Watch Video of Panel of Experts On Online Safety

Earlier this month, a panel of experts assembled in San Francisco to discuss internet safety for kids. They were a part of the annual RSA Security Conference. The moderator of the panel, David Kirkpatrick, later stated in CNN that even with all of the benefits of being oline, there are also a host of new threats to kids.  Mr. Kirkpatrick finally noted that, as a society, we have yet to determine how to respond.

Other experts included a medical doctor whose specializes in abused kids, a leading federal prosecutor, a reporter who covers MySpace, and one of Facebook’s senior officials.  You may see the actual conference online at the RSA website.

We hope you see the need to get involved after viewing the conference. Parents must take an active role in protecting their kids online. There are many ways they can do so. We hope you try SnoopStick in your efforts to keep your kids safe.

CNET Calls for Suggestions from Parents on Internet Safety

CNET is asking parents for help. In a recent article, CNET discussed the growing gap between parents and their kids on anything and everything concerning the Internet.  The youngster’s are the one’s in the know, said CNET.  Things like MySpace.com, Facebook, and IM jargon are a foreign country for parents but home ground for kids.

CNET is therefore calling on parents to post stories, advice, and suggestions on CNET about how parents have managed to keep their kids safe online.  CNET will study the postings and publish a new piece summarizing the best of the advice.  We at MyKidsInternetSafety.com heartily recommend that parents visit CNET and let them know how they have handled this thorny issue. (Of course, we hope that SnoopStick will be one of things parents have used in keeping their kids safe!)

Is Snoop Stick Spyware?

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Internet content management software publisher, Solid Oak Software reported today that Symantec Norton Internet Security products are reporting that Solid Oak’s newest product, “CYBERsitter SnoopStick” is Spyware and is thwarting installation and operation.

SnoopStick is a new product in the CYBERsitter line that allows parents to remotely monitor their kids’ Internet access, web page visits, chat sessions, and control Internet access so that they can ensure that sexual predators, cyber bullies, and other undesirables are not attempting to contact their children.

SnoopStick is similar in many ways to Solid Oak’s popular CYBERsitter product already used by millions of parents, except that it ships on a USB stick-type device that allows parents to monitor activity in real time from a remote computer while at work or away from home. Parents can monitor their activities and restrict Internet access for selective services or cut off access completely if necessary.

According to executives at Solid Oak, Symantec’s recent virus definition updates now identify SnoopStick as “Spyware” and will remove it from the computer or prevent its installation. It also destroys the software image on the SnoopStick device itself, making it totally unusable. Since the parent may not know that Symantec’s products have taken some action on their children’s computer, they have effectively overridden security measures that the parent has put in place.

The Wikipedia and generally accepted definition of Spyware is computer software that collects personal information about users without their informed consent. According to Solid Oak Software, SnoopStick certainly does not meet this criterion. If a parent purchases a SnoopStick device to monitor their children’s activities, they do so with informed consent and not only do they have the right, they have the responsibility to do so. Symantec has no place interfering in parental control by taking this ability away from parents.

It is not uncommon for kids these days to have a laptop they take to school and Solid Oak contracts with several computer manufacturers to provide parental control software on laptops used exactly for this purpose. Parents can no longer be simply concerned with what their kids have access to; they have to be concerned with who has access to their kids. CYBERsitter customers have asked for more than just simple content management. SnoopStick gives parents the additional tools they need in today’s world to monitor their children’s activities instantly whether they are in the family room, the classroom, or at the Starbucks downtown, and take immediate action if they feel it necessary.

In the opinion of Brian Milburn, president of Solid Oak, Symantec’s behavior is reckless and irresponsible. “What if a predator or cyber bully contacts a child and the parents have been precluded by Symantec from monitoring a computer they own? Is Symantec going to be held responsible if the child is somehow injured as a result?” he asks. “We were never contacted by Symantec about this. They just decided on their own that a retail product from a responsible and well-known publisher of Internet child protection software is ‘Spyware’ and dangerous. We made every effort to be responsible in SnoopStick’s design. It does not record login names or passwords. It does not record the actual contents of email. It does not monitor keystrokes, nor does it in any way allow access to secure web sites or other protected information,” he says. “This is an extremely important and urgent issue. Parents should know that if they use Symantec’s Norton Internet Security or Norton Anti-Virus on their computers, that their children’s security may be threatened,” he adds.

This is not the first time Solid Oak has had problems with Symantec. In May of 2006, Symantec classified CYBERsitter as Spyware as well. “We have published CYBERsitter continuously for almost 12 years,” says Milburn. “It is still a leading content management product and an extremely valuable and helpful tool for parents, and has been responsible for the apprehension of several sexual predators.” While the CYBERsitter issue was resolved, attempts by Solid Oak to resolve the SnoopStick issue with Symantec have thus far failed.

If asked whether or not SnoopStick could be used for nefarious purposes, officials at Solid Oak would have to admit that this is possible. “But,” says Milburn, “I could do a hell of a lot more damage in a lot less time with a copy of Symantec’s PCAnywhere.”

Symantec’s Security Response definition is available here: http://www.symantec.com/security_response/writeup.jsp?docid=2007-02211 8-2343-99

Will Proposed Legislation Actually Promote Internet Safety?

Rep. Melissa Bean (D-IL) recently introduced H.R. 1008, the “Safeguarding America’s Families by Enhancing and Reorganizing New and Efficient Technologies (SAFER NET) Act of 2006.” The bill would create an Office of Internet Safety and Public Awareness at the Federal Trade Commission, establish federal grants to promote Internet safety programs and create national public awareness campaigns.

Sounds good in theory, but the devil is in the details. What does “Enhancing and Reorganizing” technologies mean? These are, to say the least, broad words, and could give the government an entry way into regulating and controlling the net. When the government regulates something, there is always a danger that the interests of the regulators and the industry that can influence them will outweigh the interests of the public. This is not to say that government regulation is always bad. Of course, it is not– Who would feel safe in investing in the stock market if we did not have the Securities and Exchange Commission? But eternal vigilance is the rule. Watch out for sweeping language and broad rules that give the government free rein to do what its power allows, which may be in the public interest, or may be against it.

Snoop Stick

This blog concerns a topic about which all parents should be concerned – online safety for kids. Lately, trends in the law have made it clear that parents are responsible for insuring that their kids are safe. A recent court decision in Texas, for example, held that MySpace was not responsible for harm that occured as a result of chats that occurred on its website. Accordingly, the responsibility for keeping kids safe is not that of a webiste, or chat room, or instant message system, but rather, it is up to parents. One way parents can help keep their kids safe is to monitor their children’s online activity, using a powerful product called SnoopStick. Snoop Stick is a USB flash drive that enables parents to see what their kids are chatting about either in real-time, or by checking out records kept by SnoopStick later. It is easy to use and inexpenisve. Check it out at www.mykidsinternetsafety.com.