Protecting Your Family’s Soul and Safety Online

Ernest Staats Technology DirectorMS Information Assurance, CISSP, MCSE, CNA, CWNA, CCNA, Security+, I-Net+, Network+, Server+, A+

erstaats@gcasda.org

Resources available @

http://www.es-es.net/2.html

Outline

• Golden Rules • Cyber Predators• Factors That Increase Risk Online • Cyber Bullying • Identity Theft • Securing Your Online Connections • Social Networking• What Is Posted About Your Family Online • Common Chat Terms to Know• Bypass Internet Filters• Resources

Golden Rules for Parents

1. Keep Internet in public space as much as possible

2. Spend “cybertime” with your child

3. Teach Internet rules & consequences—parent your values online

4. Limit time—keep kids busy beyond screens

5. Talk to your child about what they are doing

6. Stay involved

Golden Rules to Teach

1. Rules from “real” life apply: courtesy, kindness, modesty, dignity, respect for the law and for others, etc.

2. Don’t talk to strangers

3. Keep your private information private

4. Never agree to meet an online friend without your parents

5. There are no guarantees that what you say or post on the Internet is private

Golden Rules to Teach

6. Information (including photos, videos, etc.) posted on the Internet can last forever

7. Tell your parents if you encounter something uncomfortable

8. Don’t reply to unknown screen names on IM

9. Never open e-mail from strangers or click on any attachments

10. Find the “good” online – good friends, good Web sites, good games – and enjoy

Cyber Predators

• Befriend

• Lure

• Make contact- that is their goal

MySpace the worry. Easily tracked

Cyber Predators Statistics

• “…A child goes missing every 40 seconds in the U.S, over 2,100 per day” (OJJDP)

• In 2005 662,196 children were reported lost, runaway, or kidnapped (ncmec)

• 2/3 of all missing children reports were for youths aged 15-17 (ncmec)

• 2/5 missing children ages 15-17 are abducted due to Internet activity (ICAC)

• Do the math--over 2 million teens age 15-17 are abducted due to Internet activity

Befriending Techniques

• Chat room, IM, networking sites, blogs

• Portrays same age, same likes, same dislikes

• Portrays age-typical awkwardness

• Begins to share some secrets

• E-mail

• Telephone (which can be faked)

• Webcamming (which can be faked)

• Verbal chat on Internet (which can be faked)

• Are patient when developing a relationship

Six Steps to Luring

• Based loosely on the “Missing Game” available online at www.livewwwires.com 1. Just like you –

befriending offer attention and affection

2. Develops trust –sympathizes, while reinforcing feelings of alienation

3. Establishes secrecy -- obtain incriminating evidence

Six Steps to Luring

4. Erodes barriers -- the “honeymoon phase”

5. Direct intimidation -- guilt and threats used as coercion to meet them or give more information

6. Face-to-face meeting --the truth emerges

Eluding Internet Predators• Keep usernames and profiles generic and anonymous

– Discuss your child’s online screen name(s), profile(s), and activities. Many provide too much personal information. Ensure all screen names and profiles are non-specific, non-suggestive, and purposely vague.

• Avoid posting personal photos

– Pictures can be altered to embarrass or humiliate. They also provide personal information that can help an Internet predator pretend to know you, your children, and/or their friends.

• Always keep private information private– With just three pieces of personal information, specialized

Internet search engines can be used to locate someone anywhere. Internet conversations should never include any personal information.

Eluding Internet Predators• Keep the computer in an open area

– A responsible adult should always accompany minors while they access the Internet to provide support and direction should they be confronted with an aggressive solicitation or inappropriate materials.

• Respect children’s privacy– Respect your child’s privacy, but make certain they

personally know everyone on their e-mail “buddy” list. Work to generate parent-child trust that supports open and honest Internet use. Ripping out the computer once they tell you they came across porn will destroy the lines of communication.

• Be part of your child’s online experience– It can be a fun journey to explore the wonders of the

Internet as a family. As computer-savvy as kids and teens are today, they will certainly teach you a thing or two!

