The Awareness Advisor

In an effort to weed out the "objectionable" profiles from its site, Myspace has removed 200,000 profiles that featured everything from hate language to sexually inappropriate data.

And all we can say is, 200,000?

Almost a quarter of a million profiles featured this kind of stuff, and that's from those individuals who advertised their opinions -- imagine how many Internet predators are smart enough to keep their true aims a secret?

And what's to stop those 200,000 from setting up again in another social networking site?

This, more than anything, reveals that while the Internet can be a tool of great learning and experience, in the hands of the wrong people it can also pose a risk to our children.

Once again, it's clear why Awareness Tech's WebWatcher is so useful to parents today; it allows you to block websites and record every keystroke on your computer, all while completely invisible.

After all, a deleted profile doesn't mean that that person is no longer out there -- now they're just going to have to find another way to get to your kids.

The advice columnist at MercuryNews.com suggests that in any relationship, and "especially if married" you should resist the urge to read your partner's email, even if they've been caught in Internet infidelity in the past. The columnist makes a good point; namely, why would you be with someone who had done such a thing before? However, in a marriage that perhaps includes children, it's a little harder to just pack the bags and go.

And then the article finishes with this summary, "under normal circumstances, respect their privacy." But, apparently actively cheating on you counts as an abnormal circumstance.

Respectfully, we would like to know how an individual would find out that their partner is cheating if they didn't check the email?

Sure, there are signs of Internet infidelity: late nights at the computer, secretive behavior with the computer, distance from the spouse and family.

But statistically, most people don't know they're being cheated on until it's too late.

This is why keystroke monitoring software is so popular these days. If your spouse displays any of the previously mentioned behaviors, you can know for sure what's going on. It's easy to set-up, easy to use, and totally invisible. It also records every webpage, email, and chat conversation.

Sure, you shouldn't snoop on a partner under "normal" circumstances, but under "normal" circumstances it wouldn't matter anyway, right?

A recent article at TwinCities.com discusses a new problem faced by investigators who seek to snare online predators: vigilante web cops.

Parents and various pro-child safety organizations are making the understandable jump into online detective services by posing as kids, and trying to snare predators. Of course this makes sense, anyone with kids, or any sense of justice for that matter, would want to put a stop to the victimization of children via the internet.

The problem is this: the methods that are used by these vigilantes sometimes cause just as much harm as good. For example, one real-life detective mentioned that parents will come forward with chat conversations copied in longhand -- this can't be used in court, and if the predator knows that he's been had, he'll be more careful the next time he picks a child.

And, in several cases, unprofessionally documented information has led to internet predators who had to be released back into the world. This is, of course, a very bad situation.

Here is another situation in which AwarenessTech's WebWatcher would be incredibly useful. It records all emails messages, chat conversations, and webpages, and it's invisible while running. Your kids will never know it’s there, and it allows for the full documentation that the police can use to make an arrest, and make it stick.

Because as we believe, one child predator in the world is one too many.

Now, we've all logged on the Internet at work to check quickly check emails or maybe browse movie times for that evening, but according to the latest Internet Usage Studies, Internet use in the workplace has taken on new and dangerous ramifications.

For example, in the year 2005, 78% of Internet users at work used it for personal use. That doesn't seem so bad. But, an overall 72% actually used the net enough to drain overall productivity in the workplace, including shopping, entertainment, cruising chat rooms, and even searching for other jobs.

And if productivity wasn't enough of a threat, security risks are on the rise as well, with more than 19% of at-work Internet users landing on Web sites that expose their workstations servers to hackers, spyware, viruses, etc.

And of course, there's the liability threat posed by pornography, gambling, and hate speech happening in the workplace.

This is why Awareness Tech's WebWatcher is so useful -- it's easy to use, and records every email, chat, and Web page visited.

And with our discounts for multiple licenses, outfitting an office of any size can be an affordable extra piece of security.

The AgapePress posted an article today titled "Absence of Parental Boundaries Key Factor in Cyber-Sex Boom Among Youth."

We also believe that parental boundaries are important for any child who has access to the internet. From pornography, to cyberstalkers, to internet pedophiles, to cyberbullies, the Internet has the potential to endanger any kid.

But of course, parents don't have eyes in the backs of their heads, either. In today's world, many families have both parents working--sometimes two or even three jobs--in order to make ends meet, and that usually leaves kids unsupervised for some period of time.

And even when you're home, if the computer isn't in a public space, how would you know what your kid is really doing? How can you?

