The Awareness Advisor

Infidelity expert Ruth Houston does a good job of debunking several myths about online affairs in her article at ezinearticles.com.

The most common misconception is that an online affair -- sometimes referred to as Internet infidelity -- will not lead to real life infidelity.

This is just untrue. More than 30% of online affairs lead to real-life sex with someone else.

And this doesn't take into account the emotional distance that all cyber cheaters display. The long hours in front of a computer, the dishonesty and distancing from one's family and loved ones, can put a strain on any marriage or partnership.

This is why Houston suggests that the best test of such behavior is to ask to see what it is that your spouse or partner is doing online. If he or she is not a cyber cheater, then there should be nothing to worry about.

But what do you do if they say no? Well, there are many avenues to pursue at that point, one of the best being the use of email recording software.

Awareness Tech's WebWatcher does that and more; it combines email recording software with website recording, and chat recording capabilities to give a clear picture of Internet activity.

It may seem like a lot to do to discover the truth, but Houston makes it clear: 1/3 of all divorce litigation begins with an online affair. A threat this serious deserves an aggressive approach.

In the last week, the kind of men arrested or convicted for being an online predator include, among many others, a doctor in Florida, a youth minister and school bus driver in Atlanta, and a grade-school principal in Washington.

In fact, that's what's most disturbing about the epidemic in online predators and child exploitation; many of them are married, respectable, even likeable people. And they all used the Internet to prey upon children.

This is the point of the article at southernstandard.com, where special cyber-units assigned to catch Internet predators are surprised again and again at the kind of people who are trying to victimize children.

But what the Internet provides for these people is a kind of anonymity that didn't exist before. The fear of being seen and labeled as a sex offender or pedophile is distorted.

In other words, it allows these people to drop their societal concerns and do what they'd really like to do: prey on your kids.

But no matter how smart they are, no online predator can outsmart website recording software. Website recording software, like Awareness Tech's WebWatcher, will capture and save every chat, image, email, and webpage sent to your child on the Internet.

Yes, online predators are smart -- that's how they fool your kids -- but with WebWatcher parents can be smarter.

The story of Kacie Woody, as it is offered at clintonherald.com, is a tragic one.

A 13-year-old girl from Arkansas, she was murdered by an Internet predator she met online, who found out where she lived and kidnapped her from her own home.

But, Kacie didn't meet this man at Myspace, the popular social networking site that has recently received negative press.

She met him in a Christian chat room, and had innocently provided her new "friend" with personal details of her life.

This serves as a chilling reminder that it isn't just Myspace and facebook that parents need to worry about. An Internet predator could be in any chat room, pretending to be anyone. Kacie's killer had claimed to be 18 years old, making it easier for her to talk to him about her life.

It's difficult, but parents need to be more vigilant than ever. If your child has any access to the Internet at all, they could be approached by a predator.

This is why WebWatcher was designed by Awareness Tech: it features email recording, instant message recording, website recording and content filtering, all incorporated into a single program that is also invisible while running.

No matter where they go online, WebWatcher will see it.

In an article by montgomeryadvertiser.com, U.S. Attorney Leura Canary speaks about her efforts to protect children from danger, including Internet Predators.

According to Canary, the Internet has led to an explosion in crimes against children, and especially in terms of child pornography, and the online victimization of kids who spend time at social networking sites.

Actually, the two are related. Canary goes on to say that Internet Predators often send children pornographic images as part of the "grooming" process, where they manipulate a naive, overconfident, or lonely child into trusting them.

Internet Predators also use the Internet to find one another, and encourage one another to abuse children.

Erin Runnion, whose 5-year-old daughter was the victim of a sexual predator, puts it best when she reminds parents that no one will solve this problem for them.

This is also why parental control software is so useful.

Awareness Tech's WebWatcher is an excellent tool for parents who want to know who is interacting with their child on the Internet, and what exactly is being said.

As Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales introduced Project Safe Childhood (PSC), he announced that it would not be an exaggeration to say that "we are in the midst of an epidemic of sexual abuse and the exploitation of our children."

