It is necessary not to just discuss the meaning of cyber bullying but also how to eliminate cyber bullying. Talking to children about the consequences of cyber bullying is often not enough.

Teaching your children to respect one another and getting them to report any behavior to you they find inappropriate is important, as well.

Once cyber bullying starts your response may need to depend on the situation. When things happen to students off campus, parents are on their own without the school’s help. Even if the students go to the same school, when the school gets involved the law states its going against the student’s right of speech. So, parents often must handle the situation without the school?s help.

To help stop cyber bullying, parents need to have open and honest conversations with their children about what they do and see online. Children should be able to come to a parent or another trusted adult if they are being cyber bullied.

Giving a child an open line of communication paves allows the parent to help his or her child deal with anything. Parents should take their child seriously, and take action against suspicious and bothersome activities. Internet usage needs to have a limit on it for children to help prevent them from cyber bullying.

Keep any computers in the house in easily accessible areas, where you can see what websites your child is visiting, while you are standing in the room. This lessens the chances of them visiting sites you may not deem appropriate. The less privacy they have on the Internet, the safer they are, even if they don?t like it.

You can choose sites you feel are the most appropriate for your child to visit with programs. If the child tries to go on a site which is restricted, he or she will be asked for a password. Without the correct password, they will be unable to enter the site. This leaves you in complete control over their Web browsing.

Don’t keep the same password for long and change it regularly in such a way that is beyond your child’s imaginary powers. Giving your children access only to sites which do not have a chat function can be most effective when trying to protect them from potential online predators.

It?s important to be proactive, but teaching your child how to stay safe when they’re online is the best weapon you can use against online predators.

It is easy for the more skilled predators to sweet-talk naive teens with promises of hanging out, being friends and even romance.

These meet ups can result in missing teens. Even worse, nary a one of these teens was not aware of their parent’s expectations when it came to online safety. Something did not work?

Most commonly it is the idea this one poster is different, or the teen is far too savvy to get caught up in a dangerous situation.

Parents should make it a point in their online safety talks to stress the simple techniques used by online predators and those who would seek to worm confidential information out of the kids. Parents are still the most powerful online safety tools available.

Online Scams

Many online predators are reverting to using online scams to gather information from kids. They may send your child an email stating they won a great prize and asking for personal information. They may also hack into a child’s favorite site with a pop-up frame asking for personal information. Children often get excited to know they won a prize and will many times enter their information with thinking. This can be a real safety breech!

Myspace

While Myspace is a great way for adults to communicate with their friends and family, it is not meant for children’s use. Online predators can target children who have Myspace pages. They can add them as a friend, which often instantly allows them to see personal information on the child. Children who post photos of themselves on Myspace can be in great danger of being a victim. Parents who allow their child to have a Myspace account should be very careful. Don’t allow your child to post photos. Don’t allow them to post personal information online.

Overall, it’s important for parents to constantly be aware of new ways online predators are targeting children. By being aware, they can be proactive and educate their children in ways which will allow them to avoid predators.

Internet safety is more important than ever before, with predators lurking in almost every chat room.

To protect children from predators, parents should be proactive. The following can help parents ensure their children understand the seriousness of internet predators.

1. Limit Computer Use: Parents have the right to limit computer use by children. By allowing children to only access the computer for school use or for a specified amount of time each day, they can help protect their children. It’s best not to use a scheduled time, so children never fully know when they’ll be online and won’t be able to tell anyone when they will likely be able to communicate online.

2. Forbid Chat Rooms: While children love the thought of chatting online, parents should strongly think about forbidding chat rooms. Allow your children to research and play games online. But, don’t allow them to chat. After all, they would be chatting with complete strangers.

3. Get Security Programs: Parents can now purchase many security programs to install on the home computer. These will set restrictions on the computer, especially helpful when parents aren’t home.

Internet safety is extremely important and should be talked about with your children. They should know the risks associated with using the Web and know the consequences.

Online profiles from the major social networking sites are the premier source for the data being mined, and considering that part and parcel of these profiles is a clear spelling out of likes as well as dislikes, philosophies, and other marketable data, it is not at all surprising that marketers see this source as fair game.

Creating online profiles while keeping your identity safe protects from data mining in more ways than one; while you want to keep Internet predators at bay, you also will protect yourself from marketers and the endless parade of spam emails in your email’s in box. In addition, by only giving out a few choice bits and pieces of yourself you will generate more interest in your profile by those whom you are interacting with and less by marketers who need facts.

To this end, be only as detailed in your description of yourself as you feel you must be to hook up with like-minded individuals. Do not put down the names of the stores where you shop or the brand names of clothes you like to wear.

This information is considered to be of premier commercial value and the marketers on the troll will stop at your profile for sure. Furthermore, have a dedicated mailbox associated with your social networking presence. This prevents your home mailbox from getting overrun with spam and it also protects your address and phone number, since many times Internet services are now bundled with residential phone services.

These four dangers include online dangers, predators, bullies and identity theft. If the dangers of Internet use are discussed along with prevention methods to be put into action you can feel confident to allow your children on the net. First thing to discuss is that there are people online in chat rooms and other areas that come off kind but do so often with bad intentions. Everyone on the net is not who they claim to be.

These persons are often sexual predators who prey on innocent children and do their worst to lure them into a physical meeting place for abduction. Never meet a chat or Internet buddy alone is the number one rule. Also discuss the protection of private information such as phone numbers, full name and address of school or home.

Knowing the dangers that are possible and how to avoid them is key to internet safety. Visit sites such as websafekid.com for more safety information and how to best protect your family online. You can create or print safety quizzes to ensure that your family absorbed the information discussed and that they are ready to be safe and responsible online.

In all actuality it is nothing more than what the government does to the public. Phone conversations and emails are viewed for protection and prevention against terrorism and other dangers. The use of this software helps parents, spouses and employers to know which sites are being accessed, what is said in an IM or chat room and if there are any dangers that are ongoing.

If one takes the time to read over Internet danger statistics it will make you run flailing your arms to a local computer goods store. 75% of spouses flirt with an outside source online. In other words they are not flirting with their significant other. 26 million children surf the Internet and 1 out of 5 are solicited for sex online.

64% of employees access employment Internet for personal non-work related searches. The dangers that we are faced with are real and can cause great consequences. It is the responsible thing to do in keeping tabs on what your computer is being used for no matter who the user may be.

Because of unfortunate events and information in the media, My Space has placed safety tips and or guidelines on their site for parents and users. These Myspace safety tips can be summed up in 5 steps.

1. The My Space profile is public. Do not post personal information such as a phone number, address, screen name or specific whereabouts on your space.

2. Be wary of additions to your friend list. Be sure you really know the person you are adding.

3. Harassment, hate speech or any other inappropriate behavior is not tolerated and should be reported.

4. Do not post embarrassing photos or comments as this may come back to haunt you in the future.

5. Honesty is a must. You must be 14 years of age or older to use My Space. If at anytime you are caught lying about your age your profile will be executed.

Speak to your children about self-representation. Discuss how they represent themselves can either benefit them or cause trouble in their lives. What you consider cool one minute is embarrassing the next. There are reports of youth taking pictures of under age intoxication and lude conduct and posting it online.

This can create gossip about ones reputation and even prevent job hiring as an adult. The old saying is what you see is what you get. Keep this in mind. For more information on web safety or My Space you can visit the site of your preference for more detailed information.

Because of such dangers and harms online we must be cautious of what we say and do online. This is why My Space has set up guidelines and boundaries for users and parents to understand and put in place for Myspace safety. These guidelines are as follows below.

• Honesty is to be used at all times. My Space users are to be age 14 and over. If at anytime a user is found to be at a younger age than 14 the My Space profile will be deleted. The danger of telling a chat buddy that you are older than your true age is not to be taken lightly. This is not to be done as a joke or for “fun”. Both youth and adults can suffer consequences that are controlled by the law.

• Self-representation is a key factor. Do not take lightly the way that you represent yourself online. If you portray any other type of person that you are there can be once again consequences that result in negative effects.

• Any inappropriate behavior, language or content can be reported causing a My Space profile to be extinguished.

• Caution is advised when adding people to your friends list. It is suggested that only close friends and relatives be added to your space.

• The profiles on My Space are public. Do not post personal information or embarrassing material. You could fall victim to discrimination and other dangers such as predators or identity theft.

Following these guidelines can prevent dangers and ensure a positive My Space experience.

Children have to understand the importance of keeping their whereabouts and personal details private. No phone numbers, addresses or other details should be provided online or by phone. If a friend does want to meet in person it has to be with a parent or guardian present. There are other dangers such as online bullies, sexual content sites and identity theft that should be discussed.

