No parent would dream of allowing a pedophile, criminal, or any random person to spend extended periods of unsupervised time with their children. However, many parents do that very thing by allowing their children unrestricted and unsupervised access to the Internet. And those who believe their children are safe because they’ve updated their anti-virus and patched their computers are perhaps hurting more than they are helping. People with patched computers are still vulnerable because the weakest link in the security chain (the person at the keyboard) is still there. And their false sense of security often leads them to take more risks, such as letting their children use the Internet alone.
Your children see and do much more on the Internet than you know. Think back to your own youth – the things you got away with. Now throw in instant and uncensored access to any type of information, the ability to act out any fantasies with strangers, and an anonymous line of communication with literally millions of people. Imagine the trouble even good kids can get into with the environment I just described.
And externally there are continuous, unrelenting efforts to break through your system’s security and “pwn” your computer. Much is done by using weaknesses in the computer, but most is aided (usually unwittingly) by the user. Many of the hackers infecting our systems are the same “good kids” who, 20 years ago, would go out at night armed with toilet paper. These days, instead of trespassing and “harmlessly defacing” someone’s tree, they’re hacking into computers and stealing information. And they don’t have to sneak out of the house to do it – their parents grant them access to a powerful weapon to be used in the privacy of their own bedrooms.
Every case I have ever investigated involving a computer used by a teenager has contained pornography and / or sexually-explicit messages between the teen and his / her friends. And, if you follow the current Operation Antisec - the malicious hackers behind attacks on major corporations and government agencies) - on Twitter (#antisec), you will find that many of their supporters, peers, and agents are teens.
I’ve been sitting behind a keyboard for two decades now, and I’ve used a computer to talk to strangers long before the World Wide Web existed. I am aware that some will dismiss my descriptions and advice as shrill hyperbole. However, the truth is that most adults understand the “Internet Threat” the same way their young children conceptualize the word “stranger.” It is a vague, faceless construct that poses some general threat in some unknown way. Indeed, when tempted with the right candy, the average adult is more than happy to jump into the proverbial van.
(More information about how adults are duped in another article)