And the signs have been all around us. There are more than 50,000 Internet predators online at any given time, and local and state detectives are struggling to catch as many of them as possible.

It seems like every day we hear about another arrest of someone who thought he was meeting a child or teenager, and instead was arrested by an Internet Predator sting operation.

PSC has been awarded $14 million to protect children online, but Gonzales himself predicts that computer based sexual exploitation crimes against children are expected to go up.

This is why parents need to be involved too. Every parent should talk to their kids, and often, about the dangers of Internet predators.

And, for those times when mom and dad can't be there to watch over their children, there's parental control software.

Parental control software, like Awareness Tech's WebWatcher, is completely invisible as it records everything that comes across your computer.

It's wonderful to see that child safety online is getting the attention it deserves, but nothing compares to the vigilance of smart parents.

Cyber cheating has grown to be such an insidious threat to marriage, that groups have been forming all over the Internet to support those spouses whose marriage has been threatened or ruined by an online affair.

That's how you know you've got a common problem -- when support groups are popping up all over the Internet.

And so, the "whymencheat support community for women" has been created. Which isn't quite fair, since 40% of married women have also cheated on their spouse. But still, between 60% of men and 40% of women cheating on their spouses, this is a serious problem.

And now, the second most popular way to cheat? Cyber cheating (the first being at-work affairs).

The clues that lead to an online affair are both obvious, and hard to tell from everyday behavior. Is your spouse spending a lot of time online? Is your spouse on the computer late at night? Isn’t everyone?

Multiple email addresses, and a tendency to defensively hide or close a laptop are clearer signals, but it's still hard to tell.

This is why the same site suggests keystroke recording software. Keystroke recording software is cheaper than hiring a personal investigator, and records every email message, chat, and website that is viewed on the computer. And at Awareness Tech, our WebWatcher is completely invisible while it's running.

It may seem like a lot to go through to find out the truth, but in these cases the truth seems to be worth finding out.

A recent article at Courier News brings up an excellent point regarding kids who spend their time at social networking sites.

While Internet predators aren't a minor concern at all, kids can be exposed to other dangers when they surf the net with millions of people.

There are hate groups to contend with, many of whom see social networking sites and the Internet in general as the newest frontier for both recruiting more members, and attacking more innocent victims.

Then there's child pornography groups, who are always on the lookout for naive or overconfident children to fall into their trap.

There's cyber bullying, cyber stalkers, and even places where kids can learn to make bombs.

All of this just goes to show why it's so important for parents to pay attention to what their kids are doing online.

Of course, this can be difficult. It's hard enough to keep up with kids in the real world, let alone in the cyber world. Thankfully parental control software makes that job a little easier.

Republican Congressman Michael G. Fitzpatrick has introduced a bill aimed at prohibiting kids from access Myspace and other social networking sites from schools and public libraries.

This move comes in response to the explosion in child exploitation that has come from Internet predators using social networking sites to prey upon unsuspecting or overconfident kids.

In response, there are many who feel that limiting Internet access may reflect too much regulation by the federal government. And there are also others who recognize that these sites represent one of the few places to gather for teens today.

But regardless, the dangers posed by Internet predators are real.

One in five kids will be sexually solicited online, and there are 50,000 predators online at any given time.

If this bill should pass, libraries and schools will be one less place where underage children come across these dangers.

At home, smart parents have it easier with parental control software. Awareness Tech's WebWatcher, for example, blocks unwanted sites as well as recording the chats, emails, and images that your children are exposed to online.

Even if it limits their online rights a little bit, there are 50,000 reasons to use parental control software every time your child logs on.

In response to all of the media attention focused on Internet predators and social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook, many rightfully concerned parents are struggling to control or limit their child's access to the net.

Unfortunately, the more parents limit Internet access, the more kids seem to be finding ways around that. Internet safety and child welfare specialists, quoted in auburnpub.com, are finding that kids can evade many parental controls. After all, today's kids are usually more technologically savvy than their parents, making them hard to control, and hard to protect from Internet predators.

