Thanks for stopping by our
Safe-Surfing section for parents! We would like to discuss a very important subject: young
web surfers
unattended by parents.
As the internet has progressed, parents have
released more and more freedom to their children with little or no involvement
with them. This is a dangerous practice and one that we should examine closely.
I have discovered that some parents view the computer as nothing more than a TV!
And on top of that, they have never had "the talk" about safe surfing.
When you let them go down the road, you warn
them to "be careful" and you ask "where are you going" and "when will you be
back?" That is what must be done when they go online. They are connected to the
entire WORLD! They can visit in destination or talk with ANYBODY they wish - the
world is the palm of their hands. And as they have fun and surf, they are being
watched by devious adults wanting to learn all they can about them, befriend
them, and cause them harm. We must wake up and take back the web from these bad
people. There are many wonderful things about the web, and these should be
shared and enjoyed. Children need us to point out the dangers in the
neighborhood and when they are online, their neighborhood is the world!
Children should be able to experience the
learning capabilities the internet affords, along with acceptable games (age
appropriate) and not too much more.
Internet Dangers for young
surfers
Games
Amongst the fun and games there will still be dangers parents must look out
for. Many computer & game consoles (X-Box, PS3) offer the ability to chat
or text while playing, and with this tool, an unsuspecting child playing the game may
have a direct connect with a devious adult. The internet is almost too
dangerous for advanced adult surfers, much less a young child. Teach your
children about computer safety.
You should also become familiar with the
ESRB's game ratings. The Entertainment
Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a non-profit, self-regulatory body established
in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA).
ESRB independently assigns computer and video game content ratings, enforces
industry-adopted advertising guidelines and helps ensure responsible online
privacy practices for the interactive entertainment software industry.
To the Top
Instant Messaging
These sneaky little programs load when you go
online and alerts the world that you/your child has logged on! This is a helpful
tool for office workers and family, but a BAD idea when it comes to young
surfers. They should be hidden from the world wide web, not shouting to the
world "here I am" and therefore, these programs should be blocked.
To the Top
Blogs
Lately, blogs have received some press talk for
the concerns we talk about today. These are like websites, but are designed for
the teenagers to set up and use. No experience necessary to create and post
content, and these do not require the consent of adults to use. Many young
surfers only visit blogs - to the tune of 6-8 hours a day!
And the big difference between blogs and
websites are the lack of responsibility of the site owner. As a web developer, I
have certain legal laws I must adhere too (along with the moral laws I follow on
my own). Blogs have no such things, all things are well and good in blog world.
Young surfers are posting nude photos of themselves and of their siblings! They
are posting your home address and where you work and where they go to school.
They pour out their feelings and vent when they're mad. They promote and share
lifestyles, such as drugs of choice and music and locations of parties (some
x-rated) and all the while, no one checks up on this stuff.
To the Top
Chat Rooms
Another place visited by young surfers. Here
they can type anything they wish and it appears instantly on the online for the
world to see. All the same dangers of the blogs - but live. And most of the
posting are written in short hand which is very difficult to read. We have a
webpage exposing some of widely used abbreviations. Please check out
Type -n- Talk for more information.
To the Top
E-mail
A little known fact about email is how
pervasive it is in exposing young surfers to x-rated websites. As adults, we
hate Spam. It takes up valuable time and network resources and it spreads
viruses and malware at an alarming rate. But when I young surfer opens Spam,
they see a new place to visit. And email names give up a lot of personal
information. Young surfers often uses a additional account of the Internet
Service Provider (MSN, AOL, EarthLink). And they will use names like sally1988
or billy_age11. Never let your young surfer use their real name as their email.
One tool we offer to help with this is MicaMail. A
free "proxy" email account, with our domain name. And then you can forward
MicaMail to a ISP provided mail account, if you prefer. Young surfers can get email
accounts from unethical websites without you ever knowing, which in turn, will
receive x-rated spam with photos and links. A very serious
problem to say the least!
Please visit our
Internet Law page for ways to report and shut down the bad practices being
used against us and our families. You can even receive payment for turning over
these abuses to the government. We have all of the information you need to take
control of this serious problem.
