Pandora’s Blog

Friend of Pandora’s Blog, Lawrence Fine, who is the author of the Online Lifeline blog, is giving away two Internet safety e-books, via download and absolutely FREE of charge.
Visit his website to get them (they are .pdf’s): Online Lifeline – Internet Safety for Kids and their parents by Lawrence Fine
Here’s a quick blurb about each. [...]

Thought I’d begin the week with a few stories that come from around the country and show good things happening in the world of Internet safety. Each story highlights a new law or bill or program in the area to help boost online safety in the community/ state.
Of course, I don’t need to remind y’all [...]

Last week I came across a story and did a post (Social Networks Can Ruin Your Job Potential) on the idea that employers are now checking social networking sites to find profiles of prospective employees. Thus, it you are an idiot and post incriminating stuff or things that make you look like a less-than-desirable hire, [...]

It’s a slow week when there are only two stories to share in the world of busted Internet predators. However, one of these stories is a sweet culmination of Operation Safe Summer 3 in Florida, which netted 27 nabbed suspects. Excellent.
Again, people, read the stories. These guys were ALL trying to solicit sex from minors, [...]

Always happy to report news from my home state. New York legislators have taken the step that Virginia did last year and implemented – within education law – curriculum requirements relating to Internet safety. Awesome. This is what every state needs.
Of course, parents need to be educated and educating in the home as well. Safe [...]

Here is an interesting story. A boy in Arkansas who has been perpetually bullied at school is now suing the school system for refusing to defuse the situation. While the bullying wasn’t entirely cyberbullying, it did play a part in the overall hostility and humiliation.
The story doesn’t say whether or not the offender’s parents knew [...]

I came across two very cool articles that look at cyberbullying. A lot of their content is stuff that I have been saying, but nonetheless, they are great summaries of the situation, how bad it is and how much worse it’s getting.
Parental control and monitoring software like our PC Pandora can play a vital role [...]

It’s the weekly round-up of Internet predators busted in the last week. Actually, two of these stories are from last Wednesday, but I caught wind of them after I posted the blog.
I can’t say and stress this enough: just because your kids seem fine and it appears they aren’t chatting with pedophiles online, doesn’t mean [...]

OK, this story has nothing to do with Child Online Safety… I just love to point to these stories that remind us that not everyone is who they say they are on the Internet, especially a social networking site. If you meet someone on MySpace or Facebook, don’t be stupid enough to meet them in [...]

While it doesn’t necessarily have to do with online safety, the message here is clear: parents – know what your kids are doing and saying on MySpace. If you don’t future potential employers will… and there’s a chance it will ruin the chance of a job.
All the more reason to utilize parental control and monitoring [...]