Articles & News About ISP's And The Internet

Protecting your children from Internet predators

In 2002 thirteen-year-old Christina Long, a Connecticut suburbanite, became the first confirmed murder in the U.S. by an Internet predator. Unfortunately she has not been the last. Fortunately, recent media attention is finally making parents aware of dangers linked to Internet use.

A study performed by National Institute for Missing and Exploited Children concluded that in the past year one in five minors were subjected to sexual solicitation through chat rooms and instant messengers. 5% received aggressive sexual solicitation in the form of phone calls, mail, money, or gifts, as well as being asked to meet. Almost 70% of all solicitations occurred in the home, yet less then one-quarter of minors told a parent. Shockingly, by an average age of just eleven years most minors have been exposed to Internet pornography.

Internet predation is an issue that cannot be ignored. The Long family did not realize their children were in peril until it was too late. We must learn from their loss and take action before more children suffer a similar fate. Amazingly, many responsible parents who wouldn?t dream of letting their children cross the street without teaching them to look both ways, or under the supervision of a crossing guard, will let their kids play on the Information Super-Highway without any safeguards!

There are several excellent resources designed to provide education to both parents and children. One of the best is the National Institute for Missing and Exploited Children (http://www.missingkids.com). Here you will learn how to identify dangers and how to effectively address them. As an example, one of the easiest changes that can be made is moving the family PC to a highly visible area, making it easier to watch for risky behavior. There are other valuable tips, such as how to pick chat room and instant messenger user names that draw less attention from predators and what type of chat rooms to avoid.

The most important thing you must teach your children is that the Internet is not always a safe playground where they can let their guard down. Children often have a false sense of security on the Internet because they believe its anonymous nature will protect them, even from behavior that would make them run in real life. Children must be taught that behavior that would make them uncomfortable in person must not be tolerated online either. Most minors would be afraid of a stranger who starting talking to them with sexual innuendo or talking about their sexual fantasies, but fail to be afraid when they are approached online. In fact many children will even engage in conversations when approached, perhaps because the Internet gives the illusion of personal safety.

Children must be taught that giving out personal information is extremely dangerous. Teach your children that even the smallest piece of information, such as what softball team they are on, is enough for a predator to find them. Also teach them that a stranger online is not always who they say they are. Predators will often masquerade as children themselves to obtain information they can use to identify and find victims. Your child may think they are talking to someone their own age, when in fact they may be talking to someone intent on doing them harm.

In addition to education you must put in place parental controls and monitoring tools to add a second layer of defense. Even the best child will break the rules on occasion, and even the smartest child will fail to identify every dangerous situation. Quality parental control software should allow filtering of web sites and permit monitoring of which sites your children are visiting, allowing you to identify risky behavior before it is too late. Instant messenger controls that permit conversation monitoring, as well as permitting limits on which contacts your kids can have conversations with, are invaluable since predators often use these messengers to meet and entice their victims. Another option that is vital, although often overlooked, is a means of block peer-to-peer file sharing programs. These programs are typically used to download music, but can also serve as a portal for pornography, including the most insidious forms of child pornography. Finally, a quality monitoring tool to that allows you to watch everything your kids do will help identify and address risky behavior. The most typical tool for this is a keystroke logger, which logs every keystroke your child makes. Perhaps the greatest value of installing good parental controls and monitor tools is the positive effect it will have on your children?s behavior. They are less likely to break the rules if they know you are watching.

Educate yourself, educate your children, and invest in the tools to make sure they?re safe. Don?t let your family be the next saying they never thought it could happen to them.

Visit http://www.css-software.com for more resources and tools to help protect your children before it?s too late.

As an authority on managing Internet dangers Kevin Whynot is an integral part of the CSS Software team (http://www.css-software.com) providers of Chaperone, the leading Parental Control software

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

Good Web Hosting: Host Your Business Online
The first step toward participating in electronic commerce would be to design a professional, user-friendly website for your business. It can be a challenging, yet manageable task to create a website that accurately describes your services. Research web hosting services until you find one that is suitable to your needs. Selecting a good web hosting company and plan is crucial to the success of your entree into electronic commerce.

