Protect Your Child from Internet Predators
By Online Security Authority on Feb 18, 2007 in Online Security Authority, Predators and Pedophiles, Privacy, Thoughts on Security
An estimated 62% of teens report their parents know little or nothing about their Web activities and 71% of parents stop monitoring their child’s use of the Internet after they turn 14, not knowing that 72% of all internet related missing children are 15 years of age or older.
Internet predators take advantage of the lack of adult supervision of children using the Internet, so Wisconsin Attorney General, Peggy A. Lautenschlager offers these tips to keep your children safe from internet predators.
LOCATION: Never put a computer in your child’s bedroom. Keep it in a common area with a lot of foot traffic.
NO ONLINE PROFILES: Profiles where your children post personal information and photos of themselves are dangerous. These profiles are what predators search to find their next victim.
PURCHASE FILTERS AND MONITORING SOFTWARE: The software allows you to monitor online activity without standing over your child’s shoulders 24/7. Filters will block sites you don’t want your children to access. Monitoring software takes a picture of the computer screen every few seconds, downloads and stores that information, then emails it to the parent’s account – so you can see exactly what your kids have been doing online. This software will cost you $60 – $100 dollars. Isn’t your child’s safety worth that much?
CALL LOCAL AUTHORITIES IF YOUR CHILD IS SOLICITATED: Jot down the offenders email address, dialogue exchange and any other information he may have sent your child, and call the local authorities. Even the smallest police department can put you in touch with a larger state agency equipped to handle Internet crimes. Parents can also contact the CyberTipline, a reporting mechanism for cases of child sexual exploitation including child pornography, online enticement of children for sex acts, molestation of children outside the family, sex tourism of children, child victims of prostitution, and unsolicited obscene material sent to a child. Reports may be made 24-hours per day, 7 days per week online at http://www.cybertipline.com/ or by calling 1-800-843-5678.
NEVER STOP BEING A PARENT: You can’t just get a computer and think that your kid is too smart or too good to be solicited by an online predator. Parents have to get involved. If you’ve allowed your child to have a profile — then know what’s on it and remove any information that can even remotely identify your child. Maintain an open dialogue with your child about their online usage. Be aware of exactly what they are doing and who they are in contact with over the Internet. Read more comments.
For more information on web safety, visit http://www.safesurfincentral.com/
OSA Editorial Comments:
We have to start now to Protect Your Child from Internet Predators talk to your children has to be the first course of action! if we are going stop them in the future and the threat of the online Predators, if we can’t catch them and punish for there crimes, how do we even stand a chance against the rest the cyber-crime world!
We need to start making the Predators & Pedophiles pay with real punishment or real jail time! And we need to begin to say: “enough is enough” or scream out from the rooftops that
“Were not going to Take IT Anymore!!”
Your Online Security Authority
Bill Wardell
Written by: OSAblogger / Bill Wardell - Please Read Our Latest OSA eZine Edition
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1 Comment(s)
By GuardChild on May 19, 2009 | Reply
I believe parents need to recognize technology has changed the paradigm. Today, we live in a digital age and technology has changed how we live. Let’s look at a few of the ways technology has changed our lives:
1.Cell Phones – now are mini computers.
2.Television – deregulation has changed television programming allowing networks to use inappropriate language, air shows with sexual content, etc. It’s also affected advertising. Unfortunately, sex sells, so commercials are created with sexual innuendos that affect children thinking.
3.Computers – today children have access to violent games, pornography, streaming video, chat rooms, instant messenger, etc.
4.Internet – today everything is available to children online if they aren’t protected.
Additionally, parents with young children purchase computers and insist it has a subscription to anti-virus software but will not install Blocking or Monitoring software to protect our most precious assets – our children.
•In a study of 4 million children between the ages of 7 and 17 who use the Internet, 29% indicated they would give out their home address and 14% would give out their email address if asked (NOP Research Group, 2002).
•81% of parents of online teens say that teens aren’t careful enough when giving out information about themselves online and 79% of online teens agree with this (Pew Internet & American Life Project, March 17, 2005).
•Approximately 89% of sexual solicitations of youth were made either in chat rooms or through Instant Messaging (Pew Study reported in JAMA, 2001).
We at http://www.GuardChild.com believe parents need to recognize how our technology has changed our way of life and integrate technology education into parenting. Technology needs to be taught just as parents teach kids about sex and drugs and it must be a continuum because technology is changing at such a rapid pace.
Parents should not heed to pressure to purchase children cell phones at an early age and should set up clear guidelines when their children can have access to internet, email, IM, chat and social networking privileges. Most importantly, parents need to purchase and install child blocking/filtering or monitoring software on all computers in their household that children can access. Additionally, parents should talk with the parents of their children to ensure that they also have blocking software installed.
By integrating technology into our daily lives and keeping abreast of the changes, i.e., ‘Sexting’. Parents will be informed and pro-active as new trends emerge.