New Email Sign In Forgot your password?

Wireless Areas Access Numbers

ISP Management cares about kids!  The Internet is an extraordinary resource that links our children to a world of information, experiences, and ideas that might otherwise be unavailable to them. However, the Internet can also expose our children to numerous risks, and it is crucial to remember that when a child is online, his or her safety may also be on the line. Just as you have taught your child basic safety rules for the physical world, you should also teach your child basic safety rules for the virtual world.  As an Internet Service Provider, we feel it is important to educate parents and children on internet safety. Spending time online with your children is the best way both to learn about the Internet and to teach your children responsibility, good conduct and the values that are important to you. Ask children to share their favorite Web sites and what they like about them. Help them discover Web sites that can assist with their homework, hobbies, and other special interests. The vast majority of Internet sites are safe. But, like the real world, the virtual world contains content that may not be appropriate for children. For your home computer, parents need to learn about and decide if filtering software has an appropriate role in your household. Many companies charge for using their filtering software.  K9 Web Protection offers FREE internet filtering and controls.   Whether or not a filter is in place, guidance from parents and other adults is crucial in creating safe and positive Internet experiences for your children. We strongly recommend that you supervise older as well as younger children’s Internet use at home and at the library. It’s a good idea to place computers in the kitchen, family room, or make an “Internet Use Agreement” with your child. Getnetwise.org offers sample contracts. SafeKids.com has also put together a Family Contract for parents and children to go over, sign and post. The contract is a list of rules parents and children will follow for internet safety. The Family Contract consists of “Kids Rules for Online Safety” and “Guidelines for Parents”. Basic Safety Rules The following basic safety rules pertain to all types of Internet applications. Please review the rest of this pamphlet for more detailed information about different types of applications. Precautions Place your child's computer in an area where you are best able to monitor his or her online activities. Take an active interest in your child's online activities. Warn your child never to reveal any identifying information such as: last name, ethnicity, age, address, phone number, school name, parents' names, or parents' employers or work addresses. Caution your child that predators and con artists are experts at accumulating incremental amounts of personal data until they eventually obtain enough information to locate a user. Warn your child that identity is easily concealed online and that people may not be who they claim to be. Explain to your child that, for example, an online "friend" who claims to be the same age as your child may in fact be an adult in search of a child victim. Warn your child never to arrange an in-person meeting with someone met online. Warn your child never to accept anything sent to him or her by a person met online. Warn your child never to post online a photo of any family member without your permission. Explain that online images may be altered or "morphed" and used on, for example, pornographic sites. Consider using filtering or blocking software. There is an extensive array of filtering and blocking software available. Some of it is free of charge. However, you should be aware that the software may not be completely effective, children may be able to bypass the restrictions, or your child may use a computer that is not equipped with these protective devices. See the resource section of this pamphlet to obtain more information on parental control devices. Surfing the World Wide Web Potential Dangers Your child may accidentally or intentionally enter a pornographic site containing adult or child pornography or a site that promotes violence, hatred, bigotry, drug use, or other harmful behaviors. Since anyone may post material on the Web, some sites will promote false or misleading information masquerading as fact. Your child may be deceived into giving out personal information by falling for a crafty marketing scheme, such as an innocuous sounding survey or a contest. Your child may be exposed to marketing of drugs and/or alcohol that is geared toward children, as there are no restrictions on such advertising methods on the Internet. Precautions Advise your child to use the "back" key whenever he or she encounters a site that causes discomfort or fear. If that does not immediately return the child to the preceding Web page, your child should close all windows or quit out of the browser. Report any site containing child pornography directly to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children (www.missingkids.org; telephone 1-800-THELOST). Be aware that the act of downloading child pornography is a felony under New York State law. Discuss the difference between reliable and unreliable sources of information with your child. Advise your child not to participate in any online surveys or contests or make any online purchases without your permission. Even if you are sure that a Web site is legitimate, you should check the posted privacy policy of a Web site before transmitting any personal information. Ask your child to review with you (using the "history" folder in your browser) the Web sites that he or she has visited. If your child is reluctant to have you review these sites, this may be a warning sign that inappropriate sites have been visited. Warning Signs That Your Child May Be In Danger It is normal for children, especially teenagers, to place a high value on their privacy.  