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August 15, 2003

Dear Subscribers:

It's great to be back. Here's our lineup for this surprisingly newsy second week of August:

• Family Tech: Subscribers on family Net-use policy, teens' passwords
  
• Web News Briefs: Nasty worm; Net unscathed by power outage; COPA to Supreme Court again; Hard lessons from an acquittal; Net users do better in school; Web cams in classrooms; Sharing a family PC; Video game tech in school?; One way pedophiles dealt with in US; Alaska Online; Picking roommates online; Cell phones for 5-year-olds; Profile of an ID theft victim....

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Family Tech: Subscribers on family Net-use policy, teens' passwords

We've gotten some meaty emails from a number of sources lately - two moms, 17- year-old tech whiz Steve, and our contact at AOL's Parental Controls department. First, the Internet policies of a family with elementary-school-age kids, and second a question (and responses) about getting past teenagers' online passwords:

1. Subscriber Sharon in New York State on her family's Net policy

   "My children are still relatively young (10 and 7), but I have already established strict guidelines for Internet use. One important rule is that they must inform me which Internet site they are visiting before going online. They may not switch to another site without my consent. If they do, the computer gets turned off. I also will not let them have their own Internet access, because I think they are still too young to receive email and visit chat rooms. My older child is going to middle school this year, and if he wants to email friends, we will have to have a discussion about the rules (e.g., never giving out personal information or responding to spam email, etc.).

   "When my children's Internet use expands as they get older, I will install parental filters, spyware, etc., in an effort to monitor content. This will probably be considered invasion of privacy, but I will explain to them why it is important that they need protection from possible abuse. I will let them know that when they are visiting friends, other parents may not monitor their children's Internet use, but that our basic safety rules still apply outside our home.

   "I think the best thing I can do is discuss my expectations for their safe Internet use and let them know that if anything bothers or upsets them that I am here to listen to their concerns. I hope my guidelines let my kids enjoy their Internet use but keep them safe too!"

2. Mariann in Michigan on teenagers and online passwords

   "I read Steve's response about getting into your teens' email, etc., by 'getting beyond the passwords.' I, being a parent of 4 teens who are on the computer a lot, am curious as to how one can 'get beyond the passwords'."

   [She's referring to Steve's comment (in our 5/9/03 issue): "I think that kids should be able to keep a reasonable amount of security on their personal computer life, in order to keep it from their parents. It's kind of like a diary with a lock [though, we would add, with the Internet it's a diary involving other people].... Now, in most of these cases, if the parent is truly concerned about something, there is a way to get beyond the passwords, though it may not be easy for someone who isn't very computer literate. The most important thing, though, is to talk to your kid(s) enough so that you can help them with problems yourself without having to go snooping around in their personal items." (This was Steve's experience at home.)]

   We put Mariann's question to Steve, as well as to our contact at AOL (because she and a lot of other readers are AOL subscribers), and here are their thoughtful answers....

   Steve: "There are only a couple different methods I can think of: 1) Brute force. This is just putting in words, numbers, anything that your child has some connection to, or something that they might have for a password. A pet's name, birthday, anything like this. Sometimes people write passwords down on sticky notes and leave them laying around their computer area. 2) Auto Complete (html- related only). Sometimes you won't even need to know the password. They are often stored in cookie files, and can be reentered simply by clicking on the field that is looking for it. However, this is only true if the person originally asked the computer to save their password.

   "Apart from brute force, methods of getting a password are different for each program you are trying to use. If the password is saved somewhere (auto complete - even AOL IM has this option) and all you can see are ********, there is a windows program called SnadBoy's Revelation (snadboy.com) that can change the *'d text to normal characters. Oftentimes, people will use the same password multiple times, so getting this one password from the *'d text can often open up many other accounts.

   "In all of these cases, a username will still need to be known. It may be possible to get access to AOL-related accounts by contacting AOL, but I'll leave that to them.

   "My best advice would be to look around the child's workspace, as that's a common place for either 1) passwords to be left written on a piece of paper, or 2) inspiration for a password or part of a password (model number of the monitor, name on a poster on the wall). No. 2 is more the last-resort, brute- force approach, but sometimes one gets lucky. I hope this was helpful."

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   [AOL's response is long but very helpful, so we're printing the bulk of it. Could non-AOL users just skip to "Web New Briefs"? Thanks.]

   America Online: Mariann "expressed particular interest in finding out what her teenagers are doing online. Below, I'll set out a series of questions and answers that I hope will be of interest, and then I'll address the question of passwords more directly. I hope this is helpful.

