Internet Safety for Kids Age 8-10 Years Old

Kids from 8 to 10 years old are still dependent on their family but starting to show interest in the activities that older people do. They begin to imitate older people that may seem to be a rehearsal of their entry as pre-teens.

Internet threats to Kids Age 8-10 Years Old

Kids at this age begin to play games online. They may to stick to one site but they can easily experiment the search engines to look for other gaming sites or things that may interest them which may lead them to undesirable sites. They are vulnerable to fear from portrayals of dangers, violence, and threats online.

Kids of this age may have their own private email address or may be using instant messaging or entering chat rooms. They are also vulnerable to danger these things can bring.

Although they may have no intention to enter into danger, they lack proper judgment to differentiate the good sites from the bad. Innocence can be their weak point. To protect them, here are the things you can do:

� Create rules on how and when to use the internet. � Kids at this age should use the internet with adult supervision. � Sit down with them to make sure that you know the sites they are entering. � Keep your internet-connected computer in an area where an adult is around and not in your kids' bedroom. � Set up a firewall on your computer so that they can't enter prohibited websites. Use this as a tool and aid � not a replacement for your guidance. � Teach them to properly use email. It is much better if you create a family email address that you share with your kids so that you can access and monitor the entry of emails. � Let your kids know that they shouldn't open and why they shouldn't open emails and download attachments from unknown senders. � Encourage them to make friends at school and not online. Tell them not to answer emails or talk to strangers online. � They shouldn't use instant messaging at this age or if you are allowing them to use it, use strict guidance. � Encourage them to share their daily online experience with you. � Teach your kids to ask permission first before doing something online like entering a contest or joining a group.

Internet Safety for Kids Age 5-7 Years Old

Kids from 5 to 7 years old are very dependent on what their parents or older people tell them. They don't question people's authority although they are curious on finding out the "whys?" of everything. They are trusting and interpret the world as they see it.

Internet threats to Kids Age 5-7 Years Old

Kids from 5 to 7 years old have knowledge on the basic operations of the computer like manipulating the mouse, using the keyboard and turning the computer on and off. However, the internet may be complicated to them so they are very dependent on adults to find web sites and explain the information given online. They have little capacity to use the internet alone.

Since they can't discern what is real from fictional, they are vulnerable to believing everything they see online as true. They can accidentally enter websites that aren't proper to their age. They may not exactly understand the text from websites, but they clearly understand the violent images. Since they are trusting in older people, they can easily be persuaded to provide personal information through instant messaging, surveys, or similar forms.

These vulnerabilities should be protected at all times. Here are the things you should do to ensure the safety of your kids while using the internet:

� Never leave your kids alone in front of the computer. Always sit with them whenever they use the internet. � Have a list of friendly websites saved on your personal bookmark so that you can easily access his favorite sites. Teach your kids how to direct the mouse to it. � Enable the security settings of search engines. � Keep the internet-connected computer where you can see it. � Use filtering devices such as firewalls or setup a security system wherein the forbidden sites can't be opened (intentionally or accidentally). � Teach your kids the importance of honestly and privacy. Let your kids know that it is okay to discuss with you their internet experience or whenever they encounter threat or felt fear online. At the same time, teach them to hide personal information from strangers. � Teach your kids not to click on everything they see online. � Use popup blockers or disable Java from your computer to make sure that your kids can't encounter malicious pop-ups. � Let them use kids-friendly web browsers.

Internet Safety for Kids Age 2-4 Years Old

Toddlers and preschoolers start to discover things from their limited capacity. Their brain has the ability to store lots of information acquired through their active senses. They may still be dependent on older people but are pretty much capable of harnessing their motor skills.

Internet threats to Kids Age 2-4 Years Old

Kids from 2 to 4 years old have the capacity to operate computers. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 67% of kids of this age use the computer and almost 1 of 4 use the internet. Although online activities may not be very interesting to these kids, the sounds and images that the internet has add to their learning experience and can stimulate broader imagination.

Since they take sound and images they see on the internet at face value and don't have the capacity to discern fiction from real, anything that they see and hear on the internet that may be disturbing can result in fear. They can take the portrayals of violence, danger, and threats as true and real. Thus, it is dangerous for kids at this age to be exposed to webpages with disturbing images and sounds.

