Through
OnlineSafetyShield Inc.'s products and services, we have set a goal to donate $5 million over five years to address the issue of children's safety by contributing a portion of every subscription sold. These funds will be donated to non-profit organizations working to address the child safety issues. Thus every OnlineSafetyShield subscription you buy makes a difference!
If you would like to nominate an organization to receive funds from our Online Safety Fund, please
click here to email us. Monitor Everyone Who Uses Your Computer! Try Before You Buy!Online Safety Shield Blog
Dear Parent:
Our children are our Nation's most valuable asset. They represent the bright future of our country and hold our hopes for a better Nation. Our children are also the most vulnerable members of society. Protecting our children against the fear of crime and from becoming victims of crime must be a national priority.
Unfortunately the same advances in computer and telecommunication technology that allow our children to reach out to new sources of knowledge and cultural experiences are also leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and harm by computer-sex offenders
Louis J. Freeh, Former Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Monitor Everyone Who Uses Your Computer! Try Before You Buy!Online Safety Shield Blog
By Chris McElroy
I am the founder of a missing children organization and get asked all the time "How do I teach my child to be safe without scaring him or her? These tips will help you know what you need to do as a parent.
1. Keep a
Kidsearch Network Child ID Kit in a safe place that is accessible 24/7 and update the photographs and other information every 6 months. If you do not have a kit for each of your children,
click here to build one.
2. Make sure your child always checks with you before going anywhere with anyone.
3. Know your neighbors and other adults that have access to your children. Every state allows the public to check the criminal backgrounds of those who have access to your children. Just contact local law enforcement.
4. Know your neighborhood. Show your children the safest places to play and areas to avoid; like alleys and dark stairwells.
5. Do not advertise your child's name on clothing, school supplies or backpacks.
6. Get a cell phone or pager for your child. This way you can be in contact with them at all times.
7. Make sure your child knows to scream and run if approached in an alarming way by anyone. Your child should be taught to ALWAYS tell you immediately if he or she is approached by a stranger who asks for help, offers candy/gifts, or frightens him/her in anyway. Your child should know to make you aware of anytime he or she feels uncomfortable with ANYONE.
8. If you have an Internet ready computer in the home, put it in a common area and use
Online Safety Shield to monitor your children's Internet activities and what they are being exposed to.
9. Seek alternatives to leaving your children alone at home, in the car or outside. If your child is a latch-key kid, make sure that he or she knows to keep all doors and windows locked, never let anyone know that he or she is alone, and never let anyone in the house, not even someone claiming to be a police officer or from the fire department. Those kinds of professionals know to forcibly enter in case of an emergency.
10. Teach your children how to use a pay phone without money and how to call 911. Make sure your child learns his or her address and phone number at an early age. A second phone number of a friend or relative is also helpful. Teach your child how to make a collect phone call, and to begin with 'Operator...I'm in trouble; I need your help.'
11. Do not leave a child unattended while shopping, visiting with neighbors or friends, or running errands. Under no circumstances should you leave a child alone in a car or truck. Amusement parks and other large, bustling venues aimed at entertaining children can attract predators.
12. If you maintain firearms in your home, use approved trigger locks and keep them safely locked up.
13. When your child comes to you with a problem or about someone making them feel uncomfortable, make sure that you listen and do not blame them.
14. If your child receives pornography on the Internet, (Many people who never surf porn still receive it in email), do not immediately blame your child. Discuss it with them and explain why it's not allowed and how to immediately delete it. Report the sender to their ISP. Call The Kidsearch Network if you do not know how and we will do it for you.
Is the Internet a treasure chest of educational opportunities for kids? Or is it a place filled with all sorts of dangers?
The reality, of course, is that it is both. The online world can pose a threat to youngsters, ranging from exposure to sexually explicit material, to stalking, to physical molestation. Disturbing as well is the proliferation of child pornography.
Monitor Everyone Who Uses Your Computer! Try Before You Buy!Online Safety Shield Blog
A Child ID Kit is much more than just fingerprints and pictures. Those little child id cards are no help when your child is missing. First of all the picture on the card cannot be blown up and made into a flyer and second, fingerprints don't help us find missing children. They only help identify a child AFTER they are found.
