Listen as they discuss the following topics relating to child predators:

• How PC Pandora operates like a DVR for your computer
• Two success stories of parents using monitoring software:
• How a child was rescued from drug addiction
• How a runaway was located and brought safely home
• Difficulties associated with the statistics collected about online predators, sexting and cyber bullying
• Common approaches used by predators to find victims
• How adults in their 20′s are one of the biggest threats to kids today
• Why monitoring is an effective parenting technique
• How it only takes minutes a day to review your child’s online activities
• Plus lots more

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

Listen as they discuss the following topics:

• How PC Pandora operates like a DVR for the computer
• The biggest dangers facing kids
• How children’s ignorance can put them at risk
• How unfiltered Internet access is dangerous to children
• How monitoring is different from parental controls
• Plus lots more

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

Listen as they discuss the following topics relating to child predators:

• Online predators are the biggest fear relating to children for law enforcement
• How Keith would open 350 cases a month (11 per day) for online predators
• Anyone can be a predator and is not the stereotypical middle aged male
• 20-30 year olds the biggest threat to kids today
• Online activities that attract child predators
• Reasons why kids do not report victimization
• How predators are now communicating and sharing information with each other
• New methods used by child predators to locate victims
• How monitoring can help prevent your child from being exploited
• The process to report a predator to law enforcement
• How education is the key to prevention
• Plus lots more

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

Listen as they discuss the following topics relating to child predators:

• Keith’s work on the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce
• How Keith trains law enforcement, parents, school administrators and children on the topic of online safety
• How Keith got started in online safety and started the first taskforce in New Jersey
• How Keith would open 350 cases per month (11 cases each day) of online predators looking to exploit children
• The biggest threats to kids online today
• How the process of cyberbullying unfolds and can go viral quickly
• How perception is a major part of cyberbullying
• Common denominators in how children are exploited online
• Plus lots more

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

The biggest concern for parents was sexting.  Bryan was also able to share tips for parents to help keep their kids out of trouble.

You can read the full article here.

You can view the article by clicking here.

Listen as they discuss the following topics relating to online reputations:

• What an online reputation is and why it’s important
• How others “discover” your online reputation
• How information posted online is essentially permanent and can follow someone for their entire life
• Examples of mistakes made by children and young adults which affects their online reputation
• Information posted online is out of context and can magnify a situation
• Effects of a negative online reputation to children and their family
• How to “repair” an online reputation
• Professional services to help correct online reputations
• How an online reputation can attract online predators
• How to proactively manage your child’s online reputation
• Plus lots more

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

This is especially important for parents too.  You do not want your child’s cell phone number to be leaked to predators online.

Listen as they discuss the following topics:

• How posting information online can haunt someone their entire life
• How parents need to get involved in their child’s digital life
• How children are now the focus of identity thieves
• How predators are upfront about their intentions and the process of grooming
• How children post way too much information online and how predators use that to exploit them
• How geotagging puts families at risk
• Plus lots more

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

Listen as they discuss the following topics relating to cyber stalking & cyber bullying:

• The legal definition of cyber bullying
• Ways the cyber stalking escalates
• Methods to track cyber bullies
• Procedures to report cyber stalkers
• When online harassment should be reported to law enforcement
• How to escalate a case if local law enforcement cannot handle the case
• How to protect your kids from cyber bullies and cyber stalkers
• Plus lots more

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

To learn more please visit our Dangers of Geotagging page.

Please view the following public service announcement.

If it’s a situation of cyberbullying, here’s what you and your child can do.

• No matter what, don’t respond to the bully. That’s what they want.
• Make copies of the bullying so it’s documented. Learn how.
• Print out the copies and either mail or bring them to the parents’ house to show proof of bullying. Tell the parents you want it to end…and now. Let them know that you will involve law enforcement (and the school, if relevant) if it can’t be solved right then and there.
• Law enforcement can’t get involved or do a thing unless life is threatened. That said, it doesn’t hurt to go to the police and document the incident.
• Block the bully from your child’s Facebook account and from their cell phone
• Your child should take a big long break from Facebook. (Mom or dad could log in to see if the offender(s) are doing anything and document if necessary).

