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

I have three children and over the years I have bought countless computers, phones and tablets. Our children seem to be using devices at a younger and younger age, and there are studies to prove it.

One 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. While the Internet creates countless opportunities for kids to engage and learn online, it is essential that parents learn about best practices and use the available technology to protect their kids.

Here are a few tips and new tools to make it easier to help protect your children in the real and virtual world, ensuring they can surf, play and learn safely.

1.  Be Web Wise

According to a Science Daily article, “Four out of five children can’t tell when they are talking to an adult posing as a child on the Internet, according to researchers working on software to track pedophiles online.”

Teach your children how to interact safely with people they meet online. Be sure your kids understand they should never provide personally identifiable information about themselves, their current whereabouts, where they live or even what school they attend.

Your children may deal with situations online such as bullying, unwanted contact, or hurtful comments. Work with them on strategies for when problems arise, such as talking to a trusted adult, not retaliating, blocking the person, or filing a complaint. Agree on steps to take if the strategy fails.

2. Set Clear Expectations

As parents, we all have those tough “conversations”: drugs, the birds and the bees, where are you going and the like. Parents must set expectations about how our kids will use the Internet. We set curfews, bedtimes, chores, etc., and now we need to set boundaries for online surfing,  even from a cell phone. Set boundaries about:

-The types of websites your kids are allowed to visit

-Who they are allowed to socialize with online

-How much time they are allowed to be online at all, including study time and mobile browsing

Online safety can be a shared, positive experience. Surf the Internet with them. Appreciate your children’s participation in their online communities and show interest in their friends. Try to react constructively when they encounter inappropriate material and make it a teachable moment.

3. Activate Parental Controls

Kids may accuse parents of “spying” on them, but respectfully monitoring their online activity provides a check-in to ensure those expectations you’ve set are being met. Parental controls are a great way to be proactive about your child’s online safety and activities.  When enabling parental controls, use age-appropriate settings to filter, monitor and block your child’s activities.

Our company, Virtual World Computing, has worked to develop CocoonKids for KlaasKids, a new free tool to 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 CocoonKids for KlaasKids requires parental permission.

4. Discuss “Reputation Management”

Colleges and prospective employers alike are reviewing the online presence of their applicants to ensure they are accepting qualified, appropriate candidates. Kids and teens may not fully comprehend the damage that can be done – or the permanent trace that can be left – from their online photos and comments.

Keep up to date on Facebook security settings, and ensure your kids keep tight settings.

“Friend” your kids on Facebook and other social media outlets so you can see who they are friends with, what photos they are posting, etc. And make sure they do not have a “parent-friendly” Facebook page just for you to friend. (Yes, they really do that.)

Educate your kids about the importance of appropriate social decorum online, and the long-term impact their digital presence can have on their dreams and career options.

5. Protect Your Child’s Identity

The past two years, the FTC has reported that 8 percent of identity theft cases involve kids. Further, a 2011 study by Carnegie Mellon University discovered that 10.2 percent (4,311) of the children in the report had someone else using their Social Security number – 51 times higher than the 0.2% rate for adults in the same population.

In response to such issues, the Utah Attorney General has started the Child Identity Program (CIP) that provides parents a secure means to place their children in the TransUnion “high risk fraud” database. While this is not available in other states, it is important for parents to monitor their child’s credit regularly by pulling reports from the three major reporting agencies. Individuals are allowed to pull a report once a year for monitoring purposes free of charge.

Consider this case from the Carnegie Mellon report: AllClear ID discovered that a 17-year-old girl has over $725,000 in debt. Her Social Security number was linked to eight different suspects. The suspects opened 42 open accounts including mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, and bills in collections including medical, credit cards, and utilities.

6. Protect Your Child, Period.   

Technology can help us diminish the risk of the most unspeakable tragedies from occurring. Marc Klaas of the KlaasKids Foundation has been working to protect kids since his daughter Polly was kidnapped and murdered twenty years ago. He recently unveiled new technology tools to help parents keep their kids safe and to help find missing children.

