Children and Online Safety
Adults are not the only ones who need to be educated about online security. Children are often targeted directly because of their naiveté. They are the target of stalkers, harassers, and information probes. They need to be just as careful – as well as informed – as you are. This section offers a view tips to parents and kids alike. Some tips the kids may not like, but it can be a huge help.
Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act
It is illegal for any website to collect any personal information about a child 13 years old or younger without written parental consent. It is required by United States law for all websites who collect information to have a box that says something similar to:
“By checking this box, I certify that I am over the age of 13 years old.”
If they do, and your child checks this box anyway, they are forgoing their rights under the COPPA (which is very unwise). If the website fails to have such a disclaimer, they can be sued and have criminal charges filed against the owner.
If your child is honest and asks you to fill out a written form (usually available from the website in question), you need to take caution. Read the site’s privacy policy. That may sound forceful, because it is. It is not recommended to blow off your own privacy, let alone your child’s. Please, take the time to ensure that by signing a form, you are not authorizing a website to sell your child’s personal information to third parties. Also, it is recommended that you do a little research to make sure the site is authentic and reliable.
Parental Controls
There are many places on the internet that are unsuitable for children. Not only are there places that are unsuitable for children, but places they are not allowed, by law, to go. Several safeguards have been developed to help with this – called parental controls. These programs aid parents in deciding what their children are allowed to view. They are very simple: you set a level of protection (generally selecting between different types of content), set an override password, and let the parental controls do the rest. There are several good parental controls available: AOL (which tends to be overprotective), Earthlink (similar to AOL’s), and IE (built in, extremely weak and ineffective).
Monitor Activity and Logs
Although parental controls are helpful for children, they are not by any means full-proof. Any person who has a decent knowledge of computers can make parental controls crumble in no time. It is unwise to underestimate your children – they grew up messing with the technology on their computers. If they are like me, they will tweak and tweak until they get it the way they want it.
A way to counter this is to install a logging software on your computer (without your child knowing) that logs internet activity and visited sites. Most major browsers also have a built in, temporary log, but most built in features are easily erasable. A standalone backup is recommended, and if possible, have the log file saved to a remote PC daily. If this is not an option, you can usually trust your child not to erase a backup. When children do something stupid, they usually clean up after themselves in a sloppy way. Usually, it is an afterthought – something done quickly. If you check the temporary logs regularly, and they have been tampered with, it is a pretty good clue to check the backup and see why.
While being careful and keeping logs of internet activity is useful, monitoring and knowing what your child is doing on the computer is even better. Show them the good things the internet can be used for, and let them grow to use it as a tool to learning instead of a place to get things they are not supposed to. Many parents need to take this advice – it helps. Children might find it as a hassle and an invasion of privacy – but it’s better to sacrifice privacy to a trusted person than to have security problems.
Children and Stalkers
As a parent, it is one of your responsibilities to educate your children in proper online usage. Although telling them it is not safe to chat with people they don’t know is a bit extreme – if it weren’t for me chatting with people I don’t know, I wouldn’t be writing this article today – there are indicators that they need to be aware of, as well as boundaries that are not to be crossed. Stalkers target children because they are the most gullible market. Generally, children believe anything they hear. Be sure your child knows not to give any personal information out to anyone. Giving out information online is just like giving information out to a stranger over the phone. Telling them “I’m the only one home tonight!” is like an invitation to stalkers. Make sure your kids know how to handle such situations.
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“War Games” & “Hackers: The Movie” sure did motivate a few kids to become internet security specialists. Groups formed on mIRC and it became pretty big at that time.