If the situation involves a creeper, it’s most likely because your child, like most Facebook users, doesn’t understand the importance of keeping their profile on privacy lock down. That means NO ONE should be able to view anything about them other than their name and profile photo, until they are accepted as a friend.

Some social networking safety tips follow:

• On any social network, it’s best to avoid using last names. Try and use first and middle names only.
• Phone numbers should never be shared on her profile. The only contact information that should be on there, if any at all, is an email address.
• There’s no need for them to disclose their high school name. Only real life friends should know where they go to school.
• They should never post their home address. Teens should disable Facebook Places and minimize Facebook photo tagging.
• Never accept a friend request from a person you don’t know in real life. For teens, this includes not accepting a friend request from someone they just met at a party last night.
• Whether a teen stalker/creeper or adult stalker/creeper, it’s best to not disclose any information that makes it easier for them to “get to you”. Again, real life friends know who they are and their contact information is.
• If it becomes serious, don’t hesitate to inform the police. Make copies of everything that happens so the police have evidence.
• Finally, block the person from Skype, Instant Messenger, cell phone and anywhere else where they can possibly contact them.

Yoursphere Media focuses on the family and publishes the kids social network, Yoursphere.com. Check it out with your children as an alternative to the adult-intended social networks.

Listen as they discuss the following topics relating to cyber stalking:

• How cyber stalking propelled her into the security industry
• How the innocence of children can get them into trouble online
• Why parents cannot ignore the Internet and the dangers present online
• How WHOA is helping stop cyber stalking and cyber bullying
• Surprising statistics showing that female harassers are increasing
• That 53% of harassers are complete strangers and increasing each year
• The importance of managing your “digital footprint”
• How to identify and eliminate potential stalkers from your child’s FaceBook account
• Why online harassment escalates in 70% of cases
• Steps to stop cyber bullying and cyber stalking
• Plus lots more

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

1. The first thing you’ll want to do is find the Settings button on your home screen –

2. Once you’ve clicked that, look for the “General” tab on the left side. From there you’ll see the “Restrictions” option—click it.

3. At the top, you’ll want to click “Enable Restrictions”. This will bring up a password box. Since this is your first time, you’ll need to think of a code and enter it twice to confirm.

Don’t forget this password. It’s your only way to turn restrictions on and off on the iPad. If you forget, the only way to bypass it is by resetting your iPad to the factory settings.

4. From here you’ll be given the option to disable or enable a number of apps and allowances: Safari, YouTube, installing apps, etc.

Switching these apps to the “off” position will actually remove them from your iPad’s homepage—meaning you/your children won’t be able to access them until you switch them back “on”.

Some suggestions:

Safari – You’ll want to turn this off if you don’t want your child browsing the web. Safari doesn’t have a content filter, so unless you’ve installed a third-party, kid-friendly web browser, switching this to the off position might be the best option.

YouTube – SafetyMode isn’t an option here, so the same rules apply here as they do for Safari.

Installing Apps – If you have little ones using your iPad (and I’m assuming you do if you’re reading this article), turn this off is highly recommended. This will prevent any unwanted bills from Apple.

5. If you scroll down on the same page you’ll notice that you can also choose the type of content you allow to be downloaded, installed or viewed on your iPad, as well as the option to disable in-app purchases.

In-app purchases – these are actual purchases made inside any app that’s downloaded to your iPad. So, if your son or daughter decides that they want to buy $100 worth of “gold coins” in Sally’s Silly Adventures, they can…if this isn’t turned off. Click here to read one father’s horror story.

Remember, your iTunes account is probably tied to your credit card if you’ve ever bought an app in the App Store.

From here you can also limit the kind of content that gets downloaded or played on your iPad. This is done by selecting the rating for each type of content.

Music – Setting the Explicit setting to OFF makes it so any explicit songs that your child may already have on their iPad become unavailable. It also disables all explicit purchases in the iTunes Store.

