Kids inevitably grow up to become adults. If adults are ill equipped to use the Internet safely, we’re going to suffer big-time in the world economy. Debate about who should be funding Internet safety education (hardware manufacturers, Congress, schools, the FBI, service providers) goes on and on. Some of the most aggressive education efforts of late have come from the two biggest publishers of anti-virus software: McAfee and Symantec. As it turns out, these crime-fighting companies know a lot about what can go wrong on the web and how to reduce the problems.Symantec recently previewed some new child-protection tools that they’ll be releasing this fall, and it has its own Internet Safety Advocate, Marian Merritt, providing well-reasoned advice for parents and kids.

McAfee just introduced a 10-step Internet Safety Plan eBook designed specifically for kids, tweens, teens, and “newbies.” The book, which is available for free at the McAfee.com Advice Center, offers guidelines and common sense tips that kids, parents, and newcomers to the web life might not normally think about.

While Internet predators are certainly still a threat, there’s a growing attitude that if kids learn to protect themselves in dealing with life’s other Internet challenges–phishing, spam, unwanted email, spyware, pop-ups, and the perils of peer-to-peer networking–they’re probably less likely to encounter predatory behavior.

Just a read through the site is illuminating:

On Typosquatting: By 2007, there were 8,000 URLs with the word “iphone” included. The idea (called typosquatting) is to mislead people looking for a website about iPhones to a site that is meant to drive people to click on a variety of wrong URLs, some of them scams and spams. And that’s just using the word spelled correctly. There are many instances of misspellings of popular words used to get people to click on sites they didn’t mean to visit.

On New Threats: In 2008, McAfee found that the top 10 threats will change. Adware will be less of a problem. Phishing attacks won’t work as well on the big sites like eBay because they’ve become better at protecting themselves, but smaller sites without defensive strategies may become the new victims. New programs that work on IM and VOiP services will become an increasing problem.

On Shopping Online: A reputable business will never ask for your credit card or other personal information in an email, so don’t respond if you get email that requests personal information. Companies that publish a phone number and a street address give you an indication that the site is bona fide. If you have doubts about a site you’re ready to shop at, go away from the computer, pick up the phone, and call them to verify.

How much do you know? You might want to start out by taking McAfee’s quiz. There’s a relatively straightforward quiz for kids and a much more difficult one for teens. Here are a few sample questions:

For younger kids:

1. When someone asks for personal information like phone numbers or addresses online, you should:

a) Give the information to anyone who asks because it’s the polite thing to do.ncorrect

b) Post the information on any public website like MySpace so anyone can find it. Incorrect

c) Never give out personal information online in emails or instant messages because you never know who you are really communicating with. Correct

2. When you are filling out forms or surveys online, you should:

a) Answer all the questions truthfully. Incorrect

b) Before you answer any questions, you should get your parents’ approval. Correct

c) Make up funny answers to all the questions.

Answer: c.

Answers: c, b

For teens: The questions become a little more nuanced with a look at the more complicated areas of the Internet.

1. Watching movies on streaming video sites like YouTube or Metacafe are safer than downloading movies from file sharing sites–you can’t get a virus or spyware from a streaming video.

True Correct

False Incorrect

2. I know you’re not supposed to meet in person with someone you meet in a chat room, but it’s also risky just to chat online with them.

True Correct

False Incorrect

3. Bit torrent library sites like thepiratebay.org or p2p file sharing programs like LimeWire might not be legal, but at least they’re safe. They won’t allow files with computer viruses or spyware.

True

False

Answers: True, True, False

Answer: True. Downloadable video files can easily be combined with viruses and spyware. If you want to watch a video, stream it, buy it or rent it.

Answer: True. While agreeing to meet chat room strangers is very dangerous, just chatting can be risky as well. You can reveal personal information about yourself that can be used against you. And you expose yourself to potential predators who are experts at psychological manipulation.

Incorrect