1. How did you get started in this project?

The project whatsyourisq was started about a year back and the BETA was launched in November, 2003. We shall be releasing the “Production” version of the application on Jan 1, 2008

2. What was the motivation behind starting whatsyourisq?

As an information security professional, I do a lot of awareness training programs because I enjoy interacting with people. During the course of these interactions and also adding in my experience from information security consulting, I realized a simple fact. Organizations and parents rely too much on TECHNOLOGY to mitigate security risks. But the TECHNOLOGY is only as good as the people using them. Also, the TECHNOLOGY curve in information security has peaked and there is scope for very little improvement. For example – you already have 1024 bit encryption, what real benefit does the end-user gets if the 1024 bit encryption becomes 10 times stronger?

Another big area of concern was the PARENTS and KIDS space. There is very little focus here compared to the CORPORATE security space. For example – schools lack online safety programs and at the same time CYBER BULLYING is a growing threat that hurts kids.

Hence our focal point was conveying information security awareness through a medium of awareness that is “VISUAL” so that it registers. Also just conveying information security awareness wasn’t enough. I wanted to create a management system for “DELIVERING, MEASURING, MANAGING and IMPROVING” information security awareness. Thus whatsyourisq.com was started.

Whatsyourisq provides information security awareness through visual mediums such as animations, games, posters etc. and also helps people to keep track of their awareness levels and of their employees too.

3. What are the different verticals of information security awareness whatsyourisq will address?

We have 3 principal focal points – Businesses, Parents and Kids. I will talk more about the Parents and Kids angle here. What your child does online is a genuine concern for parents. But they are not able to address it effectively due to reasons ranging from lack of time –to- looking “UNCOOL” in front of their kids. Our aim is to educate parents and give them a set of simple tools that they can use to discuss online safety with the kids.

In fact our focus stems from a simple question – “HOW OFTEN DO YOU SIT DOWN AS A FAMILY AND DISCUSS ONLINE SAFETY?”. We want to help parents do this.

We are also working on a simple but effective online safety training program that the whole family can attend together online.

4. How long the process took from beginning to end?

Starting from the vision, design, coding and release it took approximately one year.

5. Difficulties/roadblocks along the way

Being a young company resources were the only issue. But with a good team of angel investors we were able to take it from the design stage to the product stage. Also having my good friend Sreejith to develop the product at an affordable cost was a great help.

6. How long has this service been available?

This is a recently launched service and is been available for approximately 2 months.

7. Fees charged?

For the Corporate customers our fees range from $12 to $8 per user per year depending on the volume. For parents and kids most of the content is free. We may decide on a pricing model for e-learning programs on information safety for parents as and when it comes to it. But it will be on a very affordable scale.

8. Affiliate program available to website operators and bloggers?

We would love to associate with other safety and awareness providers and are open to suggestions. It could be as simple as sharing content or providing a button with a link. We await your ideas and suggestions.

We also invite security experts to write for us as starting Jan 1, 2008 we will be having a Guest Author column in whatsyourisq.com

9. Response you have gotten:

Most of the responses that we have gotten tell us that it is an INNOVATIVE and MUCH NEEDED product because as I mentioned before, there are enough security products in the TECHNOLOGY and PROCESS space. Awareness and the human mind are two areas where security is weak.

10. Any other things you would be interesting/important to readers, specifically parents and teachers

The aim of whatsyourisq is to become “COMMUNITY-POWERED”, especially in the PARENTS, KIDS and generally the FAMILY space pertaining to information security and online safety. Please participate in discussions and sharing on whatsyourisq and please talk about the online safety problems that you have faced or your concerns about your kids and what they do online. This sharing of information may be the first step towards the community sharing their solutions with you.

What is Cyber bullying? Cyber bullying is when a group of people or one person centers out another teen, child, or adult by sending emails, writing post, or putting up sites about you that degrade, contain death threats, hateful comments and other rude things that have a mental impact on other people’s lives. Cyber Bullying can be done through the Internet, or it can be done by text messaging.

Recently, I read an article on CBC news about a boy who was humiliated all over the web. A bunch of students who remain anonymous decided to create a site that was dedicated to him. The website contained hateful comments and slurs about the boy and one person even sent him an email that said “You’re gay, don’t ever talk again, no one likes you, you’re immature and dirty go wash your face.” The situation got so bad that the boy had to drop out of school and finish the rest of his year being home schooled. But this is just one example of Cyber bullying.