Movies –

TV Shows –

Apps –

All in all, parents, safety enabling your iPad will take just 10 short minutes, but will offer you hours of peace of mind!

Yoursphere Media focuses on the family and publishes the kids social network, Yoursphere.com. Check it out with your children as an alternative to the adult-intended social networks.

Listen as they discuss the following topics relating to social media privacy for children:

• How a majority of kids are at risk due to privacy settings
• Incorrect privacy settings open door for pedophiles
• How children are at risk from identity theft, cyber bullying, and more
• Overview of federal laws regulating online privacy for kids
• How Yoursphere.com is taking a proactive approach to privacy
• Plus lots more

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

First, find the System Preferences icon on your desktop and click on it.

It looks like this:

Now look for “Accounts” and click that.

You’ll be taken to a screen where you can modify or add users to the computer. In order to set parental controls, your child will need their own user account. To create one, click the little + sign.

Keep the account “Standard”, and then fill out the rest of the fields before hitting “Create Account”.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll need to start setting the parental controls, so check the “Enable parental controls” box, and then click the “Open Parental Controls” button.

On the next screen, you’ll be able to set a number of controls and restrictions, including: app restrictions, website blocking, email limitations and time limits. These are organized by tabs at the top. You’ll see how useful these settings can be once you get going.

Let’s start with The Apps tab -

Here, you can limit the types of applications that your child has access to on their account. This includes everything from Firefox to Photo Booth.

It’s also important to set an age restriction for the app store. In the image I have it set to “up to 9+”, but you can always say “Do not allow” and block the app store altogether.

The Web tab –

This is probably the most important section of the parental controls as it allows you to block and allow certain websites. Now, you can go one of two ways: you can let Apple’s parental controls “try” and limit access to adult intended websites, or you can create your own list of allowed/blocked sites.

Clicking the “Customize” button brings up a box where you can type in whichever sites you deem appropriate or inappropriate for your child.

The Mail tab –

Setting limits here is fairly straightforward. Checking the two boxes at the top will allow you compile a list of email addresses that you allow your child to contact either through Apple’s mail system or iChat. Check the two boxes and then click the little + to begin adding allowed email addresses.

NOTE: If you don’t have the time to add email addresses to this list, then I recommend you disable the Mail and iChat applications. This can be done from the Apps tab. Then, when you have the time, you can come back and fill in this list.  Don’t just “skip” this part of the safety-enabling your Mac. This is too important.

You’ll also want to put your parent email address in the “Send permissions requests to” box. This sends you an email notification if your child tries to contact someone who’s not on the list of allowed contacts.

The Time Limits tab –

This tool is very useful if you want to limit the amount of time your kids spend on the computer during the week and/or the weekend. Just use the scroll bars to adjust the number of hours.

You’ll notice that you can also prevent access to the computer during certain times of the day, like bedtime.

The Other tab –

This tab just gives you a few more things to control. One of them is the ability to hide profanity in online dictionaries and sites educational resources like Wikipedia. You can also limit printer access and CD/DVD burning.

I do recommend that you check the “Disable changing the password” box. This will prevent your child from changing their own account password and possibly restricting your access to their account.

Finally, you’ll want to lock these changes so click the little lock in the bottom left corner. This will make it so that only you (assuming you’re the only one who knows the admin password) can change the parental control settings.

That’s it! Please be sure to pass this on to anyone you think would find it useful. And if you have any recommendations as far as parental controls go on Mac OS X, please feel free to share in the comments.

Yoursphere Media focuses on the family and publishes the kids social network, Yoursphere.com. Check it out with your children as an alternative to the adult-intended social networks.

Listen as they discuss the following topics relating to the dangers of geotagging:

• An explanation of what geotagging is
• Concrete examples of how geotags can put kids at risk
• Tools used by stalkers to location victims
• How geotagging makes a pedophile’s job easy
• How geotags put families at risk to other crimes
• Other types of personally identifiable that should never be posted online
• The risks associated with tagging of photos on FaceBook
• Plus lots more

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

Do you realize that each one of those apps is silently collecting information about you every day and feeding it to marketers?