To protect your kids from this, here are the internet safety tips you should know:

� Don't leave your kids alone in front of the computer. They may accidentally open hyperlinks that lead to unsuitable sites. � Keep a list of websites that are right for your kids' age. Bookmark these websites for easy reference. � If you want to look for other sites, do it without your kids. � Keep the computer in an area where you can easily see it. Always sit with your kids or have an adult to guide them whenever they will use the computer or the internet. � Use filtering devices and security settings to prevent your kids from accidentally opening scandalous websites. � Download kids-friendly internet browsers. � Keep the popup blocker "on" to prevent unwanted sites from opening to your screen. Disable Java to ensure that the popup is neutralized. � This age is the best time to teach your kids about the importance of privacy. Teach them not to give any private information to anyone, online or offline. � Encourage all family members to act as a role model to the kids on the right use of the internet. � Encourage your kids to share with you their experience while using the internet.

Effective Ways to Protect Your Kids from Internet Threats

Violence, sex, nudity, and explicit language, pornography, online gambling, online predators, viruses, spyware, and adware; these are some of the threats that your kids can encounter while using the internet. And since you can't monitor them all the time, you need to find ways to protect your kids from these threats. Here are some of those ways:

1. Teach them to stay secure. Talk to them about personal security while using the internet. Tell them to refuse giving any personal information to people they meet online. Avoid filling out membership and survey forms that would entail them to state their personal information.

2. Place your computer in a place where you can monitor your kids' use of the internet and not in their bedroom.

3. Set up house rules to limit your kids' internet access.

4. Keep your kids' computer account "limited. This will keep you in control over the significant access to the computer.

5. Discourage them from making personal profiles using online networking websites that can be viewed by anyone. Sites like MySpace create venues for online predators to access different personal information for their predatory purposes. If your kids already have profiles posted on the web, make sure that you know what pictures and personal information they post. Also, view their personal blogs.

6. If your kids are young enough to use the regular web browser, download web-browsers that are made for kids. They filter bad websites and limit your kids' access to pre-approved webpages.

7. Tell them to avoid peer-to-peer file-sharing softwares. This is because viruses, spyware, and adware can freely enter your computer through these softwares.

8. Use internet filtering software to block bad websites from your computer.

9. Use internet monitoring software to secretly track the activity of your kids from websites visited, chat rooms entered, downloads, conversation, and IMs.

10. Attend to your kids immediately if they report any uncomfortable online exchanges they have encountered.

11. Share a common email address so that you can monitor their messages.

12. If they use instant messaging, make sure that you know who are on their list.

13. If they enter chat rooms, tell them to stay in the public room so that the chat room administrator can monitor your conversation. Tell them to ignore private messages.

14. Tell them not to meet personally with strangers they only met online.

15. And, teach them to approach you whenever they have any doubts on the emails and messages they receive, window popups that appears, and forms they were asked to fill-out.

List of Kid-Friendly Resources and Other Surfing Safety Tips for Parents

The Internet, for all intents and purposes, is ultimately a good thing, and it allows access to an unlimited amount of knowledge. The vast resources of information, however, are its strength and weakness at the same time. On one hand, the Internet gives your children every chance to learn about what he wishes to know, but it also gives them the chance to gain access to the wrong type of information at the same time.

Kid-Friendly Resources for Your Kids

Use of Kid-Friendly Search Engines Sometimes, kids end up accidentally gaining access to websites that display information they shouldn't be exposed to. Unfortunately, although the intention wasn't there initially, exposure to such websites may be more than enough to catch their interest.

You can, however, reduce or prevent accidental exposure to such sites from happening by teaching your kids to use only kid-friendly search engines. With such search engines, they can type whatever they want and they'll still end up at a website that's designed for their age. An example of such search engines is as follows:

Yahooligans (http://kids.yahoo.com) � created by Internet giant Yahoo for kid users, Yahooligans does not only offer a search engine database for them to use but access to games, music, movies, sports, jokes, and other educational and recreational activities as well.

