Protect your Children from Porn Spam

For the most part, the Internet is a useful and positive tool. For children, it offers wonderful educational opportunities. However, the World Wide Web often seems like the Wild Wild Web. A great deal of material inappropriate to children exists on the Internet -- and it's very easy for anyone to access. In fact, computer users don't have to actively seek out pornography to be exposed to it. Even the most passive user is not immune to offensive spam, or porn spam. Therefore, allowing a child to use a computer without adequate supervision and protection is risky

Consider this a cautionary tale from the Internet age: Recently, a parent reported that her daughter used the home computer to do research for her school's law-enforcement project. Her topic was "the history and invention of handcuffs." When the young girl typed in the phrase "handcuff" for an Internet search, she was directed to literally hundreds of pornographic Web sites. Unfortunately, the daughter was doing the research unsupervised, so her parents didn't learn about the experience until after the fact.

The story doesn't end there. Soon after, the daughter's email account became flooded on a daily basis with unsolicited pornographic email.

The story underscores two substantial risks of children using the Internet:

• Even the most innocent of Web searches can lead to pornographic Web sites
• In many cases, a visit to a pornographic site opens the floodgates to unwanted spam

Most people who get porn spam don't know why they receive it in the first place. They never asked to receive it. So how does it find its way into their e-mailboxes?

Obtaining someone's email address is not all that hard to do. Porn spammers get them through postings in chat rooms and electronic bulletin boards, by purchasing mailing lists, or by setting up Web sites that automatically sign up visitors to their mailing lists.

Many unwitting recipients turn out to be children. The problem has become widespread. A 2003 study commissioned by Symantec, the Internet security company, reported that four out of five children receive inappropriate spam. Almost half receive spam with links to pornographic destinations.

Parents need to educate their children about the presence and dangers of spam. They also need to be wary about how children spend their time online. Children are naturally curious, and the idea of viewing forbidden materials can be tempting. How can you safeguard your home computer and children against porn spam? Here a few very effective ways:

• Never reply to or click on any area of pornographic email. This only reveals your email address to others. Soon your e-mailbox will be flooded with even more spam.
• Never reveal your personal email address in chat rooms or bulletin boards.
• Use a filtered Internet service or install a spam-filtering device.
• If your children use your computer, install content monitoring software such as CYBERsitter. This automatically notifies you if someone in your home is accessing pornographic sites.
• Restrict your child's computer use. Make a hard-and-fast schedule for younger family members. Make sure children are scheduled at a time when you will be home.
• Never let children use a computer alone in a closed-door environment, like their bedroom.