We just discovered a new service which analyzes every app in your FaceBook account and gives you a detailed report on:

• Information collected by the app
• Reputation of app developer
• Last time you used the app

This information is invaluable so you can take control over your FaceBook privacy.  After running the report I was shocked to find more than 50 apps that I did not need.  With a few clicks of the mouse you are able to remove all of them in a matter of seconds.  This is much easier than the manual removal process that FaceBook provides for you.

Best part is that the service is free!  They do offer some paid services but it doesn’t cost you anything for the FaceBook app removal.

This service is recommended by the heavy hitters in the technology industry like TechCrunch.com, Gizmodo.com, LifeHacker.com and CNNTech.com.

Check it out:  http://www.unsubscribe.com

After a year of continuous cyber bullying, the youth began a campaign of self harm called cutting.  This involves slicing of the wrists or other body parts and can escalate into an actual suicide attempt.  Fortunately, a friend noticed the cuts and contacted school officials who helped the boy get back on track.

This cyber bullying would have been caught in the beginning stages through the use of monitoring software or a monitoring service.  Parents should seriously consider some sort of monitoring solution to make sure their children are not being cyber bullied or engaging in cyber bullying.

Full article is located here.

Google Plus has many different features (circles, incoming posts, sharing defaults, network visibility, and more) that are different from other social networking site like FaceBook, and Twitter.  An improperly configured profile could leak information to search engines, or people in other circles which could cause embarrassment or worse.

Watch this video so you can have the knowledge to properly secure your Google+ profile.

Be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you will receive the latest information about technologies that can put you or your family at risk.  Sign up here.

“@” is a way to directly refer to another Twitter user when you send out a tweet. So, if you post a tweet and you put @marykayhoal in the tweet, then I will see on my Twitter account that you mentioned me in your tweet. As well, anyone who follows me on Twitter will see that you mentioned me.

“#” is a bit more complex than “@”. The #, or hashtag, is used to create topics of discussion, or add to an already existing topic of discussion. These topics (hashtags) can be searched for by Twitter users, allowing them to see anything that was said by anyone who used that hashtag. So if you’re interested in parenting advice, then you might find #parenting to be a useful discussion to follow. There are millions of these hashtags topics, and anyone can create a topic about anything. So if you want to tweet “Finally finished reading a book a started a month ago!”, you can add a hashtag like #ilovebooks or #momalonetime or #thattookforever. Those are now topics of discussion that you’ve either created or added to.

Granted they have an Internet connection on their mobile device, these two features make Twitter a very attractive alternative for any tween or teen that’s getting slack from their parents for going over their text messaging limit.

This switch over to Twitter creates some concerns for their privacy, though, as the whole point of Twitter is to make your tweets public to your followers—a bandwagon that most Twitter users hop on without really taking into consideration how it affects their privacy. In a sense, Twitter is just a way for people to let everyone, friends and strangers, know who they’re texting and what they’re texting them. Think of it as the ultimate status update.

My concern was triggered when I noticed some heavy discussion going on in the #cyberbullying topic.  I was seeing people, young and old, using it to send hurtful direct messages to another person (@), and then categorizing it as #cyberbullying so that everyone knows their intention.  It seems these people have embraced the non-private, mass text messaging capabilities of Twitter, and then added in that extra hashtag in order to humiliate the person they’re referring to in their tweet. Needless to say, this trend can easily expand beyond cyberbullying, into sexting, and pretty much any hurtful or inappropriate topic imaginable.

Because Twitter was created to facilitate mass communication, privacy isn’t really a priority for the folks at Twitter. But if you know your tween/teen uses Twitter, there is one thing you can do to keep their profile somewhat private:

Go to Settings Account Check the box called Tweet Privacy

This will make it so their tweets are only visible to the people they approve to follow them.

