Before proceeding to read this article, it is important that we state something up front.
It is essential for the reader to understand and appreciate that there is no such thing as a secure operating system or web browser.
While there are many different programs and software that can significantly reduce your risks, nothing is 100% effective.
The most vulnerable are our children and that's a problem, as parents we need to do something about this.
Here is a statistic that will kick you below the belt, one out of five kids get sexual solicitations online and today their number one tool is the computer.
Hiding behind their anonymity they can pose as kids the same age.
The world has changed dramatically in the past 20 years.
Back then we only had to worry about these predators in our neighborhood now our concerns are global.
So the question is what do I do? Well the most important thing is communication with your kids.
If they don't know what you expect from them or what the rules are, then you are at fault not them.
For starters everything that applies in the real world also applies in the cyberworld.
Don't talk to strangers.
Know who your kids talk to online.
Does he/she really know everyone on their buddy list, remove anyone he/she has never personally met.
They should never go meet someone in real life that they met online unless the parents are involved.
Limit there usage time, say 30 minutes after school.
Help them create a new user account if you are the administrator then you can limit the other accounts.
Making it difficult if not impossible to change system settings or install new hardware and software, such as most games, media players, and chat programs.
If you want to allow some downloads like games, music, animated toolbars and avatars, set limits.
They need to be aware that these actions can infect the computer with a virus, making it unusable for anyone not just them.
Invest in monitoring and filtering software.
Something I have just learned myself is register for Google Alerts with your child's name.
What this does is anytime your kids name comes in Google's database it will alert your email with the websites link, pretty cool.
Finally and this goes back to the beginning about communication.
Discuss online behavior rules, write them all down and place them near the computer.
Now there are no excuses, if the rules are broken that means no internet access.
What to watch out for and the risk in some websites? The warning signs that something maybe wrong, they are receiving gifts from someone you don't know.
When you walk into the room you observe a mad scramble of them quickly closing programs or their becoming very secretive of what they do online, these should send up huge red flags.
The computer is not their personal diary, they do not receive or should they expect any form of privacy.
To eliminate something like this you should have your computer centrally located or in a common area like the living room.
Do your homework, check the browser history and use security tools.
Don't be intimidated by technology, your kids maybe be a lot more computer savvy than you but you can learn.
They will probably know how to delete the browser history but there is software called keylogger and it sits in the background recording everything done on the computer, then emails you everything.
Some risky sites: community and social networking, journals or weblogs, email, IM's (instant messaging) and the most dangerous are the chat rooms.
If you are not able to say no to your child and provide discipline then you wasted your time reading this.
None of this will work if you can not control your child's actions.
Kids don't need their parents to be their best friend.
They have plenty at school and around the neighborhood.
What they need is guidance and a parent to teach them right from wrong.
It is essential for the reader to understand and appreciate that there is no such thing as a secure operating system or web browser.
While there are many different programs and software that can significantly reduce your risks, nothing is 100% effective.
The most vulnerable are our children and that's a problem, as parents we need to do something about this.
Here is a statistic that will kick you below the belt, one out of five kids get sexual solicitations online and today their number one tool is the computer.
Hiding behind their anonymity they can pose as kids the same age.
The world has changed dramatically in the past 20 years.
Back then we only had to worry about these predators in our neighborhood now our concerns are global.
So the question is what do I do? Well the most important thing is communication with your kids.
If they don't know what you expect from them or what the rules are, then you are at fault not them.
For starters everything that applies in the real world also applies in the cyberworld.
Don't talk to strangers.
Know who your kids talk to online.
Does he/she really know everyone on their buddy list, remove anyone he/she has never personally met.
They should never go meet someone in real life that they met online unless the parents are involved.
Limit there usage time, say 30 minutes after school.
Help them create a new user account if you are the administrator then you can limit the other accounts.
Making it difficult if not impossible to change system settings or install new hardware and software, such as most games, media players, and chat programs.
If you want to allow some downloads like games, music, animated toolbars and avatars, set limits.
They need to be aware that these actions can infect the computer with a virus, making it unusable for anyone not just them.
Invest in monitoring and filtering software.
Something I have just learned myself is register for Google Alerts with your child's name.
What this does is anytime your kids name comes in Google's database it will alert your email with the websites link, pretty cool.
Finally and this goes back to the beginning about communication.
Discuss online behavior rules, write them all down and place them near the computer.
Now there are no excuses, if the rules are broken that means no internet access.
What to watch out for and the risk in some websites? The warning signs that something maybe wrong, they are receiving gifts from someone you don't know.
When you walk into the room you observe a mad scramble of them quickly closing programs or their becoming very secretive of what they do online, these should send up huge red flags.
The computer is not their personal diary, they do not receive or should they expect any form of privacy.
To eliminate something like this you should have your computer centrally located or in a common area like the living room.
Do your homework, check the browser history and use security tools.
Don't be intimidated by technology, your kids maybe be a lot more computer savvy than you but you can learn.
They will probably know how to delete the browser history but there is software called keylogger and it sits in the background recording everything done on the computer, then emails you everything.
Some risky sites: community and social networking, journals or weblogs, email, IM's (instant messaging) and the most dangerous are the chat rooms.
If you are not able to say no to your child and provide discipline then you wasted your time reading this.
None of this will work if you can not control your child's actions.
Kids don't need their parents to be their best friend.
They have plenty at school and around the neighborhood.
What they need is guidance and a parent to teach them right from wrong.
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