TV New Report on What Child Predators Look For

The aired on Fox 9 News in Minnesota on the 28th of February.  Good report on what child predators are looking for and some points that parents need to consider.  The video is about 10 minutes long but worth watching.

Interesting Law Proposed in Arizona on Text Messages

A law being proposed in Arizona will give parents the ability to view the texts messages from their children's cell phones.  This is the first such law being proposed and frankly I think its a good idea.  Parents should have the ability to see these messages.  Its so easy now days for kids to get in trouble via Cyberbullying, Sexting or being involved with online predators.  As it stands now, if their child is having such issues they need to get law enforcement involved and get a court order to view the messages.  This can take days to happen. If you child is missing or being harassed by someone time can be critical. 

The law would allow the phone company to charge a fee for the service which would curtail constant searching by prying parents, but allow parents of children that have gone missing or are being bullied to find out what is going on and hopefully prevent someone from being harmed.   These tools already exist through a variety of phone companies and services so its not opening a door that is locked, the law would make it easier for parents to find the handle and open the door. 

Googe + Allows 13 yr Olds to Register

Google+ announced that they are now allowing 13 yr olds to register for their social network.  The reality is, many kids are getting accounts by saying they are older anyway.   What this does mean is that parents need to be more vigilant about their child's online activities.  Google+ allows the account holder to create "circles".   These circles are a great tool to limit what your friends can see.  By placing your friends in circles you can control what they can see of your postings.  You can create as many circles as you like.  Typically, you would create one for family, work associates, school friends, etc.   As a parent, you need to set the rules that you will be a member of all of their circles.  If you are only in your child's  family circle you cannot see what is going on in their other circles.  If your kids are using Google+ take a look at how it works, make sure you can see what is happening in their world. 

Passwords and Personal Identity

The Zappo's data hack is a great reminder for us all that we should not be using the same password for all of our accounts.  If you haven't heard, 24 million Zappo's customers data was hacked and is in unknown hands.  The data includes your name, email address, password, last four numbers of the credit card used and other personal data.  Zappo's has voided all passwords on their site to protect their customers from unwanted purchases on their site.

If you have bought anything from the Zappo's site, you need to think about changing your password on all of your accounts that use the same password as the one you used at Zappo's.  It's real easy for anyone with your password and email address to go shopping on the Internet.  So here are a few tips for online shoppers:

• Use unique passwords for every account.  We all know it's a hassle to remember all of them and there are encrypted programs that can help you maintain a list of them. But much less hassle than if your identity is stolen. 
• Don't store your Credit Card information on the site to facilitate speedy check out.  
• Consider a separate email account to use for shopping purposes only.  Limit your exposure to your other financial accounts. 
• Only supply credit card or personal information on secure sites.  The url should start out https://....
• Don't click on links in emails that you don't expect or don't know the sender.  People are very good at creating emails that appear to come from the companies you do business with.  Your banks and will never ask you to reply with a password to an email. 
• Use the links you have used in the past to go to a site.  Enter it yourself or use your bookmarks to access your accounts.  Not links in emails.  

Remember, you have to be proactive in protecting your identity.  Change your passwords regularly and always reconcile any statements you get.  

Tools for parents who gave tech gifts this holiday season

Ok, the holidays are over, the kids are back in school, and you are getting back to your normal routine. If you gave your kids tech gifts like IPads, Nooks, Smartphones or anything along those lines your kids routines have changed. Yours need to also. With the technology come responsibility, both for kids and parents. The parents need to establish some guidelines and what is acceptable use of the new tool. Common Sense media has put together a great list of things to consider with the variety of technology gifts that have been given to our kids. Click on the Blog title to go their site and read up on their suggestions.

A good suggestion is to add Common Sense Media to your favorites list or subscribe to their mailings. They do a great job of putting some common sense back in to raising kids in today's technological jungle.

Online Internet Safety Course

With the holidays, many homes have new games, cell phones or some type of smart device that has internet access. If you have kids that will have the ability to access the Internet through some of these services for the first time. As parents, you have the responsibility to make sure they have a safe experience while online. Since you can't be with them every time they are accessing the net you need to give them the knowledge and direction on what is acceptable behavior from them while online and the tools on how to handle the situation if someone approaches them or exposes them to sexual content.

Now you can take an online course on Internet safety and give yourself the tools to have the conversation with your kids that gives them the tools to protect themselves. Internet Safety - Protecting Children in an Online World is an online course that will assist with keeping your family safe while online.

Facebook New Timeline

Facebook is going through major changes in the look and feel again. All to remain competitive and leverage their earnings potential. They say its to give us a better experience but the reality is Facebook, and every other social network, is out to maximize their earnings. We all must be vigilant about protecting our identity, what is out there for everyone to find. Take the time to go through your Facebook Privacy settings again, you should do this often, especially after you migrate to Timeline. Make sure that your settings are such that only people that you approve of can access your pictures and updates. Don't give others access to your pictures and personal information. Identity theft and online scams continue to rise. Don't give these people the information they need to target you. Keep your information private and don't give third party applications access to your Facebook account. Click the title link above for Facebook's video on the time line.

If you haven't done so lately, use Google, Spokeo, PiPl, Bing or whatever search service you are familiar with and search about yourself. Run your name, screen names and email addresses and see what others can find out about you without spending a cent. Keep in mind for those that are willing to spend a few dollars, the amount and type of info is staggering. Your drivers license number and social security number for example are easily found.

You are the first line of defense in protecting your personal identity.