Safe Computing

1
Safe Computing

• Bill Weyrick
• www.thet.net/safecomputing/

2
Introduction

• Open Discussion of Wild and Open Internet
• Bill Weyrick
• Manager of Computer User Support at DHMC
• Parent, School Volunteer, Thetford Technology
  Committee Member and Volunteer WebMaster of
  Thet.Net

3
Topics of Discussion

• Risks
• Know Whats Out There
• Review Some of the More Common Internet
  Technologies
• E-Mail Browsing Chat News Groups
  Multi-User Gaming
• Filtering Technology
• On-Line Strategies
• Its All About Education

4
Risks

• Capturing information about you for target
  marketing
• Steeling Credit Card Accounts to Entire
  Identities.
• Exposure to Inappropriate Material
• Sexual or Vilolent in Nature
• Harrassment
• Harrrassing or Demeaning Email, Sites or
  Postings
• Physical Safety
• A Child Might Arrange an Encounter that Risks the
  Safety of Themselves or a Family Member

5
Risk Factors

• Age Groups
• Peer Pressure
• Supervision
• Restrictions

6
Email

• Thet.Net BlitzMail
• Full Identity
• Free E-Mail
• Hot Mail, BigFoot, Yahoo Mail
• False Identity
• Problems
• Mis-Representation
• Spamming
• Virus Infections

7
Email

• The most common way of snooping is people getting
  access to your computer.
• Be sure to always sign off and close the
  kerberose ticket.
• Some email programs like Netscape and Outlook
  keep copies of your email on your computer even
  after you have logged of the email system
• You would need to leave a copy on the server and
  delete the downloaded one.

8
Browsing

• World Wide Web Site
• Unregulated
• Un-Moderated
• From Very Useful -Mis-leading, Violent and
  Pornographic
• Often the First Step to More Interactive
  Experiences
• Cache Files in the System Folder Hold a Copy of
  the Most Recent Pages and Images

9
What All WWW Sites You Visit Know About You

• What browser you are using
• What Operating System is on your computer (Mac,
  Windows 98 etc)
• What page referred you to that site
• The IP address of your computer (What domain or
  company you are coming from)
• Free ISP services track even more information
  about you and have rights to resell that
  information

10
Sites can build a profile of your visit that
includes

• Which pages you visited
• How long you stayed there
• Where you went from that site

11
Cookies

• Sites can put a piece of information on your
  computer
• Normally a unique ID for you on their site.
• Mostly used for return visits in order to
  identify you and track your browsing patterns and
  interests.
• Amazon.com uses cookies to make book
  recommendations when you return to their site
• Yahoo will present you with your favorite news or
  stock information

12
More Cookies

• Some sites allow a separate company to deliver
  cookies to your computer
• These Profilers build comprehensive profile of
  your surfing habits in order to place individual
  adds that target your interests on partners
  sites.
• The profiler Double-Click just bought a direct
  mail database (Abacus Direct) in order to merge
  your other buying habits with your web profile.
• They now have access to billions of transactions
  at stores such as Bloomindales

13
Surf Anonymously

• Some sites (Anonymizer.com) can use its server to
  mask your ID
• They have a free service that delays your surfing
  some
• They have a faster premium service for 5
  /month

14
Control Your Cookies

• Some Sites allow you to Opt-Out
• Takes time to do this
• Voluntary and not required
• Center for Democracy Technology (COT) has a
  site to assist
• Opt-out.cdt.org/online
• Newer versions of Netscape and Explorer allow you
  to turn off cookies
• Can be limiting - some sites require cookies.

15
Internet Explorers Cookie Controls
16
Be careful with Personal Information

• Placing your child's name, picture, address,
  school, phone number, or other information on the
  Internet means that anyone visiting the site
  could easily identify your child and possibly
  locate them
• Key information like address, DOB, place of
  birth, mothers maiden name and SSN can be used
  to steal identities and apply for credit cards in
  your name.
• With enough information to uniquely identify a
  person, their SSN can be purchased on line for
  about 25.
• If you suspect a stolen ID - Move Fast!!

