The Tech Edition
April 09, 2008
Keeping kids safe on the Internet and beyond
By JOE GRANESE
Correspondent
Children are surrounded by technology from the moment they wake up and check their e-mail until they send that last instant message before going to bed. In the interim they are bombarded by input from cell phone calls, text messages, e-mail, and daily chat sessions. Kids can swap music, trade photos and gossip non-stop, thanks to the modern marvels we have placed -- sometimes reluctantly -- into their hands.
Broad access to enhanced communication can be a good thing, especially during those rare emergencies when a parent must contact their child immediately or a student runs into trouble during the school day. Otherwise, the cell phone with built-in texting and camera, the broadband connected computer, and that omnipresent portable music player can be a source of considerable distraction or worse for young technophiles.
As a contemporary parent or guardian, it falls upon you to ensure that your young charges are kept away from the dangers of modern communication without being deprived of its benefits. Kids should be able to contact an adult when necessary, do research and homework assignments online, and enjoy the social aspects of the Internet without fear.
Safety Net
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With the advent of wireless telephony, temptation is just a keystroke away. Consider how easy it would be for two or more students to send answers to a test question around the classroom via text message. As long as phones operate during school hours, this is a problem that can be difficult to curtail.
Check your school’s regulations on phone usage. Many institutions permit the sensible operation of phones before and after school, at lunchtime, and even between classes in appropriate locations. Vigilant observation by concerned educators can help, but is not always available. In many cases schools are empowered to confiscate phones that are being used inappropriately and return them only after a face-to-face meeting with a parent.
Parental influence can go a long way toward ensuring compliance. One way is to contact your wireless carrier and ask about parental control features that can be included in your family phone plan. Content filtering can prevent kids from accessing inappropriate content. Programs like AT&T’s Smart Limits give parents control over family phones, including the ability to limit incoming content.
In the event of infraction, parents can go as far as shutting down the service completely. Real-time communication is also important. If you take the time to explain the rules of proper wireless telephone usage and text messaging to your kids, you may be able to prevent a problem before it occurs.
Stories and rumors abound detailing cases where single parents, elderly grandparents, and adolescent Internet users have been successfully sued for thousands of dollars by the Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA. Digitized musical content can be easily transferred over modern broadband connections, legally and illegally, allowing young music lovers to build massive collections of their favorite tunes for use on the personal computer or on portable devices like the iPod.
As most songs are available for purchase at about 99 cents each, many of the music files on your home computer system are likely to have been legally acquired. Check your credit card bills to be sure. Still, it is difficult to resist the temptation to snag the occasional freebie. Vigilant parents will want to know what their music-loving children are up to before the RIAA enforcers come knocking on the door.
According to the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992, legal purchasers of music CDs are, at least theoretically, entitled to backup their material. This may even include making digitized copies for use on a portable player. Still, huge stores of digitized music can be a sign of illegal file downloading.
An occasional inspection of family computing equipment is critical in ensuring continued legal status. Even the least technical adults can check their systems for telltale signs of illegal usage. Use the computer’s search feature to look for filenames that end in .MP3, WMA, and M4A. If your musical user has a few dozen files, chances are they were legally acquired. The discovery of a few thousand files may signal the need for a family meeting.
While you’re inspecting, you may want to look for movie files, too. These are generally stored under .MPG and .AVI extension. Programs used to conduct these transfers include LimeWire, eMule, and BitTorrent clients like Azureus and MicroTorrent. Check your browser’s history for trips to websites like The Pirate Bay and Mininova that offer lists of files available to be shared. The sites themselves may not be operating illegally, but the acquisition of copyrighted material is a different matter entirely.
Sites offering movies and photos depicting profanity, pornography, violence, tobacco and alcohol consumption, and far worse are easily accessible online. A quick survey of stored content will determine if any of your family netizens have been surfing in dangerous virtual waters. This phenomenon, by the way, is not limited to young or male users.
Chatting online can be even more dangerous. Most kids love going to online chatrooms with their friends after school. This affinity has not gone unnoticed by connected deviants who prey on trusting young chatters every day.
Cyberbullying is a more recent problem in which offensive schoolmates
victimize children online instead of in person. You can find an
excellent resource on the topic at
www.charityguide.org/volunteer/fifteen/cyberbullying.htm.
If you suspect your child is being abused by a Cyberbully, report the
incident to school officials immediately.
During a recent discussion on the subject of chat security, a local
parent offered an inspired solution to the problem. His family computer
is located in the living room, along with the television, telephone, and
stereo system. Anyone who wants to participate in online chat can do so,
but will rarely find themselves in an unsupervised situation.
In circumstances where non-stop supervision is impractical, many
software solutions are available. Symantec offers Norton Internet
Security users a free Parental Control add-on for their products. A
simple installation process affords parents the ability to determine
exactly what kind of content can be accessed by individual users.
Many of these safety programs allow parents to lock out chatroom access
until a time when activity can be conducted under responsible
supervision. Check with the publisher of your favorite protection
program for a similar utility. Install it, use it, and keep your
password secure.
Detective Sergeant Chuck Allen from the New Jersey State Police Digital Technology Investigations Unit took a moment from his busy schedule to tell me about his organization and their tireless efforts to protect the children of the Garden State.
“Basically, we investigate online exploitation of children, along with
any type of crime against children that involves computers or the
Internet. We receive about 500 complaints a year from a national
clearing house for online child exploitation reports.
“These reports can involve anything from the distribution of child
pornography to allegations of sexual abuse of kids being portrayed
online, on a social networking site like MySpace, for example. We also
get complaints concerning registered sex offenders using social
networking websites.
“We are also proactive in conducting investigations, where we will
utilize online undercover identities to seek out online child predators.
When we pose as children online, it doesn’t take long before we are
solicited. If we’re a teen boy or girl 12 to 14, it only takes a minute.
Sometimes people try to set up a meet. It’s always fun when someone
shows up to meet a child and is greeted by a squad of troopers.”
In the interest of preventing future problems, Sgt. Allen offered advice
and encouragement to parents of children who spend time on the Internet.
“Parents, the computer is not a babysitter. Adults have to be cognizant of what their children are doing. A spot inspection sometime, walking in on the child, reading the screen, and making sure that if the kid is using the Net responsibly can help. Parents should know who every screen name on a child’s buddy list is in real life. Check all the names the child is conversing with and make sure they can explain to your satisfaction exactly who each person is.”
Joe Granese can be e-mailed at granese@juno.com or you can comment on this story by calling 609-624-8900, ext. 250.