Revealing Too Much

• Personal information that can lead a predator to your doorstepName Age Birthday Phone

NumberSchedule School Location

Photos and videos should never be posted online if they

show– Backgrounds that reveal identifying

information– Sexually provocative poses– Too much skin

Indicators of High Risk

• More technical knowledge than parents• Teens who feel they are not listened to• Do not feel like they are getting enough

attention • Do not communicate about who or what they

are doing online• Deleting computer’s Internet history• Minimize screen or switch to another screen

quickly when someone comes in the room• Unexplained phone calls• Unexplained absences • Unexpected gifts

Risky Behavior

• Posting photos online• Meeting people online that you do not know

in the real world• Online accounts with suggestive names• Talking about parties online• Having blogs and other public online

discussions (HR and college acceptance boards are now

using these to screen people) • Expressing heated/strong opinions

Understand Risk Factors

• 30% of teenage girls polled by the Girl Scout Research Institute said they had been sexually harassed in a chat room

• Only 7 %, however, told their mothers or fathers about the harassment, as they were worried that their parents would ban them from going online (Girl Scout Research Institute 2002)

• 47% of children have received e-mails with links to pornographic websites (Symantec market research report, June 2005)

Understand Risk Factors, cont.

• Online teens admit that they frequently communicate with people they have never met: 54% have instant messaged a stranger, 50% have e-mailed a stranger, and 45% have participated in a chat room discussion with a stranger (Teen Research Unlimited, “Topline Findings from Omnibuss Research,” October 2005).

• 28% of teens said they use code words on a daily basis to hide their online conversations from their parents – example: “PIR” means “parent in room”, P9, P911, or 911(Teen Research Unlimited, “Topline Findings from Omnibuss Research,” October 2005.). WW Kids

Things to Think About

• What personal information is your child placing on blogs and personal WebPages?

• www.google.com www.myfamily.com

• www.zoominfo.com

• www.alltheweb.com www.zabasearch.com

Cyber Bullying

• Often has a stronger impact on teenagers as they have turned to the Internet because they need social affirmation

• Can be done by anyone speaking harshly to someone else online

• Often follows online chatting while angry

Identity Theft

• Any request for information that comes in e-mail is to be suspect. Call your bank or credit card company first, and do not click on the link. Do not use the phone number sent in the e-mail.

• Any phone request for more info is also suspect. So question them first and hang up. Then call the institution to make sure they were calling (be careful of any information given out).

• Check the website before you do business with them. Make sure the SSL connection is good.

Identity Theft Protection• Monitor you and your child’s credit report regularly

– Obtain your credit report at least once a year by phoning either Equifax, Experian, or Trans Union, and look carefully for any unusual or fraudulent activity. Their contact information is on the Internet. Check for FREE at www.annualcreditreport.com/

– Child ID theft is a large and growing market. CNN September 14, 2006

• Beware of all requests for your personal information online– Criminals copy logos perfectly to trick you. Legitimate

companies never send unsolicited requests for personal information. Never give out personal information unless you initiate the correspondence.

• Shred documents before putting them in the trash– Bank statements, credit card offers, utility bills, and documents

with Social Security or account numbers can be retrieved from your trash by ID thieves, so make a habit of tearing them up before tossing them.

Identity Theft Protection

• Install a locking mailbox or use the post office– Criminals often obtain the information they need

by intercepting mail in unlocked street mailboxes. Only send and receive bills, checks, or other personal correspondence from a secure location.

• Limit the amount of personal information you carry in your purse or wallet

• Protect your information online by using a firewall, virus protection, and secure Internet browser

• Place a fraud alert on your credit– If you have lost your wallet, purse, Social

Security card, or passport, or suspect you are a potential victim of ID theft, contact each of the three credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union) for assistance.

