One Good Way to Protect Your Kids Online

We see it in the news almost every day. We read about it in the papers. Unfortunately, we may even know someone with an abused, missing or runaway child. Cyber crime is on the rise and parents need to be aware.

Yesterday I walked through the Eastpoint Mall and noticed a young kid sitting alone with eyes glued to his cell phone screen. Nothing on earth could have pulled that kid away. Another instance happened while I was riding the No. 40 bus.  I watched a kid playing a game while he sat in the seat meant for elderly and disabled riders. He made no attempt to offer his seat to the elderly patron standing in front of him.

Wow, do we even know our kids these days? They are so distracted by games, cellphones and gadgets.

We've become too complacent with electronics in our daily lives and it shows. Kids use all kinds of social networks to replace the telephone and parents use the computer and Internet to do literally everything and barely notice when the kids are showing strange patterns. 

Without knowing it, our kids could be chatting with some middle aged sex offender pretending to be little Jimmy or Jane. They even get lured into meeting these predators. It's horrible, mind-blowing, and could be preventable with a little initiative.

(Of course, adults are meeting, too, through magical dating sites which promise the person, well, everything.) 

Make no mistake. Predators are quite good at conning young kids. They know just what to say to keep your kid's attention. 

There are a few ways you can protect your family on-line. One way is to use a free web blocking program called K9 Web Protection. I picked K9 because its simple to use, it's quite effective at blocking all the bad sites, and cannot be removed without damaging the Windows Operating System. 

Simply install it, setup a user-name ,and select the type of defense you want. Kids can't remove it without a password and you get to track every move of the mouse.

My computer repair service, “CompuDoc Services”, offers a link to a free download.  You can get it free by going to www.compudocservices.net then click on Software Shop and look for the K9 Web Protection. With all the registered sex offenders around, why take chances. Every little bit helps when it comes to protecting our children.

Take the time to make sure you're protected as much as possible. Know where your kids are surfing. It only takes that 1 chance encounter in a chat room. Be alert, be protective, and be at graduation!