Posts Tagged ‘Cyber Safety’

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Father Goes to Great Lengths To Ensure Daughter is Cyber-Safe

July 15, 2011

Father and computer expert, Bill Ramsey sets a good example for other parents concerned about what their children get up to online:

“The internet has really changed the way that children interact with the world and not always for good,” said Bill Ramsey.  He’s owns The Bill Guy Technology Solutions and is a dad.  He says you have to know who your kids are chatting with on places like Facebook.  “There are so many parents that say I don’t care that they put that stuff up there and I tell them they should.  You should care,” he said.

He cares so much, he requires his 15-year-old step daughter provide her passwords so he can access everything, including text messages.  He says she doesn’t like it but knows if she breaks the rules she’ll lose her computer privileges.  By checking her email recently, he found emails from a guy who asked she send pictures of herself.  She didn’t do it, but he says she also didn’t understand why it was a big deal.  “So what this is a person I’ll never see.  But you don’t know this.  You don’t know who this is,” he said.

Ramsey was able to find the boy who lived in Arkansas and called his parents.  He says that also shows how easy it is to track people down with information posted on-line.  The National Center for Exploited and Missing Children say one in seven youth between the ages of 10 and 17 have received a sexual solicitation on the internet.  Ramsey says that’s enough to know what your kids are up to.  “It’s not an invasion of their privacy,” he said.

Obviously Ramsey is good with computers and has an easier time keeping track on his child’s on-line activity.  But he says it’s not difficult if you put in some effort.  He says having passwords is the most helpful but it’s also good just to visit their Facebook page.  If getting a password won’t work, he says there are several software programs that offer various amounts of protection and some at a cost. 

He recommends checking out, http://www.webwatchernow.com, http://www.netnanny.com and http://www.cyberpatrol.com

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Posted in Cyber Safety, Parenting, Social Media | Leave a Comment »

Parents Join Facebook to Spy on Their Kids

July 15, 2011

Parents are clearly concerned about what their kids do on Facebook:

A survey has revealed that fully 30 per cent of British parents’ Facebook “friend” requests to their children get rejected, and that many then resort to using other people’s login details in order to keep track of their offspring’s Web-2.0 activities.

This sad commentary on the number of parents who feel able to speak to their kids as opposed to interacting with them primarily online – it would seem normal to know in advance whether a friend request to one’s nipper would be rejected, for instance – came among the results of a survey of 2,000 online Brits.

The survey revealed that among today’s digital British some 5 per cent of parents would like to monitor their kids on Facebook but don’t know how, and 55 per cent do stalk their kids online. No less than 11 per cent reported that the only reason they had a Facebook account was to keep an eye on their nippers, suggesting that in some age groups, up to a fifth of Facebook users have no real interest in the service’s putative benefits and are only there because they worry about its effects on their kids.

Indeed in many cases a Facebook user who signed up for positive reasons is not actually that person – it is a friend of theirs borrowing their login to keep tabs on their kids. Some 13 per cent of digital parents reported having done this, presumably because they couldn’t be bothered creating an account just for this purpose.

Altogether then, it would appear that 24 per cent of online Brit parents consider that the only reason to use Facebook is worry about their children. Perhaps it’s just as well that the company’s founder Mark Zuckerberg says he no longer cares about new signups.

“These figures are initially quite surprising, but since certain malicious third parties have been known to prey on unsuspecting or over trusting individuals online, it does seem as though many could have legitimate concerns,” commented Claus Villumsen of security firm Bullguard, which commissioned the survey.

I wonder if Mark Zukerberg and his Facebook team can do more to help concerned parents.

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Posted in Parenting, Social Media | Leave a Comment »

The Expectation of Teaching Cyber-Safety to Pre-schoolers

June 21, 2011

I am all for addressing cyber-saftey and cyber-bullying in schools.  I have written many posts that attest to how important those topics are to me.  But a report that calls on the Government to make educators teach cyber-safety to 3 and 4-year-old children is crazy.  They are simply too young.  At that age, the responsibility of introducing the potential hazards of the web should be left squarely to parents.

Cyber education for children should start in preschool, a major investigation of online safety has found.

More than a year in the making, the High-Wire Act report makes dozens of recommendations to parliament on how to educate children and teenagers on remaining safe in the increasingly complex online environment.

The first recommendation calls on Early Childhood Minister Peter Garrett to consider providing “cyber-safety” lessons in pre-schools and kindergartens.

“It seems sensible that schools introduce cyber-safety when they introduce computers and online access,” the report, released on Monday, says.

“Unfortunately, it is just too late, because children have already developed a set of habits and practices.”