Another boy had made a video of himself pretending to do the well known movie “Star Wars”; when students got a hold of this tape they posted it on the web for all to see. Many people downloaded it (and still are today) and joined in on the so called “bully game”, adding sound affects making it a parody. What the boy thought was fun, turned out to be a living nightmare.

A recent survey that was done found out that 14% of young Canadians had been threatened while using messengers like msn and yahoo. The other 16% of them admitted to the fact that they were posting hateful comments themselves about kids, parents and teachers. Another survey says that 99% of Canadian students have used the internet. 48% say that they use it for at least an hour a day, and nearly 60% say that they use chat rooms and instant messaging.

In February 2007, nineteen students in Toronto that attended a catholic high school got suspended after bullying their principle. In Ontario students can be suspended for Cyber- Bullying thanks to the changes of the province’s Safe school act that came into effect just this year.

Most students that are in my grade eight class have a Facebook account or an account on Myspace . Facebook is for high school and college students, but public students are getting around this by simply lying about their age. 20 or more profiles containing public school students ranging in children 10 to 13 were reported to Facebook and those profiles have yet to be removed.

Just last year a 13-year-old girl hung herself in her closet, because she believed someone she had met on MySpace had turned against her and just recently a 17-year-old teen was charged for allegedly hacking into another teenager's myspace account and using it to threaten others.

Many parents are unaware of what their children are up to online. Parents need to pay more attention to what their children are doing online. All children should follow some sort of guideline when they are on the computer. After some research, I came across the following tips for children and teens using the internet.

Guard your contact information (Home phone number, home address, email, and the school you are attending ect .). Don’t give out your cell phone number our, your instant messaging name to anyone that you don’t know or friends that you don’t think you can trust.

If you are being harassed online or through text messaging, take the following actions immediately:

• Tell an adult you trust- a teacher, parent, sibling, relative ect .

• If you are being harassed leave the area or stop the activity (ex. chat rooms, online gaming sites, instant messaging, web cam, texting …)

• If you are being bullied through e-mail or instant messaging, block the sender’s message. Never reply to harassing messages.

• Save all harassing messages received, and forward them to your internet service provider. If the bullying includes any physical threats, tell your local police, don’t try to take it in to your hands.

A computer is a privilege and should not be used to abuse other people. The computer should be used with moderation and not as a toy.

Cyber bullying continues to grow more and more each day. Whether you are the victim or the one that is the bully, it should be stopped. After you look into the damage that can be caused by cyber bullying, I am sure that you will have even a stronger opinion on this problem, because I know I sure do.

Remember every one can make a difference, why not start today. When you are Cyber bullying you are abusing someone. When you stop, they are no longer a victim of your abuse.

Resources:

cybersting.ca

cbc.ca

Cyberbullying.ca

bewebaware.ca/english/CyberBullying.aspx

Digital Frenzy blogs at http://www.digitalfrenzy.net/ His blog features art, graphics, photos, poetry, and teen issues all from a teen’s perspective.

Visit him today!

Paul and LauraWhat started of as nothing more than a simple question from my wife,ended up in 7 months of development and a software solution to a problem that most parents are going to face at some point.

“What’s Laura doing on her computer?” was the question, “I don’t know”, was my reply. Laura was 10 at the time, and she had her own laptop in her bedroom, although she had full access to the family PC downstairs.  Laura was getting to that age where she liked her own room far more than hanging around downstairs with the olds! She was 10, using a tool that would allow her to communicate with ANYBODY in the world and I had no idea what she was doing. This didn't’t seem right, the switch had been flicked and I was curious and very nervous about what my little girl was up to.

I think if Laura had been a little younger maybe she would have been happy to only use the computer when either my wife or I was with her. As it was all her friends we’re using the computer alone and so she wanted to. I started of by searching the net for child monitoring programs, there were a few available but they all had at least 2 flaws. Expensive and overly complex, I wasn't’t interested in Laura’s passwords, what keys she’s been typing, restricting the websites and programs she was using (After all she only wanted to use social networking websites and instant chat. These presented the biggest danger as far as I was concerned). I knew exactly what I wanted, just simple screen shots of what she was looking at emailed to me. In order to get this I needed to buy all these extra features and install overly complex programs that wanted to take over my computer.