The first three hours is the most essential if a child is missing. Polly’s Guardian Angel is the nation’s first parent-initiated missing child smartphone alert application. It’s a smartphone app that empowers parents to instantly mobilize friends, neighbors, and other members of the community to help in the search for a missing child.

The LEO Wristwatch has a titanium infused steel wristwatch/cell phone with a GPS Child Locator that can only be removed by the parent. It includes a 911 panic button if the child is in troubleSearch for other tools you trust to keep you and your children safe online and in the real world.

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CocoonKids for KlaasKids is one of the Foundation’s several new initiatives

This Thursday, January 3, 2013, on the anniversary of what would have been Polly Klaas’ 32nd birthday, the KlaasKids Foundation will introduce a revamped, modern child safety website and a variety of initiatives designed to protect children well into the next decade, including a free online tool to protect children from predators and abusive marketers called CocoonKids for KlaasKids. The event will be held at 11:00 a.m. on January 3, 2013 at the Find Sierra Search Center located at Burnett Elementary School at 85 Tilton Road in Morgan Hill, California.

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“Polly was kidnapped in 1993. It has been 20 years,” said Marc Klaas. “We can think of no better way to commemorate her memory than to provide America’s young families with child safety solutions that reflect the challenges faced by children in this era of advanced technology. We are evolving child safety technology in ways that no other child safety organization has even considered.”

Vernon Irvin, President and CEO from Virtual World Computing, developer of the Cocoon online privacy application, will discuss the role technology can play in protecting children and provide an update on the development of the free child online safety and privacy application, CocoonKids for KlaasKids.

Several other initiatives by the KlaasKids Foundation will be represented at the event: Polly’s Guardian Angel is the nation’s first parent-initiated missing child smartphone alert application; the LEO Wristwatch has a titanium infused steel wristband, making it the first GPS Child Locator that cannot be easily discarded; The Klaas Family Housing Fund is a new and innovative way to assist the families of missing children with housing expenses by partnering with Pacific Union Real Estate.

Please join the KlaasKids Foundation, Polly’s family and Sierra LaMar’s father Steve LeMar, as well as slain student Michelle Le’s cousin Krystine Dinh, child kidnap victim Midsi Sanchez, and Sacramento victim Linnea Lomax’ parents Craig and Marianne Lomax.

Representatives from CocoonKids for KlaasKids, LEO Wristwatch, and Polly’s Guardian Angel will be present to explain the ease of use and value inherent in these technology solutions.

Media Contact:
Michelle Morel, Principal
Morel Communications
michelle@morelcommunications.com
(207) 329-6767

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:

Cocoon for Klaas Kids from Get Cocoon on Vimeo.

Whether it is identity theft, online tracking, or profiling, the Internet can be an open door to a child’s personal information. That is why Virtual World Computing is working with child-safety advocate Marc Klaas, founder of the KlaasKids Foundation, to establish a free online tool to protect children from predators and abusive marketers.

The KlaasKids Foundation was established in 1994 to give meaning to the death of twelve-year-old Polly Hannah Klaas, (Marc’s daughter) who was kidnapped at knife point from her mother’s home during a slumber party in Petaluma, California, on October 1, 1993. People from her home town and throughout the world helped search for her. Polly’s body was found on December 3, 1993. She was a daughter, a step-sister, a student, a friend, and a grandchild.

With criminals, deviants and sexual predators actively targeting children who browse the web (coupled with the naivety of our children) -as parents, it’s up to us to ensure that our children do not wander into the streets of the world-wild web alone.

Protecting Our Children Online

The need to protect our children continues to grow as their use of computers and mobile devices increases. According to a 2011 Common Sense Media Report, “Zero to Eight: Children’s Media Use in America,” 52% of all children (age 0-8) now have access to a mobile device. Computer use is even more prevalent, with 53% of all 2 to 4 year-olds having used a computer, and 90% of 5 to 8 year-olds having done so.

