IMSafer Now MySpace Compatible

MySpace, the world's most popular social networking site, and an online predator's dream come true has been actively discussed since the very beginning in respect to the measures News Corp's property takes to prevent child abuse through the site. Let's face the facts, of course underaged kids will confirm they're over 18/21 in order to use the site, and of course online predators will continue finding ways to socially engineer a online contact with the ultimate idea to meet in the physical world. Why? Because children provide way too much sensitive information in order to virtually socialize and meet new buddies, thus indirectly helping pedophiles pinpoint key "contact points" in the future. If you as a parent start paranoia-ing around, you'll end up with the wrong conclusion that the risks are not worth the benefits, totally forgetting that forbidden fruits taste much better and it's children we're talking about -- they break the established rules in principle. No matter the registration procedures in place, you cannot stop an online predator registering and communicating with children at the site, what you can do however is educating your children, and emphasizing on filtering not spying activities in order to protect them.

The team behind IMSafer, a service which I covered in a previous post, have realized the potential benefits of introducting a MySpace compatibility, and so it recently became a reality :

"IMSafer's updated language-analysis engine can scan individual MySpace postings for potentially dangerous, threatening or sexually explicit content, the company said. Users can download the tool from the company's Web site, said Brandon Watson, CEO and founder of the company. Traditional parental control software generally can filter and block Web sites but can't identify possible dangerous interactions on increasingly popular social networking sites such as MySpace, he said. While most sexual solicitations of children still come through instant messaging software, online predators are increasingly using MySpace to initiate contact with potential victims, Watson added."

Don't forget the bottom line, if you're in a fragile relationship with your kids, pretty much anyone online could take advantage of their vulnerable condition. The irony goes that people you've never met will show more respect to you than the people you actually fight to get respect from. From a children's perspective that's you parents! Here are several more articles worth going through, especially this post-event response to what's an internal problem to me.