In December 2006 whilst discussing it with some friends, it was decided that I’d go ahead and write my own software. I had a very clear idea of what I wanted the program to do and as I was writing if for myself it made it quite a simple process in terms of design. The only thing slowing me down was nobody pushing me for a product and the fact that Laura wasn't’t using her laptop as much. However in late April this year all that changed, whilst running some tests on the screen grabbing part of the program I had the misfortune of seeing some of the Bebo profiles that Laura had been browsing. Now I have nothing against social networking, I’ve been around on the Internet since 1993 and have grown up with technology, but what I saw on the profiles of those 11/12 year old girls’ profiles was enough to poke me up the bum with the proverbial red hot poker. “How sexy do you think I am?”, “What would you like to do to me?”, I was fairly sure that the parents of SuperHotAndSexy96XX had no idea what their daughter was up to online!

After several months of hard work, a finished version of the program was ready.  In the end I’d settled on the name ICU Monitoring Software or ICU for short, ICU being a play on an Insight into your Children’s Unaccompanied activity.  I installed it on Laura’s laptop and the family computer, discussed with her at length of what was going to happen and left it at that. In the 2 weeks that I trialled the program a few small issues were found and resolved. In terms of monitoring my daughter there were one or two things she was doing that I picked up on and asked her to stop, the main one being her surfing social networks for the profiles of “famous people” (mainly Disney stars) and leaving comments! A quick discussion about how people might not be who they say they are and me asking her not to leave comments on profiles of people she doesn't’t know was enough to nip it in the bud. Laura completely accepted ICU, understood that I was only looking out for her, that I wasn't’t interested in what she was and wasn’t discussing with her friends and that I wouldn't’t ever mention what she was doing unless it was something that was worrying me. To this extent I make it a rule to delete the e-mail of Laura’s activity once I have checked it over. Of course once we had ICU then my friends and family also wanted it which presented new problems.

Not all parents are computer literate, many can barely turn on a computer. My family is the perfect example of this and that’s who was going to use the software next. I cut down on the number of options, made everything as intuitive as possible and even created a short video to demonstrate just how easy to use it was. The feedback I received was excellent, anything that could be made simpler was and at that point it was suggested that I might want to make it available for other people to buy. I’d achieved what I set out to do by writing a program that would help keep Laura safe online, my friends and family are very happy using it and I’d have nothing to lose so after some work (including the designing of a snazzy logo) ICU was released for general sale. The most important thing to me is that it’s a solution to a problem that I’m happy to use.

Laura is 12 now, using MSN Messenger to chat to her friends for hours at a time and she even has a webcam. Without having ICU there is no way I would be happy with this but now it’s not a problem because I know it’s very easy for me to look out for her.

Visit ICU Today.....

Parents around the nation have been informing us of the difficulty they are experiencing in their attempts to discuss online safety issues such as cyberbullying with their children and teenagers.  This may stem from a lack of confidence in really *knowing* the technology with which their kids seem so proficient.  It may stem from a desire to avoid being a "nag."  It may stem from an unhealthy relationship between the parent and the child where open communication just doesn't happen.  All of these factors make it difficult to broach the subject.  But it must be done in order to bring the issue to the table.  Perhaps your child will disclose some details of unpleasant experiences interacting with others in cyberspace.  Perhaps they won't.  Regardless, it is up to the parent to initiate dialogue on this topic.  Through dialogue, parents who are somewhat unfamiliar with the technology being used can learn from their children, while children who are naïve or unfamiliar with the dangers of online aggression and interacting with strangers can learn from their parents. 

The question then, is, how do we begin a discussion on this topic?  If you eat dinner together, bring it up at the dining table.  If you drive your child to school or to an after-school activity, bring it up in the vehicle.  We don't recommend you bring it up while your child is on the computer as they tend to be completely immersed in what they are doing and cannot focus on the important message that needs to be conveyed.  Just find a time when they are willingly (or unwillingly!) giving you their undivided attention, and bring up the topic.

To assist you, we've created a document with a few sample "scripts" between a parent and a teenager.  These cover cyberbullying via social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, via email, and via cell phone text message.  We've also compiled a list of basic questions to stimulate conversation regarding Internet safety issues.  This document can be downloaded and distributed freely and widely!

Please don't hesitate to let me know at hinduja@cyberbullying.us if you found the document helpful, or if we can be of any further assistance to you.  It is essential for adults to do their part in helping youth consider and recognize the inherent dangers associated with online environments, and to remain vigilant as they interact in those spheres.  Good luck!

