Controlling Privacy Settings: Be safer online
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
We've talked over and over again on this blog about privacy and social media. Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace--some of the most prevalent social media sites on the web--are also the easiest venues for your child or teen to "put themselves out there" in ways they might not have realized, or even wanted. But today, I want to share with you more than just a warning, I have some actionable tid-bits that you and your child can put into place today.
I must credit Nick O'Neal over at All Facebook for putting together an incredibly detailed list of instructions for protecting your privacy on Facebook. I recommend your read his article (http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-privacy/) for a detailed break down. Some of my favorites, ones which I've personally implemented, include the following...
Avoid Photo/Video Tag Mistakes.
If someone snaps a shot of you at the last Christmas party, it's not too harmful for them to tag that photo of you. But what about photos that you might not want out there? Or worse, photos that AREN'T you but someone thinks its funny to say that it is. Change your settings to disallow tagging without your approval.
Control what Basic Information is Shown.
This is indeed basic. Under the “Basic Information” section on the Profile Privacy Page, you can control what is seen on your page. Go thru the list and select what you want shown or not shown. You can go to the News Feeds and Wall privacy page as well to control what actions are shown in your friends feeds.
Make Your Contact Information Private.
For certain friends your contact information is known, but for acquaintances you don’t want to give out all that information.
Avoid the Embarrassing Wall Post.
If a friend or contact posts something embarrassing of your child, Facebook has provided you with the ability to customize the posting visibility.
These are just a few of my top picks. Read the full list and detailed instructions at All Facebook blog.Labels: Facebook, online parenting, privacy, social media
posted by Nick Carter at 11:24 AM Link to this Article
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Rapid-Fire Social Media
Friday, October 9, 2009
Do you know how many social networking sites your children post things on? There are hundreds of sites online that cater to connecting YOU with not only friends, but anyone on the internet. Many people now have more than one place that they go online to post comments and photos. I myself have Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter, just three of the many.
Recently I heard of a new site called Ping.fm, which is like a one stop shop for posting to all these sites simultaneously. It's a free social networking web site the lets users post a message in one place and post to all of their social sites. This way you don't have to go to each media site that you have and post your message separately. Ping.fm groups services into three categories - status updates, blogs and micro-blogs - and can update to each group. Ping.fm currently supports more than 30 services. Once you've set up a Ping.fm account and added your information for the services you use, you are ready to return to your dashboard to start sending out messages to all your profiles at once. Sounds amazing, right?
While this service may seem fantastic, it is a little scary how easy it is to post things on the internet and have that info syndicated everywhere. With ping.fm your child can just post one thing to all their multiple social sites with ease. A time-saving trick? Sure, but all it takes is one careless word and this site amplifies that word 30 times over. This is a great example of how, with the web, great freedoms bring great responsibility.
The web is becoming easier and easier to use and your child or teen may not realize the risk that is out there. McGruff Safeguard can help you to make sure your children are safe while online.Labels: monitoring, ping.fm, social media
posted by Nick Carter at 5:58 AM Link to this Article
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Does Your Teen Blog
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
When I was a teenager, I had a diary. I would write everything down in that thing. It was mind outside of my mind…my thoughts, my feelings, my frustrations. That is what it was for…to get out what was inside of me. All of my friends had them. We usually had a lock on them. AND of course, my parents would occasionally dig around and find it, and I inevitably got in trouble for something. Rarely did my folks talk to me. I usually got grounded (booooo).
Blogging is all the rage right now. It's been around for about ten years. However back when it first began, it was called journaling. Today, with online journaling…blogging…we have the ability to catch potentially dangerous activity before it actually occurs IF we pay close enough attention.
Let's take the LA Fitness shooting that took place August of this year, for example. The shooter was 48 year-old, George Sodini. Here's the deal, this is a shooting that could have been prevented. According to AOL News, "His 4,610-word Web diary appeared to be a nine-month chronology of his plans to end his misery with a shocking act of carnage at his gym. He couldn't understand why women ignored him, despite his best efforts to look nice."
