With Prom and graduation just around the corner it is important for parents to keep in mind that their child’s texting habits will be escalated during this exciting time. It’s important for parents to express the importance of smart driving behavior like staying focused while operating a vehicle. “Distracted driving is a national epidemic with an intensified effect on teen drivers. Teen drivers are more prone to cell phone use and particularly texting, which too often proves deadly when combined with driving.

The Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, reported that distracted driving resulted in 2,600 deaths, 333,000 injuries and 1.5 million property damage claims each year. A study by the National Highway Safety Transportation Administration and Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in 2006 pointed to cell phones as the most common driver distraction.” As a precaution and to prevent these kinds of situations from ever happening, parents can monitor their teens SMS messages and emails with WebWatcher Mobile on BlackBerry devices and SMS messages on Android devices to make sure they’re behaving appropriately on and off the road.

WebWatcher’s hope is that this never becomes an issue for parents. It is important today more than ever for parents to talk to their children about what is appropriate content to share with their friends online or via text messages, and what isn’t appropriate communication between their fellow peers. Parents should convey the dangers in a non-pedantic way to their children, so that it’s clear that this kind of behavior can have serious ramifications.

Check out this quick video debate on whether Parents should be punished if their kids are caught sexting, and if this should be made a law or not.

When you’re in love you want to do whatever it takes to make the other person happy. Yet, sometimes those aspirations may lead to a very detrimental outcome. The latest trend in communication is to send flirty, and in some cases dirty photos of each other via text message, commonly known as sexting.

This kind of communication is rampant and popular among teens. Unfortunately, they may not realize that whatever they send out via text, via email or posts online these images can come back and bite. Some people can use these images as leverage to get what they want out of the other person. The may threaten posting them, online which could tarnish their reputations, lead to dangerously embarrassing moments for them or even worse lawsuits.

According to a recent article called ‘Sextortion’ becomes new form of blackmail ““sextortion” — which takes its name from extortion. It’s the latest cyber-crime — anyone can be a target, but teens are the most vulnerable.

This is most certainly something very important to consider before pressing the send button. Remember that once an image is out there, it’s out there forever and for whomever to see! As a precaution and to prevent these kinds of situations from ever happening, parents can monitor their teens SMS messages and emails with WebWatcher Mobile on BlackBerry devices and SMS messages on Android devices.

Cell phones are a great and convenient way to communicate; however, they can also be a major distraction or distribution especially in class or while driving. Perhaps where or when your teen is texting may be the issue. Even though laws have been passed in many states that forbid the use of cell phones while driving, people still text, email and talk on the phone while driving.
Teenagers are particularly in danger here because of their limited driving experience. Monitoring their cell phone is a good way to make sure that your teen is focusing on the road and not on the cell phone. Cell phone monitoring software provides a simple, accurate, and unobtrusive way to ensure children are eliminating the distraction while on the road.

Quick facts:
• Nearly 80% of crashes come from some form of driver distraction, according to the National Highway traffic safety administration
• Another issue with texting is that 43% of students text during class. This sort of distraction can lead to low grades and a bad academic track record.
• New York’s “new rule brings the talking law in line with the texting-while-driving law, which since 2009 has imposed a two-point penalty and a fine of $150.”
• The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety claims cell phone users are four times more likely to crash than non-distracted drivers and a Virginia tech study found texting while driving puts people at an even greater risk of injury, over 20 times greater.

Sexting Isn’t Just Something Kids Do

Sexting or other ways of sending sexual explicit pictures on the internet is becoming a bigger and bigger problem in America. As the use and instances of cell phones and computers becomes more common, so do the instances of sexually explicit material being distributed and received. This is a sincere problem for our children and the use of key logger programs or what people might refer to as spyware should be stressed as necessary for each and every home computer. While the buzz about this topic often refers to children or teenagers sending in messages to one another, it is sadly becoming a big problem with adults as well.

A recent case that every parent (but really, everyone – period) should read about in order to make sure they take steps to secure their home computers and especially, their children from potential threats.