Picture for a moment, your worst nightmare is realized and your child is missing. Of course you call 911 immediately. Now the police arrive and begin asking you questions. They need information about your child's school, the doctor, the dentist, your child's friends, your friends, your relatives, favorite places your child likes to go to play or hide, and much much more.
You have all of this information but when you are that upset, how long will it take you to find everything the police need? Every minute a child is missing expands the search area by one mile in every direction. The faster that information is available to the police, the faster they can begin searching. The first few minutes are crucial in the search for a missing child.
Our experience in searching for missing children has helped us compile a very comprehensive Child ID Kit that will help you organize a file on each of your children just in case they are ever missing. The Kit is free, but your donations are greatly appreciated.
Click here for your free child id kitThen click here to monitor your child's computer while they are online.Online Safety Shield Blog
by Chris McElroy
What websites did your child visit this week? Did any of those websites contain porn, illegal content, or content that you would not allow your child to be exposed to?
What did your child receive in their email this week? Did someone from Bulgaria, Russia, or Thailand send them pornography? How about someone who lives even closer to you? What did they send your child?
Did anyone approach your child about sex in an Internet chat room this week? Did someone invite them to run away from home or to secretly meet with them offline?
Was your child approached through his or her Instant Messenger about sex this week?
You don't know? You hope not? You think that if it happened they would have told you about it? Or do you just think that none of that can happen to your child because you have some sort of content filter installed?
As a parent you have to be proactive. If you did not know the answers to those questions I mentioned above then your child is at risk of being taken advantage of by a child sex predator.
No, I am not just being an alarmist. I am not chicken little and the sky is not falling. However children are falling prey to online sex predators far too often.
Besides that, they are being exposed to pornography, inappropriate content, and even illegal content. If that does not concern you it should.
If your child is trading in pirated music, movies, and software, you can be sued for thousands of dollars. Do you really think saying, "You should not do that" is enough if there is a song or a movie they really want and they know you will never find out about it?
Child sex predators online are very, very smart. Smarter than your child. They can chat with your child for months gathering bits and pieces of personal information they can use to stalk or kidnap your child.
Spammers send out porn to every email address they can get. Is your child's email address among them. Is your child being sent pornography by email? Does it concern you that they might?
And whom are they talking to in that chatroom or on their instant messenger? Is it a friend they met online or someone who is out to do them harm? Do you need for something to happen before you do anything about it?
I am CEO of a missing children organization called the Kidsearch Network and have had to go out and search for more than 80 missing children. We have found a lot of them safe and sound, but we have also been on cases that turned out to be a homicide by a child abductor. Believe me when I tell you this. You do not want to wait until something happens before you do something to make sure your child is safe online.
The software is not expensive nor is it complicated to use, so you have no excuse as a parent for not knowing the answers to the questions I have asked you in this article. Our organization has no affiliation with the companies that provide this software. We make no money by promoting the use of the computer monitoring software. We just want your child to be safe.
You can even try it out for free. Go to
http://www.onlinesafetyshield.com for more information. It even tells you by email or by your cellphone whenever your child views inappropriate content. You control what websites your child cannot visit. You monitor their email for when inappropriate content is there. If you monitor your child’s computer, the next time I ask those questions, you will be able to say yes.
Chris McElroy actively searches for Missing Children and runaway teens. You can read more at
http://www.kidsearchnetwork.org ,
http://www.missingchildrenblog.com and
http://www.runawayteens.org Monitor Everyone Who Uses Your Computer! Try Before You Buy!Online Safety Shield BlogInternet Safety Shield Blog
By: Matthew Keegan
Important legislation has been introduced which, if passed, would go a long way toward protecting our nation's children from sexual predators. The proposed The Child Safety Act of 2005 would increase criminal penalties against convicted child molesters as well as close loopholes in laws that allow predators to roam free. Let's take a look at the pending legislation and how you can play an important part in seeing that it becomes law.
HR 3132, also known as The Child Safety Act of 2005, was introduced by Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, on July 26th as a response to several high profile crimes involving children. Each crime committed involved the kidnapping, sexual exploitation, and murder of the victims by predators including these three cases:
David Onstott, 36, has been charged with first-degree murder of 13 year old Sarah Lunde. Law enforcement officials say that Onstott, a registered sex offender, confessed to breaking in to the home of the teen and choking her to death. Her body was found one week later in an abandoned fishing pond near her home.
