Internet Predators

The recent rash of arrests by online police detectives searching for Internet predators is causing some adults to experience a false sense of security. Assertions like "they must be stupid" to prey on children are becoming more commonplace, insinuating that Internet predators are easier to catch than they are.

Here's what they know that most adults don't: there are way too many of them for Internet security forces to catch them all.

Did you know: 1 in 5 kids will be approached by a sexual predator?

According to the FBI, there are 50,000 Internet predators cruising the Internet for children at any given time. That's 50,000 predators waiting for your child to log-on.

And sadly, there's nowhere near that many online safety experts or Internet security officials out there protecting your kids. This is why the ones we do have are so busy – they're trying to keep up.

There are also 30 million kids accessing the Internet in America today, and 1 in 5 will be approached by a sexual predator. That's 6 million children that will be approached by an Internet predator. As you can see, the numbers are just staggering.

And these predators aren't dumb by any means – they can take months to lull a child into a false sense of security. This is why children who are naturally caring, easily tricked, or seeking affection are most often victimized. They're the kind of targets that respond to the attention that a predator is willing to give them.

Internet security experts recommend that you treat your child's online habits like you would a Saturday night date: ask where they're going, who they talk to, what was said. It's also important to keep the computer in a family area, limit its use, and watch your child for changes in his or her behavior.

And never, ever, underestimate an Internet predator.

Most online safety experts also suggest that you get some quality computer monitoring software. This is why WebWatcher was created. It's easy to use, and completely invisible while it's running. It records every chat, email, and website that your child sees on the Internet.

If you're a vigilant parent, it's the only way to even the odds.

Sex Offenders

We've all been made painfully aware of the dangers of social networking sites like FaceBook and Myspace.com; Dateline's Series "To Catch a Predator" drove this point home to millions of Americans.

But recently in Wisconsin, a local mother learned that it's much worse than she could ever have imagined.

The sex offender that went to prison for assaulting her daughter was apparently showing other inmates photos of the girl, along with her address. His friend, another sex offender, used that information to send letters to the girl. In them, he advised her to go to Myspace, the most popular of the social networking sites, to see his profile.

And it's all legal.

Thankfully, he sent the letters the old fashioned way, and the mother could intercept them before yet another sexual predator could approach her child.

Last month, a similar phenomenon was discovered in Massachusetts, where registered sex offenders were found to be posting profiles on Myspace, which is especially popular with teens and tweens. This demonstrates, loud and clear, that in spite of their positive influences social networking sites provide the perfect venue for Internet predators.

There are no laws right now prohibiting sex offenders, prison inmates, or other Internet predators from advertising themselves in this way. And even if there was, catching them all would be near impossible. According to the FBI there are in the neighborhood of 50,000 Internet predators trolling the net at any given time.

Clearly it will take a great deal of vigilance on the part of parents to keep their kids safe online, even if legislation does catch up to these and similar situations. Thankfully this is what parental control software is for. Web filters are too easy for kids to get around, but WebWatcher allows parents to block pages and simultaneously record everything that happens on their computer.

The incident in Wisconsin aside, most sex offenders won't send letters when they're hunting your child, they'll send email.

Hopefully, with parental control software, spy software, parents can intercept these too.