Don’t forget to also talk to your kids about Twitter. As important as it is to let them know that you’re on top of technology and technology trends, it’s equally important to talk to them about the consequences of cyberbullying and sexting. Twitter is the definition of “social networking with no regard for privacy”. And because millions of Twitter users embrace this online culture, it’s more important than ever to talk to your kids about it.

Also, keep in mind that Twitter is not intended for children 12 and under. And just like Facebook, it is in violation of a very important privacy law for children called the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

Yoursphere Media focuses on the family and publishes the kids social network, Yoursphere.com. Check it out with your children as an alternative to the adult-intended social networks.

14% of children 9 – 14 years old, and 12% of high school students 15 – 18 years old purposefully chose to meet with a stranger (in real life) they had chatted with online according to research published in the July issue of the American Journal of Nursing.  In addition, half of the children and teens were either sexually assaulted or threatened, touched inappropriately, or had “something sexual happen.”

Participants in the survey also included “Internet sexual offenders” (those convicted of either an Internet sexual offense or a hands-on sexual offense and/or a prior Internet offense). Their preferred method of communication is with girls versus boys, and about 2/3 bring up the topic of sex during the first chat session with children and young adults the study found.

Listen as they discuss the following topics relating to Internet safety for kids:

• What caused Mary Kay to begin her career in child Internet safety
• The biggest dangers facing children today
• How her site YourSphere.com helps keep children safe
• How YourSphere.com helps train both children and parents to responsibly use social networking sites
• How pictures of Justin Bieber helped teach a valuable lesson to the parents of an 8 year old
• What things parents can do to protect their kids
• Steps overwhelmed parents can do to quickly safeguard their children’s devices
• The importance of safety enabling all digital devices in the home
• Plus lots more

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

To get started, follow the step-by-step guide below.

1. Open iTunes and click on “Edit” (Windows PC) in the top menu, or “iTunes” for Mac users.

 

2. Then, click on “Preferences”.



3. A Preferences window will pop up, and at the top you’ll see seven different tabs. One of them is called “Parental”, click that.



4. From here you can choose to disable certain iTunes content/features altogether, like Ping or the iTunes Store. You can also set restrictions for movie, TV show and application content by age range.

The important thing to do here is to check the box that says “Restrict Explicit Content”. This will disable the ability to download/purchase explicit music and other explicit content on your iTunes account.

5. Clicking the little lock will make it so the admin password is required to change these settings. Click it, type in your admin password and click OK.

Safe Syncing –

It’s important to understand a couple of key things after you’ve set and locked iTunes’ parental controls:

1. Any explicit content that you had in iTunes prior to setting the parental controls will still be in iTunes. Furthermore, you/your child will still be able to sync this explicit content to any iDevice when it’s connected to iTunes. Because of this, it’s important that you also configure the parental controls on the iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad itself.

 

2. Since any previously downloaded explicit content will still be in iTunes, you might want to consider deleting the content from your music/TV playlists.

If this isn’t a practical solution for you, you may want to create a separate user account for your child on your home computer. Then you can download iTunes on their user account and set the parental controls there so they have their own settings and you have yours.

3. Your iTunes parental controls DO NOT have an effect on content that you’ve imported into your library. It only affects content that’s bought in the iTunes Store either through iTunes or an iDevice.

That’s it, parents! Remember to take the time to set the parental controls on all three iDevices, not just iTunes. Also, it might be good idea to let your kids know that you’ve set and locked the parental controls on iTunes so they know you’re on top of things. That said, parental controls are never a substitute for parental involvement. Open dialogue about your child’s online activities is, and always will be the best “parental control”.

Yoursphere Media focuses on the family and publishes the kids social network, Yoursphere.com. Check it out with your children as an alternative to the adult-intended social networks.

Listen as they discuss the following topics relating to Internet connected and online video games:

• What downloadable content for video games is and why parents should be concerned
• How downloadable content can change a PG rated game into one that is X rated
• What things parent should look out for when purchasing video games
• What questions to ask store clerks about video games
• The dangers of voice chat capabilities in video games
• Ways to protect your family when video game networks are hacked
• Two of the best game consoles for enabling parental controls
• How to keep kids safe from predators when playing video games
• Plus lots more

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

Google has launched a tool to enable users to understand and manage what people see when they search for you on Google. The tool called “Me on the Web” and is part of the Google Dashboard (users register to access personalised Google apps and tools).