John Evander Couey, 46, has been charged with capital murder, burglary, kidnapping, and sexual battery on a child under the age of 12, as a result of breaking into Jessica Lunsford's home while she was sleeping. Couey reportedly confessed to repeatedly raping the child and then buried her alive in the backyard of his home located in Jessica's neighborhood.
Joseph Edward Duncan III, 42, has been charged with the murder of four individuals from one family as well as the kidnapping and rape of two children. Duncan stalked the Groene family home for several days before overpowering and killing three family members and kidnapping the two youngest children. One of the children, Dylan Groene, was later murdered while his sister, Shasta, was rescued.
In all three cases the perpetrators all had a criminal history -- often extensive -- and were able to allude the law by failing to register as sex offenders. The Child Safety Act of 2005 will include the following provisions as outlined in the press conference handout distributed by congressional aides:
Improves Sex Offender Registration and Notification Program to ensure that sex offenders register, and keep current, where they reside, work and attend school
Improves verification systems for sex offender information by requiring monthly verification, sex offender in-person verification every six months, and regular notarized verification mailings
Requires States to have a uniform, public access sex offender registration website
Creates Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website to search for sex offender information in each community
Expands sex offenders to include juvenile sex offenders
Requires States to notify each other when sex offender moves from one State to another
Expands sex offenses covered by registration and notification requirements to include military, tribal, foreign, sex crimes, and increases duration of registration requirements to protect the public
Expands community notification requirements to include active efforts to inform law enforcement agencies, schools, public housing, social service agencies and volunteer organizations in area where sex offender resides, works or attends school
Creates new criminal penalty of mandatory minimum of 5 years to maximum of 20 years for sex offender who fails to comply with registration requirements
Expands law enforcement use of DNA to solve sex crimes
Prevents and deters violent crimes against children and sexual exploitation of children
Protects foster children from sexual abuse and exploitation
Increases criminal penalties against child sexual predators
So, what part can you play in protecting our children? Contact your two U.S. Senators as well as your House Representative and ask them to support the bill. Kindly, but firmly, stress that our children must be protected against repeat sexual offenders and that HR 3132 -- The Child Safety Act of 2005 -- should be passed as one way to help keep our children safe.
Too many of our kids fall prey to sexual predators. You can have a part in tightening loopholes that allow these monsters to roam free. Our children deserve nothing less.
Contact Your Elected Officials Below:
Members of the House of Representatives:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/Members of the U.S. Senate:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfmAbout the Author: Matt Keegan is The Article Writer who writes on a variety of social, human interest, as well as business related topics. You can preview his works at
http://www.thearticlewriter.comArticle Source:
www.iSnare.com Monitor Everyone Who Uses Your Computer! Try Before You Buy!Online Safety Shield Blog
So you have tried another product to monitor your child's computer but are not quite happy with it. Online Safety Shield offers more and we get a lot of customers in your position who want to upgrade to a better product. But what about all the money you have already spent?
For customers that have already invested time and money in a competing software or suite, we offer a competitive upgrade rebate to make the switch to OnlineSafetyShield software even a better value. With our competitive upgrade rebate you can get your OnlineSafetyShield software at up to 50% off.
Qualifying requirements for the competitive upgrade You have purchased a competing product or service within the last 18 months and still own it.
The Competitive Upgrade rebate is not available through resellers.
The Competitive Upgrade rebate offer is not available to resellers.
The Competitive Upgrade rebate cannot be combined with other special offers.
Limit one Competitive Upgrade rebate per address or household. Verification of ownership of the competitive product is required.
Price you paid for competing product (USD)
Your Competitive Upgrade Rebate
$1 to $50 = 25%
$51 to $99 = 35%
$100 and up = 50%
Note: The competing product's price you paid is the price in US dollars you paid before any taxes and shipping and handling charges.
How to apply for your rebate 1. Fax your invoice or receipt for your competing product.
2.
Complete this short form.Its that simple. Online Safety Shield wants you to have the best method of monitoring your child's computer and will bend over backwards to make sure you have it.
