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As a teacher of IT in a girls’ high school, I watch teenagers interact with technology everyday. One thing about this interaction stands out to me more than anything else – they are not afraid of it. If they want to see what something does, they just try it.

Something else I have noticed, and I didn't’t have to be a genius to see this one, they love to talk about themselves, share information, share gossip, and increasingly, share photos.

This sharing has been greatly enhanced by the internet and the internet has taken it into potentially dangerous areas. The first I really considered these dangers was many years ago when it came to my attention that MSN groups had “taken off” with teenagers. They were setting up groups to facilitate their communication with friends. Word quickly spread when someone set up a group and the memberships came flooding in. Some of the groups set up by students at my school had literally thousands of memberships.

This sounds harmless enough right? This is just teenagers doing what teenagers do and talking about which boys they like, who was going to the dance on the weekend etc. I thought so too until I found out some of the things that were being posted on these group pages. It seemed that the perceived anonymity of the internet combined with access to digital cameras was a potentially dangerous mix. Photos were quickly posted that should not have been. For example, photos of girls in their school uniform (our school rules expressly forbid this). Again, this seems harmless enough until you stop and think that this combined with other information on the group pages had just broadcast to anyone who cared to notice where they went to school. In some cases enough information was provided in small snippets such that it could be determined in which street certain students lived. This is now starting to get a little more serious.

There is of course certain privacy features associated with MSN groups. Were our students using it? To a degree some of them were, but not all. Initially, very few of the groups were set to private and therefore anyone could access the information contained therein. Many had set the preferences such that the site owner approved all new members. This was particularly ineffective as if you said you were from the local boys school you were admitted. These control measures even if used, are of course, not particularly effective anyway.

When challenged about what they were doing and the associated dangers, most of the students were initially appalled that teachers were reading their “private” group pages. The teenage mind apparently finds it difficult to comprehend this concept. Not only that, but the notion that what they were doing was exposing them to danger was very difficult to get across to them. Everything appears nice and safe sitting in front of a computer screen at home in the study.

So where are we now with regard to this issue? There have been periodic repeats of the transgressions of these students from years ago. Each time the tale is repeated with frightening similarity. The problem, if anything, has become worse as more and more social networking sites make their presence felt on the internet. MySpace is perhaps the most well known but there are many others.

I started this article by mentioning the lack of fear young people have for technology. This lack of fear translates directly into a lack of fear of the consequences of its misuse. As my own daughters make their own presence felt on the internet, I intend to be quite aggressive in my efforts to monitor what they are doing online.

Do you know what your kids are doing online tonight?

Scott McNamaraGuest Author, Scott McNamara

Scott has been teaching for 8 years after a career in accounting and business. Teaching is a much more "family friendly" career hence the change. Scott teaches business and IT in a girl’s secondary school. He is 40 years old, is married and has two daughters.

Email Scott at: safety@mcnamaraoz.com

The Three P's of Internet Safety:

                                                 by Mark Hager

Every time I talk to groups about Internet safety, I almost always
say the same things. I tell the tales of children being seduced by
the whiles of pedophiles online. I give example after example of
the dangerous behaviors that I've witnessed online by kids. And, I
speak about my conviction that Internet safety has to start at
home. After doing this time after time, I invariably get the same
response: "What can I do?"

Before I can address that question, you have to address why they
have to ask that question. One problem that many parents are
facing today is that their kids know more about the online world
than they do. They are growing up with it; we didn't.
Unfortunately, what people don't understand, they fear. This lack
of knowledge increases the rift between the problem and solution.
On the other hand, you have today's child who, in many cases, is
perfectly comfortable in this digital world. They may not
understand it all, but they don't have to; the Internet has become
an extension of their social lives. The fundamental issue with
this fact is that children aren't given a rule book for the
Internet. And, more times than not, don't have someone there
showing them what is appropriate and what is not.
All that being said, the answer to the original question is what I
call the "Three P's": Preparation, Prevention and Personal Commitment.

Preparation

Like any initiative, Internet safety requires a good plan. In
order to prepare yourself and your family, you'll need to do a few
things.

Educate yourself.

Get online and do some reading. (Go to www.google.com and type in "Internet Safety"...you'll be well on your way.) If you don't know what you're up against,
how can you fight it?

Talk as a family about Internet safety.

Be open and honest.

Having already educated yourself a little bit, go
into it committed to saying the difficult things. Talk about
pedophiles, improper conversations, pornography and the like.

Develop some rules for Internet use. 

For families with kids that are a little older, maybe 10 or so, I suggest
using a family usage agreement. (You can download the PDF from my website http://mysafefamily.net/images/agreement.pdf  )  Whether you use that or not, make rules and discuss repercussions. And no matter what happens, stick to your guns!

