1	NetSmartz for Families “High Tech Devices Bring High Tech Risks”
2	What are the Risks? Exposure to inappropriate material Sexual solicitation and molestation Harassment and bullying Theft of personal information Fraud victimization Exposure to untrue and misleading information Exposure to unwanted advertisements and spam Involvement in criminal activity – illicit activities Unwanted viruses, spy ware, mal ware and hackers jeopardizing family privacy and safety
3	Sobering Statistics There are somewhere between 30 to 65 million children online 1 out of every 4 had unwanted exposure to sexually explicit pictures 1 out of every 5 received a sexual solicitation or approach 1 out of 17 were threatened or harassed 1 out of 33 received an aggressive sexual solicitation (from someone who asked to meet them somewhere; called them on the telephone; sent them regular mail, money or gifts
4	Exposure Occurs Where? 70 percent of all such encounters occur on home computers 22 percent of all such encounters occur at someone else's house such as at a friend’s or a relative's home Only 4 percent of such activity happens at schools 3 percent occur at other places such as libraries 65 percent occurred in chat rooms 24 percent in Instant Messaging
5	Exposure Occurs Where online? 65 percent occurred in chat rooms 24 percent in Instant Messaging
6	Offender Grooming Offenders work hard to gain the child victim’s trust Strive to isolate the child from family and friends Will work to turn the child against their parents Will encourage children to keep secrets Will encourage victims to engage in inappropriate activities Will threaten them for disclosing the relationship
7	Reporting Only about 25 percent of youth who encountered a sexual solicitation or approach told their parents Less than 10 percent of sexual solicitations were reported to authorities such as a law-enforcement agency, an Internet Service Provider, or a hotline
8	What does the school system do to protect children online? Technical safeguards: Logging Web Filter Block email, BLOG, adult sites Block Instant Messaging Block internet file sharing Internet safety website with parent resources
9	What does the school system do to protect children online? Procedural: “Over the shoulder” Monitor web Traffic Internet safety integrated into curriculum at Morris and Middle school
10	What can Families do? There are many things that families can do to help protect and educate children and teens from the dangers of the Internet
11	Safety Tip 1 – Have Rules Establish rules for Internet use What sites can your child visit Who can they talk to How long will they be online Where can they use a computer Post these rules near the computer and discuss, monitor, and enforce them
12	Safety Tip 2 – Disclosing Personal Information Help your child understand the importance of not sharing personal information regarding themselves, friends, their families, relatives, or schools while online This includes filling out personal information in profiles and in blogs
13	Personal Information Includes… Name Address Telephone Number Age School Places they hang out Passwords Parent’s place of work Photographs Credit card numbers or Social Security numbers Bank account numbers E-mail address
14	Safety Tip 3 - Location Keep the computer in a common room such as the kitchen or family room and actively supervise Internet use Do not allow children access to the Internet in their bedrooms or a home office or any other room isolated from home traffic Be aware of other computers your child may have access to – examples include computers at friends or relative’s homes Ask your children to show you places they go on the Internet
15	Safety Tip 4 - Discussion Discuss with your child the importance of telling you or a trusted adult if something ever makes them feel scared, uncomfortable, confused or threatened while online
16	Safety Tip 5 Safeguarding Options Purchase third party Internet content filtering software such as: NetNanny, CyberPatrol, CyberSitter…etc. Learn how and when to use them And monitor their performance
17	Warning! However – DO NOT RELY ON CONTENT FILTERS as your only source of control Filters are Band-Aids only – do not rely on them to keep your child safe online The perpetrators of such crimes repeatedly change their IP address to elude capture One technique they commonly use is typical misspellings or typo errors of common URLs for Internet sites children frequent Filtering should not replace parental monitoring!
18	Safety Tip 6 – Chat Rooms Chat Rooms are one of the most dangerous sites for children on the Internet - Keep children out of chat rooms If you allow access to specific chat rooms, monitor your child’s use, be wary of profiles, and check the content of their chat exchanges Remind them of the rules regarding personal information while in a chat room Remind them never to agree to meet with people they are chatting with online Remember 65 percent of all unwanted sexual solicitation occurs in chat rooms Even chat rooms designed for children places children at risk – inform children there is no way to know if the person they are chatting with is a child or an adult – People may not be who they say they are!
