The Awareness Advisor

Infozine.com discusses the ways by which financial institutions are seeking to stop child abuse by blocking payments methods to child porn sites.

This is proving very difficult to do, since child abuse, and specifically sexual abuse, is a huge (read: multi-billion dollar) business worldwide. To stop the trade in such materials will take a tremendous amount of time, money, and manpower.

Unfortunately, at the same time the sexual exploitation of children is on the rise, having grown more than 400% in the last 10 years. Why? The Internet, of course.

Child abuse and sexual abuse is easier to find thanks to the Internet, especially in terms of child porn, the publication of lurid tales on blog sites and the like, and even the live relaying of child abuse over the net.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has developed the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography, which will have its work cut out for them.

The best things that regular civilians and parents can do is to be aware of what's going on, protect their children, and implement parental control software to block access to such sites from their home computer.

Parental control software also allows parents email recording and chat recording technology, making it easier for them to know who their child is talking to, and what they're seeing online. Awareness Tech's WebWatcher also allows parents to check their child's Internet activities from a remote location.

The citizen who posted their opinions regarding sexual predators at telegram.com makes a good point: passing ordinances that keep pedophiles away from schools or day care centers may make us feel better, but probably won't help much.

As we have all seen in the news, sexual predators will go to extreme lengths to find and abuse children. The recent explosion in online predators proves this point well, since many of them are arrested after having traveled many miles in search of their victim.

The answer to this situation? Awareness, alongside strict punishments for sexual offenders and online predators.

Severe punishments of those who prey on our most vulnerable members of society are slowing beginning to appear. As legislators hear the voices of angry parents and concerned citizens, more and more sexual offenders receive stiff penalties for their crimes.

As for awareness, it seems impossible that any parent would be unaware of the dangers posed by online predators and other sexual offenders. The problems occur when those same parents think that their child would tell them if a stranger approached them online. Statistics prove that this just isn't true.

This is why parental control software is so useful. Parental control software, like Awareness Tech's WebWatcher, allows parents to block websites, to implement email recording, chat recording, and much more.

After all, if parents want to foster awareness of online predators and the dangers of sexual offenders, first they themselves need to be aware of what's happening when their children log-on to the Internet.

At dallasnews.com, a recent article warns of the dangers that face police departments who employ outsiders to track online predators.

Perverted Justice, and their relationship with Murphy, Texas, serves as the example. Being a small town, Murphy lacks the kind of economic and technical resources that are required to man an online predator task force. So, they've teamed up with Perverted Justice, who does it for them.

And while it's true that all kinds of situations may arise from this kind of relationship, there really isn't much of an alternative out there. Today, 1 in 5 kids who logs online will be approached by an online predator. Federal task forces and agencies, like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, can't keep up with the case load they've already got.

And for every predator that gets caught, there are many more who don't.

This is why parental control software is mandatory for parents today. Parents can't afford to rely on anyone else to protect their children from online predators, and quality parental control software systems can help busy moms and dads to shield their children from the dangerous elements that are out there in the cyber world.

Awareness Tech's WebWatcher does just that, and more. Highly rated among all parental control software products, WebWatcher combines all the best tools that parents need into one great product. This includes website blocking, website recording, chat recording, and more.

After all, if you can't always count on the police to find and stop an online predator, and you can't count on outside help, who can parents count on but themselves when it comes to guarding the safety of their kids?

Since online affairs have been linked to over one third of American divorce rates, we are slowly learning of the consquences of Internet addiction. Certainly it sounds a little overblown to many, but again and again data pops up reminding us that obsessive or addictive behavior, whether it's gambling, sexual addiction, or just attachment to the Internet world, is effecting millions of people.

And now, it's affecting college kids.

According to the dailyvidette.com, college kids are at "high risk of Internet addiction," and students who spend a lot of time online (not surprisingly) don't do as well in school as their counterparts.

Many consequences of Internet addiction become dangerous, even though it isn't a physiological addiction like what we see with drugs or alcohol. Symptoms include nerviousness, depression, excessive time online, online at odd hours, and lying about how much time was spent online.

Of course, these are the same signs associated with an online affair, which explains the correlation.

Fortunately, worried wives and parents alike can rely on computer monitoring software, like Awareness Tech's WebWatcher. WebWatcher implements website blocking, website recording, email recording and more. It's also easy to install and easy to use.

Whether or not the Internet creates addicts, or addicts find solace in the Internet, will probably not be figured out for some time. But, with WebWatcher the ill effects of Internet addiction, and even an online affair, can be discovered and controlled.