Your kids should know to stick to sites that they know and have permission to visit. Blocks can be set in place on your computer to keep out and prevent viewing of explicit content.

Rules and guidelines should be put into place to protect our children on the Internet. There is computer-monitoring software that allows the recording of all computer use. Instant messaging, chat rooms and website visits can all be recorded for safety tracking your families use online.

If you need help or information on how to best discuss Internet dangers with your kids there are websites such as websafekid.com that offer helpful advice and quizzes. Simple steps taken can keep you and your family safe on the Internet. Discussing these dangers and learning ways to prevent them from becoming a reality in your life is what keeps the use of the Internet successful.

1. Always have an active firewall and virus for computer protection. Viruses have become a harmful past time for hackers. Your computer can be reduced to nothing more than a paperweight with a powerful virus. Your personal files and information can be accessed and stolen without a firewall.

2. Use another browser other than Internet Explorer. Virus creators attack Internet explorer the most due to its popular use.

3. Do not allow your browser to remember passwords. This puts you at a safety risk

4. Do not provide any personal information online. This information can include phone numbers, addresses, email user-names or banking information. Identity thieves are watching and waiting to get there hands on this.

5. Keep your user-names and passwords to yourself.

6. Create passwords from a combination of letters and numbers. Create new passwords for each site.

7. Download only known items and understand what you are downloading before doing so.

8. Clear your browser history after web use.

9. Block cookies and pop-ups

10. Do not meet a chat buddy or other affiliate in person, especially alone.

These 10 steps are simple and common sense but there are people who do not use them. These people put themselves at a dangerous risk of r personal harm to themselves as well as their equipment.

First things first, tell your younger children to only visit sites with their parent’s permission. Sites that offer appropriate content for the age of the child. You can set these sites up within the favorites section of a tool bar for quick and safe website selections. For teens it can be more of a serious discussion as to what the real dangers are. Cyber bullying and online predators are a real danger.

Your kids and teens should be informed that at anytime if they are threatened or experience content from a site that makes them uncomfortable in anyway they should discuss this with you and proper action can be taken when necessary. It is also key to warn your children to never to meet with a person that they have been speaking with personally, especially unaccompanied.

If they want to meet this new cyber friend it is best to take a parent or guardian with you for safety. Abductions are increasing from cyber stalker meetings and cyber bullying is very alarming as well. With hateful remarks and trickery played on teen emotion there is often a tragic end to this situation.

This is why it is such a great importance to speak with all ages of your children and prepare them on how to keep themselves safe from the unwanted dangers associated with the Internet. If this is done prior to letting your young family members online you will be setting them up with the knowledge they need to protect themselves while having a successful Internet experience.

Our youth often believes that they will not be affected by these dangers and it is our jobs as parents or guardians to teach our youth that they are in fact susceptible and how to prevent these dangers from occurring to them. My space offers a safety tips site on how to protect yourself and or your kids and teens.

These guidelines include not posting personal information that could allow for an online predator to find your physical location. Do not mislead others in thinking that you are of an age that you presently are not.

Do not post any threatening or inappropriate text on your site and report any that you see or receive. Do not post any thing embarrassing or lude as this could lead to unfortunate events in the future. Basically keep your blog site clean and professional.

Any inappropriate behavior is not tolerated and will be dealt with appropriately. This information should be read through with your teens and once you are certain they understand this you can make a judgment on letting them proceed with their site creation.

Do not be afraid to tell your kids that you will check in on the site and do some preventive maintenance by reviewing the information. This is not taking away their privacy, as it is simply a safety precaution. Discussing this information with your teens and kids you can build an understanding and create the safest environment when using the Internet.

There are some basic tips to give out to your students prior to allowing them to go online. Create a policy that they sign alongside of your own name. Keep this policy posted aside of the designated computer. Ensure that they only access the Internet with your or another adults in the facilities permission.

If a site with inappropriate content is pulled up allow for an adult to be aware of this and close the site. Allow your students to access sites that have only appropriate content that is age appropriate.

These sites can be saved in the favorites section for easy access to appropriate sites. If a student wants to visit a site you can have a rule that you have to preview it prior to allowing access to it. By setting up rules and guidelines to follow then students can have an enjoyable and successful time while surfing the net.

For examples on Internet safety policies you can find as well as print these offline. There are games and videos on Internet safety available to help you teach your students about online predators and cyber bullies. This can be done with parent’s permission or as a parent accompaniment day.

This is also helpful for times when the Internet is used at home for assignments. Internet safety is key to making the best experience from an online search for both kids and parents. Internet safety is a must in today’s daily life and you can create a safe environment when you set rules in place.

A parent’s guide to Myspace and Internet Safety
requires the parent to be aware of the dangers currently lurking online. Visit your local police department’s website to learn what the latest scams and schemes of online predators are. Some law enforcement agencies will actually publish their own parent’s guide to MySpace and Internet Safety and you will be wise to download a copy and read it through.

Once you are familiar with the online modus operandi of the predators on the lookout for vulnerable minors, honestly assess your child’s weaknesses and see if there are any open for exploitation online. Maybe your child is a horse aficionado and thus the lure of seeing some great photos will cause her to disable the parental lockout. Conversely, your son might be a role playing fiend, and thus any online contact who also proclaims this affinity will become a fast friend, confidante, and perhaps suggest a personal meeting for a game outing.

It is hard to come face to face with your child’s weaknesses that make them ready fodder for a predator, yet if you fail to take this step and help your child to build up defenses, the only other person looking for these weaknesses is a possible criminal whose only intent will be the harm of your child. No parent’s guide to child’s online safety would be complete without the warning to be on the lookout for potential character traits that might be exploited!

Kids and even parents have been found to attack kids online verbally. Taunting emails and disturbing remarks have lead to the unfortunate loss of young lives. This is uncalled for and must be stopped. As Internet security works on cracking down on this behavior it is our duty to teach our children to ignore these remarks or comments and to bring them to your attention instead of retaliating. Be sure to discuss online predators with your kids.

You certainly don’t have to go into detail, but allowing your children to know that there are people who can see there words and read them may help them to better understand. This level of discussion and description will vary with children’s ages.

With the shocking rise in identity theft we have to protect our children in this area as well. Ensure your children’s safety by telling them not to use their full name, birth date, home address or school location online.

This goes for phone numbers and email addresses to. Scam artist sit and wait for the chance to find a name or other information that they can sell to another shady individual for a profit. Keeping these safety tips in mind and discussing then with your kids will protect their present and their future.

There has been an alarming rise in Internet bullies. Verbal abuse, horrific practical jokes and more are being spoken of on the news and in local papers. Taunting emails and curt remarks have lead to the teens taking their own lives This can be prevented by providing your children with the necessary tools such as Internet safety discussions.

We have to let them know that retaliating is certainly not the answer. Ensure your youths safety by discussing online predators with your children. Keep your discussion age appropriate simply making them aware that stranger danger is online as well as outdoors.

As identity theft cases continue to rise we have to protect our children’s personal information as we do our own. Inform your children that personal information includes their full name, birth date, home address or school location online.

Also protect phone numbers and email addresses also. Scam artist wait for the opportunity to steal a name or other personal information that they can internet safety tips in mind and continuously discussing them with your kids will protect them and could even save their lives.

Keep your quiz around ten questions long that cover the important key components of Internet safety. Some example questions are as follows. Should you provide your personal information such as your full name, address, and email or phone number? Should you meet with a chat buddy in person?

Should you give your school address or activity schedule out online? Is it okay to retaliate to mean or cruel remarks online? If you feel uneasy or uncomfortable about someone you chat with online, what do you do? The questions do not have to be complex or extremely lengthy, they should simply reconfirm the proper way to surf the net, chat online safely.

Once your child passes the internet safety quiz you will feel more comfortable when they do begin searching online, entering chat rooms and emailing all of their friends. Don’t hesitate to remind them of the safety tips you have discussed. It can’t hurt to refresh their minds every now and again. The news shows the dangers that can happen when safety is not spoken of. Protect your kids as you would protect yourself online. You will both be thankful that you did.

You have to explain to your children that the Internet is a wonderful tool that can be used for fun and games or education and business. There are also despicable people with bad intentions who will prey on their emotions and information.

Never give out personal information online, this information includes phone numbers, addresses, emails, full names, social security number and birth dates. Protecting your personal information is like keeping yourself out of a lion’s den full of starving big cats.

Sit down with your family and discuss the dangers of using the Internet as well as how to avoid these dangers and react to a threat or uncomfortable situation. After you go over this information you can quiz your kids. This will keep the information fresh in their minds. You can also have everyone sign a safety pledge that has safety tip reminders on it.

This information can be placed near the computer as a helpful reminder for the family. With Internet bullies, cyber stalkers and Internet predators, safety online is a must. It only takes a few short minutes to talk to your kids about internet safety and this short talk could possibly safe their young lives.