   "The first question I have is whether or not [Mariann] had Parental Controls set on her teenager's Screen Names. Obviously, setting Parental Controls is the first step. Here's how to set Parental Controls:

   "Visit Keyword: Parental Controls while on AOL, or visit ParentalControls.AOL.com from anywhere you have Internet access. You must sign on using a Master Screen Name. Select your child's screen name in the Edit Parental Controls section. Set or change Parental Controls for your children's screen names to Kids Only, Young Teen, or Mature Teen. Each of these settings can be customized by parents to fit their children and their families.

   "You can check to see which screen names are Master Screen Names by clicking on Parental Controls in the AOL 8.0 toolbar. Only parents should have access to Master Screen Names; those Screen Names can change the Parental Controls settings for other Screen Names.

   "There are 6 main Parental Controls features you may want to manage for your children's Screen Names: AOL Guardian, Online Timer, Web Browsing, Instant Messaging, E-mail, and Chat.

   "AOL Guardian: Parents can sign up to receive a report of their children's online activities emailed directly to them. The report includes a list of all Web sites visited, all Web sites the child attempted to visit, the number of IMs and emails sent out, and whether those were with people on the child's Buddy List.

   "Children are alerted to the fact that AOL Guardian is operating on their account, and when the child logs off the computer, an online activity report is immediately sent to the parent's Screen Name....

   "Online Timer: This is one of our most popular features - parents can set specific limits, for each child, on the time of day and/or total amount of time a child can spend online.... If you don't want your children to use AOL after school while you are still at work, you can set the timer's starting time to 6 pm, for example. It can also be adjusted remotely by a parent using ParentalControls.AOL.com.... "Web Browsing: AOL's Web filtering product blocks access to Web sites that are inappropriate for kids and teens, including pornography, weapons, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, gambling, violence, and hate sites.

   "Instant Messaging: Parents can allow or block children from using Instant Messaging. Right now, AOL's default settings allow teens to use IM. Both parents and children can ... make themselves 'invisible' [to strangers] online by changing the settings on their Buddy List [this is not just a Parental Controls feature, but for all IM users]. Click on 'Setup' on the Buddy List screen, 'Set Preferences' on the setup screen, and then 'Privacy & Security.' These settings can also be reached using Keyword: Privacy Settings.

   "Email: One way parents can adjust kids' email is to create a customized 'allow list' of approved email correspondents for their children. Creating an allow list will block anyone else from sending email to your child.

   "Chat: Parents can adjust their children's ability to use AOL's chat rooms, for example preventing access to member-created chat rooms.

   "[Mariann] also indicated that she wanted to track down information such as her children's Screen Names and passwords, both within AOL and outside of the service. At AOL, we do not give out passwords, even to Master Screen Name account holders. However, assuming [Mariann] is the primary billing contact on her account (or is listed as a secondary billing contact), she can request that passwords on her children's Screen Names be reset. She should log on to AOL and go to Keyword: LIVE HELP, then click on Get LIVE Billing Help.

   "As for teenagers starting their own AOL accounts separate from the parent (not under the parent's Master Screen Name), this is a popular feature for families, especially as teenagers move on to college. It allows Master Screen Names to 'spin off' new accounts for sub-account Screen Names. Screen Names with Parental Controls cannot spin themselves off. If your teenagers acquired separate accounts through this 'spin-off' feature, you can have the process reversed. As above, this is considered a billing help issue and [Mariann] should log on to AOL as a Master Screen Name and go to Keyword: LIVE HELP, then click on Get LIVE Billing Help.

   "As you can see, it's critical for parents to keep their passwords private!

   "Beyond Technology: Nothing can provide a parent with more information than keeping an eye on their children and talking with them. If your children have computers in their bedrooms, this may require more creativity and parental effort than if the computer is in a public space in the house. Ask questions - ask your children to show you what they're doing, ask them who they are IM-ing or emailing, ask them what their favorite Web sites are."

Editor's note: We always appreciate hearing from you - your experiences, views, questions, and solutions. They are valuable to everyone in this community. Just send them to feedback@netfamilynews.org.

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Web News Briefs

1. Worst worm in a long time

   In just 24 hours one of the nastiest worms to date "exploded onto some 120,000 computers around the world," by Wednesday moving at the rate of about 2,500 new PCs an hour, CNET reported in its roundup. Infections (of Windows machines only) were leveling off by midweek, according to the BBC. In a noteworthy piece Friday, The Register put forth its view that this week's worm, now dubbed "The Blaster," changed the rules on malicious code attacks: "Unlike Slammer or Nimda, home users have borne the brunt of the attack - although businesses of all sizes have also suffered." And, The Register continues, the worm shattered the idea that email-borne viruses are the biggest threat to home PC users. Now we really need to pay attention (and take action) when Microsoft issues "security patches" and other fixes for Windows machines. Microsoft had issued one last month that would've taken care of The Blaster problem, but few people paid attention, thus the virulence of this week's attack. [Here's an alternative download site for the security patch, in case Microsoft servers succumb to an expected denial-of-service attack against the company because of the worm.] In a separate piece, The Register noted that there are some variants to Blaster roaming around out there, and more can be expected, so stay alert. Early on, solutions/fixes were offered this week by SafeKids.com's Larry Magid at PCAnswer.com, the Washington Post, and ZDNet. Here's CNET on "squashing the next worm."

