Sadly, many people want you to believe they are not a threat. Some self-proclaimed "experts" like to downplay the threat, say it's over-hyped and even accuse of fear mongering. But the truth is that the threat is not exaggerated. They are out there and they are trying to lure and solicit young internet users across the globe.



What is a reality is that the statistics for random stranger Internet solicitations and abductions is low. That is true. Kids have a much larger chance of being assaulted by someone they know or being bullied online by peers.

But another number that is actually very high is the number of guys that get caught each week across the country for TRYING to solicit kids online. They may not be reaching their ultimate goal, but that doesn't mean they aren't out there in large numbers trying to do so.

So what can parents do?

The answer has several parts that when practiced together, you can be absolutely sure that your kids will be safe from Internet predators.

1.Educate yourself. The first thing you need to do is your own research. Get the facts and figures straight. Read the paper to see if any Internet predators have been busted recently in your area. Visit websites like StopInternetPredators.org to find out what resources there are in your state for you to take advantage of. Read up on how you can take action. And learn about ways the predators are using technology to get to their victims.

For example, did you know that the Google Maps Street View can potentially be misused by predators to view your home and family, without any privacy restrictions? Google's Street View technology allows online users to view zoomed-in, high-resolution pictures of their home, parks, schools, and in some cases, even children playing outside. While this technology allows you to find your own home on a map, it also allows anyone else to view an unprecedented amount of information about you and your family without your permission. For example, anyone could map the most likely route your child walks to school, calculate the distance between your front door and the school bus stop, view images of the different entrances to community parks, and even find the location of your families' bedroom windows. But by increasing awareness and educating parents and communities on the application and restriction options, organizations like Stop Internet Predators seeks to limit the potential for child predators to abuse Street View technology to prey on children.

2.Discuss with your child the dangers of Internet predators. The second thing you need to do is initiate a discussion. This may sound like the easiest and most practical of the three steps, but it's the hardest thing to do. And, simply put, you have to do it. Just like our parents talked to us about talking to strangers when we were young, we must now have the same conversation with our kids - but we have to adapt it to the 21st century lifestyle. This means telling kids that while it may seem fun to meet new people in the Internet, they must exercise caution and not give out any personal and private information (you may need to explain what types of information that entails). It means teaching kids to use the anonymity of the internet wisely and to their advantage. And it means teaching kids that not everyone is who they say they are on the internet and not everyone wants to be their friend.

3.Protect your children. Talking to your kids isn't enough; they will still take chances. Kids are kids - c'mon, lets face it and not turn a blind eye here. Parents need to monitor Internet activity of their kids to make sure they aren't falling into any traps, either innocently or on purpose. If your kids are talking to people online with screen names you don't recognize, you can talk to them about it? but only if you KNOW it's happening. And if you're kids don't tell you about their new internet friends, how can you know about them? Thankfully parents can use technology in their home to battle the predators that are using technology to try and lure their kids.

Computer monitoring software like PC Pandora will record all activity on a computer and give parents an exact visual and text-based record of everything their child does. Starting with snapshots of all screen activity, PC Pandora will let you play back and see everything your child did when they used the computer and surfed online. Then there are text-based files that record emails sent and received, instant messenger chats, websites visited, programs utilized, keystrokes, peer-2-peer files shared, Internet search queries, and more. If your child is communicating with a stranger, you will know. Of course, the program also comes equipped with Internet filters and program blocks, so you can have some control over your child's activity. Perhaps the best part is the fact that PC Pandora has the IRIS feature, which will email parents with updates of computer activity. So if you are at work and your child is at home, unsupervised and on the Internet, you can continue to monitor Internet activity and have peace of mind with regular updates.

Internet predators are real, but so are the ways they can be prevented from reaching your kids. Just as predators can potentially misuse technologies like Google's Street View to find locations where children live and congregate, parents can use technology at home like PC Pandora computer monitoring software, to monitor Internet activity and make sure their kids are staying safe online and not communicating with would-be predators. This isn't fear mongering, it's reality. And if you educate your self with resources available at www.StopInternetPredators.org and then act accordingly and appropriately by talking to your kids and checking out computer monitoring software at www.pcpandora.com, you can keep your kids safe without having to freak out.