Prevention

We've heard the saying that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." There are several things you can do to immediately begin protecting your family on line.

Make sure the computer is in a public place.

We've heard the saying that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." There are several things you can do to immediately begin protecting your family on line..

Never let a computer in a bedroom be connected to the Internet.

Make a habit of looking over your kids shoulders while they are online.

Drop in on them unannounced. It could be very educational.

Use monitoring software to see what your kids do online.

Many parents have a hard time with this idea for one reason or another. Invest in some monitoring software. Preferably, get one that not only records keystrokes, but also captures
emails and instant messaging conversations. You decide whether to tell them or not, but whatever else you do, make sure you do this.

Keep the conversation flowing about Internet safety.

Keep reading, and let your kids know you are continuing your education. Tell them about what you read. Make Internet safety dinner conversation if you have to. Just keep it up!

Personal Commitment

This may go without saying, but all the planning in the world will
do little good without the determination to see it through. As
parents, we know that some lessons take years to get a foothold in
young minds. Internet safety, like anything else that is
worthwhile, can be trying and difficult at times. Stick to your
guns, keep up your education and don't stop. As frightening as it
is, you could be the only thing standing between your kids and a
pedophile.

In closing, I'd like to say something a little more personal;
something I've told as many parents as would listen. It's
irrelevant whether you believe that there are predators online
trying to get at your kids; it's a fact. Even if you do believe
the problem is real, it's irrelevant whether you believe the
problem is as prevalent as the media would have you believe; it
is. After years of research and being in the trenches, I know that
pedophiles are a blight on our society and leave the broken
hearts, minds and emotions of children in the wake of their
perversion.

Do the loving thing...talk to your kids about Internet safety.

 

*About the Author*
Mark Hager is a father, Internet safety advocate and I.T.
professional. You can find more about him and his work at
http://www.mysafefamily.net

Basically, war driving occurs when a person, or persons', drives around in a vehicle purposely searching for an open, unprotected wireless access point, using a wireless device, such as a laptop or PDA. Once found, the war driver can gain access to the “victims” Internet access or data.

What is the point of war driving?

Is it simply to see how many unprotected connections are in your area or neighborhood, or to actually gain access to someone’s connection to perhaps surf the net for free? Or are there other intentions?

I asked Mike from Typer Tappers, to explain a few of the issues and concerns regarding war driving.

”War driving”, according to Mike, “is when someone drives around in their vehicle, looking for wireless connections, normally unsecured. Once a connection is found, access into your network is gained; the war drivers will then use it to their own advantage, usually for their own profit. Once unsecured access is gained, the war drivers begin to “sniff” your traffic passing through your wireless connection. This could mean that everything you’re doing might be being logged on their computer in their car”

If, for example, you are shopping online at Amazon, the war driver may be logging things like pages you visit, as well as your login and password details. It is possible to do things like change your delivery address.

Although Mike has not had any personal experience with war driving, he knows someone who has. ”Someone I know used a wireless network in a flat, using WEP encryption. Someone took advantage of the awful security issues, and then used their details to take a loan out in that persons name. I’m not sure how it ended, but hopefully, he wont have to pay that bill”

When I asked Mike if he had personally witnessed war driving done, he said , “Yes, you can find videos over the Internet on war driving”

What is an access point?
“An access point is a wireless router. If you think about the word “access
point”, it’s where your wireless laptop or desktop computer is accessing.

What are some of the consequences of war-driving, if you are a victim?
“The main one would be identity theft. Once they have information on you,
they can do things like take loans out in your name, leaving you with the
bills. Another example may be if you do your banking online, you may find someone
has stolen your login details. They could then mess around with your bank
account and steal your money.”

How do you know, if you are a victim of war-driving?
“Well the main way would be you have no money in your bank or you have
suddenly found loans being taken out in your name.”

If you are a victim, what can you do?
“If you’ve had money taken out of your bank account or bills posted to your credit card, notify the bank or credit card company as soon as possible. Then consult your local police.”

What can you do to prevent this happening to you?

Mike suggests changing your access point name information; don’t keep the original/default name. Mike also has recommendations for software to help keep your wireless connection safe and secure, such as Putty. Others suggest using a variety of safety measures; and not to rely solely on one particular method.

Software for war driving is available online. There are also websites available with data collected by war drivers, to view actual maps of wireless access points in your town.

Mike lives in England, is a freelance Web designer and studies computer repair in College. He has an interest in Internet Security and has been blogging since October 2006, and his targeted audience is the computer world. Please visit him at his website, Typer Tappers:

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.typertappers.com