The Mobile Parent Blog

Blurb from an article written by Mobicip CEO , Suren Ramasubbu, for Huffington Post:

Internet filtering and parental control products may not be preferred by every parent. Many parents choose to simply discuss appropriate usage with their children; many others use Internet filtering products as training wheels until they feel confident. While the decision makers who purchase and setup the software are parents or school administrators, the actual end users whose browsing behavior is being monitored are children — a highly targeted demographic for marketers and companies that want to sell products to them.

At Mobicip.com, a parental control and Internet filtering service for the iPhone and iPod Touch, we have stayed away from using data on our user behavior for any purpose, mainly due to the arguably ethical and potential PR issues associated with it. This is not a new controversy.

To read the entire article, visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/suren-ramasubbu/internet-filtering-softwa_b_287927.html

Good news for folks that have an older iPod Touch. Apple has lowered the price to upgrade iPod Touch software to the latest version.

Prior to this price drop, upgrades were priced at $9.99. iPhone OS 3.1 upgrade is available for $4.95. This price drop coincided with the overall price drop for all iPods announced at the Apple Rock and Roll event on Wednesday.

While Mobicip continues to support older OS versions, we highly recommend that parents upgrade the OS since it includes advanced parental control features that were not available in the 2.x and earlier versions.

Child Protection Week promotes the belief that it is everyone’s responsibility to make their community child friendly.

Child Protection Week is coordinated nationally by the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN Incorporated) and, in Queensland, by the Child Protection Week Committee, comprising representatives from a range of government and non-government agencies concerned with child protection issues.

Promoting the value of children and focusing attention on the issues of child abuse and neglect, the objectives of Child Protection Week are to:

• raise the profile of all issues connected with child protection, including child abuse prevention, treatment, research, education, service provision and support for children, young people and families
• create a statewide umbrella focus for child protection allowing government and non-government agencies to present a cooperative and coordinated community oriented campaign
• support and value professionals and volunteer child protection workers by providing ‘best practice’ training and a forum to exchange ideas and information
• offer a framework to recognise advances in the field, and thereby contribute to better outcomes for all children and young people, especially those who have been harmed or are at risk of harm.

Parents are a weak link in the chain of defences intended to safeguard children from online sexual predators, says the senior policeman responsible for child protection on the internet.

Too many parents prefer to hide behind technological ignorance rather than engage with advice about how to protect their children from internet threats.

Jim Gamble, head of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), told The Times that parents talked about the need to keep children safe online but did not act on the advice available to them.

To read the full article, go here http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6823929.ece

There are hundreds of websites that provide information on online safety for teens and kids. However, not all young people are educated on online safety tips and how to keep them safe on the internet.

Almost a quarter of seven- to 16-year-olds say no one has talked to them about online safety according to research by communications watchdog Ofcom.

The watchdog interviewed 747 children and young people and found 54 per cent wanted more advice on online privacy, while a fifth wanted information on how to deal with cyberbullying and 28 per cent wanted information on how to keep passwords and other security information safe.

The research also found that children are increasingly accessing the internet via mobile phones. For iPhone and iPOD Touch users, Mobicip is the most popular content filtering and parental control solution available on the iPhone App Store. Parents can provide a safe browser on their kids iphone as an alternative to Safari and also setup a web monitoring system where the filter settings can be customized.

National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children published a Parent’s guide to Internet Safety prepared from actual investigations involving child victims, as well as investigations where law enforcement officers posed as children.

Below listed are some of the signs that your child might be at risk online.

1. Your child spends large amounts of time on-line, especially at night.

2. You find pornography on your child’s computer.

3.Your child receives phone calls from men you don’t know or is making calls, sometimes long distance, to numbers you don’t recognize.

4.Your child receives mail, gifts, or packages from someone you don’t know.

5.Your child turns the computer monitor off or quickly changes the screen on the monitor when you come into the room.

6.Your child becomes withdrawn from the family.

7.Your child is using an on-line account belonging to someone else.

You can read the entire guide in http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm.

Microsoft is attempting to provide a critical solution through their new online safety website to increase online safety, through education.

“Microsoft has been very active in providing online safety information for over a decade. Our newest effort is our redesigned Consumer Online Safety Education website at www.microsoft.com/protect. This site is designed for parents, caregivers, and educators to find the latest information on a number of online safety topics,” reads a message from a member of the Microsoft Privacy Team.

Microsoft’s new website is designed to offer users the necessary resources to protect their machines, themselves and their families. In this regard, the main areas of interest are related to avoiding online fraud and to enforcing data protection. Microsoft has an entire corner of the Consumer Online Safety Education website dedicated to getting security support. The section offers users a range of resources from free PC scans to individual chat support.

“All of the content has been updated to address “Web 2.0” safety topics, including spoof websites, online donation scams, public Wi-Fi safety, online reputation management, cyberbullying, social networks, and blogging. Other new features include: Resources – including safety brochures and event planning guides. Community section – featuring online forums and top safety bloggers. Comics – covering topics such as cyberbullying and privacy. Videos – safety PSA and other educational materials,” the Microsoft Privacy Team representative added.