Watch your kids online

By Naomi Kim
TORONTO (Reuters Life!) - Filters, round-the-clock monitoring and even fingerprint log-in won't stop determined adults from accessing children's Internet sites, and it's up to parents to monitor what their kids do online, according to Toronto police's world-famous sex crimes unit.
"They're steps in the right direction, but I think a great system can still be beat," said Detective Sgt. Kimberly Scanlan, who heads the child exploitation section of the unit.
"I like safety features but I just know the minds of sexual predators and they're so well-versed. They spend so much time on the computer and they'll study the new technology and they'll always just find a way around it. It's not foolproof."
Social networking sites billing themselves as secure for kids as young as six, include virtual worlds such as Club Penguin (http://www.clubpenguin.com/), which promises kid-friendly chat in a "moderated environment".
Club Penguin, which has reached Facebook status among the preteen set, has conversation filters that include a block on inappropriate language as well as the "ultimate safe chat" setting where only predefined phrases can be used.
Anne's Diary, inspired by the main character from the L.M. Montgomery "Anne of Green Gables" books, uses a fingerprint authentication reader and says it sets "new standards in online safety".
But Scanlan said technology alone is not enough.
"Parents still have to remain vigilant and they have to give (children) the tools and remain in communication with them... You have to always be talking with them. It's not a one-time conversation about Internet safety," she said
"And it's about giving the children the tools to keep them safe ... they need strong self-esteem, they need to know that they're cared for and loved, they need to know that someone's interested in what they're doing."
Scanlan said that even straightforward filters can also be suspect if parents fail to use them, or children find a way around them.
The Sex Crimes Unit of the Toronto Police Service has been recognized globally for its work.
In 2005, the unit's child exploitation branch made headlines when it digitally removed the image of a young victim from a sexually exploitative photograph on the Internet.
It then released the photo in a public appeal for tips on the girl's whereabouts. The location of the photograph was determined, and the girl and her abuser, her adoptive father, were later identified.
"We'd never say we're 100 percent safe, but we're a lot safer than anything that's out there right now," said Emily Want, chief executive of Logica Holdings' Anne's World, the company behind the Anne's Diary site.
"Parents definitely have to be involved. They can't be standing over their kid's shoulder the whole time, but they should have a good idea of what sites they're on."