Here's one more reason why WebWatcher is so useful to parents -- it's easy to install and easy to use, and invisible, so your computer savvy kids won't even know it's there.

Now, if only we could make them do their homework too....

In an effort to minimize the online dangers threatening kids today, there has been a revival of the "xxx" web site debate.

For those who missed it the first time around, the "xxx" debate was popular in June of last year, and advocates the creation of an online "red light district" where pornography can be separated from other sites.

The goal is to allow parents to better protect their kids. It would be easy to block access to this district, and thus keep the kids away from unpleasant influences.

It sounds great--unfortunately it'll never work. Never.

The reason the "xxx" red light district never came through the first time is due to the overwhelming nature of the Internet. We could easily force U.S. adult sites to adopt the "xxx" moniker, but what about sites from other countries?

And, by setting aside a domain especially for porn, there's the potential for an increase in such sites, which is why the domain was shelved last year.

The best thing we can do is to keep an eye on our kids, and monitor their time on the Internet. Awareness Tech knows how difficult this can be, which is why the WebWatcher is so popular. It's easy to install and use, and invisible. You can record everything that's said and done on your home computer, and even block sites at the same time.

This way, no matter where the red light district might be, you can keep it out of your home.

In response to the myspace crisis, we've been hearing a lot lately about controlling Internet use in the home. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reminds parents to keep Internet use at a minimum, don't let your kids use it unattended, and don't let kids have access to the Internet in their bedrooms.

But what about when they leave home?

Computers are a fact of every day life now -- in schools and internet cafes kids and adults alike have access to the information superhighway.

So it shouldn't be too surprising when a registered sex offender is caught using public computers to download child pornography. It happened in a Wichita Falls library, but there's little doubt this is an isolated case.

Of course, this also means that public computers pose a whole new problem. Whether in the library, at work, or at school, kids and internet predators can still run into each other. And we can talk to our kids day and night, but we can't ever know what they're really going to do.

Awareness Tech's WebWatcher is a great means of tackling such a problem. With WebWatcher, it would be easy to know what employees are downloading porn, who kids are talking to at Internet cafes and schools, and what exactly is being said.

And, no legal sites need be affected, so the positive uses of the Internet remain intact.

In response to the dangers posed by social networking sites like myspace and xanga, many parents are struggling to learn the very basics of cyberspace.

Meanwhile their kids feel right at home on the internet.

This poses several safety hazards.

Take for example the internet safety seminar detailed in themurchannel.com. The seminar makes the basic suggestions about kids and the Internet that make sense to us all:

watch for secretive or obsessive behavior when they're using the computer

talk to your kids--especially about the Internet

don't let them be online alone.

But, what's the number one suggestion? Don't just rely on firewalls and simple blocking software.

This is because many kids can shut many of these products off with little difficulty. (And, they'll probably turn it back on before Mom or Dad can figure out what IM stands for.)

So what to do? Awareness Tech suggests WebWatcher. It's easy to install, easy to use, invisible parental control software. With WebWatcher you can know exactly what sites your kid has been to and when. It even records instant messaging (IM, mom and dad), so you can see who is talking to your kid online.

And unlike some competing products, we've taken steps to help make it harder for kids to find out if it's running. First, it runs in the background invisibly, second it starts automatically--even after multiple reboots, and third because it runs hidden from view, it's much more difficult to just disable than competing software.

It's simple, it's effective, and it's something parents can use to protect their kids when they're out there in the cyberworld.

According to the clarionledger, the three "R's" of education are no longer reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic. They've now been replaced by the four "R's" of internet safety: recognize, refuse, respond and report.

This information was picked up from i-SAFE America, a nonprofit organization designed to promote internet safety for kids and teens.

With 1 and 5 kids who go online receiving sexual solicitations, i-SAFE has a lot of work to do. And now new threats like cyberbullying and cyberstalking are making the situation even worse. More than 60 million teenagers worldwide log on every day--that's 60 million invitations for trouble when kids and parents don't know about internet safety.

I-Safe recommends that parents be aware of what their kids are up against on the internet, and know what kind "friends" their kids have online.

But, of course this is easier said than done, especially when so many kids want to be independent of their parents. And, in today's world many parents can't always be around to monitor what their kids are doing at all hours of the day or night.

This is why we provide the kinds of tools like WebWatcher that parents can use to protect their kids.

When the phenomenon of the internet first broke to the public in the 1990s, what's known as online cheating was not far behind. Sitting at their computers for hours on end, many men and women found it easier to connect with someone they met on the internet then with the spouses they rarely saw at home.