2. The Net and the power outage

   The Internet probably fared better than any of the some 50 million people affected by this week's massive power outage in the US and Canada. "Firms monitoring the Internet's core cables said the blackout had not slowed traffic or caused any significant delays" - because of the Net's structure and redundancy and backup power systems, the BBC reports. Here's the New York Times's special section with fulsome coverage of the blackout (with a remarkable photo of stranded commuters sleeping on post office steps).

3. Bush administration tries again with COPA

   The Child Online Protection Act (COPA) of 1998 was blocked shortly after passage by a federal court in Philadelphia, went to the Supreme Court on appeal, was sent back to Philadelphia for further deliberation, and was blocked again by that court last March on different constitutional grounds. The Justice Department is now sending the case back to the Supreme Court, Internet.com reports. "The controversial law intended to make it a crime to place sexually explicit material on the Internet where minors could view it. [It] requires commercial Web site operators to use credit cards or other adult access systems to prevent minors from viewing the material" and "imposes criminal and civil penalties of up to $50,000 per day for violations," according to Internet.com. In its second rejection of the law the federal appeals court in Philadelphia said it prohibits a wide range of First Amendment-protected expression, not just that of online porn publishers. COPA was Congress's response to the Supreme Court's 1997 rejection of the Communications Decency Act. A constitutional law expert cited in the Associated Press's coverage said the Supreme Court is likely to struggle with this case (Ashcroft v. ACLU, 03-218) and the issues involved once again.

4. Hard lessons from an acquittal

   The tough lesson learned in the case of an acquitted man (and father) charged with possession of child pornography is that illegal porn can arrive on unprotected PCs unbeknownst to their owners. Fortunately, in the case of Briton Julian Green, his lawyer hired a computer security consultant to bear out his claim of innocence, CNET reports. The consultant found about a dozen Trojan horse programs. These malicious software programs act like viruses and are increasingly encountered on gambling, file-sharing, and legal adult sites that a sexually curious teenager might check out (Green has a teenage son).

   "Antivirus software and programs like Ad-aware can ferret out and disable Trojans, but they must be kept up-to-date to be effective in a fast-changing field," according to CNET. "Green said he had antivirus software on his computer, but that it was outdated." For families with high-speed DSL and cable connection, firewall software is essential too (ZoneLabs.com's ZoneAlarm is free for personal use). After this latest case, what legal experts are concerned about is pedophiles pointing to Trojan horse software as a defense - that they were not in control of their computers. [For related news, see our 7/18 issue, the week it was reported that more than a thousand unsuspecting Internet users worldwide had had their computers hijacked by hackers using them to send out ads for porn Web sites.]

5. Net users do better in school: Study

   The three-year-long, $1.5 million Michigan State University study involving 90 families found that "children introduced to the Internet at home improved their grades and performed better on standardized reading tests," the Lansing State Journal reports. The study, designed to learn about the impact of home Net and computer use on low-income families, also found that "using the Internet didn't reduce social contacts or communication with family or friends," its director said, adding that "more analysis of the massive amount of data collected is needed before specifics of student improvement are known."

6. Webcams in classrooms

   In Biloxi, Mississippi, classrooms, anyway. More than 500 Webcams will keep track of what's happening in every classroom and hallway this year in Biloxi district schools, according to the Associated Press. "Only a school principal, vice principal, superintendent, school board member or board attorney can view the recordings" via the Internet by entering a password, the AP reports. "A parent, student or teacher would have to go through court." The district's deputy superintendent told the AP that students and teachers feel safer because of the cameras. The Mississippi American Federation of Teachers reportedly is "worried about how the cameras would affect teacher rapport with students."

7. Sharing a family PC

   There are actually a lot of advantages to having one computer in the house: easier to police, fewer software upgrades to purchase, no networking headaches, and - even at $600 each - multiple PCs really add up. On the other hand, a single family PC "can rival toothpaste-tube etiquette as a source of disagreement," the New York Times points out. "The trick is to find a way to make the lone computer act as if it is each person's private possession rather than communal property." No simple trick, but the article goes on to provide some tips for peaceful PC sharing - not least of which are features in the latest Mac and Windows operating systems, as well as at large ISPs like MSN and AOL, that optimize the multiple-user experience and give parents control over kids' computer use.

