The Awareness Advisor

At Ohio.com, cyber bullying, and the crowd of "little predators" who perpetrate such behavior, are addressed as a serious threat to the mental and emotional well-being of any child, as well as their academic performance.

And the stories recounted in the article are quite disturbing; one high school had an online "trash the person of the week" site where each student would add a hateful comment, or even a demeaning photograph, about a particular classmate.

This harassment can also be more than emotionally traumatizing to a child, in some cases they become threatening, or can take on a sexual nature. And, with up to "30 percent" of all bullying activities now happening online, online bullying is something all parents should be aware of.

Ah, but there's the issue.

Police and educators can't do anything about online bullying if parents don't know it's happening, and many kids are too humiliated to speak up about what's happening to them.

Here's another good example of why WebWatcher is so helpful for today's busy parents. WebWatcher's email recording, chat recording, and website recording capabilities make it perfect for parents who want to know who is talking to their kids, and what's being said. It's invisible while running, and it can even be accessed by busy mom's and dad's from a remote computer.

Bullying is bad enough, but with online bullying kids can't even find respite in their own home.

At the Sun-sentinal.com, parents are urged to protect their kids from dangers of the Internet, and particularly online predators, by keeping the computer in a public part of the house. Computers need to be taken out of children's bedrooms so that parents can monitor their child's online activities.

But the frightening truth is that often, your child could be talking to an online predator right in front of the watchful eyes of a parent, with mom or dad none the wiser.

This is because predators often pose as someone in your child's peer group, and either the parent, the child, or both, may not know the true identity of the person communicating with them.

Kids are more trusting when they think they're talking with someone their own age, and even if they know that their new "friend" is older, they may not be honest with parents about who they are talking to.

And then there's the issue of the entire language of blogging and social networking sites, which is often coded to make it harder for parents to understand what's going on, even when they're standing nearby. For example, a dangerous phrase like "let's meet face to face" will likely be coded as "F2F," among other ways, that a parent wouldn't be aware of.

This is just another reason that demonstrates how, here at Awareness Tech, we really had parents in mind when we created WebWatcher. WebWatcher is the kind of parental control software that parents can use in whatever way suits their at-home situation, and their kids. It's completely invisible while running, and it can block websites, record websites, record blogs, and more. It's easy to install, easy to use, and can be checked remotely from any computer.

With WebWatcher, parents really can keep an eye on their kids, no matter where they are, or what kind of dangers on the Internet are out there when they log-on.

At the Miamiherald.com the Citizen's Crime Watch of Miami-Dade rightly suggests that all parents take safety measures when their kids go online.

With the vast numbers of online predators and stalkers who log-on everyday, no child should be surfing the net unprotected.

But, it simply isn't possible for every parent to "hold kids' hands when they traverse the web." Too many parents have jobs to hold down, meals to cook, bills to pay, etc.

And the other, newer techno-solutions of installing tracking systems in a child's cell phone or on their clothing is too expensive and just not feasible for most families.

This is why parental control software makes the perfect compromise. WebWatcher, one of the most highly rated systems available to parents today, can limit a child's exposure to inappropriate materials with its web blocking software, but also includes email recording and chat recording for parents who want to know who their kids are talking to, and what's being said.

It would be great if all parents had the luxury of holding their child's hand and guiding them away from danger, but in today's world, smart parents have learned to rely on the software that can do it for them when they can't be there themselves.

Here at Awareness Tech we fully support the new campaign, designed and implemented by the US Department of Justice, aimed at educating teen girls about the dangers of online predators.

With police departments struggling to keep up with the vast number of Internet pedophiles that present themselves during undercover operations, we just can't do enough to keep kids safe when they go online.

However, it's also important to recognize that teen girls aren't the only victims pursued by online predators; there are numerous examples of similar cases involving boys, as well as adult women.

The best kind of defense still starts at home. This is why computer monitoring software can be useful to everyone. Awareness Tech's WebWatcher can be used by parents to protect their kids by implementing web blocking software, chat recording, email recording, and more.

And anyone who might be at risk for an online stalker, especially a single adult who pursues online dating, could benefit from WebWatcher's technology by providing evidence of harassment.

It's good to know that the law will protect us if we need, but it's best to stop an Online predator before any crime can be committed.

At the washingtonpost.com, the phenomenon of the online blog, and the tween/teen use of it rant, gripe, and carry on, is described as being potentially "embarrassing" or "inappropriate" in the eyes of parents.

And this can certainly be true. After all, most of what teenagers say is pretty inappropriate or embarrassing to adults anyway. Worse yet, the online blog is perceived by many teens and kids to be a space of private expressions, a journal of all their thoughts and feelings... as if it isn't available to millions of readers waiting to hear the "dirt" on you and your family.

