Four
Steps to Protect Your Family Online
by Quent
Casperson
Pornography marketers will make at least two new Websites while
you read this message. That’s thousands every day. The more
sites they can make, the more traffic they get, and the more
money they make. It doesn’t matter if you, your spouse, or kids
are looking for them or not. They’re looking for you- and
everyone they can get.
Many Americans accidentally stumble onto
pornographic material while online. A recent CNN story (see
www.cnn.com, September, 2003) tells how John Zuccarini was
arrested for redirecting over 3,000 Web addresses to
pornographic Websites. He used common misspellings for sites
like Disney, Britney Spears, or Barney, so that people looking
for those sites would
find pornography instead.
Why would a pornography marketer go after people that aren’t
looking for pornography? Because they can make more money by
constantly finding new targets and selling to them. Young
teenagers and kids are naturally curious, are developing
physically, and are more likely to be addicted to pornography
later in life if they are exposed to it while they’re young.
This is one of the largest industries online, and it continues
to grow rapidly. You don’t have to throw out your computer to
keep your home safe from Internet filth. But you do need to
follow a few precautions.
1. Keep your email safe. Many email services filter out emails
you don’t want before you see them- check in with whatever you
use now to see if they offer this. Another way to keep your
email safe is to use two addresses, one for family and friends
and one for everyone else. Guard your private email address
closely. Use your public email address everywhere else. If it
starts to get a lot of unwanted emails, stop using it and make a
new one.