8. Video games to help in school?

   They've become a lightening rod for media and political (not to mention parental) attention for their violent and sexual content, but video games are also drawing educators' interest. At least the technology that powers them is. The want to use the underlaying software "to create learning simulations," Wired News reports. "The Digital Media Collaboratory, one of several technology laboratories at the University of Texas at Austin's IC2 Institute, works with partners from the public and private sectors to develop computer games that can be used by schools, businesses and governments," Wired explains. It looks like such partnerships are needed, since educational game sales make up just 7% of the software market for console games, and computer titles haven't generated enough sales even to be ranked, the article reports. Another such effort is MIT's Games-to-Teach Project, funded by Microsoft.

9. One way pedophiles are dealt with in US

   After leaving prison, these sex offenders often have difficulty finding housing. One solution used in not-the-nicest section of Spokane, Wash., is to house these ex-convicts together, the New York Times reports. The article leads with the description of an apartment building that houses 38 rapists, pedophiles, and exhibitionists, why say they "keep each other in check." Their landlady, who - compared to other such landlords - has not received much flak because her building is not in a residential area, told the Times she feels this arrangement is the best way to keep the community safe. Her building used to house recovering alcoholics and drug addicts, "but about five years ago the first sex offender wandered in," according to the Times. "In the years that followed [she] discovered that the offenders tend to pay the rent on time, were quiet and usually stayed for at least a year, partly because it is so hard for them to find another place to live."

10. Alaska Online

    It's a consortium of nine school districts in Alaska that aims to help prepare students especially in small rural schools for college - and also to help the schools themselves comply with new federal requirements. According to the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Online will have 21 high school courses on the Web as a pilot program this year. "School districts that participate in Alaska Online are required to provide mentors for students," the Daily News reports. "Alaska Online will provide a certified teacher for each course. The mentor's job is to monitor the student's progress daily and motivate him or her."

11. Picking roommates online

    It's a new application for online matchmaking - picking college roommates! Atlanta's Emory University is testing it this summer with incoming freshmen, the New York Times reports. Students answer a series of questions (e.g., sleep hours, neatness levels, and other habits - some schools stay away from questions of race, religion, and sexual orientation), and choose roommates from the results of matching answers. They do so with a program called WebRoomz, which costs universities at least $35,000. Several schools are using it so far, soon to be joined by the University of Washington "and other large schools."

12. Cell phones for 5-year-olds

    "You'll have to speak up, I'm on my skateboard," is the tagline of The Register's story on the news that "half a million kids in the UK under the age of ten will have a mobile phone by the end of next year." Some 400,000 UK 5-to-9- year-olds have mobile phones right now, up from 80,000 in 2000. That's close to similar growth for this age group in Scandinavia and Japan. "However, the research has sparked a lively debate about the merits of giving young kids mobile phones. Concerned parents claim it gives both children and parents security to know that help, if needed, is just a phone call away. Critics insist that a five-year-old simply shouldn't be given a mobile especially in light of fears that young children could be potentially damaging their health by using them. Or making them a target of crime," The Register adds.

13. Parents get grandparents wired

    This is not a huge surprise to Gen Xers, but 78% of these 25-to-44-year-old Americans have taught older adults how to use the computer, and 87% have helped their parents find information online, CyberAtlas reports. For the 534 people surveyed, qualifying requirements were stiff: They had to have one or more parent or relative (50+) going online at least every three months and contacting them for help with the computer or Internet. In other findings, nearly 75% have helped an older adult use email (96% of those surveyed communicate via email). The other means of keeping in touch were sending online cards (60%), sharing family pictures (57%), and instant-messaging (43%). "Intergenerational communication was least likely to happen through a family member's Web site (13%), cell phone text-messaging (7%), or Web phone/cam (5%)," according to CyberAtlas. An overwhelming 94% percent of adults 50+ surveyed in another, SeniorNet.org study, primarily use the Net to stay in touch with friends and relatives.

14. Profile of an ID theft victim

    It's not a pretty picture. The identity of Michael Berry of Arlington, Va., was stolen by a convicted murderer wanted for killings in Florida - which meant that "the real Berry was liable to be taken into custody as a wanted man at any time," the Washington Post reports. That was only one of the real Berry's problems. It's a long, five-page magazine piece and worst-case scenario, but Page 3 offers an explanation for the recent surge in identity theft. In a nutshell: 1) We're "awash in information about ourselves." Credit bureaus, banks, groceries, etc. gather information about us and often share it. 2) The institutions responsible for safeguarding all this data often do a poor job of it. 3) "The data revolution has indeed spurred an explosion in new credit opportunities." And 4) identity theft is "almost laughably easy to commit." The details are worth reading, the story compelling (though depressing), and there's a sidebar on "How to Protect Yourself" on Page 5. Meanwhile, ZDNet has a report on an inventor who says "the cure to Net identity problems is right under our noses." It's a little technical, but look at the paragraph starting with "He accuses those trying to solve the problem with settling for nothing less than perfection."

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That does it for this week. Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Anne Collier, Editor

Net Family News

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