KidsClick! (http://www.kidsclick.org) � This search engine is managed by the University of California and is based in Berkeley. It is also described as a web search created by librarians for kids.

Kids Net (http://kids.net.au) � This search engine is based in Australia.

AOL NetFind � A search engine by American Online for kid users.

Searchopolis � Another kid-friendly search engine.

You can also learn about more kid-friendly search engines in websites like Kids' Search Tools, Safe Kids, and Searching with Kids.

Filtering Search Options Another way for you to reduce or prevent accidental exposure to adult content for your children is by monitoring each and every Internet session they have and making sure that you filter the search engine options before allowing them to use it. You can do these with search engines by Lycos, Ask Jeeves, and Go Network.

Other Educational Online Resources for Kids Homework Central � This website provides categorized information regarding a broad number of topics. It's divided into three sub-categories: Homework Central Junior - which is meant for kids in primary school, Homework Central � which is designed for people in middle and high school, and lastly Encyclopedia Central, which is dedicated for college and adult users. Cybersmart � This is an US based online portal that teaches kids, teachers, and other school officials various ways for children to properly explore the Internet. Free tools and resources are provided to aid teachers in teaching Internet surfing safety.

Lycos � Another well-rounded website created for parents, teachers, and kids, The Kid Zone of Lycos can be divided into four zones: the Fun and Game Zones which provides recreational outlets, the New and Cool Zone (which is self-explanatory for kids), the Homework Zone � which provides "safe" websites containing information about a wide array of topics, and lastly is a zone that provides pertinent information for teachers, parents, and guardians alike.

Purple Moon � This is a website that's primarily designed for young girls; it has a search engine and provides links to games, online discussions and projects, and informative resources.

Families Connect � If you wish to explore the Internet together with your children, you'll achieve your goal more easily and in a more fun-filled way through this website. The activities and options offered here are designed to allow families to become closer and learn about the Internet together at the same time.

Black Hole Gang � This place provides people an exciting, fun, and safe way for kids to learn about science. Among others, it gives kids the opportunity to play detective and uncover the mysteries of science.

Other Surfing Safety Tips for Kids As much as possible, don't allow your child to surf the Internet alone. Kids are still kids, after all, and accidents do happen. You can't blame them entirely if they do end up gaining access to a website that contains adult content.

Make the filtered options for search engine results permanent.

And lastly, clearly explain to your kids the dangers of breaking "surfing rules" you've put down and its possible consequences.

Know Who You Should Contact

Children of the pre-teen years all the way up to the teens rarely play with toys anymore � certainly much less than those of the earlier generation, thanks to the advent and rise of modern technology, most notably the Internet. Games can be found on computers and the Internet, even for kids, which are most often the substitute for actual playing with other kids. Times have indeed changed with children preferring to interact online rather than for real.

While computers and the Internet are good sources of amusement and entertainment for children, dangers lurk around every imaginable "corner" of the Internet, from the actual gaming sites to hardcore pornography sites which can pop up with one simple click of the mouse. Social networking sites like Friendster and MySpace, known to attract those of the younger generation, are also the haven for perpetrators looking for innocent, unsuspecting victims that they can find easy to trick, such as children, who are the most vulnerable.

As a parent, you need to find the various ways possible to protect your child from the dangers of the Internet, while still allowing him/her the privilege of exploring it. However, it is understandable that at times, the child can be secretive and will lie to his/her parents. Yes, he/she is only exposing him/herself to the dangers of the Internet, but a parent can only do so much when the child lies. If all avenues of protection have been exhausted and the child still gets into Internet trouble, as a parent, you need to know who to call.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is usually the agency that handles cases like these wherein the child is exploited by unknown perpetrators on the Internet. Perhaps the perpetrator sent or allowed the child to view pornographic materials, whether photo or video. Since this is bound to have a significant deal of psychological effect, the agency mentioned will help your child deal with that fact. The hotline for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is 1-800-843-5678.

