Tuesday, 30 September 2008
New government watchdog to keep kids safe on the net
Following the Byron report, the Government has founded The UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS), an internet watchdog that aims to help protect children from "harmful" web content, such as cyber-bullying and violent video games. There seem to be a lot of big organisations involved, but I hope they have a few independent individuals who actually know what they are talking about.
After ten years running a website full of user-generated by children I am well aware of the dangers and go to great lengths to ensure that children are safe on my site and on any others that they might go to. All content on Kids on the Net is pre-moderated and stripped of anything that could uniquely identify a child.
If the new organisation aims to teach children about web dangers, target harmful net content and establish a code of conduct for sites featuring material uploaded by users, I hope they incorporate some of the excellent materials and websites already out there and that the code of practice is sensible and practical.
Children's web watchdog launched from the BBC.
Labels: child safety online, childrenssafety, Kids on the Net, kidsonthenet.com, online identity, privacy, UKCCIS, watchdog
posted by Helen Whitehead 10:16 AM
Sunday, 3 August 2008
Why you should always secure your wifi connection
It's amazing how often I am in places where I can find an unsecured wifi network - especially in the business sectors of cities where you'd think companies would know better. Here's the most cogent reason yet for making sure your personal or business wifi is properly secured:
Mumbai police raided the home of Kenneth Haywood, an American ex-pat, when his wifi was used to send an email taking responsibility for a terrorist outrage. The email address was created just ten minutes before it was sent, probably for exactly that purpose. Mr Haywood had no idea, one assumes, who was using his connection.
Of course some providers want to share and provide free wifi to as many people as possible as a service to the community. Worthy - they shouldn't have to suffer and are not responsible for who uses their wifi.Labels: internet policy, online identity, privacy, safety, security, wifi
posted by Helen Whitehead 12:20 PM
