Pandora’s Blog

Three more predators were rounded up last week in sting ops. AND, one guy who successfully got two stupid teenage girls (that he met on MySpace) to meet in real life. He drugged them and raped one.

Once again, parents, just because your child isn’t a victim, does not mean there aren’t people out there trying to make them one. And how do you know your kid isn’t a victim? One of these sickos was a science teacher!

And one of the guys was very successful in his mission, thanks to the utter stupidity of teenage girls. How do you know your 15-year-old girl isn’t doing the same thing? Do you know…?

Well guess what – if you had PC Pandora, you WOULD know! Monitoring software like our PC Pandora records everything your child does on the computer so you can review it and KNOW for sure. Why play games and take chances with your child’s life and safety…? What is the point of NOT knowing for sure?

Seriously folks… It’s hard to have pity on the victims here when they are a) that stupid and b) the parents don’t seem to care enough to know that their child is doing online…

Anyway, here is a quick overview of the perps caught and the full stories are pasted below (as usual):

• A 49-year-old registered sex offender and a partner in Fresno CA were able to lure two girls (15 and 16-years-old) that they met on MySpace to a meeting, where they took them back to their trailer home and drugged and raped the 15 year old.
• A 53-year-old Mesa AZ man was arrested for attempting to solicit sex with a person he believed to be a juvenile online.
• A 34-year-old science teacher from Pittsburgh was arrested for trying to solicit sex and sending pornographic material to what he thought was a 14-year-old girl in a teenage chatroom.
• A 36-year-old Pittsburgh-area man was arrested was arrested for trying to solicit sex and sending pornographic material to what he thought was a 13-year-old girl in a teenage chatroom.

(more…)

This has nothing to do really with Internet safety for parents, though it is an issue of not-everyone-is-who-they-say-they-are. In this case, a would-be predator showed up to a house where he thought he was going to meet a girl he met on MySpace and instead was robbed at gunpoint! Hahahah! Awesome.

But seriously, not everyone is who they say they are online. In fact, next to no one is – especially on MySpace. I wonder what the guy’s profile said, I guarantee there were a few fibs on there… Anyway, parents, use parental control/monitoring software like PC Pandora to make sure you know who your kids are talking to online.

MySpace meeting ends with robbery at gunpoint

A man who thought he was on his way to meet a girl at a west Vallejo home ended up getting robbed when he arrived at the residence early Thursday morning, Vallejo police said.

The victim had been chatting with the girl on the online social networking Web site, MySpace, and had agreed to come her alleged home on the 500 block of Daniels Avenue, police said.

The victim arrived at about 12:15 a.m. and instead of the girl meeting him at the door, he was greeted by two men who robbed him at gunpoint, police said.

The victim was not injured during the incident and no arrests have been made, police said.

In the state of Illinois, Senate Bill 2426 clarifies the definition of harassing someone by using electronic communication, such as the Internet and text messaging, and enables the prosecution of someone who anonymously bullies in this capacity. Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed the bill into law last week, which adds social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook to illegal venues for harassment. Those found guilty of cyberstalking could be charged with a Class 4 felony, which is punishable by up to three years in prison. A sentence can jump up by two years in prison for repeat offenders.

Awesome!

In addition, Senate Bill 2512, which also passed, requires school districts, beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, to incorporate an “age-appropriate Internet safety unit of instruction in the current course of study regularly taught in the district’s schools.” The bill says students, grades three and above, should be taught how to navigate the Internet with caution. This new legislation also gives school boards the authority to determine the scope and time spent on Internet safety instruction. It requires the State Board of Education to make Internet safety resource materials available to school districts on its Web site.

Both laws will take effect on Jan. 1, 2009.

Both are extremely good news and will help in the fight against cyberbullying. There is no arguing that. However, you have to first catch the bullies. And for that you need a program that will record everything and give you evidence. Parental control and monitoring software like PC Pandora will let you know if your kids are being bullied, or worse – if they are the bullies themselves. Armed with the proper information, you can help solve the problem – and/or put a stop to it.

Below are three articles on the new laws, including an announcement from the Gov himself… Take a read…

Gov. Blagojevich Signs New Law Aimed at Protecting Citizens from Cyberbullying
From the Office of Governor Rod Blagojevich

CHICAGO – Governor Rod R. Blagojevich today signed Senate Bill 2426, known as “The Cyberbullying Law,” in an effort to provide citizens new protections from electronic harassment and threats.