If the act occurred on a social networking site such as MySpace or Friendster, you may try calling the site owners and/or operators and give the username of the perpetrator if you've managed to obtain it. Although this could be somewhat of a long shot (due to the fact that it is accessible from any computer in the world, including in countries without specific laws dealing with these situations), you could still try it as the very least these social networking sites could do is to ban the user from their sites.

Of course, if any sexual act, criminal activity, and/or suspicious behavior occurred, you have to notify the local law enforcement agencies. If the police are able to catch the perpetrator, it could prevent him from victimizing other children. Also, the police are very adept with modern technology and can catch a perpetrator during any criminal activity or just prior to.

It is also important to notify your internet service provider. If a perpetrator tricks your child into going to a questionable site, you can have the internet service provider block that particular site and also warn them to warn the other clients of the said service provider. That way, the effect of the questionable site is greatly lessened.

Aside from the social agencies, law enforcement agencies, and others that will help in this problem, it is also good to inform other parents who are experiencing or will experience the same problem of a child spending a lot of time on the Internet. Should your child be victimized, warn the other parents, whether they are the parents of your child's schoolmates, family friends, or those in social clubs, of the dangers of the Internet and how to prevent a child from being exploited. This will go a long way into helping solve a problem that affects the whole world.

Schools should also be notified, beginning with the school your child attends. Schools can give pep talks regarding the dangers of the Internet, what to do when faced with questionable circumstances, etc. Sometimes, schools have a way of reaching the children the way parents can't.

Knowing who to contact will definitely help solve this world-wide problem of child exploitation via the Internet.

Knowing Who Your Kids Are With Online

The Internet is for everyone. All people will find the online medium useful because everything is in there. There are lots of educational information, entertainment and socialization going on and circulating within the Web.

Thus, your children will be more than willing to get online. Furthermore, they could also be forced to get into the Internet, because almost all their classmates and friends do so. Homework and research projects could also be done more easily, accurately and conveniently using Internet sources.

Because kids are kids, they still lack enough experience and insight to protect themselves from opportunists. No matter how smart and aggressive they can be, they can still fall vulnerable to the traps and dangers of online crimes and offenses.

If you are a responsible parent who have kids that are regularly visiting online sites, you should be assertive and firm in instituting several online safety measures to protect your kids. The volume of crimes and offenses done to children online is constantly increasing, so you should be protective enough to make sure your child doesn't fall a victim to online predators.

Cyber crimes

There are numerous cyber crimes committed against children online nowadays. Take note that these crimes and offenses are actually regular crimes that took the form of online technology. Example of which is online abduction.

Kidnapping is a problem in almost all countries throughout the years. But more recently, the first reported and celebrated cases of abduction done through the Internet have been taking the limelight. That is because in the past few years, people never imagined such crimes would be possibly perpetrated.

How is it committed? The criminal befriends the kid over the Internet, asks for personal details like addresses, or invites the kid for a personal meeting. The unsuspecting child, being a natural inquisitor and adventurer, might be going out of the house for an eyeball and voila, the abductor takes the opportunity to kidnap the child.

Other forms of online crimes are the online child pornography, identity theft and online child molestation and harassment. The Internet is full of pornographic materials that children shouldn't see. If unguided, your kids might cross onto one of these sites.

When a child sees porn and violent materials over the Internet, his mind is eventually being polluted. His concept about life could be altered, and he would be aware of the concepts that shouldn't be exposed to him until the proper time. Thus, he could be exposed very early to sex.

Tracking your child's online friends

Almost all children across the globe are told by parents and guardians not to talk to strangers. Buts and criminals know such advices. So, these online predators cease to be strangers and instead disguise to be online individuals who are in desperate need for friends.

Your child might encounter them and be friends with them. When the criminal thinks he has befriended your child well, he then attacks. He might organize a personal meeting, or monitor your house and take the opportunity to abduct the child when nobody's around.

Experts advise that you should be very stringent and watchful when it comes to knowing who your kids are with online. Yes, you as the guardian of the kids must know who these online friends are. You should follow up and check out the identities of the online friends your kid has.

How could that be? It may not be easy, but it's not too hard as well. Some kids find it alright if the parents directly asks about the information about their friends. However, some kids won't find it acceptable because that is a clear invasion of privacy.

