Kids Safety: Teaching Your Kids about Stranger Danger

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Crime Information Center estimates that roughly 2,000 children are reported missing every day. Luckily, the vast majority of missing children are found and their cases are resolved within hours; of those who aren’t immediately found, up to 49% are later found to have been abducted by a non-custodial parent or relative. 27% are kidnapped by an acquaintance, leaving only 24% at the hands of complete strangers. While the term “Stranger Danger” has a catchy ring to it, it’s actually a bit misleading because less than ¼ of all abducted children are taken by a stranger. This makes it extremely important to teach children about more than just stranger avoidance.

• Most People Are Strangers – Realistically, the majority of the people that your child encounters throughout the course of his day are strangers. Instilling a fear of all strangers will only cause him to regard anyone he doesn’t know with fear, which could make it difficult for him to approach a stranger for help if he’s in need.
• Avoid Absolutes – Saying things like “all strangers are bad,” or “never talk to anyone you don’t know, ever” only make it difficult for your child to navigate social encounters and unravel the mysteries of the world around him.
• “Good” Strangers – Pointing out that kids can always turn to people in police or firefighters’ uniforms, teachers and other official authority figures can help him to understand the difference between strangers that wish him harm and those that can offer him assistance when he needs it.
• No Gifts, Treats or Surprises – Let your child know that he shouldn’t accept any treats, presents or surprises from anyone that tells him that those gifts should be kept a secret. Making a policy of not accepting gifts from people he doesn’t know well is a wise idea.
• Talk About “Tricky” People – Because most kids are abducted or sexually abused by people that they know it’s much more important for kids to learn about “tricky” people than “stranger danger.” A tricky person is anyone who asks him to keep a secret from his parents, to lie about where he’s been, or to go somewhere with them without talking to a parent first.
• The Rules Apply to Big Kids, Too – Make sure that your child knows not to go anywhere with a tricky person, even if that person is an older kid. It’s easy for children taught about Stranger Danger to view adults as scary and other kids as always safe, but this isn’t always the case.
• Encourage Kids to Ask Questions – In order to ensure that your child has a grasp of the concepts you’re teaching, have him ask you any questions that he wants. Let him know that he won’t be in any trouble, no matter what he asks. Your child needs to know that he can always trust you when he needs to talk about strangers, tricky people and trouble; presenting an opportunity to ask no-holds-barred questions on the subject can begin to build that trust.
• Be Honest – It’s important to answer your child’s questions with age-appropriate honesty. Try not to evade questions, tell white lies, or otherwise subvert the truth when it comes to this very serious issue. Keep in mind that his questions are only an indication that he’s listening to what he’s being told, and is trying his best to process it.
• Keep the Conversation Age-Appropriate – While it’s important to be honest and up-front with your child on the subject of abuse, Stranger Danger and abductions, you should also remember just how vivid your child’s imagination is. The child whose mind can turn a shadow on the wall into a lurking monster might not need all the gory details about a local abduction case.
• Maintain an Ongoing Dialogue – It’s important to teach small children how to safely and responsibly handle situations with strangers and tricky people, but it’s also just as important to continue the conversation as your child ages. When he’s older, the focus may shift more to avoiding online predators and exploitation, but the basic concept is still the same and shouldn’t be abandoned after the first discussion.

Striking a balance between instructing kids on responsible behavior and outright fear-mongering is a challenge, but it’s one that you must face as a parent. While it’s of vital importance to educate your children regarding the best way to avoid abduction or abuse, it’s also important not to create anxiety and overwhelming fear of all strangers in his mind.

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The Treasure Blog is praying for the hurricane victims...

How to move your domain name account

Domain name account transfer is the process of transferring the destination registrar of a domain name. The process of transferring differs among registrars. Domain transfer normally happens due to the price factor. But honestly speaking, this is a very creepy process. Before transferring you need to purchase a domain of your own.

You have to get the following things done to get the domain transfer in effect.

  1.First unlock your domain from the old registrar.

  2.Make the domain transfer confirmed from the old registrar.

  3.Finally confirm the domain transfer from the new registrar.

The above are the overall procedure of transferring a domain but the detailed steps are as follows:

Step#1:Purchase a domain transfer first.

Step#2: Unlock the domain and then receive “Authorization code” from the old registrar. This can be done through control panel & support service depending upon your registrar.

Step#3: The new registrar then sends an e-mail containing your ID, Code & a link to confirm your transfer.

Step#4: Then you have to confirm the transfer using your “ID Number” & “Key Code” after clicking on the given link. Sometimes the “authorized code” is also asked during confirmation.

Step#5: Then the new registrar notifies the old registrar to transfer the domain.