However, parents should be aware that unusually covert behavior on the part of a child may be an indicator of inappropriate Internet use. Other potential warning signs include: Your child has withdrawn from normal interaction with family and friends to spend an inordinate amount of time engaged in Internet activity. Your child turns the computer off or quickly changes the monitor's screen when you enter the room. Your child demonstrates a marked change in behavior, beliefs, and attitudes. Your child's academic performance decreases significantly. You find pornographic, racist, or drug-related material on the computer. Your child is using multiple online accounts (including free e-mail services) or the online accounts of others. Your child is making or receiving unexplained long-distance calls. Your child has made unexplained, unauthorized use of a credit card while online. The appropriate response will depend on the level of your concern. If you believe your child's safety is in danger, you should immediately contact your local police department.   You should also contact your local police if: Your child has received child pornography. Your child has been sexually solicited by someone who knows or should know that he or she is a minor. Your child has received sexually explicit images from someone who knows or should know that he or she is a minor. Your child or anyone in the household has been threatened. If you are concerned that your child's mental, physical, or social development is being adversely impacted by his or her online activities, you should seek professional assistance. School guidance counselors or your child's pediatrician may be useful sources of assistance. Web sites parents should be aware of: Myspace.com is one of the largest online meeting places. As a parent, you can create your own account, leave the profile empty, and see what your kids and their friends are posting on line. Warning...be prepared to see and read things about kids you know. Xanga.com is a community of online diaries and journals. They advertise that you can easily start your own free journal, share thoughts and photos with your friends, and meet new friends. Facebook.com is also a popular meeting place and is divided into college and high school sites. You need to be “invited” to register. Friendster.com is similar to Myspace. By creating an account you can monitor your kids’ activities as well as those of their friends. WiredSafety.org has some great resources for parents and kids on ways to stay safe when using social networks such as MySpace, Facebook, Xanga, etc. To learn more about social networking safety, please visit http://www.wiredsafety.org/internet101/blogs.html Email Potential Dangers Your child may reveal personal information to a dangerous stranger, such as a sexual predator or con artist. Your child may respond to e-mail from an unknown sender, thereby revealing his or her e-mail address to someone who should not have it. Your child may receive harassing or threatening e-mail. Your child may receive unsolicited e-mail ("spam") that contains sexually explicit material or junk advertisements. Your child may use e-mail to commit a crime, such as using e-mail to send threatening or harassing messages, disseminate child pornography, engage in drug dealing or gambling, and make purchases (such as firearms) not permitted by minors. Precautions Unless you feel confident that your child will use e-mail safely, you should consider sharing an e-mail account with your child, having his or her e-mail routed through your account, or knowing your child's password. However, even a relatively unsophisticated user may be able to bypass this attempt at supervision by establishing (free) e-mail account(s) with an online service. Therefore, it is imperative that you discuss safety issues directly with your child. Warn your child not to respond to e-mail if the sender is unknown. Warn your child not to respond to angry or threatening e-mail. Warn your child not to share his or her password with anyone. Warn your child not to open or download any attachments in an e-mail sent by an unknown sender. The material may contain pornographic or other offensive material or a computer virus. General E-mail Etiquette Never put in an e-mail message anything you would not put on a postcard. If the message was a personal message to you and you are re-posting to a group, you should ask permission first. Do not forward virus warnings without checking the validity. Use the BCC function of your