I wonder how it must have felt to be that lonely. So lonely that he would take lives. So lonely that he would take his own life after. Teens go through so many emotions as they are trying to figure out where they fit in this world. They leave clues if you look. They cry out for help. I know the LA Fitness shooting is an extreme example. But it is one that demonstrates that blogs may hold clue to what is going on inside someone.
Do you know if your teen has a blog? You could do something as simple as a Google search on your child's name. McGruff Safeguard, understands that online monitoring can be tricky. We’re here to help you understand and communicate with your children and teens. Have you experienced any diary or blogging issues? How have you handled them if you have? We would love to hear from you.Labels: blogging, internet safety, social media
posted by Nick Carter at 6:32 AM Link to this Article
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The Hidden Dangers of Chat Rooms
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
When I was in middle school, chat rooms were the new thing. I had never heard of them before, but many of my friends talked about them like they were the coolest thing out there. We were just starting to use AOL for instant messaging around that time, and it was the "cool" way to talk back and forth to your friends after school.
What I didn't know was that there were hundreds, if not thousands of online chat rooms that anyone could get on and talk about a certain topic. You would just go on and randomly find interesting things, or places that your friends would be on. These weren't private rooms, anyone could join the conversation. It wasn't long before group chats turned into private instant messages from someone I didn't know in the group.
But, at the ripe old age of 14, I found out quickly how dangerous the Internet can be. Most of the people wanting to "instant message" with me, taking the conversation into a one-on-one setting, were not looking to just be friends. Inevitably, it turned sexual in nature within a few minutes. They would ask questions about what you look like, what you were into...etc. For someone who is in middle school it is hard to understand what these people were doing.
An increasing number of children are in danger of being targeted by pedophiles through chat rooms such as this, and newer venues like Social Media and even online gaming. It is a huge concern for parents with young children. Sexual predators, cyber bullies, and scammers all lurk on these sites. For young kids who are getting on the internet more and more, the chances of coming across a public chat is almost unavoidable. Some teenagers are naive to the dangers that are awaiting them in these chat rooms. They believe they are talking and interacting with other people their age. Pedophiles often lie about their age and even their motives. They want to make your child feel comfortable and even think of them as friends before beginning to see how receptive they are.
As parents we may feel overwhelmed, as if we cannot keep up with the trending technology that our children seem so skilled in. But parents can indeed be aware of the threats online and take some action to know what their children are doing online. McGruff SafeGuard simply monitors your child's conversations, allows you to see who they've been talking with, and even alerts you if the conversation turns sexual, illegal, or otherwise dangerous. Shouldn't you be informed?Labels: chat room, Internet predators, McGruff Safeguard, social media
posted by Nick Carter at 9:02 AM Link to this Article
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One Careless Word
Monday, September 21, 2009
We have all heard the talk recently about President Obama's comments on the Kanye West incident. Obama commented about what he thought of West's antics at the VMA's, which he thought was off the record. Some ABC network employee's overheard the comments, thought they were on record and tweeted about them. The tweets were later deleted, but by then it was too late. It was all over cyberspace within seconds.
It's fascinating how one little "joke" or misguided comment can blow up into something so controversial. For the president, this one comment he made in the heat of the moment, has created somewhat of a scandal for him. He soon realized the mistake and apologized, but because of the internet it was already out there for everyone to see.
This should be a lesson to us and our children. We never know who is listening, and how one careless word or thought can have a lasting effect. With YouTube, Facebook, Twitter...etc. a child can lack discretion in one minute and anyone can exploit that. People love controversy and love to play it up even though it could hurt someone.
I know almost everyone has, at one time or another, written or said something about someone or themselves that they wish they could take back. As parents we need to talk to our children about the kinds of things they talk about online. We need to help them understand the dangers of posting certain things, and how one insignificant word or post can do lasting damage to them or the people they care about.
