One of the most active groups of people on the Internet is children. From searching for cartoon to finding source material for their homework, there are many reasons for children to be online. Also, with the emergence of social networking site, the internet also provides children with a way to stay in touch with their friends and make new friends.

The problem with the Internet is that it is highly democratic in nature. You will find whatever you search for. The Internet does not ask you for your age before providing you information that may be adult in nature. This poses a serious threat to children who use the internet. Without meaning to, they could get exposed to porn, violence and drugs amongst other undesirable content.

Children could also fall prey to online predators, who traffic in child porn.
To ensure that your child is safe from undesirable content and people on the Internet, you can make use of a PC screen capture software. Usually a PC screen capture software captures the visual on the screen at regular intervals to give you a comprehensive idea of the websites visited and other web browsing activity. You can set the timer on this PC screen capture software so that it will take screen shots as frequently as you want to.

You can help protect your child’s interest online by using the PC Screen Capture software. If you find any activity that is objectionable, you can take steps immediately. You can help teach your child to avoid the dangers that lurk on the Internet. If you have any resources and information related to this type of software, let us know in the comment section below.

The main concerns that EU Consumers Commissioner Meglena Kuneva targeted were related to potential breaches of privacy rules, the use of ‘pressure’ advertising and commercial discrimination. The reason why we need to act is “because from the point of view of commercial communications the World Wide Web is turning out to be the world “wild west”. And this could be very damaging” said Meglena Kuneva at Brussels in 31 March 2009.

Google did not delayed and come up with a reply, assuring that is committed to protect the privacy and to “gives users transparency, choice and control over the ads they will see”. With all this, Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes is the only person than can have an impact on the online advertising market even if she did not use it.

A new form of harassment seems to be introduced in our daily life: online harassment. A movie star from South Korea committed suicide because of the pressures and malicious comments that appeared systematically about her, online.
The actress was found dead in apartment or on Oct. 2. Police investigations conclusions were that she took her life because of the humiliation that she felt because of all online posting about her.
This tragedy revealed many such cases of suicides caused by harassment in the Cyberspace.

Cyberstalkers (as they were named) use a variety of techniques to harass their victims, including sending hostile e-mails, publishing falsehoods about them in chat rooms and Usenet postings and even posing as the victims in provocative Internet communications and e-mail messages to others.

And the cyberstalking problem appears to be getting worse, experts say. The cyberstalking phenomenon appears to be part of a “migration” of traditional crimes – including threats, child pornography, fraud, gambling and extortion — from the physical to the online world.

Many cases involve ex-spouses, former lovers or estranged relatives, but some cyberstalkers are strangers who have simply taken a dislike to their victims for some reason.

Below you can find 2007 Statistics about online harassment.

Age of Victim 18-30 28% 31-40 24% 41+ 29% Unk 19%
Gender of Victim Female 61% Male 21% Unk 18%
Gender of Harasser Male 39% Female 30% Unk 31%
Prior relationship with harasser? No 56% Yes 44%
If yes, what was the relationship? Ex 31% Online Acq 27% Friend 14% Family 13% Work 7% Roommate 3% Customer 3% School 1% Co-owner 1%
Were there threats of offline/physical violence? Yes 24%
Did victim report the harassment? Yes 59% No 41%
Source: WHO@

However we didn’t found any data here about those under 18 years harassed online. Maybe the parents reported for them, or maybe they didn’t tell anyone about what happened. Anyhow, more and more organizations publish online guides about privacy and online threats. You can find them at a simple web search.

If you notice any changes in your child’s behavior or you just suspect that his online activity can threat his safety, take action. Also if you suspect some of your online activities, take action. Let’s make sure that online harassment meets his fall.

Then, when I was doing some research for today’s article I thought that this issue could be good to discuss about it. And so I discovered that there are parents really concerned about their children activity on gaming and gambling sites.

Many kids use the Internet to play online games. But often when you use search engines to find game sites, you also find gambling sites. Banner ads and pop-ups for casinos are everywhere on the Web. While games sites are free and usually feature card, arcade, puzzle game types with automatic tracking and scoring, gambling sites involve winning or losing actual money.

Due to the nature of Internet, online gambling sites cannot physically check a visitor’s age or prevent them from accessing the site.
However after reading several online releases and visiting online gambling sites (yes I did that to see how `easy` can you sign up), we’ve come up with a list of things that us, as parents, can do to protect our children from online gambling risks.

1. Check where the kids are going online and what they’re doing;
2. Establish rules about what games they can play;
3. Remind them that it is illegal to gamble and explain them how usually gambling works and that it can be addictive;
4. Make sure you check every time they ask you about your credit card number or other personal/financial data;
5. If you use these kind of software, make sure you don’t use the `save password` feature;
6. Create separate profiles for children on your home PCs;
7. Use parental control software.