The reason why the times your children are online are parts of successful online safety tips for parents is that children tend to visit sites they’re not allowed (or just sense you wouldn’t like them visiting) when you’re not available. Perhaps you and your spouse are both at work, or it’s your bowling or bridge club night, or you’re already in bed and your night owl is in her or his room in the dark in the chat room.

It’s best to restrict Internet access to times you are at home and to a time limit for each sitting. Giving them only 30 minutes at one setting to chat may interrupt a conversation before it has gone too far.

You might also consider a demand that your child chat with the door open and at an angle you can readily see what site he or she is on. You might even move the computer into a public area of your house.

There are software programs that can do the limiting of time for you. Generally you access the activity control panel online. Here you get access to a grid that shows each day divided into hours. Its default setting allows children Internet access 24 hours seven days each week.

In order to restrict this further, all you have to do is click on the specific days and times during which you want your kids blocked from accessing the Web. As the time begins to run out your child is given a warning at 15 minutes and then at one minute. While it returns to the primary login so someone else can now use the computer, your children’s last program is saved in the background so if it is something such as a game that he or she were in the middle of, it would be saved for pickup at a later time right were he or she left off.

The software provides what are referred to as parental controls. Built into this major IP program, it helps parents keep tabs on and control of what their children do on the Internet. Parents can determine which online games their kids are taking part in, which software programs they use and which Web sites they are visiting and when they are doing so.

One of the best online safety tips for parents is to restrict a child’s Web use to times you are at home. If you see that specific Internet sites are being visited regularly but only times when you and any other adult supervisor is absent, you can bet it’s someplace you don’t want them to be.

If you’re wondering how you can keep a child from using the Internet when you’re not there, because, after all – you’re not there to stop them. The answer is that this software application will stop them. You simply tell the program that these sites are not to be visited during specific hours. Your child will be effectively locked out from those sites until and unless you allow them access.

You’ll be given access to one centralized Parental Control panel, where you can configure your parental controls. Here is where you set time, hours and age-based blocking limits on Web sites as you see fit.

You can block or allow access to specific Web programs, specific Web sites or specific games. The only conditions under which this safety tips beta for chat room and other monitoring and blocking won’t work is in a LAN network environment such as a business office.

Online precautions for parents should and must limit their children’s participation in social networking. What’s even more crucial than overseeing their chatting is monitoring the profiles your children place on the Web.

Millions of youngsters of all ages give away all sorts of personal information on these social networking sites. MySpace is a very good example. Parents who take all sorts of precautions about watching who their children date locally, what time they get home, what they watch on television and who they play with don’t take similar precautions about their kids’ online activity. They know they’re home safe in their room. What could happen, right?

What could happen – and does happen – is that some predator sees your child’s profile, puts their own totally fraudulent profile out there or starts an online conversation that misrepresents themselves as another teen with similar interests and starts and online relationship.

What then happens all too often is the relationship blossoms to the point that the child throws their online precautions to the wind, lies to their parents, and meets the predator in person. Children get raped, brutalized and sometimes die because of the lack of online precautions by the child and their parents.

Typically an online predator will say he or she is about 20 years old – which makes them cool but still young enough to be a friend who understands the child considerably better than her or his own parents do.

This predator could take six months conversing with the child online before suggesting a meeting. By this time your youngster thinks she or he is meeting a friend, not some stranger.

Online precautions for parents must include strenuous monitoring and review of all the child is doing on the Web. Assuming that children will take your cautions to heart is putting their safety in hands far too young for the responsibility.

Online precautions for these parents is not only about somehow finding a way to oversee what their children are doing on the Web but to keep themselves safe while they try to meet their soul mate. Online dating is a logical way to meet others while still taking quality time for their children.

Whether it’s young children, teens, young adults, single parents, cheating spouses–or whomever, online dating is the most active type of Internet service there is. It beats online shopping and it surpasses online banking as well. Online precautions for parents, especially single parents are a major Internet concern.

The fact is that many millions more spend time on the Web looking for their special someone than do those who try the local dating scene. Part of the reason for this is the preponderance of divorce, of child birth out of wedlock, and the resulting huge number of single parents.

These parents now must spend their time and energy trying to be the only caregiver to their children, the only breadwinner and the only housekeeper. They still want to have a life for themselves as well. Perhaps they’re too tired to go out at night, perhaps they can’t afford it. Babysitters are costly too. Many find an online dating service the best solution.

These parents must take online precautions, however. First, they should be cautious but honest. Making it clear up front that they do have children will avoid an angry confrontation later. It will also weed out those who are not interested, and speed up the process of finding the right person for them.

What they should not do, however, is name or otherwise identify themselves or their children. Even saying things like, “My son’s middle school graduation is tonight can give that person they’re talking to online the information that will allow them to determine what school the child attends.

“Let’s meet someplace close to my home. How about the Starbucks at…” again gives clues to location. The best online precautions for single parents are to remember that they’re not just being safe for their own sake. They’re protecting their children as well.

In fact, the ideal is to keep your child off social networking sites altogether, or to let them peruse and chat but forbid a profile. It’s just too scary for your children.

Just this last spring MySpace executives admitted that many thousands of predators known to law enforcement were lurking on the social networking site. MySpace turned over 7000 names to the attorney general of one state. It also closed their accounts and took down their fraudulent profiles.

That doesn’t minimize the danger to your children, however. Three percent of the profiles on MySpace are for children under the age of 10. What are these parents thinking? Clearly they’re not limiting their kids’ online activities as they should be.

Again last month MySpace’s security team deleted another 8000 profiles from its database because the owners had misrepresented their ages as younger than they were. Now parents are able to limit their children’s activities and monitor it as well through software provided by the site that lets the parents know the children are registered there, and what their user name is, their stated age and the location they have listed.

There are some basic ways for parents to limit and monitor their children’s activities on the Internet. Besides talking to them a lot about the dangers of online chat room and social network sites, they can demand and keep handy their children’s screen names and accounts.

They can also buy software that they can install on the computer to not only see where they go on the Web but see what they post there. They can literally monitor each keystroke and block sites they deem inappropriate for their children.

One thing that it’s very important for parents to keep in mind is that even with these stringent limitations and oversight they must stay continually vigilant. New sites pop up every minute of every day, along with new ways to get past the old safeguards.

Parents don’t limit their children’s online activities to the extent they need to, nor do they monitor what their children are doing when they’re surfing the Web.

The numbers are scary. A recent survey determined that almost percent of parents of minors admitted they have never talked to their children about protecting themselves from cyber predators.

One out of every five parent the researchers questioned said that they had failed to tell their children about how to safeguard their personal information or given them any guidance on limiting what they post in their online activities.

A majority of these kid’s parents said they hadn’t been monitoring their child’s online posts, their passwords, their screen names or the information they posted on their online account. Most of these parents were not limiting their kid’s online activities. Parents with children 14 years or older took even fewer precautions than did the parents of the younger kids.

Sometimes limiting kids online activities can mean simply limiting the privacy you give them while they’re online as well as limiting the hours they spend online. There are certain things you just can’t prepare for and for these things you’d want to be able to look over your child’s shoulder periodically.

One is the habit of predators and porn sites to buy misspelled site names that don’t give a clue to their real identity. Others pick seemingly innocuous names that would be regularly visited by the age group they prefer to victimize.

We once visited a site allegedly a campaign site for a prominent political candidate. It turned out to be porn. You just never know. That’s why your limiting your kids online activities to times and places where you can oversee is important.

Solution #1: Talk to your children and voice your concerns. Many children are very receptive to talking with parents about online dangers. Keep the conversation relaxed and don’t appear to be overly upset. When you are able to discuss your concerns in a clear and calm manner you may be able to reach an agreement about online rules and usage.

Solution #2: After talking to your children you should come up with a written plan. You may even want to let your child prepare the list of rules and then parent’s and child can both sign the plan. You will need to make sure the consequences are listed and that you are willing and able to follow through on the consequences.

Solution #3: Read, read, read! There are all kinds of articles and books written on the subject of online dangers. You will be able to access quite a bit of information online. The more you know the better prepared you will be.

Solution #4: Form a group of other concerned parents. There is a wealth of information that can be shared when parents get together. This is also a good way to find out what other parents are doing about online dangers. You will be able to talk to your kid’s friend’s parents and create a support system.

These solutions will help you and your children combat online dangers.

Some parents think if they don’t have a computer or Internet access in the home they have nothing to worry about. This is not true and it’s like burying your head in the Internet sand. Computers with Internet access are available in many other places.