Baycom Finalizes Acquisition of TheGlobalNet Broadband Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) Business
Company Continues Expansion to Deliver High-speed Wireless Internet and Future Wireless Services Throughout Wisconsin

Cheap Internet Hosting - Get The Most For Your Money With a Cheap Web Hosting Package
With so many web hosting companies competing for your web hosting dollar, the companies have had to stretch their imagination to come up with ways to convince you that their company is giving you the most for your money, and consequently, the most affordable web hosting package for you. The most typical way they've done this is to throw in a bunch of bells and whistles to create full 'packages' so that you get everything you need - and a lot you don't - for one low, affordable price.

Web Hosting Service – What you Need to Know to Change Web Hosting Providers
When service at your web hosting company is lacking, or your web site grows in traffic so much that you outgrow your current account, you may find yourself needing to change hosting providers. It can be scary to think about everything you need to do.

Reseller Web Hosting: The Perfect Way To Start A Web Hosting Business
Hosting web sites on the internet can be a lucrative business venture. However trying to setup a web hosting company from scratch can be quite a bit of work and also quite a bit of money.

Isp ? Moving From Dialup To Broadband
The internet has become an important part of our lives in the past 10 years. You can read daily news, play online games, research for information, share your photos or daily lives with the others, and even buy or sell over the internet. All of these online experiences rely on the ISP.

Web Hosting Design: How To Profit From Free Or Paid Web Hosting Site
There are many ways that websites can use tools to profit from free or paid web hosting sites The optimal way to profit from free or paid web hosting is to buy a hosting script, or purchase a professional design from a company that specializes in web hosting and design a site that is going to attract visitors and ad revenue

Broadband and Web Hosting Service Provider, XMission, Converts to Total Renewable Energy
XMission, Utah?s largest independent broadband and web hosting service provider, is proud to announce it is completely operating on renewable energy.

New Review Website for Web Hosting Services Web-Hosting-Info.com Launched
Known for websites such as FaxCompare.com, PBXCompare.com and Email-Marketing-Options.com, Zilker Ventures launches its newest comparison and review website for web hosting services, Web-Hosting-Info.com.

Choosing a Web Hosting Provider from 40 Million Other Web Hosts - Pt1
Discover how to go about choosing a web hosting provider in ways that 99.5% of the advice on the Internet never mention.

DSL Internet Service Providers (ISP)
If you are just going to opt for one of those free broadband schemes then be warned. Most of such schemes are either fraudsters or you will have to settle for disturbing advertisements, low bandwidth, and unreliable connection or in extreme cases you may also be asked to give out very personal information like your credit card numbers etc. And why would you do all this when you can simply get a very good deal from the many leading DSL service providers at a low cost and avail their special discounts and cheap deals.

Web Hosting Providers - Find A Newbie Friendly Web Site Host
If you're about to set up your first web site and are completely new to running a web site, a dependable web hosting plan with stellar customer service is an absolute must. You'll want to choose a web hosting provider that can be of assistance from the moment you choose one of their web hosting plans.

Real -Time, On Demand Website Statistics Solution for Web Hosts, ISP's and Dedicated Servers
SurfStats Software today announced new versions of SurfStatsLive Reporting Server software. SurfStatsLive's plug-and-forget approach makes it an ideal Website Analytics and Statistics Solution for Web Hosts, ISP's and dedicated servers.

Cheap Internet Hosting, Business Web Hosting - Choosing The Right Web Host Package
With literally hundreds of web hosting providers competing for your business, it may be confusing to find the one that's right for your web site. A few key considerations can help you narrow down your choices to the most affordable and best options to meet your personal, professional or business web page needs.