How to Protect Your Children on the Internet
Some Recent and Interesting News Items
- (November 9, 2008) - According to The Daily Princetonian and a survey conducted
by Kaplan Test, about 15 percent of law school admissions and 10 percent of undergrad admissions officers
admit to using social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to evaluate prospective students for admission.
"52 percent of the admissions officers who responded that they had visited personal
networking sites reported that their visit had a negative impact on the applicant's chances."
- (November 1, 2008) - Micrsoft Vista Parental Controls greatly improve what parents can see and how they
can control their children's online experience. One nice feature is the ability to block all downloads, greatly
improving the protection of your computer and reducing the ability to install new software. Unfortunately, kids that are smarter than their parents
are using the tools to "surf without a trace" or logging. The battle for using the right tools for good continue...
- (November 19, 2007) - According to CBS News, more and more parents are having to spy on their
children to see exactly what their kids are doing online. Right or wrong?
- (November 6, 2007) - According to CBS News, an employee of the National Children's Museum
in Washington DC was arrested on child pornography charges. Robert Singer, 49 of Falls Church, Virginia,
was accused of using his work computer at the museum to send explict pornographic photos of sex
between minors and adults to others - including an undercover NY City police detective.
- (August 22, 2007) - According to the Washington Post, MySpace acknowledged that it had detected 29,000
registered sex offenders on its site. These were only those who signed up using their
real names. Facebook also found some offenders and removed their access, but
didn't report any numbers.
- (August 22, 2007) - Predators often use other names and profile pictures to pose as younger
people on social networking sites. In July of 2007, a Connecticut man named David Leonard, was convicted
and sentenced to 20 years in prison for having sexual contact with underage girls
he met on MySpace.com (Washington Post).
- (August 24, 2007) - The Scripts Howard News Service reports federal investigators have not been able to
get sufficient evidence to prove ex-Congressman Mark Foley intended to "seduce,
solicit, lure, entice, or attempt to seduce a child," with his inappropriate contacts.
Foley resigned from the U.S. Congress after ABC News reported that he sent inappropriate
e-mails and instant messages to underage House of Representative pages.
The Internet has transformed the way people research, shop, conduct business, and
communicate. But the Internet and technologies that enable online interaction and access to a
variety of content can be a perilous place for minors 8 to 18. The dangers are real, and parents
and teachers today are confronted with many threats they simply do not understand. This book
shares the risks of the Internet by detailing recent, real-world tragedies and revealing some of
the secrets of online activities.
It provides a pragmatic approach to help parents and teachers
protect children against the threats of going online. Parents and teachers are often ill-equipped
to deal with the variety of devices and applications such as email, instant messaging, browsing,
blogs, cell phones, and personal digital assistant devices (PDAs) that can facilitate the dangers
lurking online. How to Protect Your Children on the Internet offers a comprehensive overview of
the ways in which youth use such technologies and exposes the risks they represent. At the same
time, it provides a roadmap that will enable parents and teachers to become more engaged in
children's online activities, arming them with techniques and tips to help protect their children.
Smith underscores his arguments through chilling, real-life stories, revealing approaches people
are using to deceive and to conceal their activities online. Filled with practical advice and
recommendations, this book is indispensable to anyone who uses the Internet and related
technologies, and especially to those charged with keeping children safe.
How to Protect Your Children on the Internet provides clear recommendations by technology
categories (IM, surfing, search engine use, cell phones, social networking, etc.) by age category
(elementary, middle, and high school) to cut to the chase and give parents back the control to monitor
and protect their children. Smith offers advice on which tools to use, which include content filtering
and stealth monitoring software. The Smith Safety Roadmap gives parents the road map and all
the steps necessary to keep their children safe while accessing or interfacing to the Internet.
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