Google states “Your online identity is determined not only by what you post, but also by what others post about you – whether a mention in a blog post, a photo tag or a reply to a public status update“. Being aware of your own digital footprint is an essential part of everyone’s digital safety, this tool enables web users to become more aware of and manage their online reputation.

You can use “Me on the Web” to alert you when your personal information gets published online.

To create alerts:

1. Sign in to your Google Dashboard
2. In the ‘Me on the Web’ section, click Set up search alerts for your data.
3. Select the checkboxes beside the alerts (such as your name or email address) you’d like to receive.
   • (Optional) Enter additional information in the text field and then select the checkbox for that alert.
   • (Optional) Click Add another alert to create alerts for additional personal information.
4. In the ‘How often’ drop-down box, choose the alert frequency.
5. In the ‘Deliver to’ drop-down box, choose which email address your alerts should be sent to.
6. Click Save alert preferences.

You will now be notified when content about you (depending on the options you have selected) is publicly indexed via Google.

Users can also register for a Google profile. Google state that this can help users manage the information (such as contact details, and other information) that people see. With a Google Profile, you can also link to other sites about you or created by you. For example, you can link to your blog, online photos in Picasa, and other profiles such as Facebook and LinkedIn. This could be a useful tool in managing and maintaining separate professional and personal presences online. Google profiles can be made private or public (meaning it will be visible via search engines) and is optional. Professionals should carefully consider if this is a suitable option for them and should ensure it is compatible their professional role prior to use.

Parents and carers might want to consider using the tool to manage content posted online about themselves and their family. It could also be useful in showing Young People how visible their digital footprint is and how important it is to be aware of how the content you post online can be shared further and on a larger, more public, scale than intended.

Google also provides some very useful advice for users on how to remove unwanted content and unwanted search results.

For more information visit Google’s help and advice section: “Managing your Online Reputation” here

Original article: http://kenttrustweb.org.uk/CS/community/esafety/archive/2017/06/23/quot-me-on-the-web-quot-google-tool-to-manage-online-reputation.aspx

From http://wnyt.com/article/stories/S2159862.shtml?cat=300

COHOES – Everyone at Cohoes High School heard about the Facebook page, but no one knew who created it. It was called ‘Cohoes Flame’.

The anonymous creator cut and pasted pictures of Cohoes High Students, and wrote nasty things underneath each picture. “They were just degrading everybody on there, it was ridiculous,” said Cohoes High School student Ryan Goergen.

Goergen’s name ended up on that page, he never knew who put it there until NewsChannel 13 told him who police arrested, 16-year-old Marquan Mackay-Meggs. “Are you serious? He’s my friend. Wow. That’s crazy, that’s crazy.”

Another student held her hand over her mouth in disbelief. “Oh my god, wow. I thought it was someone else,” she said.

Cohoes Police spend more than six months investigating this case. Detective Jason Johnston even created a Facebook account to send a message to the then anonymous page creator. “He replied by telling me that if I could prove to him who I was, then he would take the page down,’ said Johnston. Detective Johnston then took a different route, contacting Facebook directly.

Eventually the page came down. And, through tracking IP addresses, police found Mackey-Meggs. “He thought he was being funny.” . . A neighbor came out, completely shocked to learn why NewsChannel 13 was there. “It’s crazy to hear about it, I don’t know why he would do that to hurt somebody,” said Christina Beliven. “Even my friend was on it and it said how she was nasty and all these hurtful things.”

Albany County law makers recently passed a cyber bullying law. This is the first arrest. Cohoes Police Chief William Heslin says he’s pleased the case is resolved, but it was extremely draining for a small department to tackle a cyber bullying case. He says cases like this need help from the federal level. “They can pass all the county laws they want, you’re still dealing with out of state companies that you need the information from.”

