords, screen
names, and all account information.
Put the computer in a family area of the
household and do not permit private usage.
Monitor what your child's friends are posting
regarding your child's identity. Often children
and their friends have accounts linked to one
another, so it's not just your child's profile
and information you need to worry about.
Know what other access your child has to
computers and devices like cell phones and
PDAs.
Report all inappropriate non-criminal
behavior to the site through their reporting
procedures.
Report criminal behavior to the appropriate
law-enforcement agency including the
NCMEC CyberTipline at
www.cybertipline.com or the Internet Fraud
Complaint Center at http://www.ic3.gov.
Contact your legislators and request stronger
laws against Internet crime.
Visit the NetSmartz Workshop at
www.NetSmartz.org for more information.
Remember that every day is Halloween on
the Internet. People on the Internet are not
always who they appear to be.
Children and Teens Safer When Using
Social Networking Sites
Discuss the dangers and future
repercussions with your child.
Enter into a safe-computing contract with
your child about his or her use of these sites
and computer use in general.
Enable computer Internet filtering features if
they are available from your Internet service.
Install monitoring software or keystroke
capture devices on your family computer that
will help monitor your child's Internet activity.
Know each of your child's passwords, screen
names, and all account information.
Put the computer in a family area of the
household and do not permit private usage.
Monitor what your child's friends are posting
regarding your child's identity. Often children
and their friends have accounts linked to one
another, so it's not just your child's profile
and information you need to worry about.
Know what other access your child has to
computers and devices like cell phones and
PDAs.
Report all inappropriate non-criminal
behavior to the site through their reporting
procedures.
Report criminal behavior to the appropriate
law-enforcement agency including the
NCMEC CyberTipline at
www.cybertipline.com or the Internet Fraud
Complaint Center at http://www.ic3.gov.
Contact your legislators and request stronger
laws against Internet crime.
Visit the NetSmartz Workshop at
www.NetSmartz.org for more information.
Remember that every day is Halloween on
the Internet. People on the Internet are not
always who they appear to be.
Safety Tips for Kids and Teens to Stay
Safer on Social Networking Sites:
1. Never post your personal information,
such as cell phone number, address, or the
name of your school.
2. Be aware that information you give out in
blogs could also put you at risk of
victimization. People looking to harm you
could use the information you post to gain
your trust. They can also deceive you by
pretending they know you.
3. Never give out your password to anyone
other than your parent or guardian.
4. Only add people as friends to your site if
you know them in real life.
5. Never meet in person with anyone you first
"met" on a social networking site.
6. Some people may not be who they say
they are. Think before posting your photos.
Personal photos should not have revealing
information, such as school names or
locations. Look at the backgrounds of the
pictures to make sure you are not giving out
any identifying information without realizing it.
The name of a mall, the license plate of your
car, signs, or the name of your sports team
on your jersey or clothing all contain
information that can give your location away.
7. Never respond to harassing or rude
comments posted on your profile. Delete any
unwanted messages or friends who
continuously leave inappropriate comments.
Report these comments to the networking
site if they violate that site's terms of service.
8. Check the privacy settings of the social
networking sites that you use: Set it so that
people can only be added as your friend if
you approve it. Set it so that people can only
view your profile if you have approved them
as a friend.
9. Remember that posting information about
your friends could put them at risk. Protect
your friends by not posting any names, ages,
phone numbers, school names, or locations.
Refrain from making or posting plans and
activities on your site.
10. Consider going through your blog and
profile and removing information that could
put you at risk. Remember, anyone has
access to your blog and profile, not just
people you know.
Safer on Social Networking Sites:
1. Never post your personal information,
such as cell phone number, address, or the
name of your school.
2. Be aware that information you give out in
blogs could also put you at risk of
victimization. People looking to harm you
could use the information you post to gain
your trust. They can also deceive you by
pretending they know you.
3. Never give out your password to anyone
other than your parent or guardian.
4. Only add people as friends to your site if
you know them in real life.
5. Never meet in person with anyone you first
"met" on a social networking site.
6. Some people may not be who they say
they are. Think before posting your photos.
Personal photos should not have revealing
information, such as school names or
locations. Look at the backgrounds of the
pictures to make sure you are not giving out
any identifying information without realizing it.
The name of a mall, the license plate of your
car, signs, or the name of your sports team
on your jersey or clothing all contain
information that can give your location away.
7. Never respond to harassing or rude
comments posted on your profile. Delete any
unwanted messages or friends who
continuously leave inappropriate comments.
Report these comments to the networking
site if they violate that site's terms of service.
8. Check the privacy settings of the social
networking sites that you use: Set it so that
people can only be added as your friend if
you approve it. Set it so that people can only
view your profile if you have approved them
as a friend.
9. Remember that posting information about
your friends could put them at risk. Protect
your friends by not posting any names, ages,
phone numbers, school names, or locations.
Refrain from making or posting plans and
activities on your site.
10. Consider going through your blog and
profile and removing information that could
put you at risk. Remember, anyone has
access to your blog and profile, not just
people you know.
| One in five U.S. teenagers who regularly log on to the Internet say they have received an unwanted sexual solicitation on the Web. Solicitations were defined as requests to engage in sexual activities or sexual talk, or to give personal sexual information. What are you doing to protect your Child? |