THIS PAGE IS INTENDED FOR PARENTS AND GUARDIANS TO USE. I ENCOURAGE
PARENTS/GUARDIANS TO DISCUSS INTERNET SAFETY WITH YOUR CHILD(REN) AND
VISIT
THE FOLLOWING SITE FOR MORE HELPFUL INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO KEEP YOUR
FAMILY SAFE ON THE INTERNET.
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN COMPILED FROM:
>www.internetchildsafety.net<
Officer Steve DeWarns (707) 480-0327---sdewarns@internetchildsafety.net
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ON LINE SAFETY BASICS
What parents can do to protect their children on-line:
By taking responsibility for your children's online computer use, parents can greatly minimize any
potential risks of being online. Make it a family rule to:
Never give out identifying information-- home address, school name, or telephone number-- in a
public
message such as chat or bulletin boards, and be sure you're dealing with someone that
both you and your child know and trust before giving it out via E-mail. Think carefully before
revealing any personal information such as age, marital status, or financial information. Consider
using a pseudonym or unlisting your child's name if your service allows it.
Get to know the services your child uses. If you don't know how to log on, get your child to show
you. Find out what types of information it offers and whether there are ways for parents to
block out objectionable material.
Never allow a child to arrange a face-to-face meeting with another computer user without
parental permission. If a meeting is arranged, make the first one in a public spot, and be sure to
accompany your child.
Note: We recommend never arrange a face to face meeting, EVER! you don’t know who will show
up. The bad guys don’t care that it is in a public place and that you or anyone else is present, the
child is their only concern, their target so to speak.
Never respond to messages or bulletin board items that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent,
threatening, or make you feel uncomfortable. Encourage your children to tell you if they
encounters
such messages. If you or your child receives a message that is harassing, of a sexual
nature, or threatening, forward a copy of the message to your service provider and ask for
their assistance.
Should you become aware of the transmission, use, or viewing of child pornography while online,
immediately report this to the local authorities You should also notify your online service.
Remember that people online may not be who they seem. Because you can't see or even hear
the person it would be easy for someone to misrepresent him- or herself. Thus, someone
indicating that "she" is a "12-year-old girl" could in reality be a 40-year-old man.
Remember that everything you read online may not be true. Any offer that's "too good to be
true" probably is. Be very careful about any offers that involve your coming to a meeting or
having someone visit your house.
Set reasonable rules and guidelines for computer use by your children. (See Parent/Child
agreement) Discuss these rules and post them near the computer as a reminder. Remember to
monitor their compliance with these rules, especially when it comes to the amount of time your
children spend on the computer. A child or teenager's excessive use of online services or
bulletin boards, especially late at night, may be a clue that there is a potential problem.
Remember that personal computers and online services should not be used as electronic
babysitters.
Be sure to make this a family activity. Consider keeping the computer in a family room rather
than the child's bedroom. Get to know their "online friends" just as you get to know all of their
other friends.
ON LINE SAFETY TIPS FOR KIDS
SAFETY TIP #1
Don’t ever answer a message that makes you feel threatened, confused, or uncomfortable. End
the communication and tell the adult in charge of your Internet use.
SAFETY TIP #2
Never give out personal information (such as your name, address, password, or school).
SAFETY TIP#3
If your screen name contains part of your name or gives other personal information such as your
age or address, you should choose a different screen name when you use a chat room.
SAFETY TIP#4
Never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone you meet online.
SAFETY TIP#5
Don’t accept anything that a stranger sends you over the Internet, including e-mail, files, or the
address for a web site. If you receive any message from a stranger, delete it without opening
it.
PARENT/CHILD AGREEMENT
Review the following agreement with your children and post them by the computer as a
reminder.
1. I will tell my parents right away if I come across any information that makes me feel
uncomfortable.
2. I will not give out my address, telephone number, or the name and location of my school
without my parent's permission.
3. I will never agree to get together with someone I "meet" online without first checking with
my parents. If my parents agree to the meeting, I will be sure that it is in a public place and
bring my mother or father along.
4. If I get a message that is mean, or makes me feel uncomfortable, I will not respond. It is not
my fault if I get a message like that, and I will tell my parents if I do.
5. I will work with my parents so that we can set up rules for going online. We will decide upon
the time of day that I can be online, the length of time I can be online, and areas that I am
allowed to visit. I will not access other areas or break these rules without their permission.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT YOURSLEF/CHILDREN FROM BECOMING A VICTIM
Monitor your child’s use of the Internet.
Keep computer in a well traveled area. (Family/Living room)
Use Parental Controls.
Do not give out personal information.
Never give out your password to ANYONE.
“Parental Control Software”:
Cyber Sentinel = www.Securitysoft.com
Zone Alarm = www.Zonealarm.com
Win What Where Investigator = www.winwhatwhere.com
Computer Cop = www.Computercop.com
Specter = www.Spectersoft.com
“Key Stroke Logger” software keeps track of every click of the mouse and key stroke. Use of
this software will enable you to run a check to see what sites have been activated.
IDENTITY THEFT REGISTRATION
If you have been a victim of Identity Theft, register with the Federal Trade Commission at one
of the following. Registering with the FTC is a useful tool 1-888-880-0240 >www.ag.ca.gov/<
idtheft/general.htm
or by mail:
Department of Justice
P.O. Box 903417
Identity Theft Registry, Room G210
Sacramento, CA 94203-4170
SOME SAFE PLACES FOR KIDS
Ask Jeeves for Kids
A natural language search engine that is filtered. By natural language, you can enter in questions
like "why is the sky blue." Try it now!
Yahooligans: A database of about 20,000 sites that are kid safe. You can search or select from
a directory
Education World: A database of 56,000 sites
Study Web: 73,000 "research quality" web sites
KidsClick!: Put together by librarians for kids, the database, as of July, 1998, contained about
2600 records. Well organized and easy to use, though not as thorough as the others.
As kids get older, they also start to learn to use search engines like Yahoo, Lycos, Google,
AltaVista and Excite. These sites are great for finding tons of interesting Internet sites, but
they can also locate places where you might not want your kids to go. There are, however,
search
engines designed just for kids. Yahooligans, which is operated by Yahoo, contains only sites that
have
been handpicked as safe.
Ask Jeeves for Kids has the same natural language query engine as the general version but
unlike the main site, it brings up only sites that meets the company's child friendly guidelines.
Kids can "Ask Jeeves" general questions like "who is president of South Africa" and get links to
sites about Nelson Mandela, apartheid and other related topics.
These sites, as far as we know, will not return sexually explicit, violent or hateful content.
However, one so-called "safe" search engine was removed from the list because it displayed
advertising for sexually explicit web sites. If you find any problems with any sites on this page,
please let us know immediately so we can investigate.
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THE BOTTOM LINE:
• MONITOR YOUR CHILDREN WHILE THEY USE THE COMPUTER
• INSTALL SAFETY SOFTWARE
• DIALOGUE WITH CHILDREN ABOUT WHAT IS ACCEPTABLE COMPUTER USE,
BEHAVIOR AND CONTENT YOUR HOUSEHOLD AND STICK TO IT
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FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT THE FOLLOWING WEBSITE:
www.internetchildsafety.net
