”Sexting” is the practice of taking a sexually revealing picture of yourself, typically from a cell phone, and sending it to someone. Legal consequences aside, it’s a dumb thing to do, especially for younger age groups in which it has become something of a fad.

Even if you are comfortable with the person receiving the image, you never know for sure where else it might land. Digital images are easy to copy and forward and, even if you trust your friend’s discretion, it can be accidentally forwarded or seen by others with access to your friend’s phone or computer. It’s not uncommon for such images to find their way to other people’s cell phones and even Web pages, where they can be seen by anyone, copied, searched for and redistributed, perhaps forever.

For minors, there’s another risk — serious legal consequences. Creating, transmitting and even possessing a nude, semi-nude or sexually explicit image of a minor can be considered child pornography. It can be prosecuted as a state or federal felony and can even lead to having to register as a sex offender.

Boy, am I glad the Internet and camera phones weren’t around when I was a kid. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s something that you probably didn’t know before and I hope that this information helps you keep your children as safe as they deserve to be.

Child Security in Chat Rooms

Chat rooms have long been a favourite pastime on the internet for kids. They can be great fun and the children can make some great new friends online. The problem with chat rooms is that they are generally anonymous, so the person that they are chatting to may not be who they say they are.

Unless you supervise your children whenever they are in a chat room then controlling who they chat too can be a problem, although, there are some general guidelines that your children can follow to make their online chatting safer:

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Don’t leave your children’s online activity up to fate.

You need to look after them online and watch as they experience new things on the internet. I do not expect any parent to be a watch dog with their kids. They need a certain amount of freedom and privacy and as they get older you will be more and more likely to have to expand on that freedom and creativity. That does not mean that you can not look after your children’s activity online and ensure that they are safe from cyberbullies, internet predators and the like.

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Keeping your children safe online should be priority to you as far as I am concerned. When your kids sit next to you or behind you in a vehicle you always ensure that they have their seat belts on, right? I sure hope you do! In the same way keeping your kids safe online should be your ultimate priority every time they surf. To ensure this I would suggest that you get the best automated protection so that your kids are safe even when you are not looking. For this I would recommend that you use Sentry PC. Let me tell you why…

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There are some brilliant way s to protect your children online yet the most effective lies in the fact that you are the parent and that you should find the best and most open ways to protect your children online. The fact of the matter remains that your communication with them will undoubtedly save them a lot of uphill on the internet from cyberbullies, online predators and  the like.

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The Internet can be a dangerous place for you, your computer and your children. An unsuspecting individual could lose their identity to a Phishing scam or a Spyware program embedded in the computer. A computer could be reduced to a paperweight by a malicious virus. Perhaps the scariest Internet safety concern is what could happen to an unprotected child doing battle with an Internet predator alone in cyberspace. The kids do not have a chance against some of the grooming processes these predators use.

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Sometimes, parents can place too much of emphasis on internet safety for their children.

The Internet can be a wonderful resource for kids. They can use it to research school reports, communicate with teachers and other kids, and play interactive games. Kids who are old enough to punch in a few letters on the keyboard can literally access the world.

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Dear Parent:

Our children are our Nation’s most valuable asset. They represent the bright future of our country and hold our hopes for a better Nation. Our children are also the most vulnerable members of society. Protecting our children against the fear of crime and from becoming victims of crime must be a national priority.

Unfortunately the same advances in computer and telecommunication technology that allow our children to reach out to new sources of knowledge and cultural experiences are also leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and harm by computer-sex offenders.

- Extract from http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm

There is more information available below on this subject that we believe will help you in some form or the other. keeping you children safe on the net is as important as keeping them that safe in other areas of life. Take note of these tips and remember to check back regularly as we scour the net for more information that will be of use to you.

While on-line computer exploration opens a world of possibilities for children, expanding their horizons and exposing them to different cultures and ways of life, they can be exposed to dangers as they hit the road exploring the information highway. There are individuals who attempt to sexually exploit children through the use of on-line services and the Internet. Some of these individuals gradually seduce their targets through the use of attention, affection, kindness, and even gifts. These individuals are often willing to devote considerable amounts of time, money, and energy in this process. They listen to and empathize with the problems of children. They will be aware of the latest music, hobbies, and interests of children. These individuals attempt to gradually lower children’s inhibitions by slowly introducing sexual context and content into their conversations.

There are other individuals, however, who immediately engage in sexually explicit conversation with children. Some offenders primarily collect and trade child-pornographic images, while others seek face-to-face meetings with children via on-line contacts. It is important for parents to understand that children can be indirectly victimized through conversation, i.e. “chat,” as well as the transfer of sexually explicit information and material. Computer-sex offenders may also be evaluating children they come in contact with on-line for future face-to-face contact and direct victimization. Parents and children should remember that a computer-sex offender can be any age or sex the person does not have to fit the caricature of a dirty, unkempt, older man wearing a raincoat to be someone who could harm a child.

Children, especially adolescents, are sometimes interested in and curious about sexuality and sexually explicit material. They may be moving away from the total control of parents and seeking to establish new relationships outside their family. Because they may be curious, children/adolescents sometimes use their on-line access to actively seek out such materials and individuals. Sex offenders targeting children will use and exploit these characteristics and needs. Some adolescent children may also be attracted to and lured by on-line offenders closer to their age who, although not technically child molesters, may be dangerous. Nevertheless, they have been seduced and manipulated by a clever offender and do not fully understand or recognize the potential danger of these contacts.

Train your child to be “cyber smart” so that they can recognise potential dangers and know how to avoid threatening situations. Talk to your children about sexual victimisation and the use of the Internet, especially chat rooms, by paedophiles and child molesters looking for child victims. Encourage your children to tell you if they receive messages which make them feel uncomfortable or threatened, especially messages of a sexual nature.

Remember that your child might have access to the Internet outside your home, such as in a school or library or a friend’s home or even the mobile cellular phone. The more your children know and understand about being “cyber smart”, the safer their exploration of the Internet. Your supervision of your children’s daily lives to ensure their safety in the real off-line world must apply equally to their lives in the on-line “cyber world”.

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There are various ways in which you can protect your kids against, pornography, cyberbullies and the like. One of the best and easiest ways is by using a small but effective internet filtering software system that has been tried and tested.

Making your children understand that there are threats out there is also very useful and will help to compliment whatever software you chose to use. Communication between you and your child is also very important. Make sure that they are comfortable with speaking to you about anything - this way they will definitely come to you when they experience a problem and that goes beyond the internet as well.

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