The Internet is a very large group of interconnected computer networks that allow you and your children to “chat” with people all over the world. This can be a great way to communicate and receive information on almost any subject. It is also a way for people to prey on children, teens and even adults.

When you are connected to the Internet there are many online functions that are possible. You can access information from thousands of sources in lots of formats like music recordings, books, articles and videos.

Anyone who has your Internet address can send you or your child an e-mail and you can return the e-mail. Chat rooms are another way to communicate instantly using your keyboard. You are able to post and read information on particular topics.

Chat rooms have some advantages like being able to talk to other people with similar interests. You can make new friends and find out information about things that interest you. There are chat rooms that are not appropriate for children or teens and this is another area where you need to pay attention to who your kids are talking to online.

When parents know a few things about the Internet, e-mail and chat rooms they are more likely to be able to keep one step ahead of their children.

There is a new kind of software being developed for parents who have kids using MySpace. MySpace is a popular hangout for teens and young adults. Unfortunately it is also a popular online hangout for adult predators who see the site and those like it as places to lure kids into unsafe relationships.

The new software can be used to let parents know the user name, age and location a child lists on his or her profile. The software was also designed to give kids a little room in which to operate. This is a good thing because it is very likely that kids who are too closely monitored will just change sites. Other social networking sites such as Xanga or Facebook do not have software available for parents.

The new software will be provided free of charge to parents and should be operational by this summer. Parents should be aware that they will not be able to use the software to look at password protected profiles or communications written to others. There is software that can be purchased that will give parents more information.

Another advantage of the new software that has been designed to alleviate some problems of MySpace safety is the component that will be able to report the existence of multiple profiles. Sometimes teens have more than one profile, one is for parents to see and the other is for friends.

MySpace safety is a concern of parents, law enforcement authorities and school administrators. This new piece of software which is known at this time as “Zephyr” should help ease a few of these concerns.

First, do not overreact when your teen wants to look around a site like MySpace. If you feel your child is too young you can talk about an appropriate age for this type of thing and then always pay attention to how your child is spending time online.

Second, do not pretend that MySpace and other sites like it do not exist. This will not help you in the least and your child will be in even more danger. Find out all you can about MySpace and you will have the right ammunition when you need it.

Third, Let your child know that you are on top of MySpace safety issues and also that you will be checking up on her to see what is going on. You certainly have the right to take a look at any profile that is on MySpace and that includes the profile of your child.

Fourth, if you are absolutely against your child using MySpace you can purchase filters or monitoring applications that will keep your child off sites like MySpace. You do need to be aware that if your child has friends or access to other computers, she may be able to get on MySpace without your knowledge.

The best things you can do to keep your child from MySpace dangers is to have a working knowledge of the site and the dangers, be open with your child, and set limits.

Parents who have children or teens who are online users may want to brush up on their emoticon skills. Emoticons are those little smiley faces that are used to express emotion online. If you want to learn more about them and understand this newer kind of communication there are a few things you can do.

The first way to gain some knowledge is to ask your kids for help. This will only be successful if your children are willing to share this knowledge with you and are O.K. with your involvement. If not, you may not have quite the correct information and that could result in more confusion about the subject than you are already experiencing.

Another way to find out how to use an emoticon or two is to find a high school or college student who is fluent in the area. Many young people are extremely proficient when it comes to the emoticon language and will be able to shed light on the subject for you. Not only can they help you with this they may also be able to answer any other questions you have about using the Internet.

The third way you can get help is to take a class. There are some community colleges and computer businesses that offer classes in these areas.

Emoticons are much less confusing when you get a little help.

But there are two huge problems that go along with these classes. The first one being that some schools do not teach them at all. In today’s day and age of technology, it is essential that young minds get taught about the internet at an early age. This will help to get them off on the right track. The majority of schools are teaching these classes, but there are some that are lagging behind. If your child’s school is one that has fallen behind, make it a point to get this changed.

Another big problem is the information that is being taught in these classes. Sure, it is important that your child learns how to use the internet and what it can do for them, but at the same time they should also be learning about how to stay safe online. This is an issue that is very important, and one that should be taught. If your child’s lesson plan does not call for this, ask why. By doing so you will be helping hundreds of kids stay safe.

Overall, look into the classes that your child is taking at school. If they are not up to par, do something about it. It is your right as a parent.

Listed below are a few ways that you can help yourself stay safe while talking with others online.  By following these details you will be able to have a great time online without putting your safety in danger.

1. Make sure that you know who you are talking to.  If you get the feeling that the other person is lying to you, you should immediately get offline.  This will help you to avoid problems before they even start.

2. Never give out contact information even if you think that you know who the other person is.  There is a very good chance that they may be lying to you just because they want to talk to you on the phone, or meet you in person.  By keeping your contact information to yourself, you should never have to worry about somebody violating your privacy.

3. Keep your parents involved with your internet life at all times.  If you are being harassed by somebody online, make sure that you tell your parents right away.  They will be able to handle the situation in the best way possible, while at the same time teaching you how to avoid these problems.  Remember, your parents are your friends.  They want to help keep you safe, even when online.

One way to tackle online dangers head-on is to form a parents support group.  This is an excellent way to get educated on online dangers, set up rules and regulations and monitor kids using the site.

Not only is there safety in numbers there is also wisdom and support in numbers.  Talk with other parents and set up a meeting.  Prepare a list of questions and concerns you have as well as ideas and encourage other parents to do the same.

Let your kids know what is going on and inform them that parents of their friends are also involved in the group.  Before the first meeting go online and take a look at MySpace. Find out about some of the MySpace safety issues.  Check out other parental websites concerning online dangers and learn what other parents are doing to keep their children safe.

When you meet with parents talk about your concerns and then form a plan of action.  Try to decide on limits and rules about using MySpace.  If the parents can agree on some of these items you will be able to form a united front.  The kids will know that their parents are in agreement on many of the basic online danger rules and that all the parents will be monitoring any use of the site when the kids are at their homes.

Band together with other parents and you can make online dangers a little less worrisome.

There are steps you can take to reduce online dangers for your kids.  Sometimes the Internet can be a daunting and overwhelming thing.  It is easier to hope the kids will be safe and to tell yourself there is not much you can do anyway.  Well, the kids are probably not safe and there certainly are things you can do.

Begin reducing online dangers with your kids by acquainting yourself with the Internet.  Take a class and find out how the Internet works and what online dangers are the most significant.  There are classes offered at some schools, community colleges and universities. Check with a local library and see if they have seminars or classes that would help you understand and reduce online dangers for your children.

You can also talk to law enforcement agencies in your area.  Online dangers have become such a concern that many law enforcement agencies have separate departments that deal with these types of situations. They may be able to help you get the training or information you need.

Another way to reduce online dangers is to be proactive in the school system.  Since online dangers have become more and more prominent you may find that the school your child attends would welcome your involvement in this area.

Concerned about online dangers?  Take a few steps toward reducing them and make the Internet a safer place for your children.

It is true that predators of all kinds have figured out how to contact and meet kids through sites like MySpace.  It is also true that kids can be very naïve and think that they can handle these kinds of situations and have nothing to fear.

So the question remains; is there such a thing as MySpace safety?  The answer is, yes there is.  Parents need to know the risks and be willing to find out all they can about the dangers. Parents also need to be the ones to set limits and enforce the rules of Internet use with their kids.

While raising children it will always be far easier to be a friend to your sons or daughters but as always what the kids really need is a role model and enforcer.  Someone who cares enough about their children to figure out what is going on and someone who can and will follow through with consequences.

This is especially true if as a parent you want to reduce the dangers on MySpace and other sites of its kind.  Know all you can about MySpace safety and don’t be afraid to question your kids about suspicious behavior.  Make the consequences clear and don’t give in when it comes to MySpace safety rules.

MySpace safety is of utmost concern to many parents.  What is a parent to do about MySpace safety?  The first thing parents can do is to admit that MySpace exists and then become educated.

Find out what happens on MySpace before you even talk you your kids or allow them to get involved with the site.  Often parents will back down about Internet use because they don’t understand it.  This is not a good way to go and can certainly make MySpace safety issues even more dire.

Arm yourself with knowledge about the site and read all you can on the subject. MySpace has quite a long policy statement and you should read through it so that you have a better idea of how the site operates and what the rules are.

Do not fool yourself, however.  A huge majority of kids know their way around sites like MySpace and have figured out on their own or with the help of friends how to get around many of the rules and regulations.  This is why it is so important that parents have a firm grasp of how the site works as well as the ins and outs of the policies.

If you have trouble understanding how MySpace operates or think that you need some help you can find all kinds of people who can assist you.  Don’t hesitate to ask because MySpace safety for your kids is up to you.

Sometimes parents would rather bury their heads in the sand when it comes to Emoticons and other types of online issues but this is never a good plan.  You can figure out the little smiley faces and other Internet lingo, you just need to know where to look for assistance.

