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A
Parent's Guide to Internet Safety
Frequently
Asked Questions
My
child has received an e-mail advertising for a pornographic website,
what should I do?
Generally,
advertising for an adult, pornographic website that is sent to an
e-mail address does not violate federal law or the current laws of
most states. In some states it may be a violation of law if the
sender knows the recipient is under the age of 18. Such advertising
can be reported to your service provider and, if known, the service
provider of the originator. It can also be reported to your state
and federal legislators, so they can be made aware of the extent of
the problem.
Is
any service safer than the others?
Sex
offenders have contacted children via most of the major on-line
services and the Internet. The most important factors in keeping
your child safe on-line are the utilization of appropriate blocking
software and/or parental controls, along with open, honest
discussions with your child, monitoring his/her on-line activity,
and following the tips in this pamphlet.
Should
I just forbid my child from going on-line?
There
are dangers in every part of our society. By educating your children
to these dangers and taking appropriate steps to protect them, they
can benefit from the wealth of information now available on-line.
Helpful
Definitions
Internet
- An immense, global network that connects computers via telephone
lines and/or fiber networks to storehouses of electronic
information. With only a computer, a modem, a telephone line and a
service provider, people from all over the world can communicate and
share information with little more than a few keystrokes.
Bulletin
Board Systems (BBSs)
- Electronic networks of computers that are connected by a central
computer setup and operated by a system administrator or operator
and are distinguishable from the Internet by their
"dial-up" accessibility. BBS users link their individual
computers to the central BBS computer by a modem which allows them
to post messages, read messages left by others, trade information,
or hold direct conversations. Access to a BBS can, and often is,
privileged and limited to those users who have access privileges
granted by the systems operator.
Commercial
On-line Service (COS)
- Examples of COSs are America Online, Prodigy, CompuServe and
Microsoft Network, which provide access to their service for a fee.
COSs generally offer limited access to the Internet as part of their
total service package.
Internet
Service Provider (ISP)
- Examples of ISPs are Erols, Concentric and Netcom. These services
offer direct, full access to the Internet at a flat, monthly rate
and often provide electronic-mail service for their customers. ISPs
often provide space on their servers for their customers to maintain
World Wide Web (WWW) sites. Not all ISPs are commercial enterprises.
Educational, governmental and nonprofit organizations also provide
Internet access to their members.
Public
Chat Rooms
- Created, maintained, listed and monitored by the COS and other
public domain systems such as Internet Relay Chat. A number of
customers can be in the public chat rooms at any given time, which
are monitored for illegal activity and even appropriate language by
systems operators (SYSOP). Some public chat rooms are monitored more
frequently than others, depending on the COS and the type of chat
room. Violators can be reported to the administrators of the system
(at America On-line they are referred to as terms of service [TOS])
which can revoke user privileges. The public chat rooms usually
cover a broad range of topics such as entertainment, sports, game
rooms, children only, etc.
Electronic
Mail (E-Mail)
- A function of BBSs, COSs and ISPs which provides for the
transmission of messages and files between computers over a
communications network similar to mailing a letter via the postal
service. E-mail is stored on a server, where it will remain until
the addressee retrieves it. Anonymity can be maintained by the
sender by predetermining what the receiver will see as the
"from" address. Another way to conceal one's identity is
to use an "anonymous remailer," which is a service that
allows the user to send an e-mail message repackaged under the
remailer's own header, stripping off the originator's name
completely.
Chat
- Real-time text conversation between users in a chat room with no
expectation of privacy. All chat conversation is accessible by all
individuals in the chat room while the conversation is taking place.
Instant
Messages
- Private, real-time text conversation between two users in a chat
room.
Internet
Relay Chat (IRC)
- Real-time text conversation similar to public and/or private chat
rooms on COS.
Usenet
(Newsgroups)
- Like a giant, cork bulletin board where users post messages and
information. Each posting is like an open letter and is capable of
having attachments, such as graphic image files (GIFs). Anyone
accessing the newsgroup can read the postings, take copies of posted
items, or post responses. Each newsgroup can hold thousands of
postings. Currently, there are over 29,000 public newsgroups and
that number is growing daily. Newsgroups are both public and/or
private. There is no listing of private newsgroups. A user of
private newsgroups has to be invited into the newsgroup and be
provided with the newsgroup's address.
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