The Mobile Parent Blog

Linda Criddle from ilookbothways.com has written an article on how to choose devices for school kids keeping internet safety in mind. To read the full article, go to http://bit.ly/sVqwF

Here is an excerpt.

Laptops:

1. Don’t skimp on security and safety software. Install all the safety tools your child needs, such as antivirus, anti-spyware, a firewall, and age appropriate filtering tools. Remember that installing these tools is not enough – you must update security and safety software regularly to protect against new threats. Select auto-update settings to ensure the highest level of protection. Technology Tools
2. Leverage the safety settings within the services. Every service should have settings that allow you to limit exposure to others or to types of content. Browsing and searching
3. Protect your student’s laptop from theft. Laptop theft comes in two forms – theft of the information on the laptop, and theft of the laptop itself.
   1. To protect against information theft help your child establish a strong login password and teach him or her to log-off (password protect) the laptop whenever the laptop is left on its own.
   2. Laptops are easy to steal if left unattended for even a moment. Consider buying a laptop cable lock, so your child can physically lock it to something such as a desk. These locks typically cost between $15 and $35 dollars – far less than a replacement laptop.
4. Review the laptop’s features for safety. Of all laptop features, webcams are particularly problematic. Children often show poor judgment about the live video images they share. If the laptop you purchase has a webcam, set specific guidelines about how and when it can be used. Using webcams

Cell Phones:

1. Most cell phones today are small computers. In the same way you evaluate the online services and features your child can access on computers, you need to understand the phone’s features and the Internet services can their phone can access. Using mobile phones
2. Ensure that there are safeguards in place to protect your child. Does the phone have content filters? Can features be turned off?Using mobile phones What additional safeguards does the carrier provide? (Don’t be shy about asking and demanding answers).
3. Choose between a prepaid versus a monthly plan. Many parents like the financial accountability that a prepaid plan provides for their teens, however these plans usually don’t provide you with information about your teen’s calling activity like monthly plans do.
4. Understand how to track phone usage problems.
   1. If your student is overly tired in the mornings or is sneaking out at night, check the times of day that calls and text messages are occurring (monthly cell phone bills provide this information). If there is a problem, solve it by taking charge of the phone at bedtime and returning it in the morning.
   2. Check for inappropriate use during school hours: when texting and cheating can be issues. Address these directly by establishing clear consequences.

According to a news report from Symantec, these are the top 10 serach terms among kids for the period from February through July:

1. YouTube
2. Google
3. Facebook
4. Sex
5. MySpace
6. Porn
7. Yahoo
8. Michael Jackson
9. Fred
10. eBay

Many parents are aware of the results these search terms may bring to their kids. Mobicip’s(www.mobicip.com) safe browser and web monitor allow parents to monitor their kids online activities and keep a tab on which websites they visit and  consistently provide a safer internet life.

Common Sense Media released results of an internet survey, “Is Social Networking Changing Childhood?”

Common Sense Media released the results of a national poll of teens and parents on social networking behaviors. The poll, conducted by The Benenson Strategy Group, illustrated that kids increasingly connect with friends, classmates, and people with similar interests through social networks – and that parents are out of the loop.  According to the poll’s key findings, teens admit to many behaviors while using social networks:

-    22% of teens check social networking sites more than 10 times a day, while only 4% of parents believe kids are checking that much
-    28% have shared personal information that they normally wouldn’t have shared in public
-    25% have shared a profile with a false identity
-    39% have posted something they regretted

A federal investigation in Tennessee has revealed the ease at which a home WiFi network can be hacked. A resident from Clarksville, Tennessee has received and attempted to distribute more than 1,700 images of child pornography through the unsecured wireless network of another Clarksville resident.

Reading this story makes us wonder how safe our home wireless networks are. A news release from the Middle Tennessee district US Attorney’s office said “The fact Olivas (the accused) was using a third party’s unsecured wireless access point to download images of children being victimized highlights the danger to citizens of failing to secure their wireless networks”. With an open wireless network, it is not only easy for anybody to hack into the network, but they can access confidential information on home computers if they are not secure.

Another way for hackers to get our confidential information is when we use our mobile devices like laptops, netbooks or smartphones in public WiFi hotspots. Most of the publicly available WiFi spots like libraries do not have secure wireless connections. If we use these connections and access our personal information like bank accounts from our personal devices, hackers can break into the communication path and get our confidential information.

Services like Mobicip www.mobicip.com prevents such intrusion on mobile devices in WiFi hotspots. Through their inherently-built secure channels, they create a secure tunnel which makes our communications safe even with unsecured websites. Mobicip services are currently available for iPhone, iPod Touch and Netbooks.

Jennifer Martinez at GigaOm comments on a study conducted by MTV’s Nickelodeon. You can find the original article here, but here is an excerpt. We feel good that we are solving an important problem that parents worry about!

While most kids are using their parents’ iPhones or iPod touches at home, parents are also forking them over while they’re waiting for appointments or sitting in the car. More often than not, kids are using them to play games — a usage for which parents, the study found, are “willing or eager” to pay for. We wonder whether this will cut into the market share of handheld video game devices, such as Nintendo’s DS or Sony’s PSP. More importantly, what’s the appropriate age at which to buy your kids an iPhone or iPod touch of their own? Parents, please weigh in with your thoughts.

Some other interesting facts from the study:

• A whopping 98 percent of parents find the iPod touch kid-friendly, while 84 percent said the same for the iPhone.

• Most parents supervise their kids’ use of the iPod touch and iPhone.

• Parents’ biggest concern with their kids using the iPhone or iPod touch is they may view “inappropriate or unsafe content.”

When talking to several parents, I understand that YouTube is most popular even among their youngest elementary school going kids. Like the saying goes,  ”A picture is worth a thousand words”, a video is worth a million words. To envision anything, for example, a woodpecker bird, the pictures in the books and photographs are not just enough to quench the child’s curiosity.

In the era of YouTube, one could easily search for videos and kids get captivated by the videos that show the life of a woodpecker. This gives the feeling of a field trip without actually going to the zoo or a bird sanctuary.

However, Youtube field trips do require adult supervision. While YouTube has become a popular and fascinating destination for many of today’s tech-savvy parents, finding video appropriate for children is tricky business. We could easily bump into videos that are age inappropriate including pornographic and violent content.  Youtube’s policy prohibits inappropriate content but still some off-color content may show up.

Undoubtedly, watching online video clips is becoming a popular activity and it serves as a platform for children to learn new things. But extreme precautionary steps should be taken by parents to protect them from inappropriate content when online.

Social networking, one of the most recent internet phenomena to meet people has broken barriers of age, culture, and language. It has become a huge success as it has allowed people to share their views about any subject that they care about. With the click of a button, anyone can find someone else with similar interests and make friends, even someone from across the globe.

So, it comes as no surprise that social networking websites have become quite popular among teenagers. The attractive looking web pages make it easy for the kids to own an account and write about themselves. The websites also allow them to keep track of their friends and even get updates on what they are up to.

But, when using these sites, teenagers don’t realize that once they share information online, it becomes public and accessible to anyone in the world. So, it is very important that they know the risks involved in revealing personal information.

• First, they should not lie about their age as most of the social networking sites require age limits to get a membership. This clearly means the website is not intended for their age group.
• If they share any personal information like their home or school address or their phone numbers online, it will create an opportunity for a child-predator to seek them out.
• They should not post any pictures of themselves that they don’t want the public to see or those that might embarrass them.

Finally, parents should ensure that they talk to their children about the safe use of internet. They should make kids understand that their parents are their closest confidante and should seek their help if they come across any suspicious online activity involving themselves or a newly-met online buddy.