To the Top
Free Websites
There are places online that let ANYBODY create
their own website. A user can set up and publish a site in a few minutes and it
will be placed online all over the world. These hosting sites offer these
services so they can gain traffic for banner ads that they will place at the top
of the webpage. And just as blogs, there is no limit as to what they post
online. Myspace is one such place that makes it into the news alot, but there
are plenty of others.
To the Top
Search Engines
Search Engines provide a invaluable service in
presenting the contents of the world wide web in a way we all can make sense of.
And if all web developers were responsible, search engines would be safe for
young surfers. But today, websites are not rated nor checked for x-rated
content in the search results. And then there are websites designed to catch
your child by way of misspelled domains. This technique is called web spoofing.
The bad guys will set up a x-rated or virus infected website under "pupys" so
when your child looks for "puppies," they will find the bad site and click on
it. Within the first few seconds, viruses and malware have been installed on
your machine and the bad guys can track where your child surfs to. This way they
can "get to know them a little" and decide how they will trick them into
something. Machines need to be locked down and all young surfers must use child
friendly search engines that all major search engines offer. You must pay
attention to where they are getting their information from. Unlike adult book
stores and bars that check age before allowing entry, this is not the case
online. We have a few kid safe search engines listed on our DiscoverSearch
page.
To the Top
We can change the
way we use the internet, and with this change, we will "remove the many
opportunities" we are giving the bad guys. Malware is the #1
threat to your computer, so you can no ignore this insidious agent running wild
on your system. Remove the malware, perform maintenance regularly, and keep
security at the forefront! For the complete Lockdown Studies, please visit our
Lockdown page.
One way you can allow
your child to have access to the computer, but not the internet, is by using a
firewall program. Security software is very critical in today's web world and a
strong firewall can not be overlooked. By securing your machine, you can save
you and your family from becoming victims, while maintaining the innocence of
your child.
We recommend the use
of a Security Suite product that includes all of the necessary security tools
needed in today's web environment. Security Suites are packages that have four
or five separate programs (virus scanner, firewall, privacy program, spam and
pop up controls and more) wrapped into one main program for you to manage.
This is the type of protection that should be standard equipment on ALL
MACHINES. This is what is required to safely and completely Lockdown your
machine.
One of the most
trusted security suite programs on the market today is McAfee Internet Security
Suite 2006. It can track every site your machine visits, capture emails, block
spam and viruses and allow or block access to the internet. It will not allow a
"Limited" user account (mentioned below) from changing or erasing data. You can
even allow them to access the internet for a set time, say Thursday from 5pm -
5:45pm ONLY! Once you have it set up, you can check the logs weekly to verify
how your machine is being used online. You decide what program can be accessed
and who can connect to the different services offered to online surfers.
Please visit our
Product Testing page for more information on
the McAfee program. And for resources on the best products to purchase, visit
our MightMica Awards page for the "Top 5" in hardware &
software. These are unbiased reviews of the major companies offering computer
products to us consumers. We do not interact with them on any level and we test
products in the real world, from the same resources that you would.
No special treatment
or unfair opinions - just straight talk about the best of the best!
By using Windows XP, you can allow many users to
have access to your machine while not taking "control" of it. Set an account up as the
"Administrator" and give all other users in your family (including
your spouse) a "Limited" account. Set up passwords for each of the
accounts and block the file sharing
on the administrator account.
Now, you can always view ALL of the files on your machine, but no
one can access/change the system files and folders required to operate your
machine properly. This is first layer of protection for your Microsoft® Windows
XP operating system and will keep your machine running smoothly.
Once you have set up passwords for each of the accounts -
keep the administrator account private from everyone but your spouse. Instruct
them to never go online or change/delete anything on the administrator side
unless you are present. Let them know how easy it is to destroy the computer on
the administrator's side - unlike the limited accounts. Windows XP added this
feature for security, but many home users do not use it.
For the best in security, use McAfee and Microsoft to keep your family safe from
the online dangers of today's internet. If you are having trouble setting up
security on your Windows XP machine, just use our Contact
Us form and we will be glad to offer help. We are here to help you secure
your machine, while providing answers about the safe operation of your Windows
XP machine.
To the Top