Monitor Everyone Who Uses Your Computer! Try Before You Buy!Internet Safety Shield Blog
By: Igor Pankov
IntroductionThe Internet is becoming a more and more dangerous place to be, due in no small part to the inherent security risks posed by viruses and spyware.
Additionally, applications that access the Internet as part of their normal operations may have errors in their code that allows hackers to launch attacks against the computer on which those applications are running. The safety and integrity of digital assets is further compromised by the fast-growing threat of cybercrooks who devise and implement large-scale hoaxes such as phishing and ID theft.In the light of all this, it’s clear that users need a reliable and secure web browser between them and the Internet, which will be free of these problems and won’t let harmful content invade the computer.
The web browser industry continues to be dominated by the Windows-bundled Internet Explorer, with an 85% market share, but in recent years a new breed of free, more functional and resilient browsers has appeared – the most popular being Mozilla/Firefox and Opera. All have received serious security upgrades to help protect against recent scares and safeguard users online.
Internet Explorer is at version 6.0, essentially the same product that was included with Windows XP in 2001. Eighteen months ago, the release of Windows XP Service Pack 2 substantially increased IE safety;
however, it did not eliminate many of the loopholes exploited by hostile program code. At present, Firefox is at version 1.5, but its very different development history (see next section) means that it can be considered at a similar level of maturity as Internet Explorer.
Currently, Microsoft is preparing its next-generation browser, Internet Explorer 7.0, which it plans to introduce sometime during the first half of 2006. The company has stated that it intends to make the browser stronger and more secure to help protect its users against the many problems that have dogged the software over the years.
We, along with Internet users everywhere, await the final results with interest. In the meantime, we decided to undertake our own security evaluation of both IE 7 (beta) and its closest rival, Firefox 1.5.
History and overviewInternet Explorer is a proprietary graphical web browser developed by Microsoft. In 1995, the company licensed the commercial version of Internet Explorer 3.0 from Spyglass Mosaic and integrated the program into its Windows 95 OSR1 edition. Later, it included IE4 as the default browser in Windows 98 – a move which continues to raise many antitrust questions.
Firefox is an open-source browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation; anyone who is proficient enough can collaborate in writing and improving its program code. Mozilla is known for its stringent approach to security, promising a bounty of several thousand dollars for any major vulnerability found in the product.
Security incidents and threat responseWhile no browser is perfect, major security lapses happened rather more frequently with IE than with Firefox. To be fair, Firefox has less than a 10% market share and is thus a rather less enticing target than IE; that’s probably also why security researchers focus much of their attention on the vulnerabilities of Microsoft’s browser, not Firefox’s.
Some people have argued that if the market shares were reversed, bugs in Firefox would start appearing on a more frequent basis, as has recently been the case with Internet Explorer.
The open-source architecture of Firefox contributes to the overall safety of the browser; a community of skilled programmers can spot problems more quickly and correct them before a new release is available for general use.
It’s been said that threat response time for Firefox averages one week, while it may take months for Microsoft engineers to fix critical bugs reported by security analysts – an unacceptable situation for users who remain unnecessarily vulnerable to exploits (hacker attacks) during that time.
From the threat response standpoint, Firefox is clearly the winner.
Security features- Phishing safeguardNew protection against financial fraud and identity theft has been incorporated into the new IE. A so-called “phishing filter” now appears on the Internet Options menu, which is intended to protect users against unknowingly disclosing private information to unauthorized third parties.
Here’s how it works:If a user visits a spoofed site which looks exactly like a genuine one – usually as a result of clicking on a link in a fraudulent email - the browser senses a phishing attempt and compares the site against a list of known phishing sites.
If the filter finds the site is a phishing culprit, it blocks access to the site and informs the user of the danger of leaving his/her personal details on sites like this. The database of known phishing sites is updated regularly, and users have an option to report a suspected phishing instant to Microsoft for evaluation.
We’re pleased to report that, even in beta, the filter appears to work quite well, correctly
identifying half of the test sites we visited as phishing sites.
In Firefox, phishing protection is delivered through third-party extensions such as Google Safe Browsing (currently in beta for US-based users only (see http://www.google.com/tools/firefox/safebrowsing/index.html); this can be plugged into the browser’s extension menu.
As additional protection against accidental phishing, the authors of IE have stated that they plan to make their product display the URL of every visited site.