“The safety and well-being of our citizens is a top priority, and I am pleased to sign this bill into law today,” said Governor Blagojevich. “People in Illinois will now have added protection from cyberbullying, a serious threat in today’s increasingly technological society.”

Senate Bill 2426, sponsored by State Rep. Patrick J. Verschoore and State Sen. Ira I. Silverstein overwhelmingly passed in both the House (108-1-0) and the Senate (53-1-0). The bill is a response to the October 2006 suicide of a Missouri teenager who had received hurtful messages on the MySpace Web site from someone she thought was a boy she met online, but turned out to be a neighbor’s mother. The incident received extensive national attention, and more than 10 states have now passed laws to protect against future incidents of this nature.

This law clarifies the definition of harassing someone by using electronic communication such as the Internet and text messaging and enables the prosecution of someone who anonymously bullies in this capacity. SB 2426 becomes law January 1, 2009.

“Cyberbullying is a new, but troubling problem that needs to be addressed,” said Rep. Verschoore. “This bill takes real steps to deterring this criminal behavior and I am pleased to see the Governor sign it into law.”

“Numerous other states have taken the initiative and passed laws targeting cyberbullying. I am pleased that Illinois has joined those states, in the fight to protect its citizens against these harmful and hurtful acts,” said Sen. Silverstein.

Since February 2007, the Illinois State Police (ISP) Internet Crimes Unit has received 139 complaints of cyber-stalking.

“With the advancement of technology, law enforcement has observed an increase in criminal activity that has stemmed from electronic communications,” said ISP Director Larry G. Trent. “Law enforcement agencies throughout the State will now be able hold those individuals accountable that continue to torment or terrorize by unwanted or unwarranted electronic statements. The Cyberbullying Law will give everyone, including our children, the protection to use their electronic devices without fear of receiving a threat or becoming a victim of harassing and obscene communications.”

In 2006, Governor Blagojevich established the Internet Crimes Unit (ICU). This is a unique enforcement group capable of educating the public, gathering information from the private sector, coordinating investigations with other bodies and agencies of law enforcement, de-conflicting investigative efforts, researching crime, proactively searching the Web for criminal activity, and then performing the required forensic work to further investigative efforts and assist prosecutors in jailing offenders.

The ICU serves as a point of contact for the general public, schools and the law enforcement community for all concerns regarding Internet safety or crimes like identity theft, financial fraud and terrorism. The unit also serves as the initial point of contact for citizen inquiries; a repository for public safety information; provides statewide de-confliction for investigations; and offers criminal intelligence analysis for law enforcement agencies and computer evidence recovery for investigations and trial preparation.

For more information on the Internet Crimes Unit, visit: www.isp.state.il.us/icu.

New law targets cyberbullying
By Andrea Zelinski

Bullies are taking intimidation beyond the playground.

Text messaging dirty rumors. The posting of embarrassing pictures on Facebook or nasty comments on MySpace.

As technology-savvy students communicate through the Internet, as many as one-third say they’ve been a victim of cyberbullying, where schoolyard tactics of harassment and intimidation take to the Web, according to the National Crime Prevention Council.

“Texting, MySpace, that’s their life. That what they know. That’s what they use. That’s how they communicate,” said Clint Christopher, director of technology and curriculum at Moline School District. “For them, this isn’t a new or different way of doing it. That’s what they know.”

Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a bill into law this week that adds social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook to illegal venues for harassment.

Those found guilty of cyberstalking could be charged with a Class 4 felony, which is punishable by up to three years in prison. A sentence can jump up by two years in prison for repeat offenders.

There’s already a cyberstalking bill on the books in Illinois, making it illegal to knowingly harass another person through the Internet.

“Nobody’s asked us to prosecute it,” said Jamie Boyd, Kankakee County state’s attorney, who said the new bill might encourage more people to report cases. “As far as we know, it’s not an issue in Kankakee at this point.”

The state added social networking sites to the mix after a 13-year-old Missouri girl hanged herself in 2006 thinking she was being rejected by a 16-year-old boy she befriended online.

The “boy” was really a neighbor’s mother posing as the 16-year-old, according to the U.S. State’s Attorney’s office. When breaking off the relationship, the woman allegedly told the girl, through the imaginary boy’s MySpace page, that the world would be better off without her.

