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                                                The Davis Enterprise

Estimated printed pages: 9

November 6, 2005

                                          Are your kids safe on the internet?
                                                    Lauren Keene

                                                  Enterprise staff writer

Thirteen-year-old Britney logs on to her family's computer one evening, looking forward to an hour or so of meeting
new friends in an Internet chatroom.
Shortly after entering the room, a separate window pops up on Britney's computer screen, signaling that another
Internet user is interested in a private chat.

"ASL," this person writes, meaning that he wants to know Britney's age, sex and location.

Britney replies that she's 13, a girl, who lives in Northern California.

"Are you single?" the other person replies.

"Yes," Britney answers. The exchange continues, and it's not long before the other side of the conversation becomes
sexual in nature.

"What are you wearing?"

Then: "Are you a virgin? How far have you gone?"

The person posing these questions might have been surprised to learn that "Britney" is actually Brent Buehring, a
Davis police detective assigned to the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force, a division of the Sacramento
County Sheriff's Department.

The task force investigates a variety of computer-related crimes, but counts two — identity theft and child
pornography — among the most frequently reported.

"What gets us involved is when the person tries to get 'Britney' to come to him, when they start talking about having
sex and arranging to meet," Buehring said of cases that stem from online chats. "Up until then, it's just free speech."

Buehring and his partner, Det. Rich Gilleland, recently presented chatroom exchanges like "Britney's" to roomfuls of
parents eager to learn how to protect their children when it comes to using the Internet.

"Cyber-Safe Kids: A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety" has been a popular class, drawing between 30 and 80 people
per appearance. Two more are planned later this month.

The classes, which are geared toward parents of pre-teen and junior-high age students, provide an overview of how
computers work, the dangers of Internet predators and tips for encouraging children to use the Internet safely.

The detectives said parents should talk with their children about computers as they would any other potential risk,
such as drugs, alcohol, and drinking and driving.

"Our job is to help our kids and make them more aware, because no amount of software you buy is going to stop them

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from going someplace else and accessing the Internet freely," said Davis parent Jim Derby, who attended the class in
July.

A useful tool

There is no question that the Internet provides a wealth of valuable information that once required a trip — or several
— to the local library.

By going online, children can get help with their homework and other school projects, explore areas of interest and
meet other people from around the world. Written information, pictures, videos and sound clips are readily accessible
with just a few computer keystrokes.

But how do you know that person you're instant-messaging or trading photos with is who he or she says they are?
Oftentimes, you don't, Buehring said.

He cited a recent case in which a 16-year-old girl went to meet what she thought was a fellow teen she had met on
Myspace.com — a popular online message board and meeting place for teens and young adults — only to discover he
was actually a 47-year-old man. Last year, Kentucky authorities arrested a man, 46, who had raped a 12-year-old girl
he'd first met online.

And Davis, despite its reputation for safety, is not immune from Internet-related crimes.

In 2000, a local psychiatrist was arrested after flying to Southern California to meet what he believed was a 13-year-
old girl he had met online. He later discovered, to his dismay, that she was actually 24-year-old investigative reporter
who had posted a bogus profile on America Online. The psychiatrist, age 61 at the time, later served three years of
probation, during which he was required to register as a sex offender.

There are several reasons why the Internet is so popular among sexual predators, Buehring said.

It's relatively private, he said, allowing people to store and trade images of pornography with only a small risk of
detection by authorities. It also provides instant gratification, giving offenders access to millions of images in just a
few seconds' time.

On the flip side, potential victims may think they have anonymity when they use the computer, which Buehring said
is not always the case.

"People think they're anonymous — they're not," he said. "There are ways of tracking them down."

They may not realize it, but some Web users make it easy by listing information such as their addresses, phone
numbers, school names and other personal information for anyone to see.

Derby, the Davis father of three, said one online profile displayed at the July "CyberSafe Kids" class showed not only
the young girl's photo, but also her complete class and soccer schedules. Detectives said a predator was able to use
that information to find out where the girl lived.

"They're just out there, waiting for them. It's frightening," he said.

Taking charge

At the Malinoff home in South Davis, the family computer is set up on the main floor of the house, where other
family members might wander in to watch TV or play video games.



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Here, everyone knows everybody else's screen names and passwords, said Liz Malinoff, a mother of three boys ages
10, 16 and 19. Discussions have taken place about which Web sites are OK to visit, and which ones are not.

"They know so much more about this than I do," Malinoff said one recent afternoon as her middle son, Scott, checked
out a fantasy football Web site with several of his friends.

When the older Malinoff boys began using the Internet, Liz and her husband Doug made use of parental controls,
which prevented their sons from accessing off-limits Web sites. While they still use them when 10-year-old Jeff logs
on, they've relaxed them somewhat for Scott.

"It's just kind of a trust thing now," Liz Malinoff said. "He's never trying to hide it, and he's kind of at an age where
he wouldn't just go meet somebody."

Although text-messaging has replaced e-mail as his preferred way to communicate with his friends, Scott still logs on
to the computer every few days to check sports scores and visitors to his profile page on Myspace.com.

He said he periodically gets messages from other visitors to the Web site, indicating that they'd like to "be your
friend." If Scott does not know the person, or if they do not have an acquaintance in common, he deletes the
solicitation, he said.

"If he's denying access to some of these people, it makes me feel much better," Liz Malinoff said.

Buehring, the Davis police detective, said more parents should be like the Malinoffs when it comes to monitoring
their children's computer use.

But in reality, 20 percent of parents don't monitor their children's Internet use at all, while 71 percent stop monitoring
it once their child reaches the age of 14, the detective said. While that might seem like a reasonable age, Buehring
pointed out that 72 percent of Internet-related missing children are age 15 or older.

He advises parents to talk candidly with their children regarding the Internet's dangers. Tell them you have the right to
monitor their computer usage, and that you plan to do so randomly. Also stress that the rules you set are to protect
them, not control them.

Set up screen names and e-mail addresses that do no reveal any personal information, Buehring recommends. Don't
allow children to have multiple e-mail accounts or any that you're not aware of, and insist that they provide you with
their passwords.

If your child is allowed in chat rooms, limit or prohibit private chats, Buehring said. Never send or download photos
to or from strangers or put personal information on a profile.

Parents also should be on the lookout for warning signs that their children might be using the computer in
inappropriate ways. Do they quickly change windows or turn the computer off when you walk in the room? Are they
secretive about their online activities, accounts and screen names? Has their schoolwork or other activities suffered
because of their computer use?

"It's not some sort of electronic, risk-free baby sitter," Buehring said of the Internet. "If you have no boundaries,
they're going to be getting into all sorts of stuff."

Yes on Measure X

John Doughty, Davis:

Passage of Measure X will set a benchmark against which future development in Davis can be evaluated and, in fact,


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