The Cocoon Blog
The Internet as it should be: private, secure and virus free

Update [April 9, 2013]: You can visit the CocoonKids blog and sign-up for the FREE BEST child browser for your little web surfer here.

Today, our very own Vernon Irvin is introducing CocoonKids for KlaasKids at the KlaasKids Foundation Press Conference in Morgan Hill, California. Virtual World Computing partnered with Marc Klaas to harness the power of Cocoon technology to protect children from predators and abusive marketers on the Internet. Learn more about Virtual World Computing at www.vworldc.com/about.

CocoonKids for KlaasKids not only gives parents a free tool to manage their kids’ website visits; it protects their family’s personal information whether on their computer, laptop, iPad, iPhone and other personal devices.

With CocoonKids for KlaasKids, you get:

A Wall Street Journal investigation into online privacy in September 2010, found that popular children’s websites install more tracking technologies on personal computers than top websites aimed at adults.

CocoonKids for KlaasKids is currently in the final stages of development, and will be available sometime in mid February, 2013. Check back at getcocoon.com at that time to get in on the action!

The Growing Risk to Kids Online

Children today are online more than ever, and are at increasing risk of being illegally tracked and having their personal data and identities stolen. These are not just teens. A recent study by Commonsense Media found that 22 percent of 5 to 8-year-olds use computers once a day, and more than a third of children under the age of 8 have used a mobile device – either cell phones or tablets – to watch movies, play games and use apps.

It goes beyond underage use of Facebook and other social media sites, to some questionable marketing practices by some of the most trusted names in the country, including McDonald’s, Nickelodeon, and Walt Disney Company. For example, Playdom, a subsidiary of Disney, recently paid $3 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they violated the Child Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by illegally collecting and disclosing personal information from hundreds of thousands of children under age 13 without their parents’ consent.

The personal data being collected on our children is widely available, not only to marketers trying to sell more french fries and video games, but also to predators. While the risk to our children escalates, proposed legislation to update COPPA and laws around tracking kids has stalled in Congress.

Our Collaboration to Protect Kids

Virtual World Computing, developer of the Cocoon online privacy solution, is working with child-safety advocate Marc Klaas and the KlaasKids Foundation to harness the power of technology to protect children from predators and abusive marketers.

Cocoon for KlaasKids will provide parents with a free browser plug-in designed to protect children from corporate tracking and family computers from malware. Parents can lock it into “Kid Mode,” ensuring kids only browse a parent-sourced whitelist of recommended, appropriate and safe websites.

Accessing sites beyond Cocoon for KlaasKids requires parental permission.

How You Can Help

Our goal is to make Cocoon for KlaasKids the safest means for kids to surf the Internet, but we need your help. We are planning to roll out a Beta prototype on November 9th, 2012 and are asking child online safety advocates and parenting thought leaders to help us in two critical ways:

1. Help us develop a whitelist of age-appropriate web sites. Our plan is to create an online world within which kids can learn and play safely. This means creating a framework of sites that are safe for kids to go while preventing them from visiting inappropriate or potentially unsafe web sites without parental permission. We are asking for your recommendations for age-appropriate sites that have a solid reputation for their commitment to protecting children’s identities. (Timeframe: November 9-December 14, 2012)

2. Technical Feedback. We also need people to surf Cocoon for KlaasKids to identify technical issues and make general critiques. Our goal is to launch the site to families in a format that is easy to use and free of technical glitches!

Our Thanks

We value your commitment to protecting kids. In return for your time and expertise, we would like to publicly recognize your organization during the initial public launch of the product through the KlaasKids Foundation newsletter, the Cocoon newsletter, in our press releases, and on the Cocoon for KlaasKids website. It’s our way of building a stronger community where parents can rest easy and kids can be safe and secure. Also, we are offering our inaugural whitelist creators a free one-year subscription to our premium Cocoon for KlassKids!

Cocoon for KlaasKids Whitelist Instructions

Questions?

Contact:

[Virtual World Computing] It is Day 2 here at the COMPTEL PLUS Convention Expo in Dallas, Texas. Yesterday we announced our latest free privacy plugin: Cocoon for Google Chrome and also received a mention from Monday morning’s keynote speaker! Today we are generating partnership interests featuring Cocoon services : Cocoon for Small Businesses and Cocoon Kids.

Be sure to stop by and visit us at booth #627. 

In the wake of high-profile password security breaches, like the latest news from LinkedIn, we have released a Password Storage service designed to make managing unique and complex passwords secure and convenient. We are offering the Password Storage service as part of our premium online security and privacy service: Cocoon+  available for Firefox.

“Internet users are rightfully anxious about these high-profile password security breaches,” said Vernon Irvin, President/CEO of Virtual World Computing. “The vast majority of people use simple passwords or re-use the same password for multiple websites. When someone steals our online passwords it impacts every aspect of our lives. We responded by creating a solution for consumers that is easy to manage and protects all those passwords.”

Cocoon’s Password Storage features include:

- Freedom to create unique and complex passwords for each site

- Password-protected online storage area for passwords

- Convenient, yet secure, access to passwords for each site

Cocoon will continue to develop new features to Cocoon’s Password Storage Service. We will be releasing a version that automatically saves passwords entered on a given site later this summer.

About Cocoon:

We also offer a free, all-in-one plugin developed by Virtual World Computing of Santa Barbara, California. In addition to our  iOS app called GetCocoon, we offer versions for Firefox and Internet Explorer. Our core business model is built on trust, and our mission is to put the user in control of their Internet experience by ensuring that their computer and personal information are secure and protected from malicious attacks, unwanted spam, and invasions of privacy.