When I read this new Government report, I reflected on an apt comment from reader Anthony Purcell, who wrote:

I am a little frustrated that teachers are being the ones that are to teach children how to be good digital citizens. Where are the parents? They should be helping out as well. Unfortunately, I know that many parents don’t know how to be a good digital citizen. There are sites out there that teachers can build to help students out with this. Should they be on Twitter and Facebook in primary school? No, but we can set up ways to help them begin their good digital citizenship roles.

I find it ironic, that of all the important skills that teachers could be imparting to pre-schoolers, the Government has focussed on an issue that not only doesn’t affect them but also is too complex for them to fully understand.  Surely a program championed by the esteemed veterinarian and author, Vadim Chelom, on dog safety is a much better fit.

“… In fact there isn’t even an Education Department approved set of lesson plans to teach this subject.  This is a catastrophic omission as for the under-7 age group dog attacks account of more injuries than road traffic accidents.”

Teaching cyber-safety to preschoolers poses an unfair challenge on teachers.  It is a program best taught in primary school.

 

 

 

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Posted in Cyber Bullying, Cyber Safety | Leave a Comment »

Police Want Parents to Spy on Their Kids Online

May 29, 2011

So bad is the problem of stalking paedophiles preying on children, that Police are advising parents to spy on their kids’ online activities.  In a perfect world parents should resist spying on their kids, as their trust is essential for a close relationship.  However, there are exceptions to this rule.  The rise of evil paedophiles who prey on naive and impressionable children, may present parents with little choice.

Parents should keep a regular and close eye on what their children do online, say Scottish police, especially on who they are chatting to.

The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA) is concerned about the growing threat of grooming and the dangers of paedophilia. The Scotsman reports that since Operation Embark was set up to tackle the problem two years ago, 18 people have been convicted of online grooming and sentenced to a combined 24 years in prison, 23 years of probation, and 840 hours of community service.

Detective Inspector Eamonn Keane, who heads the SCDEA’s e-crime unit, said: “There’s various software to assist parents in helping them keep their children safe on the internet, which can help identify their computer history.

“You can set your governance tools to search for key words, so if there’s been sexually explicit behaviour from a 13 or 14-year-old it would pick up on that. You can apply parental controls on the internet in the same way as you can on digital TV channels, blocking unsuitable websites.”

Police say parents should be informal friends on Facebook and other social networks, so that they are in the loop of conversations that their kids are having.

Parents should also educate themselves about the social networks their kids are using – how they work, what functionality they offer and how often they are being used.

Social networks do not only mean Facebook – children can correspond with strangers on Bebo, YouTube, gaming networks, Twitter, MySpace and forums, as well as chat services like MSN Messenger, Skype, AOL Chat and Google Talk.

Parents: Please share this video with your children.  I have posted it before, but the clip’s importance and its powerful message will see me post it on occasion.

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Posted in Cyber Safety | Leave a Comment »

Too Many Underage Kids Use Facebook

May 11, 2011

I personally believe that the age restrictions for setting up a Facebook page is quite reasonable.  A child 13 and over is able to make far better decisions and possesses a much greater depth of perception and maturity than a pre-teen.  I think it is very unfortunate that millions of children under 13 have bypassed these restrictions and currently have their own Facebook accounts.  The potential harm of misusing Facebook can not be overstated:

Millions of children are active on Facebook in violation of the site’s terms of service, which require users to be at least 13 years old, according to a survey released Tuesday by Consumer Reports.

The magazine said it estimates that 7.5 million of the 20 million minors on Facebook are younger than 13. More than 5 million children in this group are 10 and younger. These youngsters are vulnerable to predators and bullies, as well as Internet viruses and malware, because they are using Facebook with little parental oversight, Consumer Reports said. The magazine said it projects “1 million children were harassed, threatened or subjected to other forms of cyberbullying on the site in the past year.”

Minors can skirt Facebook’s terms of service by falsifying their birth date when they register for the free site. Facebook has procedures in place to find underage users, including reports from other users, and will permanently delete those accounts if detected.

Consumer Reports said the best way for parents to monitor their children’s Facebook activities is to “friend” them via the site. However, only 18 percent of parents of children 10 and younger have done so. This figure rose to 62 percent for parents of children 13 and 14.

In a response to the Consumer Reports survey, Facebook noted that “there is no single solution to ensuring younger children don’t circumvent a system or lie about their age. We appreciate the attention that these reports and other experts are giving this matter and believe this will provide an opportunity for parents, teachers, safety advocates and Internet services to focus on this area, with the ultimate goal of keeping young people of all ages safe online.”