In such cases, watch over your child's online activities by becoming a simple spy. You can check the records of the computer to check out the sites your child has visited online. You should also ask the Internet service providers about safety pins and measures to prevent your child from accidentally and intentionally getting onto porn sites.

If you want to find out about the email communications of your child with his online friends, you could volunteer to create the email account for your child. Take note of the passwords. Or you could share the same email with your child.

That way, you could monitor what is going on and know the activities and motives of your kid's online friends. You could also get into several social networking sites where your kid has a membership. Constantly check out your kid's social network profile and the friends on his list.

It would be very advisable if you would take time to do the above measures to protect your child. The Internet is a wild jungle out there. Don't let your kid wander alone.

Chatrooms, social sites, and your child

Due to the emergence of modern technology, which includes computers and the Internet, loads of information can be easily accessed with one simple click of the mouse. A person can know the happenings in a place like China even if he/she is located thousands of miles away � like North America or Europe. Such is the power of the Internet. Unfortunately, there are dangers associated with it as well, especially for unsuspecting children.

Children, including those going into their adolescent years, are often fascinated with the thought of meeting new people through the Internet, especially via chat rooms and social sites (e.g. Friendster, MySpace, etc.). While there is nothing wrong with social networking using technology as a means, it can be dangerous, particularly if someone finds out about the child's age and tries to exploit him/her into revealing unnecessary information. This is why it is important for parents to take good care of their children, more so in this so-called Age of Information.

One of the most reported cases of child exploitation in chat rooms is related to sexual exploitation. A perpetrator usually spends hours in a particular chat room that he thinks will interest children, waiting patiently for an innocent child to talk to them. Some young girls (as is often the case) are more than willing to speak with seemingly friendly individuals, often for them to confide in and just share thoughts with. Little do these young ones know that the perpetrator is actually preparing them for sexual activity.

When the innocent child and the perpetrator get better acquainted via chat and/or instant messaging, the perpetrator gets more and more confident and begins to make advances, such as an "eyeball" (an actual meeting of the once virtual chatmates). This will eventually lead to an invitation to the perpetrator's place, where the actual sexual activity occurs.

The child may find it quite difficult to let go of the virtual relationship because he/she feels that there is an actual friendship going on, when in reality, the perpetrator is actually setting him/her up. As such, the child will more often than not reveal information that is usually not revealed to strangers or people hiding behind chat room nicknames. When this happens, the perpetrator can do a lot of things, such as robbing the family of the child, sexual activity, even to the extent of kidnap for ransom, and worse, murder.

A less serious threat that can occur (but nonetheless a threat) is acquiring viruses, spyware, and unwanted files through the chat room or social sites, which will damage your computer and in some cases, break it down totally. Computer owners will find it a great hassle to be dealing with viruses, particularly if the infection is a deep one, and more so if they aren't adept at dealing with viruses and/or spyware. Sometimes, an anti-virus program isn't enough, especially if the user is a child who doesn't know that the files he/she might receive are infected.

This threat becomes more serious when the computer is used as a means of income, meaning a person works off of his computer. Should a computer break down due to a child's ignorance in the chat room, a lot of work could be lost, which will lead to loss of income, definitely something you don't want.

Another cause for concern is that the chat rooms and social sites are often times found with adult material in it. A child could possibly have his/her life changed forever if his/her morality is questioned and lost at such a young age. Nude pictures and videos aren't uncommon within such areas of the Internet, even though there are some sites that try to eliminate these.

Social sites and chatting is fine, so long as the children are kept away from the evils that are linked with these uses of the Internet. Should a child become exposed to these dangers, there is no telling what the overall effect in his/her life would be. One way of parents protecting their children is by checking on them from time to time, especially when they are using the Internet, a powerful yet potentially dangerous tool.

How the Internet Can Improve and Destroy Lives

Our access to information has never been as convenient. In ancient times, only young men were allowed to go to school and learn about philosophers and literature. When the ultra-conservative Middle Ages came along, knowledge was left in the hands of the religious, and wouldn't see a renewal until the Renaissance. As the centuries passed, people were granted greater access to information, until our modern day scholars decided to make things easier for everyone.