Photos by Jamison Boyer

The talented creators of Adina's Deck, The Exclusive Detective Agency Specializing in Solving Cyber Bully Mysteries, discuss the background and their vision for this very important cyber bullying project.

Adina's Deck was filmed in the San Francisco area in May 2007, where more than fifty crew members and one hundred actors contributed to the pilot episode. The creative team is currently looking for funding to produce “Season 1″ of Adina’s Deck (8 episodes) as well as for international distribution.

By educating children, parents and teachers regarding cyber bullying issues and giving educators additional learning tools, Adina's Deck also provides a unique way to for children to participate in a "Choose Your Own Adventure" , where they are in control of their choices.

The Interview with Debbie:

**Why did you choose cyber bullying??

When I started researching the "solution" I found that very little was out there. And most of the content that did exist was geared towards the teachers. I had difficulty finding as much geared towards the students. Adina's Deck is unique in that it will appeal to both students and teachers.

**How long did this entire project take to complete?

During this time we (Jason Azicri and I) were doing research and developing ideas for the script. We finished the script at the end of March. We had about 4 weeks of pre-production, finding crew, holding auditions and fine tuning the script. We filmed for six days in May, 2007. We should be finished editing by the end of this month (July, 2007). So the total process has taken about four and a half months.

**What are your goals with this project??

Debbie Heimowitz

Debbie has worked in film and television, including MTV's Channel Surfing, Warner Brothers Saving Shiloh and produced the independent film, The Sofa.  Visit her Cyber bullying Project  or Adina's Deck for more information.

An interview with Jason Azicri:

**How did you get started on this project?
I had worked with Debbie before and she told me that she wanted to do a "film" for her Master's at Stanford. The main goal was to help students with a learning problem. It's always great to do a project that is made to both educate and entertain.

**Do you have other film/director experience you care to share?
Yeah, I wrote and directed an independent film that Debbie produced called "The Sofa". I'm just finishing it up and am currently entering it into Film Festivals.

**Why did you choose to do a project on cyber bullying?
It's a growing issue that needs to be addressed and not ignored. Cyber bullying is a phenomena that has really heightened many old problems that students have had to deal with.  It's like watching the "writing on bathroom walls and passing notes" taken to an entirely new level. In some cases the bullied have become the bullies. It's also giving people the power to turn anybody life into a tabloid while it takes away the author's accountability.

**Do you have any personal experience, with family or friends, that have been impacted by cyber bullying?
Great timing with that question. Actually, my 17 year old brother was just Cyber bullied. A girl posted pictures of him doctored up and posted it on his My Space page and her friends pages.

**Is there a particular reason for the name of your project?
Adina is our main character. She has a deck of cards that she fiddles with throughout the show. There are four girls and four suits. Each girl represents a suit. So the girls make up Adina's Deck.

**What goals do you have in mind for you production?
We would really like to get this into schools as an educational tool. We're looking into other mediums (Internet, DVD, etc). A dream situation would be to get to do more episodes. (especially on a network). There's just so much we found in the research. The episode was also meant to be an origin story in the event that we got to do more".



Jason AzicriJason was a special needs PE and health teacher for three years.  He has written five screen plays thus far. Visit Jason at The Sofa , or at Adina's Deck.

Debbie and Jason have kindly invited me to the film premiere, Saturday, July 28th in Stanford, Ca.  I only wish I could attend! This screening will be the first time Adina's Deck will be shown to the public.

As someone who is passionate about the issues of online safety and specifically cyber bullying, I am beyond excited about this production!  Bringing much needed awareness to such an important issue, is paramount.  I plan on using some of this material in my curriculum next year, and hope to help Debbie and Jason bring their vision to fruition.

Photos by Jamison Boyer

After I discovered the charges on our account and learned that my card was the one used I immediately began retracing our steps to try to figure out how someone could get my debit card number. The only two options that I could come up with were that someone hacked it off of the computer or wrote the number down when I gave my card number over the phone for a past purchase of flowers or pizza, or something.

It took 2 more days for the charges to post to our account and there was nothing I could do during this wait. I even tried investigating the charges myself and hit brick wall after brick wall. I hated hearing the words, “there is nothing you can do.” I just wanted my money back and wanted to find the culprit. It was at this time that I decided to call a lawyer for some further information. While speaking to the lawyer I learned that finding the person who did this was futile. Identity theft is so common that law enforcement cannot even investigate all of the cases. That is a sad fact which only means dishonest people are getting away with stealing other’s hard earned money.