Online security is a concern for adults as well as minors. Consumer Reports’ survey showed that 21 perent of Facebook users with children at home have posted those children’s names and photos on the site. According to the magazine, 15 percent of Facebook users have posted their current location or travel plans and 34 percent have shared their full birth date. This exposes consumers to identity theft and stalking, Consumer Reports said. In addition, one in five Facebook users has not used the site’s privacy controls.

The magazine compiled its results from its national State of the Net survey, which covered 2,089 online households and was conducted earlier this year. About 150 million Americans are on Facebook.

The social networking company has addressed safety as recently as last month, announcing that it has revamped its Family Safety Center, an online portal with resources for parents and teens. Facebook also said in April  that it plans to release a free guide for teachers on how to safely use social media in the classroom.

“We agree with safety experts that communication between parents/guardians and kids about their use of the Internet is vital,” Facebook said, adding: “Just as parents are always teaching and reminding kids how to cross the road safely, talking about internet safety should be just as important a lesson to learn.”

So is it the role of a teacher to teach children about safe internet practices and responsible internet use?  Yes, to an extent.  However, as one of my readers, Anthony Purcell, wrote so succinctly in a comment on a similarly themed post:

I am a little frustrated that teachers are being the ones that are to teach children how to be good digital citizens. Where are the parents? They should be helping out as well. Unfortunately, I know that many parents don’t know how to be a good digital citizen. There are sites out there that teachers can build to help students out with this. Should they be on Twitter and Facebook in primary school? No, but we can set up ways to help them begin their good digital citizenship roles.

I couldn’t agree more.  Parents, we can only do so much to ensure that your children make responsible decisions on the internet as well as in other spheres.  The rest is up to you!

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Posted in Social Media | 5 Comments »

Encouraging Kids to Use Social Media is Not the Way to Go

May 2, 2011

My experiences in teaching has taught me that while we try to empower our kids to act responsibly at all times, reality suggests that the message doesn’t always filter through.  Sometimes, as unfair or overbearing as it sounds, it is simply naive to suggest that children can act with the responsibility and maturity required to warrant the rights and privileges of older individuals.

Facebook is a two-edged sword.  It has its benefits.  But even adults can’t ignore that there are risks to privacy involved.  The call to bring down the age restrictions of Facebook users from 13, to accommodate Primary students lacks foresight and ultimately makes little sense.  Sure you can teach them about privacy settings and warn them about cyber-bullying and cyber-safety, but sadly, there will always be frequent cases of misuse and bullying should the current restrictions be softened.

Soraya Darabi, social media correspondent for ABC America, disagrees:

PRIMARY school students should be receiving lessons in how to make the most of social media and how to protect themselves from its dangers and pitfalls, says a US specialist.

Soraya Darabi, social media correspondent for ABC America, says platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and a raft of newer sites have taken social media to a point where kids need to know how to control what they post online.

“We’re reaching the point where schools should be teaching best practice for social media, right from primary school age, and the importance of protecting their images and information online,” says Darabi.

“They need to know, for instance, that if they are using Twitter they should only be conveying information they are happy to have recorded in the Library of Congress for all time, because that is what’s happening.”

Four years ago, at the age of 23, Darabi helped The New York Times move into social media and she has more than 400,000 followers on Twitter. She says she uses a variety of sites to secure online privacy.

“You must have a few networks that are sacred. For me, anyone can follow me on Twitter. I only accept people as friends on Facebook if I have personally met them. And there’s a site called Path that I reserve for my closest 50 friends, and where I feel safer posting more personal stuff.

“My personality has changed so much online. I still post some personal things. I’m still playful on Twitter, but nowhere near as much as I used to be.

“There’s this whole thing with the personal-professional hybrid that social media is that we’re all still getting used to,” she says. Darabi is reticent about the future of social media; a five-year horizon is far too distant, she says.

Do you honestly think ten-year olds would uniformly accept only the friend requests from people they have met?  What is the point of a Primary aged child having a Twitter account anyway?  I have absolutely no issues in teaching the importance of privacy settings and alerting my students to cyber safety practices.  This is something I currently do.   But what is gained from lessons that “make the most of social media?”

Whilst it is essential to enlighten our children of the issues that arise from improper social media use, there is simply no good reason for Primary students having their own Facebook and Twitter accounts.

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Posted in Cyber Bullying, Cyber Safety, Social Media | 4 Comments »

Monitoring Your Child’s Facebook

April 28, 2011

It’s never ideal to secretly review your child’s activities, but sometimes it’s an imperative that cannot be avoided.  Rather than recommend that parents use this new innovation that allows them to oversee their child’s Facebook page without being classified as their friend, I think it’s important to alert parents and teachers of its existence.