But, there's a much darker side to the online blog; online stalkers, online predators, and even scam artists use them to prey on kids.

Along the way, as your kids are expressing their innermost feelings, they may often be revealing information that puts them at risk. It can be simple really, a name here, a street location there, maybe even the name of a school, but in the end an online predator could put it all together and use it to meet or even find your child.

This is why so many parents use parental control software. Quality parental control software, like Awareness Tech's WebWatcher, allows parents chat recording and blog recording alongside the standard website blocking capabilities.

Here at Awareness Tech, we think that everyone should be able to express themselves, but when it can put their child's life in danger, parents have the right to know what's being said and who might be reading it.

At news-leader.com the sad story of Ryan Halligan is recounted to impress upon parents the threat of the cyber bully. Halligan, an eigth-grader at the time, was tormented endlessly by other students from online. He committed suicide as a result, but not before he was taunted by another student who sent him a text message telling him that it was "about time" he killed himself.

Such a tragic story may seem extreme, but the truth is that instances of cyber bullying are on the rise. And, what makes the cyber bully so dangerous is that, unlike real life bullying, the cyber bully doesn't really have to confront the victim. As it says in the article, they don't have to be "strong or fast," they just need a cell phone and a computer with Internet access.

John Halligan, Ryan Halligan's father, says that to protect their kids parents need to know who their children are talking to online, and know what's being said.

Here's just one more reason why Awareness Tech's WebWatcher is such an amazing product. With WebWatcher parents can implement website blocking, a standard in parental control software, but they can also use email recording, chat recording, website recording, and more. It's also invisible while it's running, so no one knows that it's there unless you want them to know.

Real-life bullies are bad enough; with WebWatcher, parents can protect their kids from the bully that follows them home from the schoolyard.

In the midst of widespread hopes that legislation and parental concerns may be working to prevent online predators from preying upon children comes some chilling news.

According ecommercetimes.com, a recent "i-Safe survey" has found that 20% of the kids polled admit to having met, face to face, with someone they met online. Another 27% know someone their own age with an older Internet "friend," and another 7% were asked to keep that relationship with their online "friend" a secret.

This is, of course, a common online predator tactic aimed at keeping parents in the dark regarding who their kids are talking to online.

It's frightening but true: no matter how much legislation is out there, parents can't protect their kids from online predators unless they know who their kids are talking to online.

This is why WebWatcher is such an important tool for parents today. As one of the most highly rated of parental control software systems, it incorporates everything from email recording, to chat recording, website blocking, and more. It's also easy to use, and completely invisible when it's running.

Our recent legislation is designed to punish online predator's after they've commited their crimes; WebWatcher helps to prevent those crimes from ever happening in the first place.

Internet infidelity and computer forensics expert Paul Lucich is releasing a new book aimed at spouses who know that their partner is up to something, but can't prove a thing.

As he says in the article at the Asbury Park Press (app.com), there's a "growing need to put this (information) out there." And, with 1/3rd of all divorce litigation today involving Internet infidelity, he's certainly correct there.

Lucich's book has long, detailed chapters regarding how suspicious spouses can track back email addresses, and uncover cached information.

But here at Awareness Tech, we have a better idea; just install WebWatcher, and get your answers quickly and easily.

WebWatcher is easy to install, easy to use, and completely invisible while it's running. It has website recording, chat recording, email recording, and more. Plus, you can get your results from WebWatcher in real time, and from any remote computer, meaning that you don't have to be there to know what's going on on your pc.

We agree with Lucich that spouses who suspect they're being cheated on deserve to know the truth, we just made it a whole lot easier.

Costly lawsuits and employee terminations resulting from email misuse are high on the list of employer concerns, according to HR Reporter.

The 2006 Workplace E-mail, Instant Messaging and Blog Survey by the American Management Association reports that 24% of organizations had employee emails subpoenaed, and 15% of companies went to court over lawsuits triggered by employee emails.

To make matters worse, the inability to produce the subpoenaed emails resulted in million-dollar lawsuits. And emails are not the only area of concern, as instant messaging, blogging and other computer activities unrelated to business may increase liability.

Nancy Flynn outlines some risks associated with blogging in her book Blog Rules: copyright infringement, invasion of privacy, defamation, sexual harassment, trade secret theft, security breaches and productivity drains. Flynn states, "The First Amendment only restricts government control of speech. It does not protect jobs." Employers eager to minimize risks associated with employee email, instant messaging and blogging should communicate clear policies about workplace computers.