With IE 6, this capability was
not available and many pop-ups appeared without displaying an address in the previously non-existent address bar.
Unfortunately, in neither browser were we were able to achieve more than a fifty percent URL display ratio; we trust that this percentage will increase as the release of IE 7 approaches and Mozilla continues to work on improving its functionality in this area.
- Restriction of executable Web contentIn the current version of IE, suspect websites have been free to install almost any software they want on visitors’ machines. While XP SP2 has dramatically reduced this possibility, many unnecessary add-ons and toolbars can still be easily installed by inexperienced users. IE 7 should provide more protection for naпve users, as it will offer to run in protected mode, thus restricting access to the host OS files and settings and making these critical elements of the computer inaccessible to malware.
The default setting for Firefox 1.5 is to have installation of extensions and add-ons disabled; the user must manually change settings in order to enable adding extensions to the browser.
There will always be a tradeoff between security and functionality, but security experts always maintained that letting websites unrestrictedly launch executable code within the browser creates unlimited potential for exploitation. IE 7 will offer much greater flexibility in configuring which external code will be permitted to run within the browser and what impact it would have on the OS.
ActiveX restrictionsAside from some graphics enhancement of web pages, in most cases ActiveX is more damaging than beneficial. Many sites that serve up spyware and pop-up ads use ActiveX scripting technology, and ActiveX scripting in the Windows environment can be allowed to run unrestrictedly with administrator (root) privileges. Firefox 1.5 does not support Microsoft’s proprietary ActiveX technology and so the Firefox browser is more resilient against spyware infection.
In IE6, even with SP2, ActiveX is allowed to run by default, which
automatically renders IE users less protected against the threat of spyware. In the upcoming IE 7, it is not yet known whether Microsoft will continue this approach, but early indications point to this being the case. This would be unfortunate, since the current approach is a clear security vulnerability.
Of course, IE users can manually disable ActiveX scripting on a particular website and let ActiveX be started automatically on all other sites visited. Or, vice versa, they can disable ActiveX scripting on most of the sites visited and permit it to run on a particular site. All this can be configured under the Security tab in IE’s Options menu. However, it is hardly realistic to expect Internet novices, who need the most protection, to do this.
Java, JavaScript and Visual Basic componentsJava and JavaScript can be enabled and disabled by both browsers. Firefox allows users to specify permissions for particular actions performed by these scripts. IE 6 allows users to create a group of trusted sites to which global limitations on these scripts will not apply. In IE 7, more flexibility will be added that will lead users toward a more customized display of web pages belonging to a particular site; it appears Firefox also plans to introduce more flexible parameters.
- Internal download managerIE 7’s download manager will be revamped, and feature an option to pause and resume downloads - a feature not available with the current version. Specific actions will be able to be defined following the completion of a download, and users can check the newly-downloaded file with their anti-virus before running it. This approach is already in place with Firefox, so Microsoft appears to be playing catch-up here.
- Encryption of data on protected sitesWhen you submit sensitive information, such as transaction details to a bank or financial institution, it travels in an encrypted form through a secure HTTP (SHTTP) connection. The information is encrypted by your browser and decrypted at the receiving end.
The new version of IE will use stronger encryption algorithms to reliably transfer your data without the risk of being intercepted and deciphered by someone in transit.
A padlock icon indicating that a user is on a secure site will be placed in a more obvious place than currently, and more detailed information will be provided to help visitors check the authenticity of such sites.
Firefox currently has a better-organized display of security certificates for its users, so clearly Microsoft has a room for improvement.
UpdatingBoth browsers are updated automatically when new code is ready. Firefox has this update mechanism already in place, and for IE 7, it is expected that updates will be provided through Windows update technology.
Privacy enhancementsIE 7 will have the ability for users to flexibly set what private data will be saved and can be applied to different sites; users will be able to easily remove browsing history and other private details such as passwords, cookies, details submitted on web forms, download history, and temporary files.
In IE 6, these files were stored all over the place and users have complained that there is no clear way to delete this information. Firefox 1.5 already provides this capability.
ConclusionIE 7 promises a lot of interesting security and privacy enhancements that will help users stay more secure. With the final release users will receive a good, solid browser that, if Microsoft promises are fulfilled, will help it to compete well on the security front. As we have seen, Firefox 1.5 is already a role model, and it will be interesting to see what lies ahead for this talented challenger.