May I suggest that you contact your local Congressman and push for a federal level bill against cyber-bullying?

Parents can help stop cyberbullying. You can start by talking to kids about the issue and teaching them the rules below that will help prevent cyberbullying from happening to them or someone they know.

What Kids Need to Know:

• Never give out personal information online, whether in instant message profiles, chat rooms, blogs, or personal websites.
• Never tell anyone but your parents your password, even friends.
• If someone sends a mean or threatening message, don’t respond. Save it or print it out and show it to an adult.
• Never open emails from someone you don’t know or from someone you know is a bully.
• Don’t put anything online that you wouldn’t want your classmates to see, even in email.
• Don’t send messages when you’re angry. Before clicking “send,” ask yourself how you would feel if received the message.
• Help kids who are bullied online by not joining in and showing bullying messages to an adult.
• Always be as polite online as you are in person.

Since most cyberbullying takes place at home, it’s important that parents know about cyberbullying and that they get involved in preventing it. Just like parents help their kids avoid inappropriate websites, they can protect them from cyberbullying.

What Parents Can Do

• Keep your home computer is a busy area of your house.
• Set up email and chat accounts with your children. Make sure that you know their screen names and passwords and that they don’t include any personal information in their online profiles.
• Regularly go over their instant messenger “buddy list” with them. Ask who each person is and how your children know him or her.
• Print this list of commonly used acronyms in instant messenger and chat rooms from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and post it by your computer.
• Discuss cyberbullying with your children and ask if they have ever experienced it or seen it happen to someone.
• Tell your children that you won’t blame them if they are cyberbullied. Emphasize that you won’t take away their computer privileges – this is the main reason kids don’t tell adults when they are cyberbullied.

Listen as they discuss the following topics relating to Internet safety for kids:

• Real life example of predator trying to meet a child
• How hands on labs help parents understand the dangers facing their kids
• How naivety, and lack of impulse control puts kids at risk online
• How R rated games are so different from R rated movies
• Plus lots more

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

Listen as they discuss the following information relating to online predators:

• Red flags parents should be looking for
• The myth of right to privacy for kids
• How social networking sites make pedophiles jobs easier
• How predators share information on ways to exploit kids
• Other social network sites parents need to be aware of
• Biggest mistakes made by child predators
• Biggest mistakes made by kids that put them at risk
• Dangers of geotagging
• Number one weapon for parents to combat online predators

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

Listen as they discuss the following information:

• Common techniques used by child predators
• How predators are relentless in their pursuit of victims
• The use of false social networking accounts to lure victims
• The specific traits in children that are often exploited
• How predators operate like a hunter
• The dangers of geotagging (location services)
• Plus lots more

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Vivid demonstration of how geotags can be used to locate someone within seconds
• Examples of how predators can use geotags to profile a victim using free tools online
• How wide spread the problem is and who is affected by it

Check it out today and learn the hidden dangers of geotagging.

Listen as they discuss the following information:

• How mobile devices are often ignored by parents
• The problems associated with mobile devices
• Texting lingo (and a free guide)
• How rampant sexting is today (stats will shock you)
• How young children are when sexting begins
• Increasing number of teen suicides involving sexting
• Plus lots more

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

Listen as they discuss the following information:

• The biggest dangers facing kids today
• How to protect kids from these dangers
• Some of the ways that SpectorSoft helps parents protect children
• The tragic death of Emily Longley
• Plus lots more

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

Emily included additional information in her post about the predator.  She received a phone call from an unknown person who indicated that he knew everything about her even though she had no idea who he was.  Additionally, he persistently called her multiple times after she hung up on the caller.  She was visibly upset and wondered how the person had discovered her private number.

While on the surface, this stalking (not the death) may appear to be a once in a million situation, it actually happens every day.  It’s important for parents to understand exactly how this happens, and be able to determine if their child is at risk or currently being stalked.