We think the best way to protect yourself from liability and back up corporate
policy is to use employee monitoring software. You can monitor and record everything that happens on a computer, including recording emails and taking screenshots. So if employee emails are subpoenaed, you'll now have copies that are easy to access. For employees blogging on company time, WebWatcher's Website Recorder records websites visited, the time of day a site was visited, and the number of visits. You can even block websites on-the-fly with Content Filtering.

The bottom line is, the best protection against misuse of company networks is to communicate a clear policy to your employees and back up your plan with a computer activity monitor.

At Azcentral.com, a recent study conducted by the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire has been released, stating that children are less likely to be approached by an online predator today than 5 years ago.

However, while most forms of solicitations show a decline, the most aggressive sexual solicitations aimed at kids of all ages stayed at the same level as that from 5 years ago. Meanwhile, cyber bullying and exposure to child porn have actually risen.

Experts attribute the drop to watchful parents and aggressive legislature, as well as kids who are aware now of what a "creepy" person is really after when he approaches them online.

So what does this mean to parents? That their efforts to protect their kids from online predators are working, but there's still a lot out there in the cyber world that is detrimental to the health and well-being of children on the Internet.

This is why parental control software has been so helpful to parents in the past, and will continue to protect kids in the future.

Awareness Tech's WebWatcher has received some of the highest ratings in terms of parental control software, and features chat recording, website blocking, email recording, and more. And all of it comes in a software package that's easy to install, easy to use, and completely invisible while running.

If all of this hard work has shown a decrease in the success of online predators, then hopefully the next 5 years will lead us to an even safer Internet experience for kids.

The incident that happened this week in Ontario, California is as shocking as it is revealing; a 28-year-old grade school teacher has admitted to the sexual abuse of 200 children.

Yes, you've read that correctly, 200 innocent little kids.

As is the case with all predators, this one employed every means possible to gain access to children, in this case becoming a teacher so he could abuse them and use his authority to keep them quiet.

According to the article at the dailybulletin.com, this is the only thing that defines sexual predators across the board; they can be any race, age, or in any economic level, but they always employ whatever means possible to gain access to their victims.

This also explains why no matter how many specials air on the capture of Internet predators, there will always be more. The Internet is where kids today meet to socialize, and as a consequence, it's where predators go to prey upon them. Internet predators are organized, devious, and patient in their stalking of your children. They even communicate with each other via the Internet to trade tips on how to better abuse children.

Awareness Tech's WebWatcher was designed to help parents in this fight against sexual predators. It does everything that parental control software should do, quickly and efficiently. There's website recording, chat recording, website blocking, and more.

With WebWatcher, when kids go online parents can know that their kids are safe when they're out in the cyber-world.

At Newshousenews.com, Tim Warsinskey relays the stories of athletic coaches who have found shocking information posted by their athletes at popular social networking sites. This kind of information included scandalous photos, bragging about inappropriate or even illegal behavior, hate language, and even home addresses and cell phone numbers.

If their coaches are shocked, imagine their parents.

Posting this kind of data on social networking sites like Facebook or Myspace has been well-documented as dangerous; it leaves these kids vulnerable to online predators or cyber stalkers who can use the photos and information to track down the young person in question.

Most of the parents who come away "horrified" by what their kids are posting simply didn't know what was going on. After all, how can they know what their kids do online?

Well, they can install parental control software like WebWatcher on their home PC or their kid's laptop. WebWatcher allows parents to do everything they can to monitor online activity, including website blocking, website recording, email recording, chat recording, etc. And, it's completely invisible while running, all of which contributes to its high rating among all parental control software programs.

And while many parents may feel that they are trespassing on their child's privacy, when it comes to dangerous behavior online, that privacy isn't as important as the safety of an unsuspecting or naive kid.

According to infidelity expert Ruth Houston, summertime is the "high season" for cheating husbands, mostly because there are more opportunities for unfaithful spouses to cheat during this time.

Summertime cheating can be disguised as "fishing trips" or other masculine type vacations where wives are supposedly not allowed. They can be "business trips" too, and in this case infidelity can occur whether or not the business part of the equations is for real. And then there's the separate vacations -- always suspicious.

And with infidelity comes Internet infidelity -- or the cheater's use of the Internet to meet and/or keep contact with someone who isn't their spouse. Most cheaters will use the Internet to do everything from chat with their love interest, to booking trips, buying gifts, and even to advertise themselves online.

Houston suggests that to stop a summer cheater, you should stay close to home, keep tabs on him, and stay alert.

WebWatcher can aid suspicious spouses in all of the above; with WebWatcher, you can monitor someone else's Internet use from any remote locale, effectively allowing you to be "close to home" from just about anywhere! You can stay alert by reading emails and chat messages, accessing the website recording function, and more.

If you suspect Internet infidelity, especially during these summer months, it only makes sense to use all the tools available to ensure that you know the real truth.