Protect Your Child on the Internet: A Parent's Toolkit    by John Lenardon Order:  USA  Can Self-Counsel Press, 2008 (2008) Softcover Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Hilary Williamson John Lenardon, author of Protect Your Child on the Internet, is the president of a company specializing in computer crime investigations and training. In his Introduction to Protect Your Child on the Internet: A Parent's Toolkit, he talks about both the Internet's value and its hazards, and offers his book as an aid to making 'the Internet a safe and educational place for your children'. The book begins with Understanding the Internet, summarizing its history, its components and services, access to it, search engines, control and legalities, and negative experiences a child might face while interacting with it. Then Threats Online are presented, including website hazards (from keyword fraud to online pornography); blogging risks (two out of three teens share detailed personal information); instant messaging and chat room dangers (one in five youths are sexually solicited online); game website issues; Trojan risks in web camera usage; cyberbullying (where the child is either victim or perpetrator); legal and ethical problems of hacking; phishing and identity theft; file downloading; and newsgroup dangers. Most parents will find all of this overwhelming, but Lenardon moves on to offer very specific suggestions on what can be done. A section on Communication, Education, and Observation includes a handy Net Quiz, and recommends that parents Trust but Verify - by following traces in web browsers, instant messengers, etc.. Lenardon also explains how to find out if your child is hacking, and suggests actions to take if parental investigation uncovers problems in any risk area. He goes on to talk about means of Prevention and Protection, covering pros and cons of solutions like site monitoring and blocking or keylogging. Other topics include how to assess chat room rules, detect cyberbullying, and control downloading. John Lenardon suggest ways to show children how to exploit rich Internet resources while protecting themselves from its dangers. Appendices offer a sample Internet usage agreement, a guide and checklist to acquiring monitoring or blocking software, and a long list of chat room abbreviations. There's also a CD (for a Windows-based PC) with Checklists, Forms and Resource Lists. Protect Your Child on the Internet is a useful and informative resource, that's readily accessible even to those without much computer savvy. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more NonFiction books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews