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Web Safety

When it comes to developing trends in technology, someone always finds a way to ruin it for everyone else. 

Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell made an appearance Tuesday at the Boys & Girls Club on Kensington Ave. located in The Fan, as part of his campaign's effort to educate and raise awareness among Virginia's children and parents about the risks associated with the Internet. 

"I remember when it used to be 'don't talk to strangers,' or 'don't take candy from strangers,'" said Attorney General McDonnell, "Now with the developing technology trends there's a whole new danger to America's youth, and many parents out there are unaware of it or don't even realize it's going on in their own homes." 

The Attorney General's campaign for internet safety has partnered with Comcast and the Internet Keep Safe Coalition (iKeepSafe) to spread the message and importance of safe and healthy Internet use. 

As part of the Attorney General's Youth Internet Safety Task Force, the event unveiled a video that will educate parents and families on the dangers of internet use.  

"Through this video, we aim to provide parents with a resource for acquiring the knowledge and tools they need to keep their children safe online," McDonnell said, "The educating of our families on the risks associated with Internet use will prevent people from becoming victims." 

Since Comcast is the largest provider of Internet service to the area, it only made sense that they would be involved in the partnership.

Available via Comcast's signature "On Demand" service, subscribers can easily access the educational video through what is considered to be the most powerful medium in the world: television. 

"The content is relevant, easy to understand and accessible to parents any time of the day or night through Comcast's convenient On Demand service," McDonnell said, "Internet safety efforts will not succeed without strong partnerships between the public and private sector, and I encourage parents to tune into this new cable feature." 

Comcast subscribers can access the video simply by turning to Channel 1 on their digital cable lineup. From there, access the On Demand feature and select "Get Local". Select "Comcast Cares" and the feature for "Internet Safety" will be available now through Sunday, Aug. 31. 

iKeepSafe has recognized the Internet as a dangerous portal that invites the outside world into the home, and vice versa. Despite the Internet's risks, iKeepSafe's personal vision is to see generations of the world's children grow up safely using technology and the Internet. 

While fraud, chat rooms and illegal downloading have proved themselves time and again to be the biggest nuisances to unsuspecting Internet users, iKeepSafe has recognized three main risks associated with unsafe Internet use that targets youths: 

Cyber-bullies, hackers, phishers, and predators -- Kids need to be taught to stay away from Internet strangers. The Internet is a place to enhance existing relationships, not a place to meet new people. The Internet is forever -- Everything posted and uploaded to the web is tracked and stored. It may even follow users one day to a future job or college entrance interview. Anonymity is a myth -- Some youth can become uninhibited because the web environment can feel anonymous; however, kids need to be taught that the Internet is a public forum. They need to realize they need to be the same good person online as well as off line. 

Educating youths as well as parents has been the ultimate platform for iKeepSafe. Once parents understand the risks associated with unsafe Internet use, they should have no trouble providing a safe experience for their families.

iKeepSafe suggests three more simple guidelines for parents on keeping their kids safe while using the Internet: 

Keep current with technology -- Parents should find a way to get basic technical training and learn more about new products once they're released. Keep communicating with your children -- Talk to your kids about their Internet use.   Ask when you don't understand something and know their lingo. Keep checking your children's Internet activity -- This is as simple as knowing when and where they go online. Re-enforce the fact that the Internet is public and never truly private.