“This is certainly not going to stop anyone from getting bullied. We have plenty of laws on the books,” said state Sen. Mike Jacobs, D-East Moline, one of two lawmakers who voted against the bill. “There’s a thing called an off and on button. If someone’s bullying your child, turn the computer off.”

The new law takes affect Jan. 1, 2009.

“The sad part is it’s out there and it’s there for everyone to read,” said Mike Tresnak, assistant principal at Ottawa Township High School, about cyberbullying. “If you say it in passing, it’s done. Once you say it in cyberspace, it’s permanently there.”

Web safety will be part of school curriculum
Beacon News staff

Next year, Illinois students will study Internet safety in addition to their traditional subjects.

This curriculum change comes after Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Thursday signed into law Senate Bill 2512, which was sponsored by House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego.

The legislation requires school districts, beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, to incorporate an “age-appropriate Internet safety unit of instruction in the current course of study regularly taught in the district’s schools.”

The bill says students, grades three and above, should be taught how to navigate the Internet with caution.

“While our children are being introduced to computers and the Internet in the classroom, it makes sense for our schools as a component of computer education to provide basic instruction on how to remain safe while using the Internet,” Cross said.

This new legislation also gives school boards the authority to determine the scope and time spent on Internet safety instruction. It requires the State Board of Education to make Internet safety resource materials available to school districts on its Web site, according to Cross’ staff.

Cross, who was the bill’s chief house sponsor, called the Internet a “wonderful tool and resource,” but said, “this technology is also being utilized by adult predators seeking to gain access to unsuspecting children.”

Cross has cited social networking Web sites in the past, which have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, as an easy avenue for predators to take when scoping out unsuspecting children as prey.

As students head back to the classroom, PC Pandora reminds parents to implement computer and Internet usage rules and utilize parental control/monitoring software tools to help keep their young learners focused and safe online.

New York, NY (PRWEB) August 21, 2008 — It’s August and that means students are headed back to classrooms across the country. While some kids may have found more time to surf idly online during the summer, the school year gives them an excuse to be online even more.

“Kids definitely spend more time online during the summer months,” says James Leasure, Co-Founder of Pandora Corp., makers of PC Pandora parental control monitoring software. “But very often, parents will try to curtail that time. Now with school back in the picture, kids have the excuse they need to ‘legally’ be online and surfing the Internet.”

Parents will have no choice but to allow their kids to be on the computer, as many teachers now post homework online, encourage online research and require properly typed homework. But unsupervised time can quickly turn to mischief.

“Instead of doing research for a report, they may be updating their Facebook pages,” says Leasure.

Going back to school also means forging new school friendships and participating in new activities.

“There is no doubt that kids keep in constant touch over the Internet throughout the summer,” says Leasure, “but they may find themselves becoming friends with classmates they weren’t friends with before or perhaps befriending the new student at school. Add to that the joining of special clubs or sports, and there is a definite chance of new friends popping up on your child’s social network page and IM buddy lists.”

Pandora Corp. is reminding parents to stay in control and to implement rules of usage for the home computer. Parental control and monitoring software combined with proper communication is the recipe for success.

“Make sure you set up a schedule for computer time and rules for proper usage,” explains Leasure. “If they are supposed to be doing schoolwork, make sure they are doing school work, and explain to them why it’s important to focus on the task at hand.”

Conversely, Leasure also wants to make sure that parents don’t forget to allow their kids free time to surf, chat and play games.

“It’s just like eating,” he says. “A healthily balanced diet is the key to a healthy child - in this case, it’s mental health and safety.”

PC Pandora monitoring software can help parents keep their kids safe both on and offline. First-rate monitoring capabilities will record all user activity through sequential snapshots, which allow you to visually see everything your child does online.

“If your kids are spending 5 minutes doing homework and 55 minutes chatting online, you will know,” states Leasure.

PC Pandora also records activity through text-based files that capture all emails sent and received, instant messenger conversations, websites visited, programs accessed, peer-to-peer files shared, keystrokes logged, search queries, webcam output, plus file and document tracking.

Parental controls in PC Pandora allow parents to prevent programs from being accessed, such as Instant Messenger, and also help filter out inappropriate web content or block specific websites - parents can even customize an ‘access denied’ message. The IRIS feature allows parents to receive updates on their child’s activity when they are not able to be home.

“Our IRIS feature is invaluable to any working parent,” says Leasure. “It’ll give parents the information they need to be able to enforce Internet and computer rules when they aren’t at home.”