Securing Your Online Connections

• 1. Protect your personal information -- Don’t reply to or click on links in any email asking for your personal information

• 2. Know who you’re dealing with -- When shopping online, look for a seller’s physical address and a working telephone number. Before downloading free software, read the fine print —some downloads come with spyware

• 3. Use anti-virus software and a firewall, and check for updates daily

• 4. Be sure to set up your operating system, applications and Web browser software properly, and update them regularly (configure windows/Linux/MAC’s to run automatic updates)

Securing Your Online Connections

• 5. Protect your passwords. Keep your passwords in a secure place, and don’t share them on the Internet, over e-mail, or on the phone (use long passwords) (put one on your administrator account)

• 6. Back up and consider encrypting important files. If you have important files stored on your computer, copy them onto a removable disc and store it in a safe place.

• 7. Remember, being online is the same as being in the worst high crime neighborhood, so be street smart when online.

• 8. Secure your wireless connections; see more info at www.es-es.net

• 9. Turn off unnecessary services• 10. Turn off file and print sharing if you do not need them

Securing your Online connections• Install and keep up-to-date anti-virus, anti-spyware, and

firewall– Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=AD724AE0-E72D-4F54-9AB3-75B8EB148356&displaylang=en

– CCleaner (Free) http://www.ccleaner.com/download/

– Anti-Spyware – A-Squared (free) http://download5.emsisoft.com/a2FreeSetup.exe

– AVG Free http://free.grisoft.com/

• Use Commercial Web Filtering Software– Free - http://www.k9webprotection.com/

– Net Nanny (2007 best) http://www.netnanny.com/

• Check internet cache– @winspy (free) http://www.acesoft.net/winspy

• Spector Pro to track everything done on a PC http://www.spectorsoft.com/products/SpectorPro_Windows

Check Files on Computer

• Look at the online handout on how to check computer history files to find what has been surfed. Also check the settings and documents in My documents to see what is on their account.

• Undelete files with Restoration or PC Inspector File recovery to find out what your child has deleted. Look for files in the recycle bin and ones that have been deleted.

File-sharing

• Download and share media with P2P

Music Movies Videos Photos

• It’s illegal to share copyrighted materials without permission

• It’s easy to unknowingly download or distribute viruses and illegal material

File-Sharing Programs

What is Social Networking?

Social Networking Sites

• Enhance communication skills

– Improve writing skills

– Spark creativity

– Help teens develop a personal identity and express themselves

– Keep in touch with friends and family

Networking Sites

• MySpace has twice the number of views Google gets a day, for a total of almost 13 million a day. To put that in perspective, that’s 4,475 views a second.5

• MySpace gets 150,000 new users a day, the vast majority of whom (90%) are people claiming to be between 14-24 years old.5

Safer Social Networking

• Make our own profile and add your children as friends

• Learn the site’s safety features

• Have children use privacy settings

• Examine their list of friends and browse their friends’ pages

Real-Life Consequences

• Profiles and blogs are not only viewed by your friends, but also by

– Parents and relatives

– Teachers and principals

– Colleges and universities

– Employers– ONLINE PREDATORES-- when a predator starts

grooming a child, he looks for vulnerability, and with a diary or blog right there, he's already gotten past the first stage.”13

If is on the Internet. IT IS NOT PRIVATE

MySpace Tracking

BeNetSafe™ 12 Features Include: – Automated technology tracks your

children's activities online.– Red flags activities that may be

dangerous. Compatible with popular teen sites such as MySpace and Xanga.

– Nothing to download. Simply sign in online!

– 24/7 monitoring to chaperone your children when you can't. Works with any computer or operating system.

MySpaceWatch.com 12

• MySpaceWatch.com is a service that allows you to monitor login activity, track profile changes, and keep a running history of up to 5 myspace.com profiles. Are you a parent who banned your child from myspace only to see that they keep logging on, or are keeping multiple accounts?

• Free Account Sign-Up Now – Monitor 1 profile – Profile is crawled twice daily – View up to 25 of a profile's friends

• Pro Account Sign-Up Now – Monitor up to 5 profiles – Profile is crawled every 6 hours – View up to 100 of a profile's friends

SafeSpacers.com 12

• They offer anonymous monitoring of your child’s MySpace profile

• The kids will have no idea someone is watching and reporting on their profile

• Receive periodic reports rating critical areas of potential dangers

• In the report, the parent will be informed of the concerns found on the profile (i.e. sex, drugs, smoking, drinking, inappropriate pictures, too much information, possible pedophile contact, etc.)