Talk to people who have knowledge in this area.  There may be teachers at the school your child attends who have a good grasp of Emoticons and their uses and meanings.  Some schools even offer information for parents about Emoticons and may have meetings that parents can attend.  If not, you can talk to other parents and arrange for such a meeting to take place.

There are community colleges and universities in many areas that have experts in this area and who are really good at this type of thing.  Check to see if any of these people are available for consultation and advice.

Check the Yellow pages of your phone book for listings of computer services that can help you understand Emoticons and other online communications.  These businesses often have professionals who can be hired for training purposes.

Emoticons may seem as if they are a kind of foreign language but never fear, help is here!

The question becomes; is there a way to stay on top of this language barrier and have some idea of what all of these things mean?  There are ways and all you need to do is be a little creative and consider enlisting the help of some other people.

The worst thing you can do when it comes to Emoticons and your kid’s online communication is to ignore it.  Ignoring it will simply not make the situation go away and it will not improve things either.

Read up on the subject.  Get online yourself and find out all there is to know about Emoticons and chat definitions.  There are websites that are specifically designed to help you get started.

There are books and magazines that feature articles about Emoticons and other online communication.  If you are willing to spend a little time researching the subject you will gain a wealth of information.

Parents of other kids who are online can also help.  Talk to parents and find out what they know. Some parents may have a much better understanding of Emoticons than you do and may be very willing to help you out.

Emoticons can be daunting at first but with some research and assistance you will gain a greater knowledge of the subject.  Part two of this article will give you other ideas about understanding and using Emoticons.

Want to keep in touch with the grandkids whether they live hundreds of miles away or just down the street?  One way to do this is to educate yourself on the language they are speaking.  Chat definitions are part of this language and once you do some reading you can be part of this interesting and exciting phenomenon.

Kids are sometimes more open to grandparents being involved in this kind of thing than they are their parents.  You can serve a need and have something in common with a grandchild when you are able to log on and use a few of those chat definitions that the kids enjoy so much.

While it may be confusing at first it’s not like you need to learn hundreds of chat definitions.  Just concentrate on a few and you will be ready to go.  It’s a great way to stay connected to the grandkids and you may even find that you have a lot of fun doing it.

There are many sites that will help you gain a working knowledge of the most basic chat definitions.  Simply go online and start your research.  It won’t take you long to assimilate yourself and then you can begin firing off messages to your grandchildren throwing in a few of the most popular chat definitions as you write.

Use your chat definitions skills and you can even talk with your grandkids in a chat room.  Find out what is going on with them and keep your relationship strong!

Don’t let those chat definitions baffle you any longer.  Spring into action and be ready the next time one of those mysterious communications pops up on a computer screen in your home.

There are sites that explain chat definitions really well.  Concerned parents have set up web pages or established other sites or blogs that will help you decipher all kinds of chat definitions.

Get together with other parents and figure out some of those chat definitions together.  If you are really intent on knowing how to use chat definitions you can practice with other parents and it won’t be long before you have a much better understanding of the subject.

Think of it as another kind of language, one that is every bit as foreign to you as French or Spanish but just as valuable.  When you are able to speak the chat definition language you will be able to know what your kids are saying to friends and also what is being said to them.  It is another way to assess what is going on with your kids when they are online.

With a little practice you will be able to decipher chat definitions with the best of them.  Then send your kids a message filled with chat definition language and let the fun begin!

Most chat features, such as Yahoo and MSN have emoticons that you can insert in your text, while talking. All you have to do is click on the face and it will pull up all that are available for you to use. Click on one and it will appear on your screen for you to send. You can even download more of these funny and cute emoticons. If you do a simple search you can find hundreds of these ready to download on your computer for you to use in your chats, emails, and more. It doesn’t take long to get the hang of these or to download new ones.

You may even find that you will have these options in some other chat rooms. They all work the same way. There should be a face to click on and you can use any that appear. These can make your conversations that much more fun. You can let the other people really know how you are feeling and its fun to see this faces when talking.

Emoticons are part and parcel of emails, instant messages, and also chat room conversations. Many times the interactions online between people – especially those who may have never met face to face – are complicated by the very fact that these people do not have the privilege of understanding the nuances of one another’s speech patterns, and without facial expressions and body language to soften a statement or emphasize a comment, communication can often be misunderstood.

Emoticons are a small way of helping in the struggle to be understood. Granted, they still do not smooth the waters over all kinds of online misunderstandings, but they do help people to understand each other better. As time progressed, these emoticons have evolved into little gifs which are big on message boards. They explain even more accurately how somebody is feeling, and may even prompt the readers to respond in a certain way. So go ahead and have some fun online with these little emoticons, and next time when you post a message, why not use one or more of them to not only clarify your feelings, but to give a bit of light-hearted leverage to your communication?

Here are a few of the common ones:

LOL – laugh out loud

ROFL – roll on the floor laughing

LMAO – laugh my ass off

TTYL – talk to you later

BBL – be back later

BRB – be right back

BTW – by the way

CYA – see you later

GTG – got to go

These are just a few of the many that are out there. It can be confusing at times until you know what is being said and what they mean. But soon you will be talking with the best of them and knowing exactly what to use at the right moment. These just save time on typing out all the words. It is fast and fun. Making it easier to really say what you want to say. So, the next time you see one of these then you will know what is being said. Learn all of them if you like but looking them up. They are fun and easy to learn.

While a direct translation at time does not work, knowing some of the more common chat definitions will help you to participate a lot easier in some of the chat rooms and it will also cut down on your frustration as you are trying to make a point, and all you get back in return is a what appears to be a bunch of gibberish.

Here are the most common chat definitions:

• AAMOF stands for “as a matter of fact”
• BBIB is the abbreviation for “be back in a bit”
• CRB means “come right back”
• Da is actually a piece of Internet slang, which stands for “the”
• EOT denotes that somebody is done discussing something, because it signals the “end of topic”
• FWIW stands for “for what it’s worth” and is often used as a filler
• G2G actually has two meanings; depending on contact it either means “good to go” or “got to go”
• H&K means “hugs and kisses” and is for those interactions that are a bit friendlier than simply arguing politics or other issues

There are some things you just don’t want others to know. Monitor what is on my space. This is the best way to make sure that everything you have put on there or someone else has put on there is safe and not telling.

My space can be fun when you know what safety precautions to use. Don’t get great details about your life and family and such. It could only set you up for bigger things to happen.

There are so many bad people out there that are ready to pry into your life and see what they can find out, or do to make it worse. You never know what will come from a post on my space. That is why monitoring and limiting what you put on there will help you keep things safe and private.

The way they should be. Make sure that your kids know these things as well. If they happen to have their on my space. Kids don’t see the dangers and safety issues like we do. It is best that you keep an eye on their activities as well.

Many children now experience curbside service, and are dropped off and picked up right in front of their schools and the homes of their friends by their parents who will watch them as they enter the relative safety of those buildings.

Yet sadly those same protective parents forget to keep their vigilance up to date when their little ones get bigger, and first learn how to set up a spot for themselves on My Space. Safety suddenly is not so much a concern anymore; after all, the child – or teen – is in the safety of the parental home, and what could happen, right?

Wrong! My Space safety is a major issue that parents need to be aware of, and it should not be left to the website to police itself. Many a sexual assault has occurred because a young teen has agreed to meet another – alleged – teen who turned out to be a predator on the hunt.

My Space safety is every parent’s job, and quite possibly the next kind of “curbside service” you can provide for your kids – even as they are growing older and more independent. Do not worry if they complain about your hovering once in a while to check what they are doing – that is their job!

Think of it in this way: someone tells you a joke and you laugh, have a smile on your face or giggle. If you receive this same joke online the sender can not see you laughing or the smile on your face. You are able to let them see your reaction when you use Emoticons.

When you share information online there is often an emotional aspect that goes with it. Before the use of Emoticons it was not possible to relay this to the people with whom you were communicating. In fact, one of the reasons Emoticons were invented was to help keep people from miscommunicating and misunderstanding the content and intent of online correspondence.

Emoticons are able to give people who are communicating online emotional cues. There are the visual aspect of online communication. Thev can help clarify a message and let the other correspondent know how they are feeling.

Two broad categories of Emoticons exist. There are the positive Emoticons and the negative ones. Sometimes because the use of these Emoticons is so widespread and careless there are some of the little smiley faces that have almost no emotional content whatsoever. Some of the other non-standard Emoticons are used only for amusement value and really don’t have much effect in relaying a true emotional message.

The standard Emoticons are usually the most effective because they are visually easy to understand. They are the ones that resemble actual facial expressions.