Classes back in session will give kids the excuse to be on the computer and online all the time. But with proper communication and effective parental control and monitoring software tools like PC Pandora, parents can make sure their kids are not abusing online privileges and staying safe. A 2-hour trial of PC Pandora is available at PCPandora.com.

Teenage Online Statistics:

A recent Pew Internet & American Life Project report says:

• 94% of teens 12-17 go online
• 63% of online teens go online daily
• 94% go online to do research for school assignments; 48% do so on a typical day
• 32% of online teens have been contacted by a complete stranger online; of teens that have been contacted, 23% say they were made scared or uncomfortable by the stranger contact
• Social network users more likely to have been contacted by strangers
• 32% of online teens have experienced a form of cyberbullying, such as having private material (IM, text, email) forwarded without permission, receiving threatening messages, having a rumor spread about them online or having someone post an embarrassing picture of them online without permission
• Having Internet monitoring software (but not filters) is correlated with lower reported levels of contact by someone unknown to the teen or his/her friends

By contrast:

• 65% of parents say they check up on their teens after they go online - This means that 35% of parents DO NOT check!
• 45% of families have monitoring software on the computer that their child uses - This means that 55% of parents cannot confirm what their child does online or has no clue.
• 7% of parents have no rules about media use at all - This figure should be ZERO!

About PC Pandora: Pandora Corporation was formed with one goal - to help our customers monitor, control and protect their families and themselves online. First released in mid 2005, PC Pandora has been constantly upgraded to industry-leading specifications and has received accolades from users, reviewers and even school districts and law enforcement agencies, who use the program to help in the day-to-day supervision of the children and citizens they are charged with protecting. The company website devotes space to helping parents by providing 18 Tips to Safe Surfing and Pandora’s Blog, where current news in the world of online safety is discussed regularly. PC Pandora has vaulted into a leadership position by boasting a combination of features that are unparalleled in the monitoring industry. In February 2008, Version 5.0 was released, again widening the spectrum of coverage and protection offered by the program. In addition, through the company’s SAFE SCHOOLS program, schools and school districts can receive up to $100,000 worth of software to aid in protecting their students and their PCs. PC Pandora is also now available through the Pandora Corp. store at Amazon.com.

Reporters and Producers: Looking to cover this topic? We are your technology solution and experts. Software is available for review and testing. Staff members are always available for interviews. Let us help you show your audience how easy it can be to keep their kids safe online.

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Last week, I made no blog posts due to travel and other busy-ness. So, unfortunately, I skipped over my favorite post of the week – my Internet predator round-up. But that just means I have a bigger installment for everyone today on this, the 13th installment of my Wacky Internet Predator Wednesday blog series.

This week we showcase 7 goons from around the country that were arrested for trying to have sex with kids they met online. This is 7 more reasons that parents need to be using parental control and monitoring software like PC Pandora to ensure that their kids aren’t talking to sickos like this:

• A 47-year-old Swedish man tried to arrange a sexual rendezvous with a 13-year-old girl on a trip to the United States.
• A 35-year-old Missouri man was arrested after he arranged over the internet to meet up with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl from Arkansas
• A 34-year-old Michigan man arrested in June was ordered to stand trial for arranging and trying to meet what he thought was a 13-year-old girl he met online
• A 42-year-old social studies teacher in Oregon was arrested and charged with seven counts of online sexual corruption of what he thought was a 13-year-old girl he met on MySpace.
• A 34-year-old southern California man who drove to a Laguna Beach park expecting a sexual tryst with a 13-year-old girl was snared in a police sting instead and is facing felony charges.
• A 26-year-old Colorado man faces four felony charges of attempting to lure an investigator posting as a 14-year-old girl in an Internet chat room.
• A 24-year-old Oklahoma man offered to trade marijuana for sex with a girl he thought was younger than the age of 16. When he went to meet the girl - with a loaded gun – he was arrested and is behind bars now.

Here are the full stories with links…

(more…)

Round of applause to MySpace for doing some good. During the first half of 2008, the website reportedly deleted 146 profiles belonging to approximately 112 registered Nebraska sex offenders. Nebraska provided MySpace with a list of names of registered sex offenders, a practice that many (if not all) states participate in.

Anyway, it’s obvious that while this is good news, MySpace was only able to delete the profiles of the stupid sex offenders – the ones that use real names or other true identifiers in their profiles. Imagine all the RSOs that don’t use any real identifiers. Imagine all the would-be predators that have yet to be caught in the Cornhusker state.