My lack of common sense and thinking “it won’t happen to us” is what lead my husband and I down this road. Apparently, I was the last to know that you shouldn't’t use your debit card for phone or internet purchases. Since debit cards are tied directly to your bank account, when fraudulent charges are made, you don’t get the money back immediately as you would if you used a credit card. The money that this person stole from us was set aside for our mortgage payment and, as it were, I had to wait several days for the money to be refunded back by the bank.

Whomever got a hold of my debit card number made two purchases with US Cellular. This is common from what I understand. But, what makes me angry is that US Cellular didn't’t lose the money, the person who stole it got away with it and our bank had to eat that money in order to give me back the funds.

It is infuriating to say the least. When your money or identity is stolen it can make you feel helpless. Unfortunately, for some, like me, we don’t learn our lesson until it happens. Luckily for me, the ending was happy and it was small potatoes compared to what some people go through.

Through this I did learn about additional precautions on top of the obvious ones that most of us already know about. The lawyer I spoke with ended up giving me some great advice. She said that when people break into your home they are often looking for blank checks. Checks have all the important information printed right on them and are simple to reproduce. So, she suggested keeping a bank account in which you don’t use checks and keep a small amount of money in there for only pertinent things like bills. She also suggested using different banks to split up your accounts and money. For those accounts that you want draft checks from then you should keep your blank checks locked up in a safe in your home so that no one can get to them if your home is broken into.

Since this happened to us we have taken precautions to keep our finances safe. We purchased a shredder and I use it daily for almost everything, including junk mail. We will be getting a small safe to store vital documents in along with blank checks. We will never give our debit card over the phone again and we will only use secure websites to make purchases or pay bills. Currently I use PayPal and Checkfree most often and feel safe with them. We will be a lot more conservative and cautious with internet shopping as well. You never know who is lurking out there to steal your money and identity.

Angel Hernandez is a married mother of two small boys, lives in the Chicago suburbs and is a stay-at-home mom.

Please visit her website, The Emancipation of a Drama Queen, at:

 http://queen-of-drama.blogspot.com/

Danielle

Scammers also lurk online. And a lot of the time, it's not the money they're after.

A few years ago, a 13-year-old friend contacted me about something which she thought 'sounded dodgy.' She had, through an MSN Groups website set up for aspiring models, dancers and actresses, been asked to send photographs to a person named 'Kelly', who claimed he was a casting director and model agent looking for a model for an upcoming company shoot. After Kelly asked her for photos a second time, the girl got in touch with me to see if I could check it out.

Kelly was not, in fact, a casting director. Nor was he a model agent. An MSN conversation with him showed that he was nothing more than a stranger preying on girls in an attempt to gain photographs. Kelly tried to lie by naming a non-existent company, claiming to have offices in big cities, though would not provide a phone number despite being asked several times. He soon went offline. The conversation, littered with Kelly's poor spelling and obvious lack of knowledge as to the modelling profession, was posted by myself on several sites as a warning to other youngsters.

Shortly afterwards, I received a shocking email from another girl. The 14-year-old, who I'll call Chris, had also been contacted by Kelly. He had told her the same lies - that he worked for a big company, liked her online profile and wanted to see if she'd make a good model for an upcoming Wal-Mart shoot he was working on. Flattered, Chris spoke to him and provided him with the usual innocent photographs.

But then he got more confident.

Kelly convinced Chris to go on webcam, stating that he needed to see more of her before he could decide whether to send her on the Wal-Mart shoot. Chris was persuaded to strip to her underwear twice in the hope that she would be worthy of the 'big break' that this so-called big-time agent was promising her.

When Chris came across the conversation with Kelly and I, she was disgusted and scared - the person she believed to be a professional was, in fact, nothing more than a pervert.

The trouble is, we can all be a little naive at times. The brightest of teenagers can instantly lose all sense of the dangers when their lifelong dream is being offered to them on a plate. Predators are extremely good at convincing youngsters that they're the next big thing – that is, if they send more photographs.

This whole issue may be overlooked in the industry - but it can prove more damaging than any money scam. And for teenagers who dream of being on the cover of Vogue or picking up an Oscar, it's often easy to lose awareness of an online situation and let the promise of fame take over. With plenty of sites and discussion groups set up for wannabe models and actresses to chat and share pictures and information, the internet becomes a seriously dangerous place, and such sites are an easy target for less trustworthy individuals.