• Immediate e-mail alerts to parents if a pedophile is in contact with your child

• Know what your child is doing on MySpace without being a snoop

• We use a method of positive peer pressure to push your kids to be safer! We contact them with our own personal MySpace profiles. That way, it’s coming from a peer and not an adult or company.

Data Mining with Google

• Google search string

– site:myspace.com “SSN”– site:myspace.com “birthday”– site:myspace.com “Hate my parents” 31,100 hits– site:myspace.com "phone number“– Place name in quotation marks (use variations)

• “First (Jon) Last”• Legal First (Jonathan) Last”• “First MI Last”• Use groups.google.com and google.com/alerts

to look for• your child's name in newsgroups (address,

phone number and other personal information)• Go to my website for a Google search tutorial

– http://www.es-es.net/2.html

Common Chat Terms

• POS --Parents are looking over my shoulder• POTS -- Parents over the shoulder (my parents are watching; I

can't really talk)• P911 -- My parents are in the room. P = Parents, and 911 =

emergency; in other words, either drop the subject or watch the language

• WTGP-- Want to go private? (move to a private chat room)• a/s/l or asl - - Age/Sex/Location -- (used to ask a chatter their

personal information)• GGOH --Gotta get outta here• OLL --Online love• GTR --Got to run• TNT --'Til next time• LMIRL-- Let's meet in real life

Bypassing Filters

– Go to AltaVista’s BabbleFish site• Key in the URL of a porn site and ask BabbleFish to

translate it into English (even though the site is already in English).

– Changing their browser’s proxy• Using an anonymizer: Use Google to find CGI proxies

which are harder to control than common php proxies; highschoolproxy.com, and too many others

– Use software to find and destroy filtering software on local PC’s

– Turn off filtering software on local PC– Conducting picture searches at Google, AltaVista, or

other search engines including UK version of the search engine

– THE TRUTH IS THAT FILTERING SOFTWARE KIND OF WORKS AND KIND OF DOESN’T

• To get around your blocking software:       1. First, try a circumvention site like https://www.StupidCensorship.com/

• 2. If that doesn't work, you can join our e-mail list where we mail out new circumventor sites every 3 or 4 days.

• 3. If you have a computer with an uncensored Internet connection, you can follow these easy steps to set up your own circumventor site.

• 4. If you're trying to get around blocking software that's installed on the local computer and not on the network, use these instructions to boot from the Ubuntu Live CD.

Bypassing Filters PeaceFire

• Carbon:

– Open the lines of communication

• Hardware:

– USB Trackers-

– Phone Trackers-

Extreme Measures

Extreme Measures

• Software:– Spector Pro is used for monitoring and recording

every detail of PC and Internet activity – in your home or in your office

– Selected as the Editors’ Choice by the experts at PC Magazine, Spector Pro records every detail of what they do on the computer – their chats, instant messages, e-mails, the web sites they visit, what they search for, what they do on MySpace, the pictures they post and look at, the keystrokes they type, the programs they run

– It’s advanced surveillance screen snapshot features, you get to see not only WHAT they do, but the EXACT order in which they do it, step by step

Resources• All resources and more at my website (bottom of page) • http://www.es-es.net/2.html

– Chat Abbreviation -PDF-Download

– Cleaning Your Windows Computer -PDF-Download

– Free Software for Home Users -PDF-Download

– How to Check Your Computers History -PDF-Download 

– I-Educator -PDF-Download

– Internet Safety for Kids -PDF-Download

– Internet terms -PDF-Download

– Internet Safety Plan -PDF-Download

– Internet Safety Tips for Parents -PDF-Download

– Secure Mac step by Step -PDF-Download

– Tracking People around town -PDF-Download

• Internet Safety for Kids link list– www.packet-level.com/Kids is very graphic – www.webwisekids.com has excellent resources for parents

Good Resources

• www.netfamilynews.org Quality and current “nonprofit news service for “kid-tech

news.” Based on the premise that informal, engaged parenting is essential to kids’ constructive use of technology and the Net.”