It’s very common for children to accept friend requests from people that are a complete strangers to them.  There are many reasons for this:

• Wanting to have the largest number of friends
• Wanting to be socially “polite” and not refuse a request
• The stranger is friends with another FaceBook friend
• The stranger falsely claims to attend the same school, live in the same city, etc.
• The stranger claims to like the same sports team, bands, or interests

Once that person is accepted as a friend, they have full access to your child’s profile, activities, posts, pictures and the like.  In most circumstances your child will promptly forget the person exists as a friend.  That stranger can then sit back and quietly observe your child’s online activities.  The predator will slowly build a profile of your child with the following information:

• Home address
• Telephone number
• School attended
• Favorite hangouts
• Work location
• Names of parents, siblings, friends
• Colors of home, cars, and pets

With all of this information, the predator can formulate a plan to entice your child to meet him and then exploit him or her.

Parents must sit down with their child and have the child explain exactly how they know each and every person in their FaceBook account.  You should unfriend (or block) anyone who your child cannot not readily identify.

More information about this problem and solution can be found in the chapter on Social Networks.

Listen as they discuss the important topics about the subject of online predators:

• Shattering the stereotypical view of an online predator
• Percentage of children communicating with complete strangers
• Warning signs associated with online predators
• Dangers of Internet connected devices in bedrooms
• Effective tools to protect children
• How to get your head out of the sand and into the cloud

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

Listen as they discuss the important topics about the subject of cyber bullying:

• Definition of cyber bullying
• Warning signs associated with cyber bullying
• Online and in person aspects of cyber bullying
• Three simple words to prevent cyber bullying
• Effective ways to report cyber bullying

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

These numbers are important when you consider that 55% of teachers, and 82% of school administrators strongly agree that online safety should be covered in classroom instruction.

While many people believe parents should be the primary source of internet safety instruction for children, often that training never happens.  There are a variety of reasons:

• Lack of familiarity with computer technologies
• Unaware of the dangers found online
• Lack of time / lack of interest

There is one federal law that mandates training for students but it only applies to schools receiving discounted Internet access via a federal program.  Unfortunately, this 2008 federal law is deficient since it does not establish specific guidelines nor define the types of training that must occur.  Only six states (California, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Texas, and Virginia) have laws that deal with online safety but none mandate training for students.

Education is key in order to raise awareness, and provide children with the necessary tools to stay safe online.  Regardless of who provides the training, it is critical that children receive comprehensive instruction on how to safely navigate in today’s digital world.

Reference article (including survey)

If you have any questions relating to Internet safety for kids you can ask me a question by going here: http://www.allexperts.com/el/Internet-Safety/

You can also subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

Please check it out here.

Sadly, this is not an isolated incident and has occurred countless times over the years.  A friend of mine had his Internet service shut down because a neighbor was sharing pirated music via his unsecured wireless network.  Driving down my street I can find half a dozen wireless network that are unsecured and would allow access to anyone in range.

It is so critical for parents to:

1. Verify your home Wi-Fi network is secured using effective protection (not WEP)
2. Conduct a location survey to see if neighbors have unsecured wireless networks
3. Provide my handout to neighbors with unsecured networks

For more information on the dangers of unsecured wireless networks, how to effectively protect your wireless network, how to locate unsecured networks around your home, and how to approach neighbors with unsecured networks, please see Chapter 14 on Location Surveys.

Reference article

The report provides the following information:

• How to identify if your child is at risk
• Specific settings to protect your child
• Step by step instructions showing you how to solve any problems

I also put together a YouTube video tutorial which shows parents exactly how to correct three of the biggest mistakes.

You can watch the video and download the free report by clicking here.

The Daily Telegraph

Get your copy today: http://keepyourfamilysafeonline.com

While I do not condone pornography of any type, this is a great way to segregate material that parents find objectionable.  It will be a simple process for parents to block all sites with .xxx domain names in any protection solution (both location and device based) they have installed.

The downside is that using these new domains are optional at this point.  There are organizations lobbying governments around the world to force pornographers to move to these domains.  It will be difficult for this to happen due to the influence of the pornography industry but not impossible.