19	Chat Room Lingo A/S/L – Age, Sex and Location M/F – Male or Female PAW – Parents are watching PM – Private Message POS – Parents over shoulder LMIRL – Let’s Meet in Real Life WTGP – Want to go Private MUSM – Miss you so Much TAW – Teachers are Watching
20	Safety Tip 7 LMIRL – Let’s meet in Real Life Impress upon your child to never agree to meet with strangers they have conversed with online Every year there are about 6,000 new cases of adults who try to lure children into sexual encounters In the last three years, there were 5 confirmed deaths as a result of online sexual predators
21	Safety Tip 8 Instant Messaging Impress upon your child that their Instant Message buddy list is only for corresponding with children that you and they personally know and approve of Monitor your child’s IM use Discourage children from filling out profiles that disclose personal information for IM accounts Inform your children that they can receive computer viruses…etc. from sharing files via instant messaging Encourage your child to disclose unwanted communication, bullying, or other offensive communication that may occur via IM
22	Safety Tip 9 Blogs Blogs are public online web journals/diaries where typically teens reveal personal information and sometimes photographs about themselves and others About 58 percent of bloggers are 13 to 19 years olds Most parents have no idea that their teen publishes an online blog Popular blogs are MySpace, LiveJournal, and Xanga Find out if your child keeps a blog and read it – discuss the contents with them and the dangers blogs pose
23	Safety Tip 10 Peer to Peer Networking Be aware of the dangers of peer to peer networking Peer to peer networking may expose your child and your computer to unwanted solicitation and computer viruses, spy ware, and hacking and may entice your child to perform illegal activities on the web Explain to your child copyright laws regarding music movie and software downloads Discuss with your child what plagiarism is and why it is wrong Examples of Peer-to-Peer networking are Kaza, LimeWire, Ares…etc.
24	Safety 11 Do not Post or Send Photographs
25	Safety Tip 12 – Fraud Discussion with your child issues regarding fraud on the Internet Items such as online contests and online gambling can exposure your child to fraud and illegal activities They can also expose you and your computer to spy ware, bug ware, and mal ware which can compromise your security and privacy online
26	Safety Tip 13 Child Safe Search Engines Online offenders will create web sites that have a URL similar to a legitimate children’s site – they typically will use a URL that is a common misspelling or typo error for a legitimate children’s site Have children use child-friendly search engines when seeking information on the Internet Examples of safe search engines are: www.ajkids.com http://www.kidsclick.org/ www.factmonster.com yahooligans.yahoo.com If you use Google, activate the “safe searching” option under preferences
27	Safety Tip 14 Dangers of E-mail If your E-mail service offers parental E-mail controls and spam filtering – activate them Instruct your child to only correspond via e-mail with people they know and trust Instruct your child never to open e-mail from unknown sources Instruct your child regarding Spam and other solicitations via e-mail – delete all such mail without opening them Instruct your child to tell you if they receive unwanted, scary, or offensive e-mails Also tell your child to inform a trusted adult if they receive e-mail from a known source that is inappropriate, offensive or odd Inform your child not to reply to any such offensive e-mail
28	Safety Tip 15 Validate Internet Web Sites Teach your children that not all web sites are valid – anyone can create a web site Remind children that not all of the information on the Internet is true Teach them to use authoritive sources only Phishing is a form of Internet fraud in which someone will establish a phony web site or E-mail to solicit personal and identifying information such as credit card information or social security information Phishing sites often resemble legitimate sites
29	Safety Tip 16 Computer Security Keep your computer up-to-date with security patches from Microsoft Install virus check software such as Norton's or MacAfee and keep it current by running live update and scanning your computer periodically for viruses Install and use anti spy ware software such as Ad Aware or SpyBot Make sure your computer has a firewall such as the firewall built into Microsoft XP or Norton's Internet Security System, or Zone Alarm…etc.
30	Safety Tip 17 - Reporting Report incidents of child sexual exploitation and harassment to the local authorities, your Internet Service provider, or the Cyber Tip Line Our town officers have been trained to deal with such crimes and have local, state and national resources available to them Preserve evidence to be used in court by law enforcement agencies
31	Know the Law! Children’s Online Privacy Act The Children’s Online Privacy Act was passed in October 1998 This law requires Web site owners to help protect the privacy of children 13 years old and younger Web sites are forbidden to collect personal information without parental consent from children 13 and younger Report all such offenses to authorities
32	Safety Tip 18 Be Informed! Stay informed Learn everything you can about the Internet and Internet safety Understand that the Internet is an evolving entity that changes often And monitor your child’s Internet use
33	For Further Information on Child Safety and the Internet www.NetSmartz.org www.SafeKids.com www.SafetyEd.org www.GetNetWise.org