• www.pbs.org/parents/growingwithmediaProvides information on how media “can shape your child’s development and what you can do to create a media-literate household.”

• www.safekids.comProvides a “guide to making the Internet and Technology fun, safe, and productive.”

• www.besafeonline.org Advice and information about Internet safety for parents and

teachers, plus opportunities to discuss problems and share solutions.

Good Resources

• www.getnetwise.org GetNetWise is a public service created by Internet industry

corporations and public interest groups with the goal of having “Internet users be only one click away from the resources they need to make informed decisions about their and their family's use of the Internet.”

• www.netsmartz.org Created by the National Center for Missing & Exploited

Children and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, “the NetSmartz Workshop is an interactive, educational safety resource to teach kids and teens how to stay safer on the Internet.”

• www.kids.us Kids.us is an Internet domain where “affiliated sites are

regularly screened and monitored” so that “parents and children can trust the sites to provide educational and appropriate online fun.”

Good Resources

• www.commonsensemedia.org Provides family-friendly reviews of media (TV,

film, music, Web sites, games, and books) and parent tips on “healthy media diets” for families.

• www.netmom.org Run by the author of Net-mom's Internet Kids

& Family Yellow Pages, a family-friendly directory to 3,500 of the best children's resources the Internet has to offer, this site highlights good sites for kids and provides safety tips for parents

Software Recommendation Sites

• The Safe Side – Stranger Safety Video– http://www.thesafeside.com/

• Darkness to Light – 7 Steps to Protecting Our Children– http://www.darkness2light.org/

• Cyberbully Resources– http://www.teenangels.org/ – http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html

• Google Alerts– http://www.google.com/alerts

• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children– http://www.ncmec.org/

• Son, Call Me Big Brother– http://wired.com/wired/archive/14.07/start.html?pg=8

• Warning: Adults Only– http://wired.com/wired/archive/14.04/adults.html

• Family Watchdog – National Sex Offender Search– http://www.familywatchdog.us

Software Recommendation Sites

• Search for your local FBI field office– http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm

• A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety– http://www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm

• Kidz Privacy– http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/kidzprivacy/adults.htm

• CyberTip Line, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children– http://www.missingkids.com/cybertip/

• Safe Surfing with your Family, Safe Surfing Checklist– http://www.yahooligans.com/parents/checklist.html

• Safeguards, Computer safety tips for your home and child– http://www.enough.org/safeguards.htm

• Tips for Parents to Protect Children from Internet Predators, Guidelines for Parents– http://www.safekids.com/parent_guidelines.htm

• Kids Rules for Online Safety– http://www.safekids.com/myrules.htm

• Rules in Cyberspace– http://www.cybercrime.gov/rules/kidinternet.htm

• Cyberbullying– http://cyberbully.org/

• Chat Slang– http://www.web-friend.com/help/lingo/chatslang.html

• NetLingo– http://www.netlingo.com/

Bibliography

1. Tapscott, The N’ Generation, 1998: 1-2.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071347984/103-7584413-9423004?v=glance&n=283155

2. World Youth Report 2005http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/wyr05.htm

3. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation Study, 3/05 4. Kaiser Family Foundation

http://www.kff.org/

5. Numsum Myspace Statswww.numsum.com

6. Media Central “The Buzz”7. http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Teens_Report.pdf

8. The National Youth Agencywww.nya.org.uk

9. The Search Agencyhttp://www.thesearchagency.com/ResourceLibrary/search_engine_stat.aspx?sCatId=2

10. Internet Addiction by Wendi Kannenberg http://gien.adventist.org/forum2006/presentations/kannenberg-online-addictions.pdf

11. Internet Safety for Kids www.packet-level.com/kids

12. US News and World Report – Special Report- September 18,2006www.usnes.com

13. 'Predator's Playground‘? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11065951/site/newsweek/

14. Decoding MySpace http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060910/18myspace_5.htm