From libraries stocking books in order, we moved to databases that stored information in a way that it could be stored, searched through, and retrieved. These databases and the way they were managed were brought online, where they came to the Information Superhighway. The Internet has since revolutionized the way that knowledge is accessed, and has given people from all over the world a chance to learn more and do more.

People are also now, more than ever, eager to share their expertise on specialized subjects, and help out those in need through the ease of online communication. What are some of the advantages offered by the Internet?

� Some sites offer knowledge and information for free or a minimal fee. The online free encyclopedia Wikipedia, for instance, has allowed users to post their knowledge on certain topics, and has given users the chance to access this knowledge as they would a real encyclopedia. There are also many other sites that offer information for free, such as science sites offering modules that science teachers can use when performing experiments, or clothing sites offering online courses in fashion design.

� Not all libraries carry the books that we need, so online merchants such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble sell books, allowing more people all over the world to buy them. With the advent of the electronic book, or e-book, people can now read books on their computers without having to pick a real heavy book up.

� Knowledge is offered in different media, depending on the learning abilities of those who need information. If a person is more visual, he or she can choose to watch a video or read an online book or pamphlet on the information he or she needs. If a person learns better through listening, however, he or she can choose to listen to audio files. This flexibility and versatility of the Internet has allowed more people to learn in the format that they want and are most comfortable with.

The beneficiaries of this technology are undoubtedly our children. They will have an easier time doing their research for school, since information is easy to retrieve online. They can buy the books they need if their local libraries don't have them. They can learn through all means possible.

These benefits, however, come with their own risks, and we as parents are caught in the middle of a war between free speech and censorship. While there are thousands of students who benefit from the knowledge offered by the Internet, there are also thousands more who become victims of predators, such as credit card thieves or worse, pedophiles. While there are thousands of students in developing countries who find their minds opened constantly by their exposure to new mindsets and cultures, there are thousands more who find themselves duped by once trustworthy people online.

If you have a child who uses the Internet constantly, then you may want to take note of these disadvantages to better monitor your child's Internet use.

� While information is easier to retrieve online, it can also encourage your child to simply cut and paste information, with little or no effort devoted to analysis. This can make your child lazy, and may even lead to your child being accused of plagiarism by perceptive teachers.

� Not all information online is true, and not all information online is edited. This has led to many schools banning the use of online sources and Wikipedia as references in important reports and assignments.

� Many online help forums are actually a venue for child predators to stalk new victims. Because children and teenagers often seek affirmation and help from people outside their family circle, they are more susceptible to such attacks.

� Pornography is rife online, and some multimedia sites may actually contain pornographic or disturbing images or footage. While your child learns from useful multimedia files, he or she may also be traumatized or wrongly indoctrinated if he or she accesses the wrong ones.

The Internet has its advantages and disadvantages, and we as parents have the right to be alarmed and vigilant. The wealth of information online has also allowed wrongdoing to proliferate, and we can often find ourselves caught in the middle. All that we can do is protect our children, and make sure that they have access to real books and research materials, so that they don't have to rely completely on online sources for their work.

Actual Case Studies of Kids on the Internet

As people are quickly becoming more and more dependent on technology for their everyday needs and desires, particularly the use of computers, business developers in the software industry have constantly tried to look for ways to take advantage of the trend, for their own profits and for the growth of the information technology industry as a whole. Some of these include sites and software that are geared towards the younger generations, like public chat rooms and social networking sites. With the number of hits these receive daily, it is no question that these are things that children and adolescents of the present look for.

While social networking sites and chat rooms promote socializing with one another (even if it is mostly text), there are dangers that are associated with such. Some of these include exploitation, extortion, pornography, sexual advances, etc., just to name a few. Perpetrators are aware most of the time that they are dealing with children and young adults, which is why they have more confidence to do the things they do � children are far easier to trick than adults.

Actual cases of these have happened, many of them in the United States. Just recently, a female teenager in Texas sued the site MySpace, a social networking site wherein a person can meet anyone from anywhere in the world. A MySpace page can be filled with pictures, videos, and other multimedia. A fake profile of a person can be made up easily, thanks to the power of computers and technology.