17
Federal Trade Commission Privacy Guidelines for
Children

• Here are some important things to know about
  surfing, privacy and your personal information
• Never give out your last or family name, your
  home address or your phone number in chat rooms,
  on bulletin boards, or to online pen-pals.
• Dont tell other kids your screen name, user ID
  or password.
• Look at a websites Privacy Policy to see how the
  site uses the information you give them.
• Surf the Internet with your parents. If they
  arent available, talk to them about the sites
  youre visiting.
• Talk about the sites Privacy Policy with your
  parents so that you and your parents will know
  what information the site collects about you and
  what it does with the information.
• Websites must get your parents permission before
  they collect many kinds of information from you.
• If a website has information about you that you
  and your parents dont want it to have, your
  parents can ask to see the information and they
  can ask the website to delete or erase the
  information.
• Sites are not supposed to collect more
  information than they need about you for the
  activity you want to participate in. You should
  be able to participate in many activities online
  without having to give any information about
  yourself.
• If a site makes you uncomfortable or asks for
  more information than you want to share, leave
  the site.

18
Privacy Resources

• Electronic Frontier Foundation
• www.eff.org
• Center for Democracy and Technology
• www.cdt.org
• Electronic Privacy Information Center
• www.epic.org
• The Federal Trade Commission
• www.ftc.gov/menu-internet.html
• Social Security Administration
• www.ssa.gov/pubs/idtheft.htm
• Hot Line - 800-269-0271

19
Chat

• Simultaneous Conversation
• Moderated - Yahooligans Freezone HeadBone
  KidsCom
• Un-Supervised - AOL Instant Messenger ICQ
• Chat Rooms vs. One on One
• False Identities
• Avitars, NickNames

20
Chat Windows
21
Chat Message from Anonymous Sender

• Yeah! I finally found your uin!!! Some days ago
  you asked me about good adult site, here it is
  http//3x-files.rvx.net and best thing - they
  dont have annoying pop-ups!
• At the site There was X rated Nudity and this
• Want to meet REAL woman or man? Join Adult Friend
  Finder - Membership is FREE!!!

22
More Chat

• Chat also gives you the option of ignoring
  specific chatters, as well as using a language
  filterMost chat areas have clearly stated rules
  and guidelines for what is appropriate failure
  to follow the rules may result in negative
  responses from other users and, ultimately, a
  loss of privileges.
• Clubs allow people with similar interests to
  interact in focused online forums. Club members
  have the ability to post messages, take part in
  chats, send email messages to one another, and
  even post pictures. Clubs has an established set
  of rules that users must follow.
• Message boards generally list the username of the
  person who posts a message. Therefore, we
  encourage you to create an alias for your child
  so that their true name is not visible on any
  posted message

23
News Groups

• Email like Threaded Conversations
• Moderated and UnModerated
• From Very Useful - Violence and Pornographic
  Fetishes
• Many alt.xxx groups
• Most of the Worst Computer Viruses were
  Introduced via News Groups

24
News Groups

• All postings are archived in searchable for at
  _at_deja.com (DejaNews)
• News Groups are frequently mined by spammers
  for email addresses
• An alternative is to get an anonymous email
  account at sites like hotmail.com or yahoo.com

25
Multi-User Gaming

• Many Gendres
• First Person Shooters Role Playing Casino
  Board Games Card Games Flight Simulation
  Racing Gambling
• Can be Extremely Violent
• Can be VERY addictive

26
Gaming Sites

• The Zone - Card and Board Games
• there's usually about 25k People on any given
  weeknight and as many as 60-65k People on
  weekends
• GameCenter

27
Game Center Spades Listing
28
Other Game Sites
29
Supervision Strategies

• Talk to Your Kids
• Watch Them on the Internet
• Restrict their Activities
• Similar to Restricting Movies (R, X, XXX) and
  Discouraging them from Talking to Stangers on the
  Phone??