Obviously this is where parental control and monitoring programs like PC Pandora come in. With full knowledge of everything your child does online will keep them safe and you sane. You’ll be able to know whom they are talking to and where they are going with the monitoring capabilities of PC Pandora. There’s no reason not to know. Removing 112 individuals is great… but think of how many more there are. And that’s just in Nebraska…

MySpace removes Nebraska sex offenders
By North Platte Bulletin Staff

Attorney General Jon Bruning announced recently that social networking site MySpace deleted 146 profiles belonging to approximately 112 registered Nebraska sex offenders. The company removed the profiles during the first half of 2008.

MySpace gathers sex offender registry lists from states, compares those lists to users on its site and deletes offenders’ profiles.

This is the second time MySpace removed the profiles of Nebraska sex offenders from its site. The company deleted 247 profiles in 2007 after a working group of attorneys general from 52 states and territories, including Nebraska, sent a letter to the company demanding it turn over information about sex offenders. The working group encourages social networking sites to help protect children from threats such as sexual predators and inappropriate content.

“This is part of our on going efforts to help protect children on the Internet,” said Bruning. “Keeping sex offenders off social sites is a critical step to keeping our kids safe online.”

A bill making it illegal for registered sex offenders to use social networking sites will be part of the Attorney General’s legislative package for next year.

Internet safety has been and continues to be a top priority for Bruning. Over the last five years, the Attorney General’s Office has:

• Reached an agreement with Facebook, which restricted users from changing their ages and aggressively removes inappropriate content and groups from the site.
• Reached an agreement with MySpace that enhances online safety by developing age/identity verification software.
• Reached an agreement with Yahoo! that shut down 70,000 chat rooms frequented by sexual predators.
• Worked with the legislature to create the offense of Online Enticement.
• Worked with the legislature to pass cyberstalking legislation. LB 142 made it a felony for an adult to send sexually explicit material to a child under 16.
• Increased penalties for the possession of child pornography: one to 20 years for the first offense; one to 50 years for each subsequent offense.
• Hosted Websafe, an Internet safety conference for local law enforcement and prosecutors, educational administrators, community officials and victim advocacy groups.
• Launched www.safekids.ne.gov, an Internet safety Web site.

Big news on the west coast this week, as legislators are close to passing a law that would see students suspended (at the very least) or expelled (at the very worst) if they are caught bullying through text messages or the Internet.

A lot of people agree that legislation like this is needed, but it’ll be hard to near impossible to control what kids do on their cell phones and on the internet.

Here’s my retort: That may be true, but I challenge any student to stand up during an assembly or go over the loudspeaker during morning announcements and say “Hey everyone, Kenny sucks d*cks and is a flaming a**hole,” and not get in trouble. If you can’t do it in person, why are kids allowed to do it through electronic means with no repercussions?

You may not be able to control what kids are going to do, but if someone is being bullied and is maliciously hurt, they should have the backing of the law and the school on their side to get the offender in trouble. As of now there is no legal means to do so and cases are handled ad-hoc by individual administrations.

The bottom line is that, yes, I am aware kids have always picked on each other since the dawn of time, and will continue to do so. Hell, even I was pushed around on the schoolyard. But the Internet has afforded kids the opportunity to make the offense 100x worse, reaching 100x as many people and doing so from the confines of their bedroom and in some cases with total anonymity. This isn’t your dad’s schoolyard fight. This situation is out of hand and needs to be delt with.

To those that say this is drastic and over zealous, to you I say: well, maybe you should have controlled your kids and told them how to behave in a society and respect one another. The kids have brought them upon themselves, and now, if we adults have to step in and tell them how to act and threaten with punishment – so be it.

Cyberbullying is yet another reason why parents need parental control and monitoring software programs like PC Pandora on their home machines. You need to know if your child is a victim so you can help them beat the problem… and, now, you really need to know if your child is an instigator - or they will face severe punishment… not to mention it’s just WRONG!

There are two good stories on the issue with video clips. Please visit the sites and watch; I have pasted headlines and the first few paragraphs of each here…

State bill outlaws ‘cyber-bullying’
By Jovana Lara, KABC 7

SUN VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) — California lawmakers are close to passing a bill aimed at protecting students from “cyber-bullying.”

