PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN ONLINE

By: Sherri Bevan Walsh,

Summit County Prosecutor

Make sure your child’s MySpace is a safe place!

In today’s world, children and teens are often more adept at using the computer than their parents. However, the Internet poses a lot of risks to our youth, which is why parents need to learn about Internet safety to protect their family.

The Internet is a great resource. But it also exposes your children to sexually explicit material, predators, violent and offensive material, cyber bullying, and illegal activities.

There are steps you can take as a parent to help minimize these risks:

Keep your computer in a common area.
Establish rules for Internet use – and stick with them! Keep computer time limited and only allow your child to get online during specific times of the day.
Supervise your child’s Internet activities.
Don’t allow your child to erase your Internet history log – and check it regularly.
Know the warning signs of risky behavior; switching off monitor, minimizing the screen, getting upset if their computer time is limited, spending long hours on the Internet, etc.

As your Prosecuting Attorney, I take the safety of your children as seriously as you do. My Office has partnered with Summit County Sheriff Drew Alexander and Juvenile Court Judge Linda Tucci Teodosio in developing Computer Cop, an Internet monitoring software program.

The disk is easy to use: Simply put it in your computer and run the program. There is nothing to download, nothing to install. You choose what you want to do with Computer Cop – you can scan files for objectionable words and phrases, you can review the images that have been viewed on your computer, and you can activate the “keystroke capture” feature to monitor chat programs and e-mail.

To get a copy of Computer Cop, please e-mail Melanie. We’re sorry, but the demand for the Computer Cop CD has been so great that we have to limit them to Summit County residents. We will keep your name in the file, however, should we be able to refer your request to someone in your county. Thank you for your understanding.