Step#6:Getting the request, the old registrar processes the request and then confirms the new registrar about the release of the requested domain & asks you confirm.

Step#7: Then you have to confirm your transfer of domain to the old registrar.

Step#8: Now after confirming from you the old registrar releases your domain to your new registrar.

Step#9: The new registrar now sends a “Transfer Successful” message to you confirming your domain transfer.

Step#10: Now you get your domain transferred to the new registrar and can use it with sign in. And the transfer process gets completed.

Twitter Hacking Victims Find Stolen Accounts Sold On Black Market

Eric Weaver tried logging in to his Twitter account this summer, but he was locked out. A hacker had broken into his account and changed the password. But it didn't end there.

With a little digging, Weaver found that his Twitter handle -- @weave -- was beingsold in an online forum at HackForums.net. With more digging, he also found that software was being sold online to automate the process of quickly hacking dozens of Twitter accounts.

"I was surprised this was all happening so openly," said Weaver, an advertising executive in Seattle. The hackers "are able to operate with seeming impunity."

Weaver's experience is not unique. Other Twitter hacking victims have also discovered that their accounts are for sale in online forums like ForumKorner.com and HackForums.net, where coveted one-word Twitter handles are sold in bulk for as little as $10.

This week, Twitter user Daniel Dennis Jones detailed in a Storify post how his Twitter account -- @blanket -- was hacked, stolen and put up for sale on the black market. Jones said he communicated with his hacker, who claimed to be a 14-year-old South Dakota teen who hacks and sells one-word Twitter accounts. Jones has since regained access to his account.

Experts say the underground market for Twitter accounts and the apparent ease with which they are stolen raises questions about security at the popular micro-blogging site. Most companies have built systems to prevent hackers from repeatedly guessing passwords, said Chester Wisniewski, a researcher at cybersecurity firm Sophos.

“Why is Twitter not doing that?” Wisniewski said. “This has been going on for a long time. It’s not going away and Twitter doesn’t seem to be doing anything about it.”

Twitter did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

In his post on Storify, Jones said the teenager who claimed to be his hacker told him that hackers could mask the IP address of their location by exploiting a loophole in Twitter security.

Such software -- known as a “Twitter cracker" -- can be easily purchased online.

"It's very well worth it,” one seller recently said on ForumKorner.com, which was not working at the time of publication. “With this you can upload more than 10,000 passwords and it automatically checks the login and if it doesn't work it moves on to the next one.”

Hackers also use the site to sell the stolen accounts, sometimes in bulk. Last week, a hacker who went by the name of Gumbo posted a list of more than 30 recently-stolen Twitter names for sale -- including handles like “gadgetry” and “compadre" -- on ForumKorner.com.

Another hacker claimed to have stolen the Twitter handle @Fend and vowed to“begin the bidding at $30.” Still another, who went by the screenname Spongebob, was selling “a 20-pack of 4 character Twitter handles for $10." Among the accounts for sale were @Nona, @Pina, @Zala and @Wexa.

Such short, one-word Twitter handles are in high demand. They are not only easy to remember, but they also give users a few extra characters to express themselves within the 140-character limit. Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that easy-to-recall Twitter handles like @adam or @megan have become "a stylish totem in the tech world."

In August, tech reporter Mat Honan revealed how his digital life was destroyed after hackers targeted him because of his short, unique Twitter handle -- @mat. Instead of trying to sell the account, they appeared to use @mat as a platform to broadcast racist and homophobic messages, Honan wrote.

Rob Bertholf, who owns the Twitter handle @rob, said his account has never been hacked. But he suspects hackers often try -- albeit unsuccessfully -- to break into his account because he receives weekly email notifications from Twitter notifying him that someone is trying to reset his password.

“No doubt in my mind that I have been targeted many times,” Bertholf told The Huffington Post.

Weaver, the Seattle advertising executive, said that after his account was stolen, he was able to trace his hacker’s identity to a 20-year-old Miami man. He said the hacker was also selling other accounts: @Bond, @Mock, @Four, @Strung, @545 and @Mind.

"Selling or accepting trades only," the hacker wrote under the screen name "Darent.""I will show proof to serious buyers."

Weaver said he contacted Twitter, but did not regain access to his account for three weeks -- and only after a friend called one of his contacts who worked at Twitter. During that time, his said the name linked to his account was changed to "Jaimi in Brooklyn."

He said that getting his account stolen was particularly embarrassing because he is an ad executive whose work revolves around social media.

"My Twitter followers are friends and business colleagues," he said. "They were confused by my sudden fascination with hair, nail and certain R&B acts."