Gossip is an age-old problem at middle schools and high schools everywhere. But with the popularity of electronic devices like cell phones and computers and pagers, some believe that gossip has grown potentially harmful, even dangerous. Now a local lawmaker is proposing a new law that would make it illegal to “cyber-bullly.”

Cell phones, pagers, BlackBerry devices and computers all make the task of communicating so much faster and easier. However, that same technology in the wrong hands can be destructive.

“To the point where kids just start doing drugs or just kill themselves,” said student Edward Esparza. “That’s it. It just gets out of hand sometimes.”

Santa Maria educators and students react to cyberbullying legislation
By Melissa Mecija, KSBY 6

In a bill aimed at stopping “cyberbullying,” California State Assemblyman Ted Lieu from Torrance proposed legislation that would suspend or expel students if they are caught bullying through text messages or the Internet.

Some educators in Santa Maria said legislation like this is needed. But whether or not they can control students’ cell phones or the Internet is another story.

As much as I loathe Cablevision’s IO digital cable service (worst I have ever had out of 4 different ones), I have to give them props for joining the fight and following suit of several other major ISPs in the country against child pornography Web sites.

Good news and good job!!

(p.s. Parental control and monitoring software like PC Pandora can be used by parents to make sure their kids are not a victim to this despicable crime)

Cablevision joins ISPs blocking child porn sites
By Danny Teigman, Newsday

Cablevision Systems Corp., Long Island’s largest Internet service provider, yesterday became the latest provider to voluntarily block child pornography Web sites and their images.

The decision was part of an agreement reached with state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who since his 2006 election has made the elimination of Internet child pornography a key issue.

“We’re doing what I set out to do,” said Cuomo, speaking at a news conference at the Hempstead Public Library. “I laid out my priorities.”

Bethpage-based Cablevision - which owns Newsday and has 2.4 million high-speed-Internet customers - joins Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, AOL, Sprint and Time Warner Cable in blocking access.

Cablevision representatives did not attend the meeting, but the company said in a statement that it has employed “long-standing efforts to promote Internet safety and appropriate behavior online.”

“Child pornography has no place on the Internet, or in our society,” said Lisa Rosenblum, Cablevision’s senior vice president of government affairs and education.

Cablevision will also block newsgroups, which are public discussion boards that allow potential predators to send links to child porn and child sex trafficking Web sites. Jim Maiella, a spokesman for Cablevision, said that a new sub link to report child pornography has been added to the Web site within the overall child abuse reporting category.

The agreement, Cuomo said, will work in concert with legal strategies of the past, where law enforcement attempted to track individuals downloading or uploading illegal imagery. Now, Internet service providers will “turn off the faucet” of Internet porn by preventing the imagery from reaching the Internet in the first place.

Although the agreement is voluntary, Cuomo said that if companies do not comply with his office’s requests, criminal and civil litigation will be pursued.

At least one educator said the agreement will help her better self-monitor seemingly innocuous Web sites that automatically link to illegal sites.

“It’s a great start,” said Sheila Hankin, a third-grade teacher in Westbury. “We have filters, we have firewalls, but that doesn’t always work.”

PC Pandora stresses the importance of monitoring computer activity on your home machine for multiple reasons, including child online safety and personal protection. Parental control and monitoring software can help keep your machine safe and secure in more ways than one…

New York, NY (PRWEB) August 7, 2008 — Today, PC security is an issue that touches almost every aspect of everyday life. Just as it is essential to safeguard kids from potential Internet dangers, it’s also essential to keep your PC safe from virus attacks, hackers, and perhaps even more importantly, those everyday mistakes and bugs that can result in the frustration of lost hours of work or irreplaceable family memories.

Parental control software is the best answer for parents looking to keep their kids safe online. But PC monitoring software can also perform a valuable function in any home - even one without kids - by keeping an exact record of everything you do on your PC.

“If you have children, having a visual record of everything your child does will help you to make sure they are not communicating with someone they shouldn’t be, or falling victim to — or acting as — a cyberbully,” explains James Leasure, Co-Founder of Pandora Corp., makers of PC Pandora monitoring software and Pandora Recovery file recovery software. “But for parents and adults in general, having a visual record of all the activity on your computer is not such a bad idea.”

For workers that spend a significant amount of time working at home, or professionals that travel frequently, monitoring software can be a lifesaver if an important document or presentation is lost, deleted or becomes corrupted and unable to be opened outside of the office environment.

