[OLPC Security] A mom's worries

[bootslack]

The question with security is always "safer than" it is not "safe."

I worked for Seattle School District for 3 years at two different
locations supporting about 600 Windows and Mac machines. I run Linux at
home.

While it is true that no system is completely safe, my home installation
of Linux has never had a virus or a worm. I practice unsafe browsing,
because security is something I am interested in -- and I haven't gotten
infected.

Out of the box, your XO is going to be "safer than" your PC -- even with
all of it's firewall and virus protection. If you would not allow you
children to have access to a PC, then I would not advocate giving them
access to an XO. If you feel reasonably safe with a PC, then you should
feel reasonably safe with the XO.

In the course of the time that I worked at the School District, we had 3
"luring, molestation or abuse" events. None of them were by computer.
Children are at greater risk in the bricks and mortar world than online.
They are "safer than" when they are in their room with a computer, but
they are not "safe" either there or in a mall.

The only thing you can do to keep your children safe is to explain to
them what kind of threats they might run into, not to give their address
etc. over the internet, the fact that a person can say they are someone
online and actually be someone else.

In terms of the high profile cases, the breach is never a virus -- it is
the trust relationship between the child and unsafe media (such as a
social networking site where they post details about their lives that
should remain private) or the trust relationship between the child and
someone who addresses them in a stalking or soliciting experience.

As a final note, content filtering doesn't work. Look at China -- they
spend more on content filtering than anyone. We spent a great deal of
time and money on content filtering mechanisms. Anyone who wants to can
go to the library or an internet cafe and google "content filter
circumvention" -- they then print off suggestions and pass them around
the school. Your children are going to see things on the internet that
you don't want them to see, and there is nothing that anyone can do to
prevent that.

The question is not one of how we should supervise our children, but
what we should teach them. And the rules of online safety are pretty
much the same rules you should follow for personal safety.

James D. Newman

-- 
Relax,
the box measures
the cat.