To Catch a Predator

This blog is about celebrating the great opportunities that the Internet brings.

I was just reminded of the great dangers that come with it.

Dateline NBC was showing - "To Catch a Predator": Men arrive at Dateline's undercover houses to meet teens they have targeted online.

It gave me the chills. We, the parents, must be aware and on the lookout. There are a lot of tools that can help protect our kids (and maybe I'll cover them in the future), but it all starts with awareness and communication, which we can all do.

I do want to mention "Perverted-Justice"- a watchdog group that regularly catches online predators by posing as kids online. They worked with Dateline on this project. Their web site is full of useful information and guides. I encourage you to visit and if you're feeling generous - they take donations.

It also seemed to me that the people they caught on tape weren't too bright. It scares me to think about the smart bad guys...

Tags: security, kids, online, predators