Right-click here to the Parent`s Guide to

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By
Mark Hasting and Ed Osworth
Copyright 2006. All Rights Reserved
The name MySpace.com and the phrase MySpace are registered copyrights of MySpace.com.
In this report, the copyright of screenshots and images belongs to MySpace.com and their advertisers. Its use is
contended to be consistent with fair use rules under United States copyright law.
The authors of this report, and the domain "ParentsGuideToMyspace.com" are not affiliated with MySpace.com in any
way.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: ARE YOUR KIDS PASSING OUT KEYS TO YOUR HOME – TO
STRANGERS? .....................................................................................................3
CHAPTER 2: MORE DETAILS ON MYSPACE.COM .........................................7
CHAPTER 3: LET'S GET STARTED AND ELIMINATE THE PROBLEM ONCE
AND FOR ALL......................................................................................................8
CHAPTER 4: HOW TO FIND YOUR CHILD’S WEBSITE ON MYSPACE.COM
............................................................................................................................10
CHAPTER 5: ADVANCED WAYS TO SEARCH FOR YOUR CHILD ON
MYSPACE.COM.................................................................................................12
CHAPTER 6: CREATING YOUR OWN PROFILE TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK
............................................................................................................................15
CHAPTER 7: EVALUATING YOUR CHILD'S BIO PAGE FOR DANGEROUS
INFORMATION...................................................................................................16
CHAPTER 8: WHAT ELSE IS IN MYSPACE.COM? ........................................19
CHAPTER 9: HOW TO REMOVE OR HIDE PERSONAL INFORMATION ON
MYSPACE ..........................................................................................................22
CHAPTER 10: ADVANCED WAYS TO HIDE MYSPACE INFORMATION ......25
CHAPTER 11: RESTRICTING ACCESS TO MYSPACE.COM ........................27
CHAPTER 12: USING FILTERING SOFTWARE..............................................29
CHAPTER 13: ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS COMMONLY USED ON
MYSPACE.COM AND INSTANT MESSAGING.................................................31
GUIDELINES FOR PARENTS ...........................................................................34
GUIDELINES FOR TEENS AND YOUNG ADULTS ..........................................35
REFERENCES ..................................................................................................37
Parent’s Guide To MySpace.com
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Chapter 1: Are Your Kids Passing Out Keys To Your Home – to Strangers?
As implausible as this may sound, it possibly could happen through their membership in a special
internet site spreading like a wildfire. Its name is MySpace.com, currently with over 80 million
members, growing steadily, and with copycat sites popping up as well. You need to know
everything about it – what to do about it – and right now!
What is The Attraction of This Phenomena?
MySpace.com is showing up in the news almost daily now. Starting off as a social meeting place
for young adults to meet independent bands, it has mushroomed into an irresistible, free
membership site where kids can easily meet new people, chat with friends, exchange gossip,
pictures and more, in their personal blog (online journal). Since it’s totally a young folks “hang
out”, many feel okay about not letting their parents know anything about it (they can express all
kinds of thoughts online) – and to add to the problems that can develop, kids may claim they are
any age, although they are supposed to be 14 or older to join, there are lots of younger children
on it too. Odds are that your children are already members or contemplating the exciting
experience since everyone else is doing it.
The Big Danger! – How Easily Members and Families Can Be Located and
Contacted
Although MySpace does their best to monitor 80+ million sites and remove inappropriate material,
it’s easy to browse bios and find risqué pictures, comments, and personal information on local
teens or anyone else who has created a page.
MySpace is very easy to search. The browse function allows anyone – even non members – to
locate all males, females or anyone in a zip code. You can even limit the search by age, school
attended, and much more!
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Perfect for Predators
MySpace.com is a perfect site for sexual predators and pedophiles to browse and locate their
next target.
Not only do they usually get zip code and school info, but in most cases they get a photo of the
member! As if that isn't scary enough, they also get in many cases a detailed profile of your
child's tastes, likes, dislikes, hopes, dreams, fantasies and fears.