The trouble was, nobody knew if they could call it cheating per se, since no physical relationship had occurred.

Well, not anymore. According to The New York Daily News, the clear link between online cheating, real-life affairs, and divorce has become so clear that numerous marriage and family therapists see internet infidelity as just as devastating as infidelity offline.

And another therapist called internet infidelity the single most significant factor in the accelerating divorce trend.

This doesn't even include the online porn addiction that has contributed as well. Unless their spouse isn’t interested in saving the marriage or getting a divorce, online porn addicts -- or anyone who spends 11 hours or more a week looking for it -- are always on the way to a failed marriage.

Here's one more reason why Awareness Tech's keystroke monitoring software is so important in today's world -- we provide the solution to this new and damaging problem.

In case you're one of those parents who just doesn't think their child is at risk, you might want to peruse kplctv.com's assessment of the situation with Internet predators. Keep in mind, they're only discussing one state in the nation, but this is a phenomenon that has exploded nationwide in the last 5 years.

In Lousiana the number of pedophiles and predators approaching kids on the internet has become an "epidemic." Special agents assigned to track these predators by posing as boys and girls say that "within minutes" they are propositioned, not by just one individual, but by many.

There are so many cases to follow up on, that the State Attorney General's Office can't keep up with them.

And it's the same everywhere else. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children can't keep up with these cases either.

There are 500,000 registered sex offenders in this country. However, there are many who don't register and just disappear, and many more who haven't even been caught yet.

And these days, anyone has access to a computer, and the internet.

This is why Awareness Tech offers the WebWatcher Internet parental control software – parents need all the help they can get in protecting their kids.

Myspace plans to thwart the Internet predators who use their site to troll for kids and teens. Recent articles have outlined the dangers of online social networking sites over the last month or so, including the rape and murder of several young women nationwide who allegedly met their assailants on the Internet.

The plan to improve security for young users includes the appointing of a "safety czar" to oversee Internet safety protocol, to educate people on Internet safety, to restrict adult access to certain chat groups, and to develop new search matrixes that will make it harder for predators to find the kids they're looking for.

But, will this actually work? Right now, many of the kids who post profiles feature photos of themselves in bathing suits, photos of themselves drinking, and in many cases, personal information that an Internet predator could use to physically locate the child or teen involved. Will these types of photos and this type of information be prohibited? And, as for restricting access to "adults," is it possible for users to lie about their age when they sign on to a social networking site?

What the Department of Justice suggests is that parents be more involved in what their kids are doing. They need to know where their kids are going online, and who they're talking to.

Of course, this may seem difficult when you've got kids or teens who resent adult supervision, but high quality Internet parental controls

We praise Myspace for the steps they're taking and encourage them to do everything they can; ultimately though nothing beats real parental supervision. Today that includes electronic supervision, too.

According to the American Management Association (AMA) 87% of employees surf non-related websites at work. And more than half do it every day.

And they're not just reading the news -- web use is becoming more and more problematic as employees use corporate computers to shop, chat with friends, gamble, and download porn.

But according to Wally Bock, author of "Performance Talk," it's not smart to limit all personal time on work computers -- it lowers morale and creates resentment.

The answer, he says, is to monitor your employees to avoid abuse of personal time. Let employees know that they are being monitored, and exactly how much time they are allowed to spend surfing the net.

This way, the net becomes a place for them to take a short break, and not a way to furnish their new apartment on the job.

We wholeheartedly agree with all of the above. It's sane. It's rational. It's fair to everyone. Our WebWatcher employee monitoring software is easy to install and use, and completely invisible, allowing you to maximize employee productivity and still maintain a positive work environment.

Did you know that recent studies have found that up to half of all married men and women have cheated on their spouse. According to a journal of couple and relationship therapy, 45 to 55% of women and 50 to 60% of men, at some time or another, have cheated.

Most of the time, the spouse didn't know about it until the affair was well under way-- 70% of women and 54% of men had no idea that their spouse was carrying on an extramarital affair until they “accidentally” discovered the evidence.

No wonder the divorce rate is so high in this country.

And with the advent of the internet, it's only gotten higher. The vast availability of dating sites and cyber-porn has made internet infidelity a real problem. According to CBSNews.com, one third of today's divorce litigation is actually sparked by online affairs. Believe it or not.

The explosion of internet infidelity has also made keystroke monitoring software very popular. It's invisible and allows you to see exactly who your spouse is talking to, or searching for.

It isn't a pleasant reality, but it's a reality all the same. With WebWatcher at least you can learn the truth.