Predators and webcams: how to keep your kids safe

Technology is an amazing thing. Computers these days can do everything but serve you coffee (I still have hope though). Unfortunately, any place or thing that attracts the attention of this many kids, is also attractive to child predators. And even moreso than the playground, the predator doesn’t need to have the courage to leave their own house and they certainly don’t have to look very long to find hordes of kids online. It is a fact that unsavory types will try to reach your child, or your child’s friends through your computer.

As ridiculous as it sounds, we have 3 computers in our home – a laptop (my baby), a netbook (for daddy) and the old tower pc that the girls get to fight over. Two of those have cameras built into them, and one has a small webcam gadget attached to the screen. All three have microphones built into the audio components. I have just recently forayed into the realm of Skype and camera phone calls. And I have to say, I love it! I can actually talk to friends (including some of you) through the computer and see them face to face. And if I just got into it, you know that kids have been doing it for years now; if it is new (and a little intimidating to Mom and Dad), and has anything to do with “social” or “networking”, the kids will be all over it!

No doubt, you’ve heard of Flickr, Photobucket, YouTube and Facebook? These are sites devoted to photo and video networking. Kids can upload videos of themselves doing everything from skateboarding to fixing their favorite milkshake. Once these videos are uploaded, people anywhere can see them. To keep your kids safe online will require some knowledge of pop culture, and the courage to go against the grain.

How secure is my webcam?

First, we need to differentiate between “webcam” and “computer cam”. When we are referring to webcam, most of us are only talking about the video camera attached to our computer. The real definition of a webcam is your computer’s camera PLUS an internet server (software). Only with a real webcam, can you stream your video camera onto the internet, at a specific internet address. The most popular location for streaming video is at social website pages for friends, but the feed can be picked up by others and broadcast all over the world.

A real webcam makes keeping your kids safe online a much harder job.

A knowledgeable hacker may view any webcam if:

1)the camera is on, and
2)the computer is online.

The frightening truth is that online predators can tap into these feeds and contact your child. The relationship begins innocently. They talk to your child and might ask them to do things on camera like wearing a certain outfit or saying certain words. Over time the acts will get more explicit and the person may even offer money or gifts for the privilege of looking at your child.

We will discuss several options to keep your kids safe in the last section.

So how secure is the regular laptop cam?

The regular laptop cam (or any digital video recorder) can record video and save it to your computer, but it can also be broadcast over the internet similarly to a webcam. The difference is that we turn on the software (for example, Skype) to connect, it isn’t automatically attached to the camera.

Let’s take Skype for example. It provides the software that we need to see each other on the internet temporarily. My camera feed is sent to you only if the following conditions are met:

• a call is connected between you and I
• I turn on my camera so Skype can “find” it, and
• I allow Skype to send it to my current caller (as easy as clicking the “start video” button)

And then you can see my feed only after you “accept” the feed.

Programs like Skype, Yahoo, IRC and others, make showing someone your camera an active process. It doesn’t happen by accident! Anything that can’t happen by accident is definitely one step closer to keeping your kids safe.

Another security feature of your regular laptop cam is that the camera’s default status is OFF. Unless these settings are changed, the camera will remain off, or hibernating, until it is brought to life by an action on your part. On my laptop, I have to push the button on the keyboard to turn the camera on, and also activate the camera software from the program list. Notice, that it doesn’t come to life passively.

How do I know if someone is viewing my camera feed?

For nearly all computers, there is a light somewhere on the computer or screen or camera itself that will light up if the camera is in use.

How can you keep your kids safe?

At this point, I want to mention, the obvious: we can’t.

Whether they start riding a bike at 5, crossing the road when they’re 7 years old, or Skype-ing at 10, there are always risks associated with living. So our role as parents in this cyber world is pretty much the same as with anything – we do the best we can to educate ourselves to the risks, communicate our expectations for behavior, and set up reasonable safeguards. Here are some guidelines to be used with all the common sense and maternal/paternal wisdom you can muster:

1. If you wish to use a streaming video(a real webcam) on the internet, it is especially important to consult with your computer sales person about security software. If you are thinking of installing blocking software programs or monitoring software, it is best to discuss this openly with the kids. The idea is to keep your kids safe, not catch them doing something wrong.
2. A tip, from one Mom to another: I simply put a yellow sticky note over the camera when not in use – sometimes old fashioned works best!
3. Along with providing guidelines for general computer and internet use, it may be wise to specifically set up guidelines for camera use. If your computer has a camera, keep it in the common area of the house. One quick glance at the computer can tell you if that light is lit or not.
4. Teach your kids not to post anything they wouldn’t want to be seen by a whole classroom of their peers and the principal too. It might seem like fun for your child to dance around in her nightgown with some girlfriends, but on the internet that same footage could send the wrong message. A good guideline is that anything posted online is fair game for Mom, Dad and Grandma. That may curb some of the ill-thought-through spontaneity.
5. Even with our guidance, our children don’t always make the right decisions so it is up to us to know what kinds of responsibilities they can handle. Freedom and Responsibility must go hand in hand; one without the other spells disaster. The computer, internet and camera are certainly no different.
6. Lastly, pray like crazy, take a bath, breathe, insert-de-stressor-here. Worrying never helped anybody!

This article is part of an Online Security Series at Desperately Seeking WordPress.