Internet Predator Signs and What to Look Out For

Posted on February 4, 2011 by writer

Many of the articles that we have run over the last few weeks are directly concerned with how best to keep your children safe on the Internet, and the various tools at your disposal to ensure that they stay that way.  However, accidents happen, and you need to know what to look out for just in case.  That’s why in this article we decided to look to what the FBI recommends you be on the look out for.

A Great Deal of Internet Usage at Night

While it is normal for kids and teenagers to want to use the computer at night, you should be wary if they seem to only want to use it at night.  This is because Internet predators tend to have day jobs and spend their evenings stalking prey.  It can also be because your kids don’t want you to see what they are doing.

Finding Illicit Images on the Computer

If you find pornography on your computer, you should be concerned.  Not necessarily because your child downloaded it, but because a favored tactic of Internet predators is to send children illicit material in order to pave the way for discussions about sexuality.

Your Child is Talking on the Phone to People That You Don’t Know

One of the largest red flags is when your child is in contact with a sexual predator is if they are receiving calls from people that you do not know.  Because of this, you should always make it your business to know exactly who your child is talking to at any given time.

If you are concerned that your child is in contact with a sexual predator at any given time, then you should act immediately – do not wait.  Whether or not you speak with your child themselves is up to you, but you should immediately contact local police authorities and the FBI, and they will inform you of the nest best steps.  When it comes to child safety online, you are the ultimate arbiter of your child’s fate – and you should take this responsibility very seriously.

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Using Windows Firewall to Keep Your Family Safe

Posted on February 3, 2011 by writer

Included in Windows since Windows XP is a program called Windows Firewall.  Capable of placing a wall in between your computer and your internet connection, Windows Firewall is a great step to take to ensure that your family stays safe and secure.  It works by determining what programs are allowed to access the Internet and your network at any given time.  As an added benefit, Windows Firewall integrates very well with Windows User Accounts.

  1. To get started, click Start, and then Control Panel
  2. Then click on Windows Firewall
  3. On the left-hand side of the window, click on Turn Windows Firewall on or off
  4. For each of the different network types, click Turn on Windows Firewall.
  5. We recommend selecting “Notify me when Windows Firewall blocks a new program,” but this isn’t necessary.

This will place Windows Firewall under the default settings, which are surprisingly safe.  However, you may wish to allow certain programs to access the Internet that aren’t allowed to do so by default.  Usually, if Windows Firewall doesn’t already know the program, then it won’t be allowed to access the Internet, so learning how to enable access is important.

To allow specific programs to access the Internet, click on Allow a program or feature through Windows Firewall.  Then, a window will open with a list of programs and features that are installed on the computer.  Move through the listings until you find the programs that you wish to allow access to the Internet, and place a check mark in the corresponding box.  You may notice that there are several different columns for different types of networks.  If this is the case, make sure to only place a check box in the network type which you are on.  Usually, this is Home.

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Securing Facebook for Your Family

Posted on February 2, 2011 by writer

Chances are, you’ve heard of Facebook and probably have your own account.  Your kids, if they’re old enough, may also have their own Facebook.  Regardless of your experience with the social network yourself, you should be aware that it is a tremendously popular social networking platform – the biggest in the world.  If you decide to let your kids use Facebook or another kid-safe social network, then you should take steps to ensure that it is safe for your family.  Below, we’ve outlined some key steps in making sure that it is a safe web experience for them.

  1. Navigate to www.facebook.com
  2. Fill in the details as requested to create a new account for your child.  Please note that it is important to input the correct birth year of your child, as this will help filter Internet content delivered to them.
  3. You will be invited to find your friends using your email address.  Input here is optional.
  4. Step 2 involves filling in high school and job information.  We recommend inputting this information as it will help your child connect with others at school and can be hidden from strangers later.
  5. Step 3 asks for a profile picture.  This step is optional, although we recommend a cartoon or other image that is not actually a photograph of your child.
  6. After completing Step 3, you will be taken to your homepage.  Now, click on Account Settings in the upper-right corner, and click Privacy Settings.
  7. We highly recommend that you set all of the options to Friends Only.

After completing registration and privacy settings, feel free to fill in the remaining details – only the people that you explicitly allow will be able to see any of your child’s details.