About the Author: Igor Pankov is a Product Marketing Manager at Agnitum Ltd., the developers of Outpost Firewall PRO. Free Version is available for download at
http://www.agnitum.com/products/outpostfree/download.php.
Article Source:
www.iSnare.com Summary added by Chris McElroy about the security mentioned in this article. As you can see, this was a thorough analysis of the ability for browsers to filter out unwanted content. What the author also said was that neither IE or Firfox had the answer yet and we all know how long it takes for these companies to get things done.
In the meantime you need to install software that does work and does filter out unwanted content while also making your computer more secure. Try
Online Safety Shield. I recommend it.
Monitor Everyone Who Uses Your Computer! Try Before You Buy!Online Safety Shield Blog
By: Matthew Noel
Internet monitoring is a necessary part of having internet service. Whether you allow your children to surf the web or if you have the need to monitor employees, effective programs can be used to help you to do this simply.
There are many aspects that can be monitored and the results can be delivered to you privately. No one needs to know that you are using internet monitoring technologies either.
There are many options when it comes to internet monitoring. No matter what your need is in these products, you can expect to use high tech gadgets and software. But, they are simplistic to use.
Many software programs that monitor internet usage will tell you such things as how long the individual was online as well as what websites they visited, who they chatted with in instant messages, as well as anything that they input into the web. Emails can be tracked as well as a number of other things.
Why should you use internet monitoring? If you are not sure your employees are using their time on the job for job related tasks, this can help you know for sure. If you are unsure of who your spouse is chatting with at night, consider the use of these monitoring solutions.
Do you know if someone is stalking your child as they play games on the web? If they use instant message software, find out who they are talking to and what they are saying. Internet monitoring is really a necessary part of keeping people safe and your business under control. Effective internet monitoring software products can be purchased and installed quickly and discreetly. Be in the know.
There are also many information portals now devoted to the subject and we recommend reading about it at one of these. Try googling for “internet monitoring” and you will be surprised by the abundance of information on the subject. Alternatively you may try looking on Yahoo, MSN or even a decent directory site, all are good sources of this information.
About the Author: for more information please see http://www.internet-monitoring-help.co.uk
Monitor Everyone Who Uses Your Computer! Try Before You Buy!Online Safety Shield Blog
By Chris McElroy
You see the news stories all the time. Child or young teenager lured by sex predator over the Internet. Its very scary to parents. However, you should not panic, there are solutions that you can look to for your child’s safety.
You should not feel that you have to ban your children from using the Internet because of all the bad things you hear about. You should however open a good line of communication with your child. That goes for their offline safety as well as their online safety.
They need to know they can come to you about anything. Simply getting mad at them every time they come to you or not having the time to talk to them puts them at risk because they will stop coming to you and try to deal with problems by themselves.
And that means you will not know what is going on in your child’s life. So please, be a parent. Take the time to talk about safety and Internet safety with your child.
You should also get computer-monitoring software for your computers at home. There is software that will monitor all computer activity and give you a report on that activity so you know what is going on with your computer and your children.
The software will block inappropriate websites, images, and text content. It comes with a database of known “bad neighborhoods” already installed and you have the ability to add to the list. It will check images and text in WebPages, emails, chatrooms, and more and block that content.
You can even have it alert your cellphone or email whenever your child encounters inappropriate content. This is what is recommended.
http://www.OnlineSafetyShield.com Of serious concern is the worldwide traffic in child pornography. Problems range from chat room predators who ask children to post pictures of themselves, which serve as fuel for fantasy, to the solicitation and trading of hard-core material involving minors.
If you ever run into such material online, call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or report it to any of the following websites that deal with getting these websites removed.
http://www.CyberAngels.org A well established website that deals with the child porn issue.
If you live outside of the US, here is a list of where you can report pornography in many countries.
http://www.tinhat.com/children/report_pornography.html Chris McElroy is the Founder and President of the Kidsearch Network,
http://www.kidsearchnetwork.org and also has a website specifically about runaway teens at
http://www.runawayteens.org Monitor Everyone Who Uses Your Computer! Try Before You Buy!
