This is a collection of notes for a presentation on protecting children on the internet. (14/Mar/2001)

Is the internet as dangerous as people think? (Or what is the internet?)

  • The internet is public
  • The internet mirrors behaviours found in the real (offline) world
  • webpages, email, chatrooms, discussion forums, newsgroups, real-time video
  • don't blame the internet -- you don't stay entirely out of a town, just because it has a bad side.
  • the internet is a valuable and important tool for communication and education

    Pornography is not the only danger

  • hate literature
  • hate propaganda
  • shopping (solicit sales to children)
  • illegal (stolen) software (warez)
  • cult recruiting
  • drug recipes
  • bomb making plans
  • glorifying criminals and deviants
  • teaching intolerance and bigotry
  • crackers (and computer breakins)
  • viruses and trojans

    Misinformation

  • many sites publish hype, satire, hoaxes, rumors, parodies and other misleading and false information.
  • false medical, scientific and legal information is published
  • examples: Bob Dole for President -- said he is part of the Dole Fruit Company; some government-type URLs really point to pornographic or parody sites.
  • it is important to use critical thinking before you trust a site's content.

    Freedom of speech/censorship

  • working to censor freedom of speech may end up causing you to lose your own freedoms

    Involvement -- parental and education

  • teach children what is truly "right and wrong" behaviour
  • watch for children's behavioural warning signs
  • it is your job to teach your children and to look out for your childrens' safety
  • prepare your kids for when they use the internet at friends', schools or library.
  • teach your children to think critical -- to be able to recognize site's content as being factual. And free advice is not always good advice.
  • Establish rules (see AUP below)

    Control -- restricting use

  • with technology (software)
  • with rules (see AUP below)

    Filtering mail and/or websites

    Restricting mail and/or websites

    Software to help

  • software solutions can filter or block incoming
  • software solutions can filter or block outgoing information, like credit card numbers, address, phone number -- but this can easily be worked-around, such as "6x5x8x8x5x3x6" as a phone number.
  • some are password based
  • some software can monitor surfing activity and provide alerts
  • some software can generate reports about surfing activity
  • Surfwatch
  • CyberPatrol
  • Cybersitter
  • NetShepherd
  • NetNanny
  • KinderGuard

    point your kids to safe sites

    safe search engines

  • no filter is 100% accurate
  • don't rely on these, but they may help.
  • google.com offers a "SafeSearch Filtering" preference; uses keyword and phrase checking and SurfWatch-licensed data. http://www.google.com/intl/en_extra/help/customize.html#safe.

    safe websites for kids

  • (I haven't verified all content for all of these sites.)

    Acceptable-Use Policy (AUP)

  • parents and children agree and sign a family-approved, computer and internet usage policy

    Ideas for AUP

  • Agree not to crack (or attempt to break into) other's computers

    ISP -- working with your internet service provider

  • work with your ISP
  • Ask about server-side/server-level proxies and filtering (like Bess)
  • some ISPs offer SPAM/email filtering (like ORBS or MAPS RSS)
  • some ISPs offer Parental Controls (like AOL)

    Ideas

  • keep computer in open, communal, family room
  • direct supervision (education is more important)
  • talk to childrens' friends' parents about friends internet usage
  • off-line usage (previously download webpages)
  • ask schools (and libraries) about "acceptable usage policy" for internet and computer usage.

    Detective work

  • web browsers store information about what webpages have been visited.
  • For example, Netscape Navigator has a "history" window that can show the site name, URL (location), when first visited, when last visited (date and time) and how many times the webpage was visited.
  • Also, web browsers store webpages so they can be loaded quickly when you click your back arrow; depending on your settings you could have thousands of previously visited webpages and graphics (images) saved on your hard drive.

    Examples

  • receiving inappropriate email
  • receiving inflammatory email (another person with my name)

    Rating systems for webpages (and games)

    Computer Security

  • cable and DSL users are always connected -- giving more chances and time for malicious users to try to break in.
  • trojans are programs that are doing someting malicious in the background; for example, while you play a game, the program is really destroying your files or installing other backdoor software
  • A "backdoor" is a program or technique to get access to your computer (or software)
  • A virus (or worm) is a program that replicates itself; for example it may do someting malicious to your computer and also send a copy of itself to everyone in your email address book.

    Netiquette -- proper internet behaviour

  • Sometimes improper behaviour can instigate inappropriate emails (flames), mail bombs (huge emails) or mail floods (numerous and unmanageable emails); or you may get dropped by your ISP.

    Spam -- unsolicited mail

  • don't reply back to the spammer -- even if they ask you to request to get off their list.
  • don't complain continually to your ISP; instead work with your ISP and ask suggestions on how to prevent spam.
  • blocking addresses.
  • blocking spamming mail server addresses.
  • blocking addresses doesn't always work -- spammers will just use another email address or another mail server.

    More information

    Books to read

  • Aftab, Parry. "The Parent's Guide to Protecting your Children in Cyberspace". McGraw-Hill. 2000.
  • Bolinski and Giagnocavo. "Child Safety on the Internet". Prentice-Hall. 1997.

    Webpages to visit

  • http://www.safekids.com/
  • http://www.wiredkids.org/

    Other / not categorized yet

  • newview.com