Marion, Ohio – Prosecutor recommends 3 years probation for youth softball coach pleading guilty to sexting 13-year-old

As terrified as any parent would be to have this happen to your child, how do you know it isn’t? Do you use key logger programs to survey what is done on your home computers? In this case, Samuel Reed, age 38, was found guilty of importuning – a 5^th degree felony in the state – after texting one of his 13 year old players sexually explicit messages. It was said that there were probably well over 100 messages sent before the girl and her mother contacted the authorities about receiving inappropriate texts.

It’s truly shocking how easy it is for an adult to do this kind of activity. Only through teaching our children awareness about how to deal with sexual messages on their cell phone or the internet, as well as utilize key logger programs or other types of spyware to maintain security on the home computers, can we start to imagine a sense of comfort for the youth of America.

Sexting Scandal Involving Even Government Officials

Sexting and the sending or receiving of inappropriate sexual internet messaging is a growing problem with our techno-savvy world. What once seemed like a problem between children and teenagers is even becoming an ever present force with our adult population. Only through awareness education about what should be considered inappropriate messaging to send and receive, as well as, the use of a key logger, or what others might call computer spy software, can we protect everyone from this digital threat.

A recent horror that is coming to light in Madison Wis. is the catching of Calumet County District Attorney Ken Kratz “sexting” with a domestic abuse victim he was on the case of. The governor of the state, Jim Doyle (who has a long career serving as no-nonsense prosecutor defending victims) is now dealing with the issue, and trying to use the rarely used state law that gives the governor power to remove district attorneys with just cause. Reports say Kratz, who sent a strangulation victim over 30 text messages in 3 days, contacted the victim soon after their first interaction. With text messages saying wildly inappropriate things, as well as suggestions that he might reduce the sentence of the victim’s assailant if she didn’t comply with request, the situation quickly spiraled out of control.

With the ease in which you can message someone on their cell phone, this type of interaction is what I fear will only become more common. Becoming aware of what is happening around you is important, because sexting over phones or the internet is rapidly becoming an everyday problem for children and adults alike. Cell phones can be hard to monitor but make sure you at least protect yourself by using a key logger or computer spy software on your home computer. You can defend yourself against digital threats and the possibility that there already is inappropriate material already existing on your computer.

Getting Rid Of The Camera-Phone

The proliferation of cell phones in today’s America has lead to a huge outbreak in sexting, sextortion, and cyber-bullying. All of these activities involve inappropriate behavior transpiring on mobile phones or the internet, and all of these activities have very dire consequences with how strict the US’ anti-child pornography laws are. When this type of activity happens on the computer, a parent can at least utilize a keystroke recorder or keyloggers to try and circumvent their activity and to make sure their computer doesn’t host child pornography. However, if these actions happen on your son or daughters mobile phone, they are now increasingly more difficult to be aware or attempt to stop.

What’s the reason for this inability to regulate what kids do on their cell phones? Well, it’s actually rather simple. With the increase in need and desire for technology to converge, we have gone from cell phone that are designed to make phone calls, to cell phones that are nearly a personal computer in your pocket along with a multimedia center that allows for pictures and videos to be taken. As long as cell phones represent such an easy medium for pictures and video, it will be extremely hard to try and keep your son or daughter from participating in sexting.

Start thinking about buying different cell phones; ones that don’t have a camera attached to them to take pictures or video. The utility of a cell phone primarily comes from being able to make calls, and the safety related to having one is absolutely related solely to its call making capabilities. Find cell phone models that don’t have a camera but that your children still like. Make sure they understand why you want them to have a phone without a camera, instead of just taking it away from them. Pairing communication with education, children might be more willing to make the switch and not just feel like their parents are trying to control their life. As well, never forget about how easy it is for children to replace where they elicit inappropriate. Always keep a careful eye on your home computer, preferably using types of keyloggers or a keystroke recorder to be in the loop for all your son or daughters activities.