You may have heard about Emoticons from your children.  Kids and teens are quite adept at using and understanding Emoticons.  In a way it is like a foreign language.  Young people tend to catch on much more quickly than older people.

An Emoticon is part of cyberspace slang and there is an almost endless choice of them.  To make an Emoticon you use a combination of numbers, symbols and letters that fashion a picture.  These often can be seen best when viewed sideways.  If you receive an Emoticon in a cyberspace message and you don’t quite get it, simply tilt your head a little to the side and it will probably become clear.

Emoticons are like the hieroglyphics of this generation.  Or, you could think of them as a code.  Used in the wrong ways they can certainly exclude the people who do not understand what they mean or how to respond.  They are very informal and you would not want to use them when you are sending an e-mail to your employer, unless of course your employer is a young person who thinks this is savvy.

When using Emoticons is is a good idea to treat them as you would any use of slang.  Be considerate and realize that there may be people who do not know much about them.  Don’t overuse Emoticons and use them accurately.

Emoticons can be a great way to let those you are corresponding with visualize your emotions when they are not able to see you face to face.

There is nothing wrong with using chat definitions although often they are used to keep parents in the dark about what messages the kids are sending in chat rooms.  These chat definitions are also used in e-mails and instant messaging.

Chat definitions make communicating easier and faster, for those who understand the meanings.  If you don’t know what any of the current chat definitions are you may want to brush up a bit and find out what some of the chat definitions mean.

Chat rooms are places on the internet where people can type messages that show up on other people’s computers.  This happens very quickly and this is a place where knowing what chat definitions mean comes in very handy.  If you don’t understand chat definitions you will not only be out of the loop but you will not be able to understand the messages being sent to you or to your children.

Chat definitions are used for instant messaging which is a conversation that takes place between two people.  Chat definitions are used in chat rooms, too.  Chat definitions may be used by people who want to interest kids or teens in private chats.  This is not a good idea because although the person may have an excellent understanding of chat definitions they may not be someone who should be chatting with young people, especially in private chat rooms.

Discuss safety issues with your kids and know some of the different chat definitions so you can understand what your kids are saying in chat rooms.

Chat definitions are part of the lingo used in chat rooms.  They are used in place of other words and often used to shorten the time it takes to send someone a message.

There are children and teens who have been victimized online and often the victimization starts in a chat rooms.  Parents can help prevent these problems if they have a working knowledge of chat definitions.

Predators will enter chat room conversations and using chat definitions talk to kids and determine which ones appear to be the most vulnerable.  Kids don’t think too much about this because these folks are using the type of online communication they are used to.

Often the kids who are the most quiet are the ones who become targets.  Predators look for victims who are agreeable and quiet.  The predator then lures a child into a private chat room and continues with the communication.

A predator does not start by sexually propositioning the child but continues to talk and gain the child’s confidence.  Chat definitions that are possibly not understood by parents are still used because it makes it less likely that a parent will catch on or realize that something is going on that should not be.

Know what your kids are doing online and monitor their computer usage.  Understand chat definitions and you may be able to stay one step ahead of those who are looking for young victims in chat rooms.

Think of it like this; remember when your child was first ready to use the stove.  It was a little scary and you were concerned that the child would burn himself or even start a fire.  You taught him the safest way to use the stove and then watched to make sure he understood and could follow the directions.  MySpace safety tips will help you in the same kind of way.

MySpace safety tip #1:  Explore MySpace together.  Get to know the site and the inherent dangers and then discuss them.

MySpace safety tip #2:  Set rules for the use of your computer and stick to them.  This may include the time spent each day and also where the computer is located.  Consider putting the computer in an area that is well-used rather than allowing the child to have the computer in her room.

MySpace safety tip #3:  Make it perfectly clear: your child is never, under any circumstances, to meet someone in person whom they have met on the internet.  If your child has a total fit about this policy offer to go along to meet the person, it is very likely that the other person will not agree to this.

MySpace safety tip #4:  Pay attention to what your child is doing on MySpace or any other internet site.  You have the right to monitor all activity and you should.

Follow these MySpace safety tips and you will have a better chance of keeping your child safe.

Children can be very gullible and naïve.  MySpace safety rules will help ensure your children have the best experience possible with as few risks as possible.

Strangers are not only a danger to kids in real life, they are every bit as dangerous in cyberspace.  Your children should know that there is some information that should never be given out.  Kids may not realize that they are putting themselves in harms way when they tell someone online their real name or address.  Kids often think it is perfectly fine to give out their cell phone numbers or where they go to school.  Make it clear that MySpace safety depends on keeping these things off their space and correspondence.

Talk to your child about those who may not be truthful online.  Someone could tell them they are 13 years old and live in New York City when the truth is the person is actually a man who is 45 years old and is looking for a child to seduce.

Decide whether or not you will allow your children to take part in chat rooms.  Sometimes in a busy chat room a person will ask the child to move to a private chat room.  This can be very dangerous and you will need to set your family’s MySpace safety rules ahead of time.

MySpace is a much safer place when MySpace rules are in place and followed.

Rumors can be very detrimental to a child and as a parent there are steps you can take to alleviate the problem. Before your child gets involved online it would be a good idea to discuss a plan of action if they find they are being harassed or abused online.

It is a good idea to talk about these online dangers before they happen because often kids will become embarrassed and think that they can handle the problem by themselves.  If you have discussed what they should do before it happens they may be more likely to come to you if the bullying does indeed occur.

One way of handling these meanies is to advise your child to ignore them.  Sometimes when a bully does not get the attention expected they simply move on.

Advise your child to choose a user name that does not invite abuse or bullying.  Bullies look for user names that can be made fun of.

As a parent it is a good idea to analyze the situation before stepping in.  Take the time to determine if there is actually a problem.

If the harassment includes threats of any kind of violence you should report the situation to the police.  Any defamation type of harassment should be saved.  Keep e-mails and any posts that are defaming or threatening in nature.  Also keep track of the times and dates.

Online dangers in the form of abuse, harassment or defamation need to be acknowledged and dealt with.

Bullies make a kids life miserable and can often lead to long term problems.  Online these kids are called griefers or cyber bullies.  There are things you should know about these cyber bullies and online dangers.

Sometimes these bullies start the harassment or abuse and continue until they ruin someone’s reputation.  Rumors spread quickly and it isn’t long before it is too late to turn things around.

There are several ways that cyber bullies harass their victims.  The abuse, harassment or defamation can take place when the bully sends an e-mail to the victim.  These e-mails may also be sent to others, including friends of the target.

Online dangers in the form of harassment may occur in blogs and on web sites.  The griefer may have a web site or blog and post rumors about another person.  The bully may also lie about the other person or criticize them.

Cyber bullies sometimes use online forums as a way to defame, abuse or harass others.  The bully will post mean comments and criticisms to every post of their target.

There are games that kids play online and this is a situation where a cyber bully will take advantage of another player, especially a new player.  The new player will be cheated or harassed.

Part 2 of this article will contain information about what steps you can take to protect your child from these online dangers.

When a member want to post any content there are rules that need to be followed. These rules are carefully outlined in the terms and conditions.

MySpace.com reserves the right to delete any content that violates the agreement signed by each member at the time of registration. If the content is illegal, offensive, violates the rights of others or threatens to harm someone, MySpace may delete it. You should know that MySpace does not accept responsibility for monitoring the content of any member or for modifying or removing content.

MySpace members are responsible for all content they post on or through any services provided by MySpace. MySpace does not necessarily review the content posted by members. Anything posted does not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or policies of MySpace and it makes no warranties as to the content or the reliability or accuracy of any content.

It is important to choose your content carefully because anything you post on MySpace is available to all users of the site. Your personal profile can not contain your last name, street address, or any telephone number.

You are not allowed to post photographs that contain nudity or obscene, excessively violent, lewd, sexually explicit, harassing, or otherwise questionable material. Be aware that although these things are not allowed they are certainly available on the site because MySpace.com states in the terms and agreement section that members may actually provide any and all of these things when they post content and MySpace does not assume responsibility or liability for any of this material.

Read the terms and agreements carefully before becoming a member of MySpace.

Anyone who uses MySpace is expected to do so for personal reasons only. No one should use the services of MySpace for any commercial endeavors unless they are specifically approved of or endorsed by MySpace.com.

There is a section that details the proprietary rights in content on MySpace. This section tells members that MySpace does not claim ownership rights in the files, text, photos, images, works of authorship, video, sounds, musical works or any other materials that are posted to the MySpace services.

When you display or publish any content through the MySpace services you are granting MySpace.com a limited license to use, publicly perform, modify, publicly display, reproduce and distribute this content solely on and through MySpace services.