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Social Networking Websites for Kids

Posted on February 1, 2011 by writer

Our first article about your family and social networking was concerned with the basics of protecting them: not giving out real names, addresses, or posting photographs on the Internet.  So long as you use these tips and follow them closely, your kids should be pretty well protected on the Internet.

However, what we didn’t tell you was what social networks you should allow them to access.  While some, like Facebook, are ubiquitous and have great privacy and child protection features, others do not.  With this mind, we decided to take a look at three of the more prominent social networking platforms that are not only good for kids, they’re only for kids.

Even though each of these websites only permits children to access and use them, you should still be vigilant in monitoring their activities online.

yoursphere: One of the bigger social networking websites for kids, yoursphere features a wide variety of games, social circles, and contests that your children can participate in.  A unique aspect of this network is that it was designed by the kids that use it, making it likely that your children will love it.

imbee: While it’s not the only secure social network for kids, imbee was the first secure social networking site.  imbee is great for finding new friends, playing games, broadcasting their mood, and listening to music.

What’s What?:  This social network is our platform of choice because of how they handle security.  To register, you must provide three mugshots of your child, taken with the webcam attached to your computer.  At set intervals, staff of What’s What will look through the webcam at the user to ensure that only the child that registered is using the network.  This network also includes a music feature, methods to easily find new friends, and chat rooms.

Whether or not you will allow your kids to access any of these networks is entirely up to you, but if you do decide to, make sure that it’s safe and secure for your family.

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Social Networking and Your Children: the Basics

Posted on January 31, 2011 by writer

Because social network has become an almost fundamental part of our culture, it is important to understand how it functions, what the security risks are, and how best to prepare your family and your computer to use social networking safely.  Because people of all walks of life use social networking, your kids could be exposed to all of them.  In this article, we’ll give you some introductory tips to make sure that your kids get only the best of social networking.

The first thing that you must always tell your children, and to make sure that they are obeying you on, is to never give away your address, your school’s location, phone number, or any other identifying information.  Even with the smallest imaginable amount of personal data, Internet predators are capable of tracking down your children, so be very careful.

This advice also extends to usernames for websites that use them.  While usernames are a great place to express creativity and individuality, they should never contain any identifying information about your children.

You should have a long discussion and decision-making process about whether or not to include a personal image of your child on the Internet and on social networking websites.  Generally speaking, we strongly advise against doing so, as it will make it easier for potential Internet predators to find your children online.

Never allow your children to meet strangers from the Internet under any circumstances.

You should note that these are just the basics of Internet safety for social networking and your children.  Ultimately, all of the rules that you place in your household should be carefully considered, with privacy, security, and the well-being of your family on the Internet at the very forefront of your planning.

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Internet Security Beginner Tips

Posted on January 30, 2011 by writer

We pride ourselves on helping parents of all Internet skill levels help to ensure that their children are safe online, and that their families are guarded from the potential dangers of the Internet.  However, sometimes we throw around terms that, in our expertise, we forget that Internet beginners don’t know.  With that in mind, we have decided to write an article about some basic Internet security tips to help keep your family safe online.

Firewall: A firewall functions as a gatekeeper between your computer and the Internet.  With a firewall, like the Windows Firewall, function by allowing you to determine which programs on your computer are allowed to access either the network or the Internet.  Because viruses and malware often need to access the Internet in order to function, limiting them from Internet access can help keep your computer safe.  Plus, it will help keep out unwanted visitors from snooping around your computer.

Malware: This type of software goes by many names, although it is most often known as malware or a virus.  These function by executing a program on your computer that will either shut down its security, steal sensitive information, or take control of it and turn it into what is known as a bot net.  Thankfully, antivirus software is prevalent and relatively inexpensive, and keeping antivirus software up to date can help protect your family from viruses.

Spyware: Spyware functions in a very similar manner to malware, although it has a different intent: to watch what you’re doing online.  Most often, this software feeds data back to another company, who then use that data to advertise products to you.

Internet predator: An Internet predator is an individual that is actively seeking to find children online and to exploit them.  The focus of our articles on Internet child safety revolve around protecting you and your family from Internet predators, so make sure to take a lot of our considerations seriously.

Although there are many, many more definitions and concepts that are important to know, these are the ones that you will need in order to understand them.  Be sure to keep up with our coming articles, where we will teach you how to protect against all manner of Internet security breaches.

