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Stopping the stalkers
* Representatives of Missouri Attorney General's Office offer tips on Internet safety.
By Steve Moyer
Nevada Daily Mail
They're out there. They hide in the shadows. They take their time as they stalk their prey, looking everywhere for targets. The predators have patience. They will camouflage themselves to blend in so they can get close to their chosen target. They will watch and wait until the time is right, then they will pounce.
Who their prey is depends on the individual -- some look for young girls, others for boys. Whatever their proclivities, one thing is certain; just as in the wild, these predators look for the weak, easy to pick-off target that offers the most chance of success.
A handful of parents were on hand Monday evening at the Fox Playhouse to hear two members of the Missouri Attorney General's Office High Technology and Computer Crimes Unit speak about protecting their children and themselves from online predators. The two, Justin Glick and Steve Meyer, took turns speaking to parents from their own areas of expertise.
Glick is an investigator, Meyer is a computer forensic examiner. Both stressed the importance of knowing what your children are doing online. Know what sites they visit. Know who is in their "buddy list."
Meyer spoke of the need to be sure your Internet connection is secure. If you have a wireless network in your home, be sure it is encrypted. Password protect access so someone can't drive by with a laptop and steal your signal.
"If they use your home network to connect to the Internet everything they do has your IP number attached to it," Meyer said. "The FBI can use that to find you and they will find you. They will come to your door and they WILL go in and toss your house, and trust me, when the FBI tosses a house it's never the same."
The two pointed out that even the most trivial lapse can let a predator obtain information.
"They might not be after you," Glick said. "They might be after information on your little sister or your niece. We looked at one profile on Myspace and the kid's mother was also on there. We went to her profile and there was a picture of a preschooler sitting in a chair looking back over their shoulder as the picture was taken. What's on a kids desk in preschool? A name tag with the full name of the child on it. There was another picture with a sign with the name of the preschool. Now the predator knows the name of the child, where the child goes to school and what the child looks like, that's a bonanza for a predator."
The two summed up their message with some admonitions. They strongly suggest that a child not have an Internet connection in their room. Keep the computer with the connection to the Internet in a public place in your house where you have access to it. Make sure your children don't give out information to anyone asking for it. Finally, knowledge is power. Keep yourself informed about what is happening when your child goes online.