Reaching Out To Your Children About Nudity On The Web

Posting pictures of yourself nude or scantily clad on the internet, or sending them to someone via your mobile phone, is becoming an ever increasing phenomenon with today’s techno-savvy children. One of the only ways to be able to get involved with your children is to talk to them and try and educate them about the dangers of the internet and what they should do if they run into any problems. The best secondary solution is to employ the use of computer monitoring software, or keylogger software. With this type of software, you will be able to monitor and record everything done on the computer, from what was typed to programs launched to even websites visited!

If you are taking the road of education, then there is a lot of information for you to give them. As well, there are even mediums that might help you break through to them. In February of 2010 MTV released its groundbreaking half-hour special, “Sexting In America: When Privates Go Public”. This type of program might really help bridge the gap between your children just thinking you are acting like a parent, versus being aware of a real threat and witnessing a real example of it.

In MTV’s 30 minute special they outline the story of a young girl. At the age of 16 she was convinced by her ex-boyfriend to send her a nude picture and then he would get back together with her. The girl, who reported that it just felt good to be wanted again, did so and quickly found that the boy sent it to his entire contact list and that she was going to be haunted for the rest of her life because of it. Imagine having all your child’s classmates possess a nude picture of your son or daughter? Make sure you start talking with your child and use keylogger software or other computer monitoring software options!

What To Do To Prevent Digital Threats

There’s really only one way to prevent digital threats that are rampant on today’s internet. That is, with the use of keyloggers or what the general public would call it, a remote spyware program. With a professional grade keylogger program, you can monitor and record everything that was done on the computer from IM chats, Emails, websites visited, programs launched and information typed in documents.

If you are curious about what level of risk your children are in, then think about the current state of affairs. Recently, William J. Bennett, the former Secretary of Education, had a lot to say about sexting, cyber-bullying and a new horrendous threat, sextortion. This new type of explicit behavior, sextortion, involves texting or posting nude pictures or pictures of inappropriate content. Teens who are doing this are then finding themselves being contacted by pornographers, who exploit how easy it is to track people on the internet, and then threatened to have these pictures shown to their friends or family unless they participate in more explicit porn. This creates a vicious cycle that teenagers aren’t always equipped to know how to deal with or who to turn to for help.

Only through the use of keyloggers or a remote spyware program can we effectively combat this problem. Our children are really dancing with fire each and every time they engage in these types of activity because of how far reaching and negative the end result can be. Sadly, it is only becoming and more and more common affair. The current Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, recently used the 3 year old statistic that over 900,000 children had been cyber-bullied in 2007. One can only imagine the steep climb this number has taken in 2010, as the internet, cell phones, and computer become more and more proliferated with each day.

How Serious Is Sexting? A History Of, & Review Of Current Affairs

Sexting is a serious problem with today’s youth of America. Not only is it dangerous for them emotionally, but with strict US anti-child pornography laws, a quick way to turn a seemingly harmless act into a lifetime of trouble. One of the few defenses to this inappropriate behavior is the implication and use of internet monitoring software, or to be more technical, a keystroke logger. With their use, you will be able to monitor and review what happens on any computer around the house and know exactly when and if your home computer is turning in a nesting ground for child pornography.

The first time the portmanteau, “sexting” (a combination of sex and texting) was published was in a 2005 article for the Sunday Telegraph Magazine. It has since spread worldwide to any country with internet and cell phones, and has particularly become a widely reported problem in the US, UK, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia. Since 2005, more than a dozen cases worldwide have come to trial, and the number is only increasing. We can’t let our children fall prey to thinking this type of behavior has no harm intended, but need to educate them in order to avoid it and ignore attempts at being involved.

In recent times, things are only getting worse. With many cases springing up and even the former U.S. Secretary of Education, William J. Bennett, writing an op-ed for FoxNews.com about the occurrence and need for security against digital threats like sexting and sextortion, there is no end in sight. Some states have even rallied to start training programs to combat this problem like Illinois. The State Board of Education has teamed up with Attorney General Lisa Madigan in order to start training program to educate teachers on how to tell if their children are participating in these behaviors and how to keep their children safe online. Hopefully other institutions around the states will start to follow suit and start using a keystroke logger or internet monitoring software to protect their schools.