Addressing workplace productivity on a national level, npr.org recently reported that almost 25% of employee terminations are due to the misuse of the Internet. Earlier this year using the Internet was also legally defined as the equivalent of using the phone or reading the newspaper at work, a distinction that was handed down by an administrative law judge.

And, at the same time, Internet use in the workplace has been legally defined as not falling under privacy laws, meaning that what you download on company time can be used to fire you, whether it's for lagging workplace productivity, or in some cases, criminal conduct. After all, in a 2006 survey of more than 400 companies, 15% had fought a lawsuit that stemmed from improper Internet use in the workplace (The perfect example must be the man arrested this year in a child porn sting who was using his office computer to store extensive criminal data).

What does this mean to employers? It means that there have been legal definitions put in place to limit the loss of workplace productivity and growing liability when careless workers spend their time cruisin' the net.

Awareness Tech’s WebWatcher was designed just for this purpose. WebWatcher offers everything that computer monitoring software should have, including website blocking to limit workplace exposure to inappropriate materials, email recording, chat recording, and more. Better yet, WebWatcher is the only computer monitoring software system that allows employers and managers to check on Internet use from a remote location.

Wasting time on the Internet costs American businesses billions a year, which is a sad fact when you know that simply by monitoring employee computer use, companies could stem the tide and put themselves on the right track toward maximum workplace productivity.

Last week at the Protect Our Children Conference, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales argued towards stronger penalties for online predators.

At kansascity.com, Gonzales' argument is presented alongside some rather disturbing data. For example, nationwide arrests of online predators accused of exploiting children over the Internet are 5 times higher now than they were 6 years ago.

And, as we all know, for every Internet pedophile arrested, there are many, many more who get away with their crime. Most local police departments simply don't have the manpower or technology to dedicate to a problem of this scope.

The Attorney General's argument is that online predators will curb their behavior if they know that they'll face severe punishment for preying on kids.

However, online child exploitation is a problem of global concern, since so much child pornography is perpetrated overseas and exported here for a profit. Then, there's the problem of actually incarcerating pedophiles, a task made more difficult by the very nature of the Internet, since punishments today are only strict for those who abuse a child person-to-person.

This kind of situation demonstrates what parental control software is really there to do; before a crime happens, parents can rely on software like Awareness Tech's WebWatcher to protect their children from harm. Incorporating everything from website blocking to email recording, WebWatcher helps parents to keep child exploitation and online predators away from their kids in the first place. We all want to see severe punishments for those who prey on children, but it would be infinitely better to stop these horrible crimes before they can even happen.

According to krqe.com, in New Mexico a dangerous Internet predator has been spared prison time, and allowed to get away with "probation" and "counseling." Apparently he didn't have to serve 18 months in prison, which the prosecutors had wanted, because there wasn't a "real child" involved. Instead, the predator was talking to a police officer posing as a 14-year-old girl.

So, he would only have gone to jail for victimizing a real child. And now, he'll be back online in no time.

This is particularly dangerous, since sexual predators are among the most likely to re-commit their crime. Some studies even suggest that recidivism, or the re-committing of a crime, is up to 80% for sex offenders.

And in the case of Internet predators, it's even easier to committ a crime in which you aren't face to face with your victim until the last minute.

This kind of disturbing case is one more reason why parental control software is so important in the fight against Internet predators. Awareness Tech's WebWatcher, one of the most highly rated of parental control software systems, offers everything from website recording, email recording, chat recording and more. And, busy parents can even check on their child's Internet use from work, since WebWatcher allows access from a remote location.

Predators like this are out there preying on children, and until our justice system is better about putting them away, parents need to know who their child is talking to online, and what's being said.

At dallasnews.com, the small town of Murphy, Texas is examined for an unusual phenomenon regarding online predators.

Apparently, within one week, this little burb witnessed the arrest of 4 men, all out-of-towners, for the online solicitation of minors via the Internet.

How did they get caught? Murphy police have become one of the local police departments working with "Perverted-Justice.com" to catch online predators.

Since its inception, this watchdog group has led to "a conviction every week of the year so far." And while this may sound reassuring to many parents, what we should keep in mind is that the vast majority of law enforcement agencies do not work with perverted justice, and there are many, many online predators who do not get caught.

This issue becomes even more dangerous when we keep in mind that the problems Murphy police faced, namely lack of funding and manpower, are shared by most law enforcement agencies nationwide

Until this situation is remedied, parents would be well advised to use parental control software to help keep an eye on their child's Internet use.

Parental control software, like Awareness Tech's WebWatcher, allows parents website blocking as well as email recording, chat recording, and more. And with WebWatcher, parents can check on their child's Internet activities anytime, and from any computer.

