I found it very interesting last week when speaking to Year 7 and 8 students about internet safety. I had an opportunity to ask various questions on the subject, which allowed me to get a feel for the state of play.

I asked how many students have computers in their bedrooms that they use, and about 10% of them raised their hand. Not only was I surprised, I was also disappointed. There have been numerous articles, reports and information in the media that point to the fact that getting the...

Continue reading ...

“2012 is going to be a great year!” How many times have we heard that at the start of each year? Many? Well, that may be so, but I believe it will be much better than the previous, and it is important to always look forward.

As internet speed becomes faster and access easier, internet safety becomes more important than ever. That’s why we’ve come up with our Top 7 Internet...

Continue reading ...

Internet safety is often associated with keeping children safe while using the internet. Fantastic. But why is it that many parents have a perception that the focus around internet safety starts when their child turns 11 or 12 years of age?

Is there a perception that children under the age of 10 are not capable of getting themselves into trouble online? Are we aware about unfiltered search engines, unmonitored social networking sites, mixed media sites and the ease of how young ones can stum...

Continue reading ...

WebSafety NZ is concerned that many parents are turning a blind eye when it comes to the subject of cyber safety.

 Over a 12 month period we ran several Internet Safety seminars presenting to parents on the subject of cyber safety. Although the seminars were well marketed by the schools, attendance remained poor.

 We offer a service whereby we install cyber safety software on home computers and teach parents how to use the software. However, the service remains under utilized.

 Our concern is ...
Continue reading ...

Parents often feel they are loosing touch with technology and their kids will always know more than they do when it comes to the internet. Parents can feel more comfortable if they take a step back and look at the internet technology from a single view. It does not matter what the new service is, the behavior should always be the same. We need to teach our children to be SAFE CYBER CITIZENS.

 It was only in the last 10 years that Chat Rooms were popular, and the norm. We then progressed to...
Continue reading ...