Keeping Kids Safe Online

It is no surprise that cybercriminals are taking advantage of the Internet and the people who use it. The Internet is like a bad neighborhood with bad guys around every corner. Any parent with an ounce of sensibility should recognize that when your child is on the wild wild web, they are at the same risk as they would be walking through the red light district in any big city.

I'm not saying this because I want to instill fear and panic, I'm bringing this up because sex offenders, pedophiles, criminal hackers and identity thieves treat the online world as if it was the physical world and use the anonymity of the web and the easiness of approach to seduce your children into doing things they wouldn't normally do.

The Secret Online Lives of Teens, a survey conducted by McAfee, reveals that tweens and teens are relatively clueless about online privacy. The study sheds light on this generation's tendency to use the Internet in ways that translate to danger in the real world.

There always has, is and will be a predatory element out there. Generally, most people don't want to think about that or even admit that it's true. Instead of acknowledging the risks, most people completely discount this reality, telling themselves, "It can't happen to me or my kids."

The good news is you can do something about it. As soon as a family member becomes active online, it's time to educate them -- no matter what age they are -- about cyber safety.

Set up the computer in a high-traffic family area and limit the number of hours your children spend on it.

Be sure you have computer security software with parental controls.

Decide exactly what is okay and what is not okay with regard to the kinds of web sites that are appropriate to visit

Use only appropriately monitored chat rooms

Never log in with user names that reveal true identity or that are provocative

Never reveal your passwords

Never reveal phone numbers or addresses

Never post information that reveals your identity

Never post inappropriate photos or ones that may reveal your identity (for example: city or school names on shirts)

Never share any information with strangers met online

Never meet face-to-face with strangers met online

Never open attachments from strangers

Once you have established the rules, make a poster listing them, and put it next to the computer.

Robert Siciliano personal security expert to ADT Home Security Source discussing Home Security and Identity Theft on TBS Movie and a Makeover. Disclosures.

 

Follow Robert Siciliano on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RobertSiciliano

Comments

[Robert Siciliano]

07:59 PM on 07/21/2010

Thanks for the healthy debate, Larry, I appreciate your perspective. I agree it’s important that parents keep in mind kids are accessing the web not just from the family PC but over game consoles and mobile phones, etc. just like McAfee’s report suggests.

[Joshdog]

05:53 PM on 07/16/2010

I'm with Larry on this one (and so are the facts). Stranger abductions/online predators make for great media stories, but are extremely rare. And while we would all agree that "once is too many", focusing on extremely rare events causes people to overreact to the actual threat and distracts people from the real issues. The corollary is people who keep their kids from going in the ocean in Florida because they read about a shark attack in Australia.

What parents should be focusing on is: 1) What content kids are accessing online that may be inappropriate for their age. 2) What information kids are sharing online that may come back to bite them in their personal relationships, when applying to college or searching for jobs (e.g., sexting, information about drug use or sexual habits, etc.) .

Parental controls on PCs/Macs, cell phones, and video game systems make this job easier. We posted some helpful advice in this area:
http://www.techlicious.com/blog/make-sure-your-teen-is-practicing-safe-text/
http://www.techlicious.com/tip/the-virtual-parent-inside-your-video-game-console/
http://www.techlicious.com/how-to/how-to-protect-your-kids-from-inappropriate-content-online-on-tv-and-in-vid/

The Internet is not a bad neighborhood filled with bad people. It is mostly a safe place, with many wonderful experiences that, when armed with a little knowledge, can be relished, not feared.

[RobertSiciliano]

04:04 PM on 07/14/2010

" if given the chance, would meet kids online and engage in sex, the fact is that it rarely happens with real kids." if it happens once it's too many. And real kids tend not report sex abuse.

[Robert Siciliano]

01:08 PM on 07/14/2010

Larry,
"The risk of a child being harmed by an online predator they don't know in the real world is extremely low. Very close to zero" Really? Did you see Chris Hansons "To Catch a Predator"?? Close to zero? Looked to me that 100% of the men who communicated with the investigators ONLINE showed up to do something that would harm a child.

[Larry Magid]

02:37 PM on 07/14/2010

Hanson's TV show did sting operations where an adult decoy pretended to be a child to lure would-be predators into engaging in sex. While it's true that there are creeps out there who, if given the chance, would meet kids online and engage in sex, the fact is that it rarely happens with real kids. If you read any of the research studies from the Crimes Against Children Research Center or any other reputable research organization you'll find a very low incidence of youth who have been victimized by adults who they met online. And virtually none from young children. The number of incidences of youth being victimized by people they know is MUCH higher. It is true that in 2005 1 out of 7 kids reported receiving an unwanted sexual solicitation but when you factor out teen to teen solicitations, solicitation of older teens from young adults in their early 20s and solicitations that were not aggressive, the number shrinks dramatically. If you then look at the number of incidences where a teen engaged in sex with someone they met online it gets down to near zero. And if you look at those very few incidences, you will often see a pattern of off-line risk taking as well as online -- kids who are doing all sorts of risky activities on and off the net, including seeking out attention from older men. That's why almost all major online safety orgs have changed their messaging.

[Larry Magid]

06:27 PM on 07/13/2010

I'm afraid I must disagree with much of your advice based on 15 years in the Internet safety field as founder of SafeKids.com, co-director of SafeKids.com and one of the authors of the Online Safety Technology Working Group report which was just released to Congress by the Commerce Dept.

The risk of a child being harmed by an online predator they don't know in the real world is extremely low. Very close to zero. The real risk is peer-to-peer harassment and bullying.

Much of your advice looks like what I wrote in 1994 when we didn't have any research data. We now know that using your real name and posting personal information (within reason) doesn't increase risk. Besides, Facebook requires real names as a safety measure. Putting the computer in a central location was great advice before WiFi and cell phones but not now.

And that McAfee report you quote doesn't show that kids have little regard for their privacy and safety. That's what McAfee's press release about the report said but the report itself is actually quite optimistic as my analysis shows: http://news.cnet.com/8301-19518_3-20008402-238.html?tag=mncol

Larry Magid
your fellow Huffington Post blogger

[rjmiller]

08:06 AM on 07/14/2010

Oh snap.