30
Rating Organizations

• Adequate.com - rates web sites as appropriate for
  all children, older children, and by a G, PG,
  web14, or for mature audiences only standard.
• Entertainment Software Rating Board - this
  independent board has developed a standardized
  rating system for Internet sites. Provides info
  on the age appropriateness of a site and the
  site's content.
• Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS)
  http//www.w3.org/PICS/Introduction -
  establishes the specifications on which many
  filtering and rating systems are based.
• RSACi - independent, non-profit organization that
  provides information about the level of sex,
  nudity, violence, and offensive language in
  software games and Web sites.
• SafeSurf - http//www.safesurf.com/ this
  organization is working to create an Internet
  Rating Standard which will allow web browsers to
  detect the content of web sites before displaying.

31
Filtering Programs

• Restrictive Programs and Services
• Inclusive Services
• Comparison Table -http//www.safekids.com/filters.
  htm
• Apples KidSafe NetNanny CyberPatrol Cyber
  Sitter Guard One Surf Watch

32
Internet Explorer Ratings - Mac
33
Internet Explorer Internet Options - Windows
34
Apples KidSafe
35
Apples KidSafe
36
Internet Explorer - Cache
37
National Center for Missing and Exploited
Children and Interactive Services Association
On-line Rules

• Never Give Out Personal Information (Telephone ,
  address, Parents Names, Location of School etc)
• Inform Parents of any Information that Makes You
  Feel Uncomfortable
• Never Agree to Getting Together with Someone you
  met On-Line without Involving Parents
• Do not Send Pictures or Other Items to Someone
  you met On-Line without Involving Parents
• Do not Respond to Messages that are Mean or Make
  You Feel Uncomfortable
• Set On-Line Rules with Your Parents and Stick to
  Them

38
Federal Trade Commission - Safe Surfing On The
Internet - hints for safe traveling on the
Internet.

• http//www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/online/sitesee
  /index.html
• I can go online ________ (Time of day) for
  _________ (How long)
• It's ___ OK  ___ not OK for me to go online
  without a parent.
• I understand which sites I can visit and which
  ones are off limits.
• I won't give out information about myself or my
  family without permission from my parents.
• My password is my secret. I won't give it to
  anyone.
• I will never agree to meet an online pal, or send
  my picture, without permission from my parents.
• I know an advertisement when I see one. I also
  know that animated or cartoon characters aren't
  real and may be trying to sell me something or to
  get information from me.
• I will follow these same rules when I am at home,
  in school, or at the library or a friend's.

39
FBI's Safety Tips for Kids on the Internet

• safety tips from the Federal Bureau of
  Investigations which all kids should know and
  follow while online. www.fbi.gov/kids/crimepre/int
  ernet/internet.htm
• Never give out identifying information such as
  Name, Home Address, School Name, or Telephone
  Number in a public message such as at a chat room
  or on bulletin boards. Never send a person a
  picture of you without first checking with your
  parent or guardian.
• Never respond to messages or bulletin board items
  that are Suggestive, Obscene, Belligerent,
  Threatening, Make You Feel Uncomfortable
• Be careful when someone offers you something for
  nothing, such as gifts and money. Be very careful
  about any offers that involve your coming to a
  meeting or having someone visit your house.
• Tell your parent or guardian right away if you
  come across any information that makes you feel
  uncomfortable.
• Never arrange a face to face meeting without
  telling your parent or guardian. If your parent
  or guardian agree to the meeting, make sure that
  you meet in a public place and have a parent or
  guardian with you.
• Remember that people online may not be who they
  seem. Because you can't see or even hear the
  person it would be easy for someone to
  misrepresent him- or herself. Thus, someone
  indicating that "she" is a "12-year-old-girl"
  could in reality be an older man.
• Be sure that you are dealing with someone that
  you and your parents know and trust before giving
  out any personal information about yourself via
  E-mail.
• Get to know your "online friends" just as you get
  to know all of your other friends.