Right now we just don't have the resources to catch all the online predators out there, and until we do, parents must be vigilant in monitoring their child's Internet use.

At the herald-dispatch.com, police officers and detectives outline how difficult it can be for them to investigate and arrest online predators. In fact, in spite of new and more stringent laws regarding Internet use and the solicitation of children, there are no online predators serving prison time in West Virginia.

Of course, this doesn't mean that there are no Internet predators in the entire state of West Virginia; it just means that no one is catching them. Why? Lack of manpower, lack of technology, and a whole bunch of bureaucratic red tape makes putting online predators in jail a very difficult business.

This same situation can be found in local municipalities and even state-wide across the country, as public funds just can't keep up with what it takes to capture online predators.

Here is just another reason why any parent who owns a computer needs to have parental control software. Awareness Tech's WebWatcher, highly rated among parental control software systems, allows parents website blocking, email recording, chat recording and more. It's also easy to install and easy to use.

Even when the police are working their hardest, parents simply can't rely on anyone else to protect their kids but themselves. Internet safety begins at home, where parents can stop an online predator before they can approach their child.

Scan the news, and you'll likely find article upon article relating to workplace productivity. Whether it's the "20-minute" power nap, the "proximity to water" theory, or the "cubicle lighting" concern, it seems that managers and business owners everywhere are struggling to maintain productivity on the job.

And it's easy to see why. With so many distractions in today's techno-savvy world, it's difficult to keep workers focused and to reap the benefits of workplace productivity.

Unless, of course, those managers and employers control Internet use in the workplace.

Whether it's fantasy football, shopping, banking, gambling, or just chatting with other employees, uncontrolled Internet use is the biggest drain on workplace productivity, costing American businesses literally billions of dollars a year. No wonder more than half of Fortune 500 companies use computer monitoring software.

Computer monitoring software, like Awareness Tech's WebWatcher, helps keep employees on track, since they're less likely to spend time aimlessly wandering the Internet if they know that the boss can see what they're doing.

And, installing computer monitoring software in the workplace has recently been defended in a court of law as perfectly legal. In fact, most employees don't actually mind the screening of their Internet use, so long as they know that the software has been installed on workplace computers.

This is why so many smart business owners have purchased and installed WebWatcher. It offers all the best features of computer monitoring software, including website blocking, website recording, email recording, chat recording and more. But, WebWatcher allows managers and business owners to check on workplace productivity from any remote computer, giving employers a kind of mobility that most software programs can't provide.

All of which explains why it is that WebWatcher has received such high reviews from both industry specialists, and grateful employers.

At mercurynews.com, the use of technology and the Internet to facilitate an online affair is examined as a tool that removes boundaries and leads many people to cheating on their spouse.

In many ways, the arguments make sense. Today's online affair removes the need to sneak around town, to cultivate a work relationship, etc. With a simple search of online dating sites, many cheaters find all the resources they need.

And increasingly, they're meeting up with another person having an affair. Sites like philanderers.com and ashleymadison.com boast over a million members, and are designed especially for spouses who want to cheat with someone in their same situation.

However, on the bright side, the use of technology and the Internet also makes it easier to catch an online cheater. In fact, most individuals who are caught having an online affair are caught when the evidence of their behavior is revealed. Technology, it seems, can be used on either side of the debate.

One great example would be computer monitoring software, like Awareness Tech's WebWatcher. WebWatcher is completely invisible while running, easy to install, and can be checked from a remote location. It features website recording, email recording, chat recording, and more.

WebWatcher is the fastest and easiest way to find out if your spouse is cheating online, offering a full picture of someone's Internet use without them ever knowing that someone else may be suspicious of their online activities.

As horrible as they are, more and more parents are becoming aware of online predators and the great lengths they'll go in order to prey upon a child.

The process by which a predator will gain the trust of an unsuspecting or vulnerable child, what they call "grooming," can take weeks or months, during which time the victim will be made to feel safe and close to their new "friend."

But, this process doesn't always have to take this long.

According to Special Agent Steve Blackwell with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, referenced at accessnorthga.com, in "less then 20 minutes" an online predator can find out all the information they need to go after a victim.

Less then 20 minutes -- that's awfully quick, and it's just too easy for a parent to turn their back long enough to allow that predator access to their child.

Here's just one more reason why parental control software is a necessity for any parent who has a home computer. Awareness Tech's WebWatcher, one of the highest rated of the bunch, allows parents to use website blocking software alongside website recoding, chat recording, and more.

If it only takes an online predator 20 minutes to pinpoint their next victim, then parents need to be vigilant round-the-clock to keep their kids safe.