Weaver said he has since strengthened his Twitter password by making it 15 characters long and more complex, but added that the person who he thinks hacked his Twitter account continues to operate openly online.

“ They're just bored kids,” he said. "They think they're invincible."

Flickr photo by shawncampbell.

Source-Huffingtonpost.com

Facebook Can ID Faces, but Using Them Grows Tricky

SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook on Friday confronted a new obstacle over what to do with one of its most vital assets — pictures.

The company promised European regulators that it would forgo using facial recognition software and delete the data used to identify Facebook users by their pictures.

The decision could have wide repercussions on how facial recognition technology — a particularly sensitive technological advance — is used globally as surveillance cameras are increasingly installed in public spaces.

“This is a big deal,” said Chris Hoofnagle, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley who specializes in online privacy.

“The development of these tools in the private sector directly affects civil liberties,” he explained. “The ultimate application is going to be — can we apply these patterns in video surveillance to automatically identify people for security purposes and maybe for marketing purposes as well?”

The agreement comes as Facebook is under pressure from Wall Street to profit from its vast trove of data, including pictures, and also from regulators worldwide over the use of personal information.

The decision in Europe applies to the “tag suggestion,” a Facebook feature that deploys a sophisticated facial recognition tool to automatically match pictures with names. When a Facebook user uploads a photo of friends, the “tag suggestion” feature can automatically pull up the names of the individuals in the image.

The facial recognition software was developed by an Israeli company, Face.com, which Facebook acquired for an undisclosed price in June.

The company quietly and temporarily pulled the plug on “tag suggestion” for all Facebook users several months ago. The company said on Friday it was to “make improvements to the tool’s efficiency” and did not say how soon it would be restored. However, the company promised European regulators on Friday that it would reinstate the feature on the Continent only after getting their approval.

Facebook declined to say under what circumstances the “tag suggestions” would be back online in the United States or elsewhere.

Facebook’s promise to the European regulators is part of an investigation into whether the company’s data collection practices comply with European privacy rules. It was made with regulators in Ireland, where the company has its European headquarters.

“We will continue to work together to ensure we remain compliant with European data protection law,” Facebook said in a statement.

Europe is an important market for the company, as it struggles to prove its worth on Wall Street. About one in four Facebook users logs in from Europe. According to the company’s earnings figures, Europe accounts for just under a third of its advertising revenue.

Pictures have always been vital to Facebook. Pictures are what drew users to Facebook in its earliest days, and pictures are what continue to keep people coming back. Facebook users upload 300 million images a day. The company’s acquisition of Instagram, the photo-sharing site, eliminated its biggest rival in this area.

Photo tagging is important for Facebook in the sense that it allows the social network to better analyze with whom its users interact in the real world.

In addition to scrutiny from European regulators, Facebook has also come under fire from consumer protection groups and lawmakers in the United States over its use of facial recognition technology. At a hearing on Capitol Hill last July, Senator Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, described Facebook as the “world’s largest privately held database of face prints — without the explicit consent of its users.”

On Friday, Mr. Franken said in an e-mail statement that he hoped Facebook would offer a way for American users to opt in to its photographic database.

“I believe that we have a fundamental right to privacy, and that means people should have the ability to choose whether or not they’ll be enrolled in a commercial facial recognition database,” he said. “I encourage Facebook to provide the same privacy protections to its American users as it does its foreign ones.”

The Electronic Privacy Information Center, an advocacy group in Washington, filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission over Facebook’s use of automatic tagging. The complaint is pending. The commission has a consent order with Facebook that subjects the company to audits over its privacy policies for the next 20 years.

Personal data is Facebook’s crown jewel, but how to use it artfully and profitably is arguably its biggest challenge. Facebook has access to a tremendous amount of information about its one billion users, including the photos they upload every day. Marketers have pushed for greater access to that data, so as to tailor the right message to the right customer. Consumers and lawmakers have resisted, to different degrees in different countries around the world.

“They are pushing the edges of what privacy rules may allow, just as an aggressive driver might with parking rules,” said Brian Wieser, an analyst with the Pivotal Research Group, a research firm in New York. “You don’t know you’ve broken a law until someone says you’ve broken a law.”

Several independent application developers are experimenting with how to use facial recognition technology in the real world, and have sought to use pictures on Facebook to build products of their own.

For example, one company in Atlanta is developing an application to allow Facebook users to be identified by cameras installed in stores and restaurants. The company, Redpepper, said in a blog post that users would have to authorize the application to pull their most recent tagged photographs. The company said its “custom-developed cameras then simply use this existing data to identify you in the real world,” including by offering special discounts and deals.

By SOMINI SENGUPTA and KEVIN J. O’BRIEN

Source:NYTimes