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Programs to Protect Your Family: Part 2

Posted on January 29, 2011 by writer

Recently, we discussed three of the top Internet content monitoring programs that will help protect your family.  Because there are so many great programs out there, we decided to make this article in two parts so that we could tell you about three other top-notch programs to safeguard your family.

1. Safe Eyes

Unlike many of the other programs that we have written about, Safe Eyes will run on a Macintosh computer instead of just Windows.  Some of its other notable features include automatically utilizing Google SafeSearch (or you can learn how to use this yourself) for every search, content filtering customizations across 35 different categories, and social network policing.  Safe Eyes also monitors gaming, instant messaging programs, and social networks.

2. Cyber Patrol Parental Controls

A simple yet highly effectively Internet child safety program, Cyber Patrol Parental Controls feature fully-customizable web content filtering options, the ability to lock out certain computer programs, limiting how much time your kids can spend online, and active Internet activity monitoring.

3. McAfee Family Protection

Unfortunately, despite McAfee’s once dominance of the antivirus software market, their family protection software leaves much to be desired.  Although it is certainly better than not having any protection at all, it lacks many of the awesome features of other programs we’ve reviewed, and its filter does not seem to function very well.  Still, this program is often more inexpensive than the others, so how you value cost in comparison to security is a decision you will have to make.

No matter the program you choose, your family and your children will be safer online because of it.  Just make sure that you choose at least one of them.

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Programs to Protect Your Family: Part 1

Posted on January 28, 2011 by writer

As the Internet is filled with many malicious, hate-filled, and illicit-content material, and this type of content can cause great moral harm to your children and your family, it is important to protect your children from it.  Even if you have followed our tips to set up a Windows Firewall, enabled User Accounts, and turned on Google SearchSafe, you are still at the mercy of some websites.  In our next couple of articles, we’ll take a look at some of the better programs out there to protect your children online.

1. Net Nanny Parental Controls 6.5

Net Nanny is the most popular and arguably the best content filtering software available, and it’s easy to see why: featuring a robust and easy-to-use feature system, there is very little that Net Nanny cannot do.  Able to be customized to block not only hate-filled websites, pornographic content, it can also block questionable chat rooms, online gaming websites and gambling websites.

2. PureSight PC 2011

PureSight, while not quite as excellent as Net Nanny, is still a very close contender, and has the unique advantage of being great at spotting and stopping cyberbullies before they can harm your children.  PureSight can also be set up to block a wide variety of content you may deem unsafe for your children, including pornographic content and hate-speech content.

3. CYBERsitter 11

One of the more comprehensive Internet filtering programs out there, CYBERsitter 11 is also capable of monitoring all online communications that your children make, making it easier for you to always know exactly who they are talking to.  CYBERsitter also features a robust content filter and phishing monitoring system.

Regardless of which program you choose to help monitor your children and police your Internet connection, any of them will help tremendously.  While you may initially balk at spending extra money on a product like this, there’s a reason they have become so popular: because they keep kids safe online.

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Ensuring Safe Communications For Your Family

Posted on January 27, 2011 by writer

The Internet’s greatest strength is its ability to bring together people that are separated by vast geographic distances, enabling friendships to form that would have never flourished without its aid.  However, this can also be a bad thing – because it also enables predators to be able to track and find potential prey easier than ever before.  That doesn’t mean that you should not allow your children to communicate at all online, though, because that could deprive them from the potentially enriching experience of meeting friends from different cultures.

What it does mean is that you must educate your children on the dangers of communicating on the Internet, and how to do so safely.  The first lesson that you should inform them of is that it is almost always impossible to know for sure who you are communicating with, because anyone can hide behind an email address.  An easy way to mitigate this problem is to only allow your children to communicate with people that you know personally.

If you decide to allow your children to speak to people that you do not personally know, make sure that they understand that they should never give their address to them for any reason.  This is because even though you may know who your child is talking to, you don’t know who else might have access to that email address.

Instant messaging is another area where caution is absolutely critical.  While social networking platforms have removed much of the impetus to use instant messaging programs, they still exist, and can be a prime tool of potential Internet predators.

While filtering software can do a great job of protecting your children online from malicious websites, they often have a difficult time with instant messaging and email applications.  Due to this, it is important to educate both yourself and especially your children on the potential dangers of communicating online.

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