The Awareness Advisor

At Pacific Daily News, the issue of cybersex is brought up by a man who wants to believe that by engaging in an online affair he isn't really cheating. But, as the article makes clear, a cheating spouse is just that, regardless of whether the affair takes place on or offline.

The issue of the cyber affair has exploded in the last 10 years, as Internet access makes it easier for would-be cheaters to find an outlet for their infidelity.

And some Internet experts believe that having Internet access can even lead faithful spouses astray, since many men and women spend more time with their computers than they do with their spouse.

Regardless, 1/3 of all divorce litigation today has been linked to cyber affairs, so a cheating spouse is still cheating, even if it's online.

Unfortunately, it's hard to know whether or not your spouse is having and online affair. Signs usually include sudden emotional or physical distance, spending long hours online, or being defensive about Internet use, but since the Internet is such a part of our daily lives it's hard to know when someone is crossing the line.

This is why computer monitoring software has become so popular these days. With computer monitoring software a suspicious spouse can know for sure what's really going on.

WebWatcher by Awareness Tech is one of the best computer monitoring software systems available today; it's easy to install, completely invisible while running, and it records every email, instant message, webpage, and more.

WebWatcher offers a complete picture of someone's Internet use, and makes it easier for suspicious spouses to know when something inappropriate is going on.

At Newszap.com, journalist Lorna Jablonski does a good job of summing up the social networking issues that parents today face when their kids log online. She uses Myspace as her example, mostly because it's the 3rd most popular site in this country, but the issues at hand apply everywhere, and prove yet again that parents can't rely on anyone but themselves when it comes to Internet safety.

There are two main issues when dealing with social networking sites: first, as it says in the article, there's no way to know how many sex offenders and predators are registered on these sites under fictitious names.

And next, even when personal information is labeled "private" by social networking sites, "kids have found ways to get around the rules."

And here is the problem that poses the greatest risk - the kids themselves.

No matter what parents want to think about their children, the plain truth is that many, many of them are meeting strangers online, and then later, meeting them face to face.

Which is why Internet safety must always start in the home, with quality parental control software. WebWatcher by Awareness Tech is the highest rated parental control software system available, and it's received those high marks because it allows parents to do everything they need to do to keep their kids safe online. WebWatcher is easy to use, easy to install, completely invisible, and records every keystroke that happens on your computer.

WebWatcher is the ultimate Internet safety tool for parents who want to know exactly what's going on when their child begins talking to a new online "friend."

With the prosecution of former Orange County judge Ronald Kline, parents are reminded that anyone could be a potential sex offender. For this reason, more than any other, every parent needs to invest in quality parental control software.

Kline's home computer was hacked by watchdog group, "Pedowatch," who then released more than 1500 pornographic photos of young boys to the authorities. Kline will serve 27 months of prison time, 3 years of strict probation, and will have to register as a sex offender.

He is also forbidden to use the Internet, based on the fact that the Internet is a veritable haven for Internet predators today. And, as Kline proves, there's no way to know who is abusing kids, online or in real-time. Lawyers, politicians, judges, teachers, firemen, high-ranking military personnel, and more have all been convicted as sex offenders.

This is why parents can trust no one, and every home computer ought to have parental control software installed. Good parental control software, like WebWatcher by Awareness Tech, allows parents the luxury of knowing exactly who is talking to their child online, and what they're saying or showing their kids. WebWatcher is easy to install, easy to use, invisible, and records every keystroke of the computer. This is why it's the highest rated parental control software system available today.

Like most offenders, Kline had also abused children who lived next door to him and in his immediate vicinity. With WebWatcher, parents can keep Internet predators from making the jump to real-life abusers.

The Sheboygan Press takes a strong stance on Internet safety for kids. Sexual predators are using the Internet to prey on the young and vulnerable in record numbers, but parental control software is the crucial key to protecting children, a fact sadly missed in the article.

The article is correct, there's and epidemic of child exploitation going on today, including child porn, sexual molestation, Internet stalking and more.

And much of the advice they give is good: sexual predators do "use tricks to lure children," and staying away from strangers is always the safe thing to do. But, Internet safety for kids is a trickier business than this. You can't always rely on your kids to "talk to you about anything," especially older kids who want to establish their own independence.

