Bits and Bytes: Keeping Your Kids Safe On Line

By Steve Staves

This past week I had the honour and the privilege of giving a presentation at UNBC with the local chapter of CIPS (Shawn Everett) and the RCMP (Corporal Claudette Garcia).

Our talk was entitled “Crime Scene Internet: Keeping Your Kids Safe Online”.  For those that took time out of their busy lives to join us – Our thanks go out to you. 

For those that missed the presentation, please stay tuned because one or more of us will likely present this again.

The topic is something that I care deeply about – There are far too many Internet predators that hide behind the anonymity of the Internet.  Please, do not be fooled, Prince George hosts their fair share of predators. 

The concept behind our talk was to enlighten and inform the public and yes, to shock them into the harsh reality of a very real threat.  Our children become targets of sexual predators as well as peers that use the Internet (Chat rooms, blogs) to bully and harass.

Some pointers to keep in mind when using chat rooms and posting personal blogs on the Internet:

• Use a nickname that does not say too much about you.
• Don’t give out personal information.
• Don’t send out pictures of yourself - especially to people you don’t know in real life.
• Don’t meet with people you only know from the internet - especially not alone or without  anyone knowing  where you are going.
• If you talk to someone online often, tell a friend, a sibling or a parent.
• Never allow anyone to connect to and control your Internet Camera, if you have one.
• Only talk to people that you personally know.
• Do not offend – Use racist slurs, sexual comments, insult, harass etc.
• Do not post your full name, birth date, address etc in your blog.
• Do not post the names of children or attach pictures to those names.
• Do not post your email address or the email address of any one that you know.
• Password protect your personal space and only give out the password to people that you know.

Some real facts and figures – At any given point in time there are roughly 400 child porn sites live and active.  Approximately 6 new child porn sites are added to the internet every day.  Some estimates calculate that the average child porn site owner can make in excess of $2,000,000 per month selling picture of children.  Pictures have been found of children as young as 2 being compromised in a sexual manner.  Images of child pornography can easily be found within 2 minutes of connecting to the Internet.  Many of the child porn sites are monitored by law enforcement agencies to help track distributors of child pornography so do not search out those sites out of curiosity.

You can protect yourself and your family by installing proper safety mechanisms and with some common sense:

• Do not allow your children to have a computer in their room – Make sure it is in the open.
• Install Internet Security Suite software – Anti Virus, firewall, anti-spyware.
• Install a hard ware firewall to add security to your computer.
• Install web monitoring software like net nanny, cyber wise, and cyber patrol.
• Install computer tracking software that will alert you to what your computer is being used for.
• Do not use Wireless internet connections that have not been properly set up and secured.
• Talk to your kids about what they are doing online – Stay informed.
• Educate your selves about the dangers of the Internet and never assume that it cannot happen to you or your family.

Do not be afraid of the Internet as it is an incredible tool that has enriched our lives but do not take it for granted.

Steve Staves is the owner of Premier Computer Care Inc. You can reach him at www.pc-care.ca or by phone 250-562-2273 for more information on how to keep your kids safe on the Internet.

Email | Print | Facebook | Twitter | Digg | Del.icio.us