However, there are ways to prevent this. Whereas we don’t always catch the culprits, we can stop it by being extra vigilant.

If you or your child is a hopeful model (or actress) and uses the internet for discussion about the industry (and to hopefully gain work), it's important that you stay safe. Here are some things which you MUST know about modelling and the web.

1. Model directories are NOT model agencies .

Despite websites such as OneModelPlace being extremely useful to showcase your portfolio, they are NOT agencies. Agencies involve you signing up with them, and getting interviewed, before they accept you on their books. Many model agencies DO have websites, but all booking enquiries go through the AGENCY ONLY, who will then contact YOU. By putting your portfolio publicly on the internet (not as part of an agency), then you are at risk of getting contacted by absolutely anyone who has access to it. Be extremely careful.

2. NEVER give out information - use a separate email address for correspondence.

As mentioned above, if you choose to go public with pictures, then do NOT give out any personal information. Whereas models do get genuine work from posting their photos online (quite often TFP (Time for Prints) shoots in which the photographer, sometimes new to the industry, gets a model to use, and the model gets free photographs), there is no guarantee that you will not get some dodgy emails. If you DO get them - delete them straight away. Create a separate email address simply for your modelling work.

3. Model agencies and casting companies are two different things altogether.

If someone online claims to be a model agent and casting director - be wary. Model agencies are different to casting companies. Some bigger, well-known agencies run both, but of course...

4. Reputable companies will NEVER use the Internet to recruit new models .

Ever. Of course, agency websites often do have online forms to fill out to request application packs and/or forms, but they will NEVER EVER scour forums or discussion sites to seek new faces.

Nor will they EVER, under ANY circumstances, recruit people over a webcam.

5. If something seems a little strange to you, tell someone you trust .

Whether it's a parent, sibling or friend - tell someone if you think someone online is not who they say they are. That person could help you. If you are a parent with an aspiring model for a teen, sit down and talk to them about it. A good idea is to insist that the email address set up for correspondence can be accessed by both parent and teen - thus making it safer.

6. Clothing chains and supermarkets go through AGENCIES, not the models directly .

Predators may start their gruesome chat by explaining they are looking for models for a shoot - usually that of a big clothing company that teenagers are fond of, in order to perk the youngster's interests. In Chris's case, it was Wal-Mart - a family supermarket. Sounds innocent enough, right?

Wrong. Under no circumstances will a large company ask a model herself to do the job. This is the job of a model agent. The company will contact agencies when looking for models for their new range, and will look for new faces on the agencies' books. NEVER on the internet.

7. Fact-checking is essential .

If someone on the net claims to be from a well-known company, ask for their name and department. Usually, a predator is likely to make something up - or go offline, noticing that you've guessed his game. But if this happens to you, immediately call the company themselves and ask for this person, explaining the situation. Do not believe ANYONE until you have cross-checked their info - even if they DO sound trustworthy.

Kelly used a made-up name (Spyco Casting) to trick girls on the net. However, he made the mistake of claiming to have multiple offices - though when Googled, nothing for Spyco came up. After being questioned as to how such a seemingly successful company had no listings whatsoever and no website, he tried to argue that it was a new business. He also 'didn't know' his phone number and had to get it from someone else, using the time to break off the conversation.

A new business with worldwide offices - yet no website or credits? And a Hotmail address? His story fell flat VERY quickly.

8. Remember the legalities

Every model will need sign a release form - ESPECIALLY if under 16. So an online 'scout' who fails to mention anything about the legalities of modelling and contracts is a definite no-no. Be sure to check out the legal information for models in your country - such as the minimum age for underwear modelling, glamour modelling and so on.

9. Buy a directory and search for a reputable agency

Here in the UK, an annual industry directory is available called Spotlight Contacts (www.spotlightcd.com, £10.99) Spotlight lists every industry contact from casting director to photographer to model agency. It's the industry Bible, and all the top companies are listed inside. Get hold of this (or one similar if available in your country) and apply to agencies that you know are reputable. Send in some clear photographs and apply the professional way.

Above all, just steer clear. By all means use the net to discuss your dreams, but keep pictures and other personal information to yourself. You never know – the fellow 16-year-old you might be sharing information with may not be a 16-year-old at all.

If showbiz is your dream – reach for it the professional way.

Danielle Symonds-Yemm is a 22-year-old student journalist from the UK, who worked in the acting industry a few years ago and being an internet user, started to notice these things. Please visit the authors’ website:

www.shesbadnews.net.