This is why parental control software is such a helpful tool for parents today. With parental control software, like Awareness Tech's highly rated WebWatcher, parents can rest assured that every email, chat, and web image is there to be scrutinized should the parent suspect that something innappropriate is going on.

It's smart to prepare you child for every obstacle that can come their way, but the easiest way to keep a sexual predator from preying on your child is to know who your kid's new "friends" are, and what they're up to.

A substitute teacher may face jail time because an outdated Internet filter didn't block adult content on a classroom computer. The school's computer monitoring software that filtered adult material was out of date.

Julie Amero, a substitute teacher at a middle school in Norwich, Connecticut, wanted to send an email to her husband but ended up exposing students to online pornography, according to The New York Times.

When Amero, 40, a seasoned substitute teacher, found students gathered around the computer screen looking at a hairstyle website, she tried to close the site. But pornographic ads kept popping up, and Amero, a computer novice, didn't know how to stop the pop-ups. Amero said, "I absolutely have no clue about computers."

But school administrators are accusing Amero of deliberately surfing pornography sites. School officials believe that if Amero really was a victim of technology, she would've asked for help, physically blocked the screen, or unplugged the computer.

During cross-examination, Amero explained that she'd never turned off a computer before and didn't know how to. Also, as a substitute teacher, Amero was taught never to touch anything in a teacher's classroom.

Robert Hatz, the information services manager for Norwich's schools, said that the school's Internet filter was not fully operational because they hadn't performed updates for several weeks. The updates were apparently delayed due to a typo on a mailing address, according to Pam Aubin, the superintendent of the Norwich schools.

Because of this incident, Amero faces up to 40 years in prison for four counts of risking injury to a child. She plans to appeal and lawyers have offered to take her case for free.

This situation could've been avoided if the school used current computer monitoring software. WebWatcher uses the latest Internet content filter technology available, and it can actually block inappropriate content on-the-fly, before students can see anything.

Even though Amero could've protected herself and her students by unplugging the computer, the school is partially at fault for not maintaining their software.

A U.S. court ruled that MySpace isn't responsible for protecting children online, but that parents have a duty to monitor computer activity.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks, according to MTV News, is the first time a federal court has extended the same free-speech protection that Internet Service Providers (ISP's) get to a social networking site.

The case involved a 13-year-old girl who met a 19-year-old man on MySpace. The girl lied about her age on MySpace, and after a dinner and movie date, the man allegedly sexually assaulted the girl in a parking lot. The parents of the girl sued MySpace parent company News Corp for $30 million on the grounds that the site didn't do enough to protect users.

There are at least 4 other similar cases pending, and parents are angry about what's happening on social networking sites. And even though the Internet can pose risks for children, this ruling sends the message that parents are ultimately responsible for what their children are doing online.

Internet child-safety expert Parry Attab understands why parents are angry, but that, "[It's] not MySpace's role to raise your child." Judge Sparks ruled that MySpace couldn't be held liable for what its users do any more than other sites like Yahoo's message boards.

MySpace has voluntarily put safety measures in place including parental control software, public-service announcements, and hiring a chief safety officer. Sparks felt that MySpace shouldn't be punished because their voluntary safety measures failed, and Sparks didn't want to discourage other sites from trying to protect users.

Sadly, none of this changes the fact that a child was sexually assaulted. But perhaps this case will make more parents aware of their responsiblities when it comes to child Internet safety.

Frequent communication, explicit rules, and computer monitoring software can help parents protect children online. WebWatcher parental control software is a good option for parents who want monitor what their kids do online. WebWatcher can record websites, monitor instant messages, record keystrokes and more.

WebWatcher helps parents stay informed of everything that happens on a computer.

Businesses hoping to stop inappropriate employee computer use should establish clear policies that are enforced with employee monitoring software .

An article by IT Business Edge encourages businesses to address Internet use at work instead of pretending the problem doesn't exist.

Misuse of company networks is a serious problem that can lead to a decrease in productivity. One report estimated that companies lose $759 billion a year because employees are surfing the web instead of working.

Workers who visit inappropriate sites cause even more problems ranging from costly sexual harassment lawsuits to eating up company bandwidth.

This is why having Internet policies at work is so important. This doesn't mean that all employers should block everything; it depends on the situation. Some companies may need to enforce a strict no-personal-use Internet policy, while others may be more comfortable with allowing some non-work related surfing.