The lawsuit stemmed from the fact that this female teenager was sexually assaulted by an older teenager whom she met on MySpace. This man apparently put up a fake profile in MySpace, complete with fake pictures and fake data. Through this MySpace profile, they met through the Internet; he got a hold of her phone number, met each other personally and from there, the assault took place.

Incidentally, the girl's lawsuit didn't win. In order to prevent such incidents from occurring, one should exercise extreme caution, especially in chat rooms and social networking sites such as MySpace. The case study proves that the danger on the Internet is ever present. However, that shouldn't deter children and adults from using the Internet freely � it is just important to exercise caution when doing so, something that this young girl apparently failed to do.

In addition, the girl herself lied about her age as well, claiming that she was an 18 year old when at that time, she was actually just 13. MySpace provides the privilege of using their site only for those 14 and above. Clearly, these actions show that the young girl didn't exercise caution and was exposing herself to danger by lying about her age and flirting with other male members older than her.

Other cases also involved instant messaging chat rooms and social networking sites, such as those when perpetrators tried to steal passwords and other valuable account information from MySpace users by sending them a fake HTML code (MySpace users can insert their own HTML code into their own profiles, for the matter of customization). However, since some users are children, they are unknowingly exposing their accounts which could possibly expose their location, phone numbers, and other valuable information that should be kept private. Most of the children don't understand HTML code and they don't know if the effect can be positive or negative.

There are many more cases in wherein children are taken advantage of through the Internet via chat rooms or social sites. As parents, it is your duty to protect and preserve your privacy from strangers, who could use your children to get what they want. Protecting them can sometimes mean restricting their Internet time, no matter how unpopular or how unconventional that seems nowadays.

With the case of the young girl, it can be seen that parents didn't exercise much caution as well because of the fact that she was able to get by pretending to be someone she was not. The chances of the act happening the way it did could have been lessened had the parents been more careful, as well as the girl herself.

Free Firewalls and Children Protection Programs

The internet is an established part of our world, and modern education has included it in the education of our children. Unlike past generations, where the internet was as much a source of games and amusement as a tool for adults, these days our children are immersed in it. Given that it is a part of their daily lives at school, it naturally follows that we can't keep them from their computers at home so they can do research and homework on it. With that in mind, we have to keep a close watch on the things our kids do online so that they don't unwittingly become security risks in this day and age of computer-related crimes.

There are two types of programs that will help our home security over the internet immensely; the first is firewalls, which keep out viruses and spyware that our kids may accidentally touch on in the course of conducting their research. The second is child safety software, which are programs especially geared towards helping parents monitor and control their children's online time. Here are the top three free picks for firewalls and child safety programs you can download.

Firewalls

1) Comodo Firewall - one of the top picks among both free and purchaseable firewalls, comodo scans all incoming internet traffic before actually allowing it to touch any other part of your PC. It's main feature is a program behavior analyzer that detects if programs have any unusual activity that may signal a virus or worm in the program. For inert viruses it also has a trojan protocol detector that is constantly updated online.

2) Kiero Personal Firewall - this is a software that has been reported by users to offer them minimal headache in operation and use. While it's protections aren't as sturdy as some other firewall programs, it offers reasonable defense nontheless. It's main strength is it's ease of use, so that you can teach your children to operate it, giving them the benefits of learning internet security early in life.

3) Zone Alarm - this is rated as a cross between comodo and kiero. It offers more security options than Kiero and is easier to use than comodo. The most balanced choice between ease of use and security. Depending on your preferences, it can also be taught to your children, but it's advanced settings may actually cause them to mess up your firewall, so it might be a good idea to keep the operation of this software to yourself.

Child Security

1) EZ off - this program is essentially a time management software for your computer. It will automatically turn the PC on and off at scheduled intervals, allowing you to control how much time your children spend on the net. This is best used to keep your kids from playing video games past their bedtime. The timer also features a calendar and scheduler, so that you can even keep the PC running for set intervals when you're not at home.