e-mail program when sending e-mail to more than one person. Do not send large attachments without asking permission. Potential Dangers Your child may encounter someone who targets him or her for victimization. Your child may encounter a predator who is searching online for victims. Your child may encounter offensive language and adult content. Your child may commit a crime, such as transmitting a threat of violence. Precautions Avoid choosing provocative or identifiable nicknames (such as sexygal or ran_in_philly). Keep personal information out of your online profile. Advise your child not to enter a chat room without your consent. This advice will be most effective with younger children. Remind your child that visitors to chat rooms often disguise their identity. Warn your child that a child predator may enter a chat room and "lurk" -- that is, observe conversations but not participate. The predator may target a particular child without even participating in the conversation. Warn your child to avoid using either his or her real name or a provocative screen name. Instruct your child not to complete any online profile, as the profile could aid a sexual predator in locating a victim. An online profile may not be as anonymous as your child believes. Warn your child about the three most common questions pedophiles ask: (1) Are you home alone? (2) Who uses the computer? (3) Where is the computer? Tell your child not to respond to these questions and to leave the chat room immediately. Warn your child never to "go private" into a chat room with a stranger. Many chat programs allow for a private method of chatting. A predator may seek to go private with a child he or she is targeting for victimization. Warn your child never to accept any files sent by someone met online. “Grooming” is the process sexual predators use to get children they target online to meet with them offline. It involves flattery, sympathy, offers of gifts, money, jobs, etc. Experts say sexual predators do this to make the victim feel loved or comfortable enough to want to meet them in person. To learn more on grooming, please visit www.safeteens.com/recognize-grooming www.warriorsforinnocence.org/2006/09/grooming-articles.html www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=recognize+grooming&btnG=Search Report Threats Immediately! If someone stalks, threatens, or continually harasses your child, or attempts to lure them into face to face meetings for illicit purposes (all of which are illegal), report it to: The local police If the child is in immediate danger, call 911 The Cyber Tipline at (800) 843-5678 or www.cybertipline.com, hosted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children General Chatroom and IM Etiquette Don't type in all uppercase. Doing so implies SHOUTING OR YELLING and should be used only for emphasis and then sparingly. No flaming (inciting or provoking an argument). Don't ask personal questions such as: age, sex, or marital status. Don't post personal information about other people. Chat, E-Mail, Web, and chatroom slang and acronyms There are many abbreviations that refer to inappropriate language and slang words that we have decided not to print.  As a parent you have a responsibility to educate yourself in this area. We suggest you Google: web slang. AAK Alive And Kicking AAR At Any Rate AAS Alive And Smiling ADN Any Day Now AFAIK As Far As I Know AFK Away From the Keyboard AFN That's All For Now AOTA All Of The Above a/s/l or asl Age/Sex/Location - (used to ask a chatter their personal information) BAK Back At Keyboard (I'm back) BBL Be Back Later BCNU I'll Be Seeing You BRB Be Right Back BTW By The Way btw BeTWeen you and me CUOL See You On Line DIKU Do I Know You? F2F Face To Face FITB Fill In The Blank FUD Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt g/f Girlfriend (also shown as gf, or GF) GGOH Gotta Get Outta Here H&K Hugs and Kisses KIT Keep In Touch LOL Laughing Out Loud OL the Old Lady OM the Old Man OTH Off The Hook: Something is really popular, or hot P911 My parents are in the room. P=Parents, and 911=emergency; in other words, either drop the subject or watch the language. POS Parents are looking Over my Shoulder POTS Parents Over The Shoulder - (My parents are watching; I can't really talk) RL Real Life (as opposed to being online) RSN Real Soon Now SPST Same Place, Same Time SYL See You Later TNT 'Til Next Time TTTT These Things Take Time TTYL Talk To You Later TYT Take Your Time WFM Works For Me WTGP? Want To Go Private? (move to a private chat room) YBS You'll Be Sorry YL Young Lady YM Young Man YW You're Welcome Resources For more information on how to protect your family online, visit any of these helpful sites: www.staysafe.org www.missingkids.com www.bgca.org www.icactraining.org www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm www.fbi.gov/kids/6th12th/outsidelinks/links.htm www.cyberangels.org www.familyguidebook.com www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/online/sitesee www.missingkids.com www.ncmec.org www.smartparent.com www.safekids.com www.netparents.org www.commonsensemedia.org www.childrenspartnership.org

	HomepageServicesMembersAbout UsSupport
Copyright (c) 2006 ISP Management. All rights reserved.