McGruff SafeGuard can help you to keep an eye on the types of things your child is talking about online.Labels: internet safety, social media
posted by Nick Carter at 6:10 AM Link to this Article
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What's the big deal? They're just games.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
My in-laws computer has been restored from virus attacks four times in the last three years. Sometimes, data was saved. Sometimes not. What could be causing such a vicious attack? Did someone open an unsafe email? Is there a hacker maliciously attacking their home network? Nope, just games.
That's right, games. Just google for "free games" and you will find 219 Million matches for your search. Each of them, no doubt, provide either a free download of an installable program, or free online games using interactive websites. Given free reign of the internet, the youngest boys in the house had already figured out how to click "I agree" and "next" buttons until the game appeared on the desktop.
What's more disturbing than the viral attacks this software opened their computer up to, however, was the way in which these games could indeed be provided for free. Someone had to develop them, program them, publish them, etc. How do they do it for free? It's simple: sell advertising.
Banner Ads are the most common form of online advertising. But unfortunately, the content is difficult to censor. See, the advertisers who utilize these games as the vehicle for placing their message in front of viewers aren't targeting six-year-old boys. Their target demographic is teenagers. I've played games with the kids before and seen ads for new CD's with objectionable titles, paid memberships to online social networks, t-shirts with raunchy humor, and on rare occasions, even soft-core pornography.
"What are you doing Dilan," mom yells from the other room. "Just playing games, Mommy," he replies. Satisfied with the innocent-sounding idea of just playing games on the computer, mom never gives it a second thought. But, unless monitored closely, your kids could be exposed to serious hidden messages and agendas when all they really bargained for was to shoot space ships or solve puzzles.
Here are some tips for avoiding dangerous games:
- Restrict install-permissions for your child's user account on your computer.
- Provide your child with a list of "bookmarked" sites that you have pre-selected for them to play on. Suggestions include: Hasbro.com or Nesquik.com
- Monitor your child's activity with McGruff SafeGuard.
Labels: Banner Ads, Games, internet safety, McGruff Safeguard, monitoring, social media, teenagers
posted by Nick Carter at 8:12 AM Link to this Article
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Self Branding Matters
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
 I see it daily…kids with their laptops, hanging out with their friends, pulling out their iPhones and Blackberry devices, immersed in an online community. Posting comments, pictures, everyday happenings in their world, for the outside world to see. Technology has made access to pretty much anything imaginable just that much easier. Where are the boundaries when everywhere you go, you can be anywhere you want to be online? I want to expand a bit on the last blog that was written in regard to online privacy. I want to use the term branding.
I used to work for a company who placed college interns into positions with organizations. We worked with the interns on skill sets needed in sales. I was in charge of interviewing and hiring the candidates into our program. One thing I did upon hiring those I thought would be a good fit in the company was teach them how to dress, interview, and research. However, another one of the most important things I did was educate these up and comers in the business world, the importance of self-branding. Often we think of branding as a business-related term. Business has brands, labels, etc. Well, with Myspace, Facebook, and the hundreds of other social media platforms available, people are “ branding” themselves every day…and some don’t even realize it. This is extremely important to know.
Companies and organizations get this. They check you out, see what you’re about, what kind of image you portray online, and can very well decide whether or not to interview you or whether or not to hire you, based upon what they see. The photos, the images, the bumper stickers…these all tell a story.
The other day, I posted something on my Facebook page. Someone posted a comment that was completely inappropriate and I immediately deleted it and removed that person from my friends. How I look online matters. My brand matters. Now, we have the responsibility to share this with our kids. It would be valuable to them if we monitored what they do and post online because it MATTERS. This is why McGruff Safeguard is such a usable tool...to keep you posted on what your kids are doing and how they are “branding” themselves. It could make or break them in the future. Labels: Blackberry, branding, Interns, interviewing, iPhone, McGruff Safeguard, social media
posted by Lindsay Manfredi at 11:50 AM Link to this Article
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