Something else I have noticed, and I didn't’t have to be a genius to see this one, they love to talk about themselves, share information, share gossip, and increasingly, share photos.

This sharing has been greatly enhanced by the internet and the internet has taken it into potentially dangerous areas. The first I really considered these dangers was many years ago when it came to my attention that MSN groups had “taken off” with teenagers. They were setting up groups to facilitate their communication with friends. Word quickly spread when someone set up a group and the memberships came flooding in. Some of the groups set up by students at my school had literally thousands of memberships.

This sounds harmless enough right? This is just teenagers doing what teenagers do and talking about which boys they like, who was going to the dance on the weekend etc. I thought so too until I found out some of the things that were being posted on these group pages. It seemed that the perceived anonymity of the internet combined with access to digital cameras was a potentially dangerous mix. Photos were quickly posted that should not have been. For example, photos of girls in their school uniform (our school rules expressly forbid this). Again, this seems harmless enough until you stop and think that this combined with other information on the group pages had just broadcast to anyone who cared to notice where they went to school. In some cases enough information was provided in small snippets such that it could be determined in which street certain students lived. This is now starting to get a little more serious.

There is of course certain privacy features associated with MSN groups. Were our students using it? To a degree some of them were, but not all. Initially, very few of the groups were set to private and therefore anyone could access the information contained therein. Many had set the preferences such that the site owner approved all new members. This was particularly ineffective as if you said you were from the local boys school you were admitted. These control measures even if used, are of course, not particularly effective anyway.

When challenged about what they were doing and the associated dangers, most of the students were initially appalled that teachers were reading their “private” group pages. The teenage mind apparently finds it difficult to comprehend this concept. Not only that, but the notion that what they were doing was exposing them to danger was very difficult to get across to them. Everything appears nice and safe sitting in front of a computer screen at home in the study.

So where are we now with regard to this issue? There have been periodic repeats of the transgressions of these students from years ago. Each time the tale is repeated with frightening similarity. The problem, if anything, has become worse as more and more social networking sites make their presence felt on the internet. MySpace is perhaps the most well known but there are many others.

I started this article by mentioning the lack of fear young people have for technology. This lack of fear translates directly into a lack of fear of the consequences of its misuse. As my own daughters make their own presence felt on the internet, I intend to be quite aggressive in my efforts to monitor what they are doing online.

Do you know what your kids are doing online tonight?

Scott McNamaraGuest Author, Scott McNamara

Scott has been teaching for 8 years after a career in accounting and business. Teaching is a much more "family friendly" career hence the change. Scott teaches business and IT in a girl’s secondary school. He is 40 years old, is married and has two daughters.

Email Scott at: safety@mcnamaraoz.com

                                                 by Mark Hager

Every time I talk to groups about Internet safety, I almost always
say the same things. I tell the tales of children being seduced by
the whiles of pedophiles online. I give example after example of
the dangerous behaviors that I've witnessed online by kids. And, I
speak about my conviction that Internet safety has to start at
home. After doing this time after time, I invariably get the same
response: "What can I do?"

Before I can address that question, you have to address why they
have to ask that question. One problem that many parents are
facing today is that their kids know more about the online world
than they do. They are growing up with it; we didn't.
Unfortunately, what people don't understand, they fear. This lack
of knowledge increases the rift between the problem and solution.
On the other hand, you have today's child who, in many cases, is
perfectly comfortable in this digital world. They may not
understand it all, but they don't have to; the Internet has become
an extension of their social lives. The fundamental issue with
this fact is that children aren't given a rule book for the
Internet. And, more times than not, don't have someone there
showing them what is appropriate and what is not.
All that being said, the answer to the original question is what I
call the "Three P's": Preparation, Prevention and Personal Commitment.

Preparation

Like any initiative, Internet safety requires a good plan. In
order to prepare yourself and your family, you'll need to do a few
things.

Educate yourself.

Get online and do some reading. (Go to www.google.com and type in "Internet Safety"...you'll be well on your way.) If you don't know what you're up against,
how can you fight it?

Talk as a family about Internet safety.

Be open and honest.

Having already educated yourself a little bit, go
into it committed to saying the difficult things. Talk about
pedophiles, improper conversations, pornography and the like.

Develop some rules for Internet use. 

