By Kathy Adams The Virginian-Pilot November 16, 2013
VIRGINIA BEACH
Haid'z Hefner said she tries to monitor her 8-year-old daughter's activities online, but keeping tabs can be difficult, especially when she works nights.
Now she's got something to help her: ComputerCOP, a free computer-monitoring software the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office is offering parents as part of its online safety education program. The office launched the initiative Friday night at New Castle Elementary School.
"This is very interesting," Hefner said, holding her daughter's hand as she picked up a copy of the software. "My husband will like it. She's growing up... and I can't be there 24 hours a day."
ComputerCOP can show parents what photos their children have downloaded, what sites they've visited and who they've been talking to. It can alert parents when certain keywords such as "drugs" or "gang" are used.
The ComputerCOP disc includes safety tips, a link to the state's sex offender registry and Internet safety pledges parents can ask their children to sign. There's also a free 30-day trial of a cellphone-monitoring program, available for $10 a month.
The hope is to arm parents with the tools to protect their kids from online predators and cyberbullies and to teach them how to behave safely and appropriately online, Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Colin Stolle said. The initiative is in response to cases in which youths have either gotten into trouble for their online activity or been victimized as a result of it, he said.
"In the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, we see Internet charges on a regular basis," he told about 300 parents, teachers and students Friday. "As a parent, it's something that terrifies me."
This year, a 15-year-old Virginia Beach girl tried to kill herself after nude photos she had sent to an 18-year-old boy ended up on her Facebook wall. Last month, a 14-year-old York County girl reported being raped by a 20-year-old Virginia Beach man she met through a chat app called KIK, according to the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office. He had told her he was 16, and she agreed to meet him for a walk, the office said.
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Software helps parents police children's online activity