And the Internet is accessible from anywhere now. There are computers in libraries, schools, cyber cafes, and at friend's houses waiting to be used by your kids.

So what are parents supposed to do?

Well, talking to your kids, and talking to them often, is the first step. And if you remove all Internet privileges, be prepared for your kids to find ways around you. It's smarter to allow a limited amount of Internet time, with the computer located in a visible, family area.

And finally, for the ultimate in safety buy parental control software, preferably something with multiple functions like Awareness Tech's WebWatcher. Unlike standard web filters, which are much easier to get around, WebWatcher blocks websites and records every chat, email, and website that passes through your computer. It's also totally invisible while running.

Hopefully, it will allow you to outsmart Internet predators and your kids.

With all of the attention recently turned to social networking sites like myspace.com or facebook, few have recognized the danger of online gaming.

Online gaming is another hot trend among kids of all ages, and all genders. Kids log on to play interactive games with other kids -- or who they think are other kids.

Internet predators see this as an opportunity. Online gaming creates spaces where kids congregate, like a playground. But the advantage that predators have now is that the Internet allows them to masquerade as another kid.

Kids who are gaming online can then be having conversations with predators without really knowing who they are talking to.

This is why smart parents buy keystroke monitoring software. There's no way to know exactly what your kid is doing all the time. This week it could be myspace, next week it's online gaming. Keeping up with them is almost impossible.

But keystroke monitoring software, like WebWatcher by Awareness Tech, allows you to know where they are going and who they are talking to every time they log on to the Internet.

It's official; according to divorce and infidelity experts, cyber affairs and Internet infidelity tie with the workplace as the leading place for cheaters to find willing partners for their affairs.

At expertclick.com, these new trends are outlined in disturbing detail.

The Internet, being a great tool for networking, has also supplied potential cheaters with instant access to a wide array of new partners, many of whom may not know that their new lover is actually married to someone else.

And now, cyber cheaters have fewer hurdles to overcome when they cheat. Internet infidelity is harder to trace, and doesn't include the risk of running into people you might now, or leaving a paper trail.

That is, unless your mate buys keystroke monitoring software. Keystroke monitoring software, like Awareness Tech's WebWatcher, records every chat, email, image and website that appears on your computer. It's easy to install, easy to use, and totally invisible while running.

It's like a cyber investigator, helping spouses discover the truth about their cheating mates.

Since 1999, state legislatures around the country have been struggling to protect the victims of cyberstalkers.

It's a unique problem; the Internet provides us with the means to experience the world, and make new friends from wherever we are.

But it also opens the door to those who prey on others.

And as yet, legislature to protect the victims of cyberstalkers is so broad that not all stalkers can be prosecuted. This is potentially dangerous, since many online stalkers make the move to real life stalking.

In the mean time, the best thing that any individual can do is to protect themselves. Online safety experts recommend several ways to do this; never give personal information online, employ services (like dating sites) that employ background screening, or do some yourself whenever possible. And, if you feel threatened, take action in a way that doesn’t put you in any further danger.

The best way to do this is to get keystroke monitoring software. Awareness Tech's WebWatcher is the perfect example. It's easy to use, totally invisible, and records every chat, email, image and webpage on your computer. Then, you can take this data to the police and file a claim that will put your cyberstalker away.

According to Metrowestdailynews.com, at least 3 registered sex offenders in their area are known to have their own profiles posted on a popular networking site frequented by tweens and teens.

And while this is creepy in the least, there's nothing illegal about it. As of now, there are no laws against sex offenders advertising themselves in teen cyber-hangouts.

So, this is just one more reason why parents can't be too careful these days. With 50,000 sexual predators going online at any given time, it's hard to keep up with them, let alone catch them in the act of preying upon children.

Parental control software, like Awareness Tech's WebWatcher, is still the only way you can really know who is approaching your child while they are surfing the net.