Even for personal business such as online banking and bill paying, having that extra record of everything can be a relief when unexpected situations arise, such as online payments failing to go through, or worse yet, if users become victims of hacked accounts or other forms of identity theft.

“Monitoring software would effectively let you go back in time on your machine and replay everything that happened,” says Leasure. “If that means getting confirmation numbers you forgot to write down or safely finding a website that corrupted your machine, everything will be there.”

Having parental control/monitoring software can also be helpful if your machine sees usage by various third parties, including extended family in town for the weekend or your child’s friends. Programs like PC Pandora will enable you to track any harmful changes that may have been made to your system.

Leasure says, “There is lot that others can do to your PC, on purpose or by accident, that can have an effect on its performance — and on your safety. If the wrong files get deleted, you can have a seriously corrupted system. Even worse, if the wrong setting is changed or the wrong files deleted, you could find yourself locked out of your own bank account or even have your private passwords and personal information opened up to anyone that cares to look. If you have a record of everything that happened, you can isolate the problem and have a better shot at rectifying it.”

There is also the case of illegal activity being performed on a family PC. Whether it’s downloading pirated music and movies, or even inappropriate and illegal photos of minors, the computer’s owner is the one who will answer to authorities. Monitoring software like PC Pandora gives owners a full visual and documented recording of everything that happens on the machine. They’ll be able to fix problems quickly, and hold anyone using the computer in an inappropriate manner accountable for their activity.

PC Pandora is parental control software that monitors and records all user activity. PC Pandora acts as a DVR for your PC by taking sequential snapshots of all activity on screen. The snapshots then allow the machine’s administrators to see everything that happened on the computer, telling you who did what and when. Further details of user activity, such as instant messenger chats, emails sent and received, websites visited, keystrokes logged, peer-2-peer files shared and downloaded, programs accessed and more, can be seen in text-based files. It also utilizes Internet filters and program blocks to disallow access to content you don’t want others to see on your machine.

Security to your home PC is essential in today’s networked and connected world. Having the ability to know everything that happens on your machine can play a vital role in fixing system errors and putting a stop to illegal activity. Monitoring software like PC Pandora 5.0 and free data recovery programs like Pandora Recovery are imperative security measures. A free 2-hour trial of PC Pandora is available at www.pcpandora.com.

About PC Pandora: Pandora Corporation was formed with one goal - to help our customers monitor, control and protect their families and themselves online. First released in mid 2005, PC Pandora has been constantly upgraded to industry-leading specifications and has received accolades from users, reviewers and even school districts and law enforcement agencies, who use the program to help in the day-to-day supervision of the children and citizens they are charged with protecting. The company website devotes space to helping parents with 18 Tips to Safe Surfing and Pandora’s Blog, where current news in the world of online safety is discussed regularly. PC Pandora has vaulted into a leadership position by boasting a combination of features that unparalleled in the monitoring industry. In February 2008, Version 5.0 was released, again widening the spectrum of coverage and protection offered by the program. In addition, through the company’s SAFE SCHOOLS program, schools and school districts can receive up to $100,000 worth of software to aid in protecting their students and their PCs. PC Pandora is also now available through the Pandora Corp. store at Amazon.com.

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SO, here’s another round-up of sickos who got caught using the Internet to try and lure young kids for sex. These are all prime examples of why it is so important to be aware of what your kids are doing online, where they are going and who they are talking to. You can use parental control and monitoring software like our PC Pandora to keep YOUR kids safe!

Here’s a summary of the stories below:

• A 31-year-old man from Massachusettes contacted a real 13-year old girl and eventually started asking for sex. The girl, thankfully, told her parents, who got he cops involved, who took over the girl’s account and arrested the man…
• A 64-year-old man in Pennsylvania posed as a 26-year-old in a chat room and approached what he thought was a 13-year-old girl for sex, after sending him nude pictures of himself. The young girl was really an undercover officer…
• A 22-year-old Kansas man was sentenced 3 years probation – as opposed to 5 years in prison – after soliciting what he thought was a 14-year-old girl for sex. The judge ordered probation because there was no “real “ victim and the man changed his mind and tried to leave before committing any crime – and before he knew police were closing in. So, while this may seem fair in a court of law, how does it seem to parents?
• Two Pennsylvania men, ages 28 and 37, were arrested as a result of an online sting operation. The two men both had numerous conversations with what they thought was a 14-year-old girl. They also sent nude photos, and one of them even sent a video of himself masturbating.

Here are the full stories and their links…

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