INTERNET security firm Check Point overnight launched software that lets parents watch over offspring on Facebook without being “friends” at the online social network.

ZoneAlarm SocialGuard alerts parents to signs of trouble in a child’s Facebook account without them being privy to all posts, comments, pictures, videos or other digital content shared between friends at the website.

The program scans Facebook profiles, communications and “friend” requests and uses algorithms to identify potential bullying, sexual overtures, or talk of drugs, violence or suicide.

SocialGuard software runs unseen in the background, flagging suspicious activity and sending alerts to parents, according to its Redwood City, California-based creators.

“It’s about protecting your kids from the social threats out there, while still respecting their privacy and fostering open communication,” said Check Point vice president of consumer sales Bari Abdul.

“We are offering Facebook users a simple way to embrace social networking safely,” he continued.

SocialGuard is crafted to detect hacked accounts, malicious links, online predators, and cyber-bullies, according to Check Point.

The software also checks to determine whether people contacting children online are being deceptive about their ages or if a stranger is trying to become a Facebook “friend.”

“Parents are increasingly concerned, and rightfully so, about the dramatically increasing trend of criminals, predators and bullies targeting children over social networks,” said analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley.

“SocialGuard provides a strong suite of tools that can effectively protect children from these types of social threats that are keeping parents awake at night.”

Check Point cited a survey indicating that 38 percent of teenagers have ignored requests from parents to be friends on Facebook, and that 16 percent of children have only done so as a condition of using the social network.

SocialGuard was available online at zonealarm.com for $US2 ($1.85) monthly or $US20 annually.

Spying on kids is the very last resort.  You would hope that children are able to use social media responsibly.  Unfortunately, too often that is not the case.  Therefore, for safety reasons, it is important that parents are aware of safeguards like this one.

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Posted in Cyber Safety, Parenting | 3 Comments »

Facebook Banning Children For Lying About Age

March 23, 2011

Congratulations to Facebook for actively banning kids who are lying about their age. Age requirements are important, because young students are often prone to making bad choices with social media and fail to use the recommended privacy settings:

Social networking giant Facebook is banning 20,000 children every day because they have lied about their age to join the site.

The company admitted it had to do more to stop young people using Facebook, as it revealed about a third of Australia’s population uses the site every day, the Herald Sun reported.

At a parliamentary inquiry into cyber-bullying, other social networking and online companies called for campaigns to highlight the dangers of the internet.

And there have been calls for an overhaul of the Australian school curriculum to include more effective cyber-danger classes.

The chief privacy adviser of Facebook, Mozelle Thompson, said many Australian children under the age of 13 were trying to access the site by lying about their age.

“It’s something that happens on a regular basis,” Mr Thompson said.

Globally, about seven million children who lie about their age are blocked from the site each year.

For those parents/teachers unaware of the problem of cyber-saftey or if you have children or students that don’t use the privacy settings option, I urge you to watch this clip with them.

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Posted in Cyber Safety | 5 Comments »

I Urge You To Show This To Your Kids

January 7, 2011

Teachers and Parents, I would like to share with you an extremely powerful and effective clip, teaching kids via a dramatised cautionary tale about the importance of staying safe when using their social media pages.  It advocates the use of privacy settings and warns against giving up private information on a page which is accessible to the public.

I think this is an essential clip to share with your children/students, particularly if they are aged between 8 and 16.  With so many kids on Facebook and My Space, I think it is absolutely vital to inform them about the importance of privacy and discretion.

I found this clip so effective.  What do you think?

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Posted in Cyber Safety | 7 Comments »

Cyber Culture and Our Kids

December 3, 2010

I recently attended a Professional Development session on cyber culture.  The survey conducted by AISV interviewed thousands of kids from Grade 4 to Year 8 and collected information about their internet habits.  Some of the interesting findings included:

  • 1 in 5 year 5/6’s don’t consult parents about their internet activity.
  • 15% of year 5’s and 20% of year 6’s have internet access in their bedrooms.
  • Half the respondents claim they don’t have parent imposed internet rules.
  • 30% of respondents know ways in which to circumvent parental controls such as bypassing net filters and minimising pages when parents approach.
  • 40% of respondents name their school or city on social media sites such as Facebook.
  • 84% use chat rooms on a daily basis.
  • Approx. 3/4 don’t use privacy function on their social media pages.

I found some of these stats quite confronting.  Internet safety along with cyber bullying are big issues that educators must take extremely seriously.

I’d love to hear from teachers who have addressed issues of cybersafety in class.  What resources did you use?  How did the class respond?

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