Amber Frangos

Amber Frangos is the author of "The Butterfly Net" and "No Child is Safe: from Internet Crime, A Guide for Parents", two very interesting and informative books regarding children on the Internet. She has spent years educating children and adults about the dangers of the Internet. Her books have tips to help keep your children safe online, as well as describing how predators use the Internet to gain access to children and their personal information.

To purchase her books or for more information please visit:

Amber Frangos, At-risk-youth Educator, Researcher, and Writer

What is Social Networking?

Social Networking
(also known as online communities)
These sites allow users to generate and maintain relationships online with other members of the network. The idea is to post journals and pictures of oneself, communicate with others, and find others with similar interests. The communities are great for self-expression, helpful and informative information, new experiences, and more. Social networking has become increasingly popular recently among teens and young adults.
Caution!
- Objectionable material can be found on social networking sites, such as explicit language, racist/violent text and images, and sexual content.
- It is important to maintain your privacy by not advertising any personal information or pictures. One never knows who will venture to their site with the hopes of gaining personal information about a particular person.
- Online predators can lie about their age and location for the purpose of developing a relationship with a minor.
Popular Social Networks
MySpace, Xanda, LiveJournal, myYearbook, BlackPlanet, MiGente, AsianAvenue, Bolt, Hi5, Facebook, and Friendster.

What is Peer-to-Peer?

Peer-to-Peer
(also known as P2P)
P2P systems allow the exchange of files from person to person without having to go through a Web site. There are many legal and ethical issues surrounding P2P systems due to unauthorized sharing of copyrighted materials. These systems allow people to share music, videos, photographs, text documents, and software. The idea behind P2P file-sharing systems is that users who download files should allow others to upload files from them.
Caution!
- Some of the files that are available for download might contain disturbing and inappropriate material.
- P2P software is notorious for including spyware and adware. Spyware is software that automatically downloads itself onto a computer to collect personal information without the user's informed consent. Adware is software that automatically displays advertisements on a computer after it installs itself.

What is Instant Messaging?

Instant Messaging
(also known as IM or IMing)
Instant messaging allows a sender to type a message and then instantly send that message to a recipient on another computer. Anyone who is signed on to the instant messaging program and has an Internet connection can exchange messages in real time, and multiple messages can be sent to several people at once. Recent advances in technology allow text messaging with cell phones.
Caution!
- Like chatrooms, you should never give out any personal information unless you are 100% sure of who you are communicating with.
- Some instant messaging services allow video chatting in real time, which requires a camera or a video device on your computer that is used in corporation with typing.
- Some services encourage you to enter information about yourself into a "profile" with personal information, such as your age, sex, location, interests, etc. While it is not recommended to enter such information, it is even worse to post your name and address. These profiles can usually be seen by anyone.
- Be careful about what you say, because there is no way to "take back" something once you have entered it.
Instant Messaging Services
AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, ICQ, Google Talk, Trillian, iChat, Adium, Miranda, Odigo, Instan-T, and many more.

What are Chatrooms?

Chatrooms
Chatrooms can be one of the most dangerous places on the Internet. (Never say anything in a chatroom that you would not say in public, because you do not know why is there. )
Chatrooms allow one to engage in conversations with people all over the world. They can be used to find friends and to communicate with people who share similar interests. Everyone in the chatroom can see everything that you type, and vice-versa. If the chatroom has a monitor, they cannot prevent you from going to a private chat area or typing information that could put you in danger.
Caution!
- Chatrooms are sometimes used by people to exploit others, can be used by child molesters to find victims, and may be used to bully or harass others.
- Meeting someone in a chatroom is one thing, but meeting them face-to-face is another thing. It may be tempting to meet someone in person, but always remember that people are not always who they seem to be.
- Even if a chatroom is designated for teens, there is a good chance that there are much older people in that chatroom too.
- To avoid harassment, choose a gender-neutral name for use in chatrooms so that no one will know your real name.