Regardless of the degree of employee monitoring enforced, it's important that employers take the time to create Internet policies so that employees know what's expected.

Once expectations are set, employers can enforce the policy with surveillance software. When employees realize that their Internet use is being monitored, misuse of company networks is likely to decrease.

Remote computer monitoring software like WebWatcher runs without interfering with day-to-day business activities. This means employers can monitor email, chats and Internet use without having to physically access employee computers. The software is easy to use and will keep employers informed of what employees are really doing online.

A recent survey on teen dating abuse shows just how important parental control software really is for children and teens.

According to The Boston Channel, a recent survey found a direct correlation between technology and teen dating abuse.

Here's why: one in five teens reported harassment by a boyfriend or girlfriend on social networking sites. And constant communication via emails, chats and text-messages makes it easier for one partner to control the other.

Many parents aren't aware that their teens are being so closely monitored by a boyfriend or girlfriend. Teens reported electronic contact all day and night, often without parental knowledge.

• 24% of teens communicate via cell phone or text message every hour from 12:00AM-5:00AM
  
• 30% of teens are text messaged up to 30 times per hour by a boyfriend or girlfriend wanting to know where they are and what they're doing
  

The Technology and Teen Dating Abuse Survey, released by the Love is Not Abuse Program, is sponsored by Liz Claiborne Inc., and aims to stop teen dating violence.

Schools are also working towards stopping teen dating violence, and high school principal David Deruosi states that raising awareness and taking a preventative approach is key.

This is why computer monitoring software is so important for parents who want to protect their children. Parents are often in the dark as to what's really going on in their children's lives, especially during the teenage years.

Frequent communication combined with software to monitor emails, chats and websites is important for parents who want to protect their children from getting into potentially dangerous situations.

According to the Central Valley Business Times, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that employee computer monitoring is O.K. as long as employers notify workers of company computer policies.

The case involved an employee of Frontline Processing in Bozeman, Montana. The now former employee, Jeffrey Ziegler, director of operations, was arrested for downloading child pornography at work.

When the company turned the computer over to police, Ziegler contested that the Fourth Amendment, which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, had been violated. Ziegler tried to prove that a search of his private office and computer was unconstitutional.

But judges said that employees can't expect any protection when a company has clearly communicated a policy of total access to hard drives and memory. So even though Ziegler's computer was password protected in a locked office, the court ruled that he couldn't expect privacy - especially since his company had an entire department dedicated to monitor employee Internet use.

The court did note earlier cases that established employees could expect some degree of privacy in their offices. But since Frontline Processing told employees in training sessions and in the company manual that computers weren't for personal use, the court ruled that Frontline had the right to search the office and computer.

This case shows that monitoring workplace computers has become standard practice. Employee monitoring software combined with a clearly communicated computer policy is the best protection for employers. Employee monitoring software like WebWatcher can take screenshots and record everything that happens on employee computers so that companies can protect their assets.

Labels: Monitor Employee Computers

With shows like Dateline's "To Catch A Predator," and numerous magazine, e-zine, and newspaper articles warning us against the dangers of sexual predators approaching our child online, you would think that the epidemic of Internet predator attacks would die down a bit.

But this is just not the case.

For example, in the last two weeks of January alone, 4 sexual predators were arrested in Colorado, 1 in Michigan, 4 more in Oregan, and 1 more in Wisconsin. In every case the predator in question thought they were meeting a minor, whom they had stalked online, for sex. Fortunately, these sexual predators were really trying to prey upon undercover police agents, who were ready to arrest them at the designated meeting spot.

But for each of these arrests made by police, there are many more Internet predators out there who won't get caught. There's a 1 in 5 chance your child will meet a sexual predator every time they log-on to the Internet. But, at the same time kids today need online access so they can study, complete school projects, and even congregate with their friends. This leaves parents in a bind; how can they foster Internet safety and yet still protect their kids from predators?

The answer is parental control software. A good parental control software system, like Awareness Tech's WebWatcher, allows parents to block websites, and record everything from email, to instant messages, to webpages. WebWatcher can even be monitored from a remote location, so busy and working parents can watch over their children too.

This new wave of child abuse via Internet isn't going to go away easily, and parents just can't be too careful about who talks to their kids when they go online.