Internet-predator danger rises during summer vacation - Monitoring software will help parents keep an eye on computer usage, hopefully criminals at bay.
No longer is it enough to know where your kids are at curfew time. Who they're talking to on the computer in the middle of the day can be just as dangerous. "Now that school's out, it's a free for all," Time limits on your child's chat time won't stop predators.
Distance won't stop predators from meeting an Internet chatter.
Perhaps more frightening, the person on the other end of an Internet chat can be right down the street.
Be your own Internet cop.
Blocks on the computer aren't enough, says Widner. Kids know how to find their way around those.
Looking at your son's or daughter's page on MySpace.com or similar networking sites isn't enough. They can have a page that you see and a whole different one that their friends -- or Internet savvy predators -- can access.
We know parents don't want to be spies. But how many times have you said, "I'll do anything I have to to protect my family."
Knowing who our children are chatting with or who's seeing their profile on the Internet is part of protecting them. Predators will do anything they can to contact victims; we've got to do whatever we can to protect our loved ones.
Widner recommends Spector Pro but says SpyBuddy is a less expensive alternative that's more user friendly. Spector Pro tracks everything done on a given computer -- chats, e-mail, instant messages, networking and other Web sites and every keystroke, including passwords -- but is undetectable to the person using the computer.
Excellent advice Detective Mike Widner - excellent advice indeed!