For families with kids that are a little older, maybe 10 or so, I suggest
using a family usage agreement. (You can download the PDF from my website http://mysafefamily.net/images/agreement.pdf  )  Whether you use that or not, make rules and discuss repercussions. And no matter what happens, stick to your guns!

Prevention

We've heard the saying that "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." There are several things you can do to immediately begin protecting your family on line.

Make sure the computer is in a public place.

Never let a computer in a bedroom be connected to the Internet.

Make a habit of looking over your kids shoulders while they are online.

Drop in on them unannounced. It could be very educational.

Use monitoring software to see what your kids do online.

Many parents have a hard time with this idea for one reason or another. Invest in some monitoring software. Preferably, get one that not only records keystrokes, but also captures
emails and instant messaging conversations. You decide whether to tell them or not, but whatever else you do, make sure you do this.

Keep the conversation flowing about Internet safety.

Keep reading, and let your kids know you are continuing your education. Tell them about what you read. Make Internet safety dinner conversation if you have to. Just keep it up!

Personal Commitment

This may go without saying, but all the planning in the world will
do little good without the determination to see it through. As
parents, we know that some lessons take years to get a foothold in
young minds. Internet safety, like anything else that is
worthwhile, can be trying and difficult at times. Stick to your
guns, keep up your education and don't stop. As frightening as it
is, you could be the only thing standing between your kids and a
pedophile.

In closing, I'd like to say something a little more personal;
something I've told as many parents as would listen. It's
irrelevant whether you believe that there are predators online
trying to get at your kids; it's a fact. Even if you do believe
the problem is real, it's irrelevant whether you believe the
problem is as prevalent as the media would have you believe; it
is. After years of research and being in the trenches, I know that
pedophiles are a blight on our society and leave the broken
hearts, minds and emotions of children in the wake of their
perversion.

Do the loving thing...talk to your kids about Internet safety.

*About the Author*
Mark Hager is a father, Internet safety advocate and I.T.
professional. You can find more about him and his work at
http://www.mysafefamily.net

What is the point of war driving?

Is it simply to see how many unprotected connections are in your area or neighborhood, or to actually gain access to someone’s connection to perhaps surf the net for free? Or are there other intentions?

I asked Mike from Typer Tappers, to explain a few of the issues and concerns regarding war driving.

”War driving”, according to Mike, “is when someone drives around in their vehicle, looking for wireless connections, normally unsecured. Once a connection is found, access into your network is gained; the war drivers will then use it to their own advantage, usually for their own profit. Once unsecured access is gained, the war drivers begin to “sniff” your traffic passing through your wireless connection. This could mean that everything you’re doing might be being logged on their computer in their car”

If, for example, you are shopping online at Amazon, the war driver may be logging things like pages you visit, as well as your login and password details. It is possible to do things like change your delivery address.

Although Mike has not had any personal experience with war driving, he knows someone who has. ”Someone I know used a wireless network in a flat, using WEP encryption. Someone took advantage of the awful security issues, and then used their details to take a loan out in that persons name. I’m not sure how it ended, but hopefully, he wont have to pay that bill”

When I asked Mike if he had personally witnessed war driving done, he said , “Yes, you can find videos over the Internet on war driving”

What is an access point?
“An access point is a wireless router. If you think about the word “access
point”, it’s where your wireless laptop or desktop computer is accessing.

What are some of the consequences of war-driving, if you are a victim?
“The main one would be identity theft. Once they have information on you,
they can do things like take loans out in your name, leaving you with the
bills. Another example may be if you do your banking online, you may find someone
has stolen your login details. They could then mess around with your bank
account and steal your money.”

How do you know, if you are a victim of war-driving?
“Well the main way would be you have no money in your bank or you have
suddenly found loans being taken out in your name.”

If you are a victim, what can you do?
“If you’ve had money taken out of your bank account or bills posted to your credit card, notify the bank or credit card company as soon as possible. Then consult your local police.”

What can you do to prevent this happening to you?

Mike suggests changing your access point name information; don’t keep the original/default name. Mike also has recommendations for software to help keep your wireless connection safe and secure, such as Putty. Others suggest using a variety of safety measures; and not to rely solely on one particular method.

Software for war driving is available online. There are also websites available with data collected by war drivers, to view actual maps of wireless access points in your town.

Mike lives in England, is a freelance Web designer and studies computer repair in College. He has an interest in Internet Security and has been blogging since October 2006, and his targeted audience is the computer world. Please visit him at his website, Typer Tappers:

http://www.typertappers.com