40
Yahooligans Rules

• Time online Discuss how much time they are
  allowed to spend online, and whether their
  computer use is dependent on conditions such as
  finishing their homework, doing chores, etc.
• Location/Supervision Decide whether there are
  restrictions or guidelines on the physical
  location where the kids can go online. Can they
  go online at school? In the library? At a
  friend's house? Are they allowed to be online
  when no adult is around?
• Personal information Kids should never give
  out personal information, such as their full
  name, address, phone number, school, or picture,
  to anyone they meet online.
• Web sites Talk about which kinds of web sites
  are okay, and which ones are off-limits. Are they
  limited to sites related to their schoolwork?
  Sites that are designed especially for kids? Only
  sites that are listed in the Yahooligans!
  directory?
• Meeting online friends Kids should never
  arrange to meet an online friend in person
  without an adult present.
• Chat rooms Explore a few chat rooms together
  while discussing your guidelines. What is your
  comfort level with this method of communication?
  Do you want your children to chat in monitored
  chat rooms only? Are your children allowed to
  send personal messages to people they've only met
  online? Check out the "Chat" category on
  Yahooligans! for an up-to-date listing of links
  to moderated chats for kids.

41
More Yahooligans Rules

• Inappropriate material Kids should never
  respond online when they feel uncomfortable or
  scared by something they've seen or read. If they
  have any doubts, they should find an adult
  immediately and show them the inappropriate
  material.
• The Golden Rule Remind your kids to behave
  towards other kids as they would like people to
  behave towards them. Something that could hurt
  another child's feelings on the playground will
  still hurt when received by email or in a public
  chat.
• Web sites Remind your child of the use of the
  "back" button. If they come upon a site that
  isn't what they'd expected, he/she should click
  "back" immediately and then come tell you what
  happened. If a web site is misrepresenting
  itself, complain to the creator of the site.
• Email If your child receives an email message
  from an unfamiliar address, they shouldn't read
  it and should tell you about it. If it's
  something inappropriate and unsolicited, request
  of the message's source that they delete your
  child's email address from their database. If
  this becomes an ongoing problem, complain to your
  Internet service provider.
• Chat Rooms We strongly recommend that you
  actively monitor your children while they
  participate in online chats (more so than any
  other online activity). Yahoo! Chat users have
  the ability to Ignore specific chatters, which
  helps to prevent any one chatter from becoming an
  ongoing problem for your child. Additionally, you
  can control the language your child sees with the
  Language Filter.

42
Other Resources

• US Department of Education Parents' Guide to the
  Internet - learn about the Information
  Superhighway what it is, how and why to get on,
  and what to do while you're there
  http//www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/internet/
• http//www.lebcity.com/government/police/
• http//www.yahooligans.com/Parents__Guide/Blocking
  _and_Filtering/
• FBI
• http//www.fbi.gov/kids/crimepre/internet/internet
  .htm
• Federal Trade Commission Privacy Policy Site
• http//www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/kidzprivacy/
  
• Rules to Protect Children - Adults
• http//www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/online/kidspri
  vacy.htm
• The Law in English
• http//www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/coppa.
  htm

43
Its all about Education

• Interactive Learning - Work with Your Teachers
  and Buy a CD
• Educational Software Catalog
• http//www.edsoft.com/

44
The Web is About Research

• Natural Language Search Engine
• Ask Jeeves
• Paste that Picture
• Drill down sites
• http//www.excite.com/education/
• http//infoseek.go.com/WebDir/Education
• http//www.netguide.com/Education/K12
• http//dmoz.org/Reference/Education/

45
The Web is about Communication

• Yahooligans
• Berits Best
• http//www.beritsbest.com/
• Links to a number of monitored chat rooms,
  Interactive games and games about safe internet
  practices

46
The Web is about interaction

• 10 cool sites
• http//www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/scien
  cesites.html
• Bill Nye
• http//nyelabs.kcts.org/flash_ie_mac.html
• Mission to Mars
• http//athena.cornell.edu/kids/
• http//www.eduweb.com/adventure.html
• Subscription
• http//www.skewlsites.com/
• http//www.safexplorer.com/

47
The Web Does Have Educational Resources

• http//www.eagle.ca/matink/
• http//www.er.doe.gov/production/ober/bak2.html
• http//sesd.sk.ca/teacherresource/educationalsites
  /educationalsites.htm
• http//www.safesurf.com/serf.htm
• http//www.usgs.gov/education.html
• http//www.educationindex.com/
• http//www.startingpage.com/html/education.html
• http//www.teachersweb.com/guide/