The emergence of the internet, and associated technologies like
email and instant messaging, present problems for today's
parents that were unimaginable just twenty years ago. Children
use computers for homework, surf the web at their leisure and
socialize through instant messaging - all activities that are
often outside direct parental control and by themselves leave
little or no record of their occurrence.
Some parents attempt to solve the problem by banning computer
use entirely or allowing it only when a parent directly
supervises, but most find this is not a realistic solution and
places their child at an academic and social disadvantage
compared to other children. On the other hand, unfettered access
to a computer with access to the internet poses real dangers to
children. Consider the following: * Computer-sex offenders
almost always meet potential victims in instant message chat
rooms. Chat rooms grant these predators anonymity and a belief
their instant messages are not monitored or recorded.
* The average age of first exposure to pornography is over the
internet is 11 years old.
* The FBI recommends you monitor your child's access to all
types of live electronic communications, including instant
message and email.
* One out of five children were aggressively pushed to have
face-to-face meetings with strangers in the last year, often via
instant messaging.
* Because young people often find instant messaging easier than
talking face to face, they often say things they wouldn't say in
person. Cyber-bullying has become a new form of harassment.
* While online predators usually gradually seduce their targets
through attention, affection, kindness, and even gifts, some
predators work faster than others, engaging in sexually explicit
conversations immediately.
Many parents are finding an acceptable middle-ground between no
supervision at all and direct personal control of their
children's computer use is to use inexpensive and readily
available keylogger software. Keylogger software monitors a
child's actions on the computer and stores this information for
later review by a parent. Quality varies, but keylogger software
is usually easy to install and setup, requires no advanced
knowledge by the user, and often can be purchased for less than
$30( one vendor of keylogging software is PCSentinel Software -
www.pcsentinelsoftware.com ). Outside of physically being
present and watching while a child uses the computer, keylogger
software is the only way for a parent to know exactly how their
child is using their computer.
Unfortunately, some parents are reluctant to use keylogger
software because they feel they are they are spying on their
children, or that their children are good kids and don't require
this level of supervision. However, the fact remains that even
"good" or "smart" children are still just children and often
make, or can be induced to make, very bad choices with awful
consequences. Even savvy children who feel they are protecting
their private information from strangers in chat rooms often
don't realize how much personal information they may reveal over
many conversations - and predators are known to keep detailed
files on their victims, often piecing together small bits of
information gathered over many conversations to construct an
outline of a child's daily routine and whereabouts.
Ultimately, it is hard to argue that keylogging software is not
a necessary tool for every parent with children who have access
to the internet. Simply put, it is the parent's responsibility
to know with certainty what is going on in their children's
lives - and given the dangers of unmonitored internet access the
only way parents really know how their children are using their
computer is through keylogging software.
About the author:
Michael Ryan owns and operates
PCSentinel
Software, developer of easy-to-use keylogger software such
as
PCSentin
el's Busted: Keylogger and Instant Message Monitor and
PC
