The Parent's Guide to Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace [Library Binding]

Parry Aftab (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0613221567 | ISBN-13: 978-0613221566 | Publication Date: January 2000

Just about everyone agrees that certain places in cyberspace are inappropriate for children. What people don't agree on is how to keep kids from wandering into areas where they don't belong. From the ACLU to Congress, local PTAs and national teacher's organizations, the issue is devise and polarizing. Given recent events such as what happened in Littleton, Colorado, it is also becoming clear that there's more to protecting children in cyberspace than just blocking pornographic sites with filtering programs. How can parents, teachers and librarians navigate this confusing issue without overstepping legal boundaries while at the same time protecting kids from the dangers--both hidden and obvious--that abound on the Net? Internationally respected attorney and cyber-expert Parry Aftab offers a sensible, clear-cut guide to protecting children from the dark side of the Web. Based upon her self-published book A Parent's Guide to the Internet and How to Protect Your Children in Cyberspace, Aftab details the threats that lurk throughout the world wide web, from spam and chatrooms, to cyber porn and cyber stalkers, to sites that promote violence fantasy role-playing and hatred. She then goes on to detail what steps parents and teachers can and should take to keep children from accessing certain sites.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A no-nonsense guide for keeping kids protected and informed on the Internet is an essential book for any family with a home computer. The Parent's Guide to Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace comes highly recommended, with kudos from countless corporations, governmental agencies, and nonprofit organizations. Equally useful for long-time users and newcomers to the Internet, parents will find a wealth of useful tips presented in a friendly and entertaining manner.

Beginning with basic questions and answers about why laws are sometimes different online than they are in other commercial arenas, author Parry Aftab goes on to explain some of the fundamentals of search engines, ISPs, and e-mail accounts--experienced users can safely skip this area with no harm done. Aftab makes it clear that it is up to parents and caregivers to appropriately educate kids in online safety--while the benefits of including the Internet in your child's education are tremendous, there are some dangers (ranging from pretty minor to severe) that all family members need to be made aware of and taught how to avoid. Aftab includes a terrific list of widely approved kid-friendly sites, a solid glossary of common terms and abbreviations used in e-mail, and simple bullet-point lists outlining ways to provide protection such as passwords, backing up important files, placing your computer in a central location, and not allowing unsupervised online access until you're fully convinced they're ready for it. More than any other suggestion, teaching your kids accountability and safety is emphasized. Older children and teenagers may benefit from reading some of the personal anecdotes and interviews--such clear-cut stories are sure to make a lasting impression. --Jill Lightner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

"An invaluable resource for the Internet industry and parents alike in our efforts to create educational and entertaining havens online."--Bob Davis, President and CEO, Lycos, Inc. "The definitive work for parents and others who care about balancing the benefits of the Internet with the need to keep our children safe while surfing."--B. Keith Fulton, Director, Technology Programs & Policy, National Urban League. "This is a must read for all parents with kids on the Internet--and that soon will be all of us."--George Vrandernberg, Senior Vice President, Global and Strategic Policy, America Online. "I can't say enough good things about [Parry Aftab]...I recommend her book to our agents."--Jorge Martinez, Supervisory Agent, FBI's Innocent Images, Anti-Child Pornography and Exploitation Task Force. "With exceptional wit and style, Parry Aftab empowers parents with essential eye-opening information on the cyber-environment where their children play, learn, interact, and grow."--Della Curtis, Coordinator, Office Library Information Services. "I welcome this new guide by Parry Aftab."--Federico Mayor, Director General, UNESCO. From the world's #1 child cybersafety expert, a total program for keeping kids safe on the Internet. Cyberspace is a place of infinite wonders and unparalleled learning opportunities. Of course you want your kids to benefit from all the best it has to offer, but you also want to guarantee their safety while they're there. Written by an attorney who has been consulted by governments around the world on child-related cybercrimes, this book shows you how to do so. Author Parry Aftab alerts you to the dangers that await children on the Internet and outlines a complete program for allowing kids to benefit from its riches while avoiding its perils. And you don't worry, you don't need to be cybersavvy to use this book. In plain English, Aftab tells you how to: recognize and avoid the Internet's hidden dangers; supervise your kids' out-of-home access; spot dangerous spam, scams, and inappropriate chat rooms; use filters, bookmarks, and other technologies to screen content; set up rules for Internet behavior that both you and your kids can live with; deal with serious problems if they occur, especially if your child is the culprit. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Library Binding
• Publisher: Sagebrush Education Resources (January 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613221567
• ISBN-13: 978-0613221566
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,167,653 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Parents don't get your internet account till you read this!, January 26, 2000

By 

Mrs. K Leonard (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Parent's Guide to Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace (Paperback)

Ms. Aftab has written the most comprehensive, easy to follow guide for parents or anyone about how to keep yourself and your family safe while surfing the World Wide Web. It cuts through the hype and the media presentation of the dark side of the web to really show people how to use the internet the way it was meant to be used. I have been online for over 6 years and I am a very experienced user yet I read it cover to cover and learned more than I ever could have imagined. This book is a must read, don't assume that your children know what they are doing online, read this book and learn now how to keep them safe.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank God!I don't know what I would have done without it!, March 5, 2000

By 

Linda Williams (Darien, Conn.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Parent's Guide to Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace (Paperback)

My son was involved in a pretty scarey situation. He's fine now, chiefly because of this author, who is the top internet safety expert in the world.

He was being threatened and stalked by someone who knew where he lived and went to school. I found a site where people help parents when things go wrong online. The head of this site is a cyberlawyer who also wrote this book. I had read about her in Readers Digest and saw her on the Today show, and knew that she worked with the FBI on finding child molesters in cyberspace, and saw that 20/20 recommended her site, cyberangels.org, for help in cyberstalkings.

I wrote her in a panic. She answered my e-mail right away, personally, and helped us, personally. I'll never forget her or how she made us feel. Like we were the most important people on earth and she had nothing else to do but help us.

I bought her first book last year and this book as soon as I heard about it on television last month. I bought one for my sister and for my two brothers too. I don't think any parent should have to go through what we did, and I don't know what I would have done without help from this incredible woman. Her book is the best! and my son now knows not to give away personal information to strangers online. And I know how to teach him to use the Internet safely. She reminds us constantly, that even if they know more than we do about the technology, we are still the parents. Hurray for people like this. Parry is a real angel, not just a cyberangel. Buy her book. Buy several. The money helps support the kids internet safety programs she runs. And its fun to read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rave review by Family PC Magazine! I agree! Buy it!, March 8, 2000

By 

Adam Richards (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Parent's Guide to Protecting Your Children in Cyberspace (Paperback)

I read Family PC Magazine regularly. Common sense and up on the latest things I want to know. This month, they reviewed this book and told stories about the author and her fight against pedophiles and child pornographers online. I was curious, and since I trust Family PC, bought the book. It was hard to get, apparently it's sold out in a lot of places offline already, but I bought it online. It was like reading a Family PC Book, easy to udnerstand, everything was relevant to what I wanted to know. This woman isn't a censorship fanatic, she tells us things I hadn't heard elsewhere about how pedophiles operate online and what our kids really do online. I also learned about filtering software, what works and what doesn't and found some great sites for my children to enjoy safely. What a help. It wasn't techy at all. It felt like we were having a conversation. Jokes and funny asides throughout the book, it was one of the easiest books I have ever read. It's just the help I needed. Once again, Family PC has steered me right. Right to this incredible book, written by an incredible person who cares about children. Buy the book, I've heard that the author runs these programs with her own money and that the money earned on this book helps kids online. So, buy two.! ;-)