If this license did not exist, MySpace.com would not be able to provide MySpace services. Without this license MySpace.com would not be able to digitally compress music files that members submit so that they satisfy technical requirements. Members would not be able to listen to music posted by others. Content can not be sold or distributed outside of MySpace.

Members must represent and warrant that the content posted is owned by them or that the member has the right to grant the license required. The posting of content can not violate publicity rights, privacy rights, copyrights, contract rights or any other rights of any person. Any member who posts content must agree to pay any and all fees, royalties or monies owed to any person.

MySpace Terms and Conditions – Part Four will explore content even further.

There are terms and conditions that must be agreed to before your registration can be completed. This is true for members and visitors alike.

To be eligible as a member of MySpace you must be living in a place where this kind of membership is not prohibited. You are expected to be honest and submit information that is truthful as well as accurate. Any member of MySpace needs to be at least 14 years of age. Using MySpace can not violate any law or regulation that is applicable. If MySpace believes that someone under the age of 14 is using the site their membership can be immediately terminated.

Any member can terminate their membership at any time. The MySpace agreement remains in effect and in full force for anyone using the service. You should also know that MySpace can terminate anyone’s membership at any time without warning.

There may be times when there will be a fee for certain services provided by MySpace. If your membership is terminated and you have paid for any service this fee will not be refunded.

When you register as a member of MySpace you will need to choose a password. It is up to each member to protect the confidentiality of this password. You are not allowed to use someone else’s password, account or username or to share your password. If you think someone has used your account or has gained access to your password you should notify MySpace immediately.

MySpace Terms and Conditions – Part Three will be available soon.

MySpace is a social network that provides members with the opportunity to create their own personal profiles that are available online. These profiles can be creative and unique. Those using MySpace will be able to communicate with friends both old and new all over the world.

There are various services offered by MySpace. There is a website, internet messaging service and other services that are available at certain times.

Take a look at the terms of agreement that gives you the legally binding terms for all MySpace services. Whether you become a member or are only a visitor you must agree to the terms set forth by MySpace.

When you agree to the terms you are authorized to use the site. If you have any problems with the terms or will not agree to them you are not allowed to use the site.

Anyone who plans to use the services of MySpace either as a member or a visitor and wants to communicate with others on the site must read the agreement and indicate a willingness to accept it as part of the registration process.

There may be times when the agreement is modified or changed. These changes will be posted by MySpace on the MySpace website. When you sign the original agreement of terms and conditions you are also agreeing to abide by future changes. It is a good idea to review the agreement on a regular basis so that you will be aware of any changes.

Look for: MySpace Terms and Conditions Part Two

When you become a member of MySpace you must sign an agreement that states all of their terms and conditions.  These content policies may or may not be monitored and members are solely responsible for any content they post.

Those using MySpace are prohibited from using the account, password or username of another member.  A member may not disclose their password to a third party or allow a third party to access their account.

You are prohibited from selling or transferring your profile.

Members may not display an advertisement on their profile or accept anything of value or a payment from a third person in exchange for performing a commercial activity on or through MySpace services on behalf of that person.  This means that you are not allowed to put commercial content on your profile or post bulletins or blogs that have a commercial purpose.  You can not choose a profile that has a commercial purpose as one of your “Top 8” friends and you can’t send private messages with a commercial purpose.

You are not allowed to use any information obtained from the services of MySpace to abuse, harass, or harm another person.

When creating band profiles you may not copy the code for your MySpace player and embed it into other profiles.  You are also prohibited from asking other members to embed it into their profiles.

You may not try to impersonate another person or member of MySpace.

No one may use the services of MySpace in a way that is inconsistent with any and all of the applicable regulations and rules.

Prohibited activity includes advertising to or the solicitation of any member to sell or buy products or services through any of the MySpace services.

You can not send any chain letters or junk e-mail to other members of MySpace.  Any information received from MySpace can not be used to advertise to, contact, sell to or solicit any member without their prior explicit consent.

MySpace.com may restrict the number of e-mails which a member may send to another member within a 24 hour time frame.  This number is solely left up to the discretion of MySpace.com.

Since MySpace states that is would be nearly impossible to figure out the harm that could be caused by members sending unsolicited bulk mail, other unsolicited communications or instant messages through their services, they can charge members $50.00 for each infraction.

Also prohibited is the covering or obscuring any of the banner advertisements on a member’s person profile page or on any other MySpace.com page via HTML/CSS or any other means.

Members are prohibited from any automated use of the MySpace system.  You can not use scripts to add friends or to send messages or comments.

You may not disrupt, create an undue burden or interfere with MySpace services.  This includes any of the networks or services that are connected with MySpace.

Remember that MySpace.com reserves the right to investigate and terminate anyone who does not follow all the terms and conditions agreed to at the time of registration.

You are not allowed to post anything that promotes or furthers criminal activity or that gives information that could instruct others about illegal activities.  This would include instruction on how to violate someone’s privacy, how to make or buy illegal weapons or how to provide or create computer viruses.

MySpace prohibits members from posting a photograph of another person without that person’s consent.

Members are not allowed to do any posting that involves commercial activities and/or sales without the prior written consent of MySpace.  This includes advertising, contests, sweepstakes, barter or pyramid schemes.

Band and filmmaker profiles can not use sexually explicit or suggestive imagery.  Misleading, unfair or deceptive content that is intended to draw traffic to these profiles is also prohibited.

You may not post any content that solicits personal identifying information or passwords for commercial or unlawful purposes from other MySpace users.

Any post that contains password only, restricted, hidden pages, or images that are not linked to or from another accessible page is not allowed.

MySpace states in the terms and conditions section that they can refuse or reject any post that contains any of the above content.  This does not mean that they will do so.  It is also stated that MySpace can delete any content that is judged to be offensive or illegal.  Once again, this does not mean that all prohibited content is monitored and/or deleted.

Any content that is patently offensive and promotes racism is not allowed.  This includes posts that contain bigotry, threats of physical harm against any group or individual.

No one on MySpace should exploit people in a violent or sexual manner.  Content should not include violence or nudity or any offensive subject matter.  Links to adult websites are also prohibited.

You can not harass or advocate the harassment of another person or group.  Solicitation of personal information from anyone under the age of 18 is prohibited.

You are not allowed to provide certain information such as your last name, URL’s, e-mail addresses, phone numbers or street addresses.

MySpace prohibits the promotion of illegal or unauthorized copying of another person’s copyrighted work.  This means you can not provide pirated computer programs or the links to them.  You can not provide information that would circumvent manufacture-installed copy-protect devices.  Providing pirated music or links to pirated music files is also prohibited.

Content that involves the transmission of “chain letters,” unsolicted mass mailing, “junk mail”, instant messaging, spamming or spimming is prohibited.

Posts that contain information that you know is misleading or false is not allowed.  You can not promote illegal activities or information that is threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene or libelous.

You should realize that although these are terms and conditions set forth by MySpace.com they do not accept responsibility for any material that is posted.

Part two of MySpace: Content Information will continue to explore prohibited content posting.

The majority of people who began using MySpace were teens and young adults. Unfortunately there are now lots of older people who have profiles on MySpace and are using the site to meet teens.

Some of the folks who use MySpace are involved for reasons that are not appropriate and could very easily put young people in danger. There are groups on MySpace that are designated for Swingers and homosexuals. There are also people who use MySpace to distribute and view photos of naked boys and girls.

Parents who have kids using MySpace should be as informed as possible about the site and be willing to monitor and discuss the site with their children. Younger teens may be very vulnerable to the people who use MySpace as a way to solicit sex.

Teens and young adults who plan to be part of MySpace or already have a profile on the site should always use caution. Even when you specify a certain list of people whom you want to correspond with you should know that anyone can read your profile and study your information or look at the photos you post.

MySpace can be a fun and easy way to talk to friends and meet people online but it is important to exercise a little common sense.

Here is some information about a few of the more questionable things that happen on the MySpace site:

Kids as young as 14 can talk to people their age or decades older about sex.  Groups have been formed to discuss being a lesbian and there are groups of older men who converse with young boys about sex and share photos that are suggestive or show the people involved without clothing.

There is quite a bit of discussion going on about sexual issues between kids and older adults.  This is not appropriate and often involves photos that are sexually explicit. 

You can not only join a swingers group at MySpace but you can also register as a swinger.  This means that there are people who are using MySpace as a way to solicit sex.

Parents need to be familiar with MySpace and make sure their kids are not involved in these activities.  Many parents do not want to be the “bad guy” but in this case it might be better to be labeled as the person who set up some rules concerning the use of MySpace rather than suffer the consequences later.

If you have a teen who has a profile on MySpace you need to get involved and see what is going on.  Keep your kids safe from the predators who see MySpace as a way to meet victims.