For Parents

-The Internet can be an open door to a child’s personal information, whether it is identity theft, online tracking, profiling, or cyber-predators.

-Society has an obligation to protect our children and online safety for children should be a priority.COPPA was drafted to protect kids online privacy in 1998. Since then, we have seen the advent of social media, smartphones, tablets, open Wi-Fi connections, iTunes, online gaming, and online homework and proposed updates to the law have stalled out in Congress. Collaborations – such as the one we have formed between KlaasKids and Virtual World Computing – can be part of the solution by providing more parental tools and education for child online safety.

-Cocoon for KlaasKids will be launched in January 2013, and has the potential to provide millions of parents a free tool to manage their kids website visits and protect their family’s personal information whether on their computer, iPad, iPhone, or other personal devices.

Cocoon for KlaasKids Features

Along with Cocoon’s online privacy and security tools that help shield personal information, it will include a parent-sourced whitelist of recommended, appropriate websites.

How Cocoon for KlaasKids Works

Parents lock Cocoon for KlaasKids into ‘kid mode’ to enable safety features. Kids then log in to access sites approved for them. Other sites require parental permission which can be granted either through an email or push notification on a mobile device. Instructions are provided for removing or locking other browsers.

Cocoon for KlaasKids Benefits

-Protects kids personal data from marketers and predators

-Protects the family computer from harmful downloads of viruses and malware

-Helps parents manage their family’s online lifestyle

Relevant Statistics about the Need for this Online Tool

-Some of the most popular kids websites have been found to have “super cookies” (sometimes 30% more than the average adult site according to that 2010 report by WSJ) to track data more effectively. Children are prevalent Internet users, even at an early age, and they are more vulnerable than adults to online tracking and identity theft because they are by nature more trusting.

-A recent study conducted by Commonsense Media (Zero to Eight: Children’s Media Use in America) helps illustrate the prevalence of young kids using technology to go online. For instance 22 percent of 5 to 8-year olds use computer 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.

-While the official age when people can join Facebook is 13, Consumer Reports released a report in May 2011, finding that 7.5 million kids under the age of 12 are members. They have access to Facebook’s new “frictionless sharing,” which allows people to easily share what they’re reading and listening to without choosing to actually click “share” or “like.” In reality, the new system follows Facebook users across the Internet taking copious notes on their reading, browsing and shopping habits – and that is only one social media site.

-Kids are also at high risk of having their identities stolen. Eight percent of identity theft complaints are for minors under the age of 19, according to the FTC. Further, Carnegie Mellon released a report in 2011, “Child Identity Theft,” findings show “4,311 or 10.2% of the children in the report had someone else using their Social Security number – 51 times higher than the 0.2% rate for adults in the same population.”

-The personal information collected on children is accessible to cyber-predators who could lure a child away from their home for malicious purposes. A 2010 article in Science Daily reported, “Four out of five children can’t tell when they are talking to an adult posing as a child on the Internet, according to researchers working on software to track pedophiles online.”

-Some of the most trusted names have been in the headlines lately for marketing practices that accumulate private information of kids without parental consent, including McDonald’s and Nickelodeon. This summer, McDonald’s set up a “star in a music video” feature on their site where kids could upload their own photo to be added to a cartoon character. They were then encouraged to share their video with friends and family through email – without the consent of a parent. Kids were sharing names and email addresses with the company in order to share the video. McDonald’s contends they are in compliance with COPPA and that they never collected the contact.

A Message From Our President

Society has an obligation to protect our children and online safety for children should be a priority. We need a three-pronged approach to address this issue: policy changes; industry self-regulation; and more parental tools, monitoring and education. –Vernon Irvin, President and COO, Virtual World Computing | Huffington Post