What is The Web?

The Web
(also known as the Internet, the Net, the World Wide Web)
The Web consists of millions of Web sites in hundreds of languages that are filled with information on almost every topic imaginable. Some Web sites allow you to read newspapers, shop, research, and play games.
Caution!
- Although there are plenty of safe Web sites on the Internet, there are more than enough sites that contain "adult" images and material. Some of these Web sites can be found quite easily by accidentally clicking on a link or typing in a Web address incorrectly.
- There are many scams online today, so it is important to look at the Web site carefully. Just because a site looks safe does not necessarily mean that it is safe. Entering personal information could mean giving up your privacy, as your name and information could end up being sold without your knowledge.
- Downloading from Web sites can lead to unwanted advertising on your computer, individuals tracking what your are doing online, planting viruses that make your computer more venerable to hackers, and more. Never download anything unless you are certain it is from a trustworthy source.

Parent/Guardian Involvement with Online Safety

Here are some of the findings about the parents and guardians of the youth surveyed and their involvement with online safety from Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later (2006)

• 88% of parents and guardians said they had talked to their children about giving out personal information online
• 86% of parents and guardians said they had talked to their children about the dangers of chatting online with people they do not know in person
• 77% of parents and guardians said they had talked to their children about responding to offensive, nasty, or mean messages
• 76% of parents and guardians said they had talked to their children about talking online about very personal things such as sex
• 76% of parents and guardians said they had talked to their children about dealing with X-rated pop-up ads or spam E-mail
• 51% of youth said their parents or guardians had spoken with them in their past year about seeing X-rated pictures on the Internet
• 47% of youth said their parents or guardians had spoken with them in the past year about people on the Internet who want to talk to them about sex
• 53% of youth said their parents or guardians had spoken with them in the past year about people on the Internet who might threaten, harass, or bother them
• 47% of families used software to block pop-up ads
• 47% of families used software to block spam
• 47% of families used software to filter sexually explicit images or Web sites
• 35% of families used software that monitored youths' online activities
• 31% of families used software that blocked or controlled use of chatrooms
• 30% of families used software that blocked personal information from being posted or E-mailed
• 22% of families used software that included a browser or search engine just for kids
• 11% of families used software that limited the amount of time youth could spend online
• 35% of parents and guardians had heard of places to report unwanted Internet experiences
• 12% of youth told parents or guardians about unwanted sexual solicitations
• 27% of youth told parents or guardians about exposures to sexual material
• 31% of youth told parents or guardians about a harassment
  

Online Victimization of Youth

The report Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later (2006) was produced in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center. This national survey of 1,500 youth aged 10 to 17 documented their use of the Internet and experiences while online including unwanted exposure to sexual solicitation, sexual material, and harassment.

The report can be downloaded here: Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later (2006)

Here are just a few of the interesting findings:

• 70% of the girls and 30% of the boys who were surveyed were targeted for sexual solicitations and approaches
• 81% who were targeted for sexual solicitations and approaches were ages 14 or older
• 73% of the perpetrators of sexual solicitations and approaches were male
• 79% of solicitation incidents happened on home computers
• Of the youth who were solicited, 86% met solicitors online, while 14% were people the youth knew in person before the solicitation
• In aggressive solicitations incidents, 75% of solicitors asked to meet youth in person
• In 56% of the cases, youth did not tell anyone about solicitations
• 54% of the boys and 46% of the girls had unwanted exposure to sexual material
• 83% of unwanted exposure to sexual material incidents happened while youth were surfing the Web
• 86% of youth saw images of naked people, and more than half saw more explicit pictures
• 79% of unwanted exposure to sexual material happened at home
• 34% of youth had posted their real names, telephone numbers, home addresses, or the names of their schools online where anyone could see
• 21% of youth in exposure incidents said they knew a site was X-rated before entering
• 28% of youth said they had "made rude or nasty comments to someone on the Internet"