You may be one of those people who are very trusting and never worry about anyone misrepresenting themselves.  You may have kids that are rather naïve about sites like MySpace and don’t think there are folks out there who would lie or hurt them.

These things are not true.  While the majority of people using MySpace are pretty much truthful about who they are as well as their intentions there will always be predators.  Not everyone who frequents MySpace is who they say they are.

It can be a lot of fun to meet new people on MySpace and develop friendships.  Do not meet people you have met at MySpace in person.  This is often where trouble begins.  When you agree to meet a stranger you could be asking for a very dangerous situation.

Think about what you are posting before you do it.  You can’t get it back and it will be available for everyone to see.  You may want to post a photo that is a little questionable.  Just remember you could have a parent, teacher or employer see that photo or read about your latest behavior at a party.

If you have kids who are using MySpace do not hesitate to check it out.  Set up rules and guidelines for any children or teens who are using MySpace.  Tall about the problems and dangers of using the site.  Talk about their profile before they post it and keep communication open about who they are corresponding with and what information they are sharing.

People who use MySpace may be publicly embarrassed or even worse may put themselves in danger.  If you or your children plan to use MySpace or already doing so there a few tips that may come in handy.

Always remember that everything shared on MySpace is out there for everyone to see.  This means that you are sharing private information with people who pose no threat and also with those who could prove to be dangerous.

If there are things you don’t want everyone to know, do not post them on MySpace. Also, think twice before you give out your phone number, home or business address, specific whereabouts or IM screen names.

You may not want to give out information that tells people where you will be at a certain time.  It’s great to be able to tell your friends where to meet but just remember that this information will be going out to everyone who has access to MySpace.

There may be times when you read things on MySpace that are inappropriate or contain harassing comments or hate speech.  Do not hesitate to report these kinds of things.  You can discuss the inappropriate materials with an adult and then report them to either MySpace or the authorities.

These safety tips should help keep you and other MySpace users a little safer when you use the site.

Many teens are excited about MySpace because it allows them to meet new people and post a profile that gives lots of information about them.  What they don’t always understand and what many of them are not willing to accept is that there are people who use MySpace for predatory reasons.

Parents can take measures to ensure the safest possible use of MySpace. The first thing to do is visit MySpace and take a look at the site.  Check out what is available and look at the groups that teens can be a part of.  Know your way around the site and get comfortable with what MySpace has to offer.  When you do this you will be able to have an informed discussion with your kids.

Discuss the use of MySpace with your kids and setup some family rules.  Let the kids voice their opinions about MySpace and if they already have a profile take a look at it with them.  If they don’t have a profile but are planning one, talk about acceptable information that will be posted on the site.

Set time limits for MySpace.  If necessary you can move the computer to a family room or less private area than a teen’s bedroom.  Pay attention to the time your kids are spending on the site and from time-to-time monitor MySpace yourself.

Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to sites like MySpace.

There are several reasons that this can happen even though there are guidelines for this type of behavior for anyone using MySpace and the site is monitored closely.  Predators find MySpace the perfect place to meet and solicit young people because many teens lie about their age and they are often quite naïve about people.  Most of the time the teens and young adults are using MySpace for innocent reasons.  They simply want to correspond with their friends and meet new people.

Parents often do not understand MySpace or may not even know their teens have profiles on the site.  It is up to parents to know what is going on and to set limits and make rules.

Young people are often not very careful when posting their profiles, photos and personal information.  They don’t worry about anyone getting the information who shouldn’t have it, especially when they have specified a list of people that they will be corresponding with.  This does not keep them safe because anyone can read the information and view anything posted on MySpace.

There are young people who are vulnerable to predators online.  Sometimes it is innocence and other times it may be the thrill of doing something that seems dangerous.  Again, these teens and young adults do not understand what could happen.

Predators are certainly a real threat on MySpace and one to be taken seriously.

First of all. the people using MySpace want to know if the site is free. They also wonder how to begin using MySpace.

Other frequently asked questions concern the safety of the site.  What can be done if someone is harassing or bothering a member?  How do you report illicit activity on MySpace?  What should be done if people are communicating with someone who does not know them and does not want to correspond.

People ask about their profiles and how to change them. They inquire about adding color, sound and graphics to the Profile page.  Information is required about changing their e-mail address and/or password.  Other questions are asked concerning the addition of information to the profile.  What can be done if parts of a profile disappear?  What steps should be taken when a profile is hacked?
They want to know how to change the order friends appear on their list and how to delete people from that list.  People ask about uploading images and what can be done when a HTML code is added to a profile and does not show up.

Finally, questions are asked about groups and what the purpose is.  They also want to know how to join a group without having it listed on their profile.  Can the list of groups a person belongs to be removed from a profile?  How is a member removed from a group and how can someone be blocked from a group?

These are all good questions that are often asked by those using MySpace.

Pros:  MySpace is a place where friends can meet and talk about plans, events and social activities.

MySpace allows people to express themselves and say what they want to. 

My Space can be a relatively safe place for older teens and young adults to share information about themselves and to meet new people.  People can share their views, interests and passions.

Use of MySpace works well for younger people who don’t use e-mail very often but enjoy instant messaging. 

MySpace provides young people a site where they can give and receive feedback. 

Cons:  MySpace can be dangerous because there are sexual predators who use the site to seduce young people.

Many parents are not aware of the dangers of MySpace.  There are even parents who do not realize their teens have a profile on MySpace or what information may have been given.

Advertisers use MySpace as a way to make a lot of money.  Some of the sites that have advertising are used in conjunction with sexual content.  This means the advertisers are making money from ads that promote pornography.

MySpace tries to have controls and it has monitoring procedures in place but many things have slipped through.  There are groups that promote homosexual practices as well as groups that show pornographic photos.

MySpace can not control the people who lie about their age or give other false information.  It also can’t do anything about teens who are 14 and choose to correspond with people who are 10, 20 or 30 years older.

If you are concerned with your kids internet safety there a few things that you can do to help.

1. Giving your child a set of rules to follow will help to ensure their safety.  In addition to the rules make sure that they know why they have to follow them.  This will make it more likely that they will actually listen.

2. When it comes to kids internet safety it is important that your child feels comfortable talking to you about their problems.  If they know that you are understanding, they will be more likely to come to you with a problem that is stemming from online.

3. If your child is simply not listening to you, and you are gravely concerned, you may want to look into banning them from online activities until they straighten up their act.  This may seem harsh, but it may be necessary in order to keep your child safe.  In addition, you can also block certain websites if you feel that your child should not be on them.

Overall, kids internet safety is very important to every parent.  If you stay up to date with what your child is doing, and set down rules, you will be greatly increasing your chances of keeping them safe while they are online.

One of the best practices that your child can take part in when on the internet is never giving out contact information.  This may seem like an easy task, but for children it can be quite difficult.  After all, the predators are telling them what they want to hear, so giving them an address or phone number is easy.  If your child knows that they will be reprimanded for this behavior, they will think twice about doing it.

Of course, you should also tell your child that they do not have to deal with people who are threatening them.  Make sure that your children know that if they are threatened online or feel uncomfortable that they should immediately sign off and tell you about the problem. 

What you think is common sense may not be for your child.  Make sure that they know how to use the internet in a smart way.  This will help to avoid any problems before they start.

But before you let your children aim freely online, make sure that you teach them the three areas detailed below.

1. Tell your kids that if they are going to be using sites such as MySpace where they communicate with others that they must not give out any contact information.  This is very important to remember in order to keep your child safe.

2. Make sure that your children know that it is not acceptable to go onto sites that are of bad taste.  Let them know that if you catch them doing this that they will be in trouble.  By keeping your kids off of these sites at an early age you will be helping to avoid problems down the road.

3. Let them know that there are people out there who are predators.  Believe it or not some kids may not know what is going on.  When a stranger contacts them they may be flattered and want to learn more.  But if you tell them about these people from the get go you will be able to avoid these issues from arising. 

Teach your kids how to safely surf the web so that you do not have to worry every time they sit down at the computer. 

But there are two huge problems that go along with these classes.  The first one being that some schools do not teach them at all.  In today’s day and age of technology, it is essential that young minds get taught about the internet at an early age.  This will help to get them off on the right track.  The majority of schools are teaching these classes, but there are some that are lagging behind.  If your child’s school is one that has fallen behind, make it a point to get this changed.

Another big problem is the information that is being taught in these classes.  Sure, it is important that your child learns how to use the internet and what it can do for them, but at the same time they should also be learning about how to stay safe online.  This is an issue that is very important, and one that should be taught.  If your child’s lesson plan does not call for this, ask why.  By doing so you will be helping hundreds of kids stay safe.

Overall, look into the classes that your child is taking at school.  If they are not up to par, do something about it.  It is your right as a parent.