2) Windows Supervisor - this is an office program that can also be used at home. It's main purpose is to monitor all logs made on the computer, so that you will be able to tell not only WHEN your children access the internet, you'll be able to tell what activity was running when they were there, including what sites they visited, files they up or downloaded, programs executed, and even keyboard typing done.

3) StopGame - for those who want to let their children enjoy the internet from time to time, a less-strict version of EZ off is similar to a firewall in that it lets certain, specified programs and web sites be accessed at certain times of day by the computer. If your kids are, for example, doing homework from 6pm to 8pm and you let them have game time from 8pm to 10pm, you can set this program to allow them access to certain games (that you specify) from the 8 to 10 slot. Also, taking a cue from Windows Supervisor, it will be able to monitor past activity as far as the allowed game programs listed are concerned, as well as attempts made by your kids to access other sites.

All About Online Abduction

The fact that the Internet is rapidly expanding backs the notion that more people are regularly using the online medium. Thus, everyday, there are tons of reports over cyber-crimes committed by online predators worldwide.

Because the Internet is an open medium for people from all walks of life, you can't always prevent your kids from getting there. When logged on the Internet, your child can be exposed to a lot of dangers. There are many predators out there that are ready to feed on innocent children within the Internet.

The Internet is a place to meet people and expand a person's social circle. However, be reminded, and also remind your kids, that not all people you may meet online are 'friend material'. Like in actual life applications, you should never easily provide trust to anybody.

Online abduction is among the most popular cyber-crimes committed by scrupulous individuals over the Internet. It isn't surprising that there have already been reports of kids getting kidnapped by people they meet over the Internet. Abductors can't abduct your child online, but there are tactics that could help them do the dirty intentions.

Because kids are just starting out in life, they have to learn things and lessons in life the hard way. It is during the childhood and puberty years of kids that you should be able to extend your protection and guidance to your kids.

Some worst case scenarios of online abduction

To learn more about how online abductions are widely committed, it would be helpful if you would be informed about how the predators do their thing. Take note that online abduction strategies are alike in many ways, so by learning the usual worst case scenarios, you can understand the process better and prepare to prevent them from occurring.

Worst case scenario 1

Your child is logged online. Because almost all his friends are raving about friendster.com, MySpace.com and several other social networking sites, it is natural that he keeps his own account. Through the site, your child can interact with his friends through the in-site interactive features like private chats, emails, bulletins and posts.

Because social networking sites are social function systems, there are features that allow people to surf the entire system to meet new people. This is where the danger sets in. There might be individuals who would befriend your child. The individual may disguise themselves as another kid the same age as your child.

The process doesn't happen over night. Cyber criminals are so patient that they are willing to spend days, weeks, months or even years establishing the friendship with your child. When your child is at ease with the person, that is when the cyber criminal attacks.

The cyber criminal can ask your kid for an eyeball, wherein they would be meeting each other personally. Most online abduction cases ever reported are committed this way. When the kid is out to take an eyeball with his friend, it turns out the meeting is a set up and the disguising friend will then abduct the kid.

Worst case scenario 2

In chat rooms and interactive channels, your kid might meet people who are out there to socialize so they could victimize innocent people. The cyber criminals might lure your kid into doing something that could compromise his safety, as well as your safety and the safety of all on your household.

The cyber criminal can ask your kid about addresses, credit card numbers and personal identification numbers on bank accounts. Since your kid is unsuspecting and is treating his online friend with so much trust, he would be willing to disclose the information asked by his friend.

When your kid divulges your address, the cyber criminal then will be able to track and monitor your kid and abduct him when there is a chance. The abductor might kidnap your kid when nobody's home except your child, or during the middle of the night when everybody is asleep.

What to do when your kid is abducted

The best thing to do when your child has been victimized by online abduction is to report the matter to the authorities. The police will extend their help in helping you find your missing child. Also retrieve the information on the Internet about your child's friends, who can be suspected of committing the cyber crime.

Keep your cool and do not panic. Experts are advising you not to give in to the demands of the abductor. If you do, you might be contributing to the continuity of such crimes. If you don't, give your full cooperation to the authorities.

Online abduction can be prevented if you educate your child about the dangers of meeting strangers on line. Do your thing now.