MySpace.com uses a lengthy questionnaire to create a very detailed profile, with enough
questions to reveal volumes of personal tastes and preferences of anyone.
Your children may have posted not only their photos and location, but even
their inner secrets online!
The photos, detailed profiles and blogs makes MySpace.com like a candy store for sexual
predators to scan and search.
Don't blame the kids! They simply follow along with the way the site leads them, through the
registration process, and soon there is more personal info than should be up for safety.
You may be saying... “I would know if MY kids are on MySpace.com. I know
more about computers then they do.”
Think so? Our experience in tech support has shown the opposite to be true. It's a tech support
truism that many times the easiest way to solve the customer's problem is to get their kid on the
phone.
Let's face it, if you are like most parents, you are WAY out gunned in this technology and Internet
game. Young adults LIVE online. They can create dozens of email addresses and create multiple
identities online. If they can't access MySpace from their home - they have lots of friends who will
gladly loan them their computer. MySpace.com profiles are very personal, it may be the last thing
they want their parents to see.
This is why this report is so valuable to you. We will show you in simple layman's terms how to
know if your kids are on MySpace.com, how to locate and see their sites, and how to protect
them.
Why don't I just block access to MySpace.com from our computers. That
will solve the problem – right?
In a word – No! To be able to block MySpace.com from all your computers is possible, but there
are several backdoors that kids know about and use regularly to get around the blocks. They
know how to get to MySpace.com without even typing the name myspace into a browser. There
are ways to do this, and kids show each other the tricks of the trade.
To be able to effectively block MySpace.com can be done, but it would take an expert in hacking
and viruses to tell you accurately what tools can really block MySpace.com from a determined
kid. Mark Hasting (one of the authors of this report) is a world renowned expert in viruses and
computers. He runs and creates all the virus solutions at PCHell.com where over 10,000 people
daily go to benefit from his detailed solutions to their computer problems.
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Is MySpace.com Really All That Bad?
Rather than judge MySpace.com now as either bad or good, it is best to simply accept the fact
that it exists and you need to deal with it.
There are some very good things about MySpace. It allows kids to communicate with their peers.
Maybe even more importantly, it allows them a creative outlet. They can show off their art, their
writing. It is a creative outlet that many schools don't really give them.
Since they are in complete control of their space, they have total creative control of an illustrated
publication and recognition from their peers. For many kids, it is the very first time they have
experienced this sort of recognition of their talents.
So I guarantee, if you go to war with your kids over MySpace.com – you will most likely lose.
Which is why we show you how to talk to your kids intelligently about MySpace or other similar
sites and explain the dangers to them. Kids don't want to put themselves in jeopardy. Most don't
realize that some of the stuff they put up on MySpace can be used to locate them and hurt them
or loved ones.
The MySpace Questions Your Kids Should NEVER Answer.
We don't just give you vague generalities about how the kids can protect their identities on
MySpace.com. We give you the nitty gritty details. You will know the exact questions MySpace
asks that your kids should never answer. If they have already, we will show you exactly how they
can go into MySpace and delete their answers.
As paid online researchers we know how seemingly innocuous questions can lead directly to a
person's identity. One girl recently stalked on MySpace, simply mentioned where she worked.
This, and a facial photo, were all the stalker needed.
We Will Show You How Your Kids Can Use These Sites Safely
There are ways to use MySpace.com and remain safe and private. However, if your children
answer the questions the way they are laid out when they join, and most do - they reveal too
much about themselves for safety.
We will show you exactly how MySpace.com works, what questions your kids are asked, what
type of social groups exist on MySpace.com and point out the things that will compromise your
kids safety.
We explain in detail exactly what questions they can safely answer and which they should avoid
like the plague. In effect, we show everyone how to use the good parts of MySpace AND protect
themselves and their privacy.
How Will This Report Help Me Protect my Children?
First, you will be able to search for your children on MySpace.com. We will show you easily and
exactly how you can locate your children's profiles. Kids are very clever. We show you many
different ways to locate their profile. You will know how to find their site even if they are using a
phony name or an email address you don’t know about.
If your kids already are on MySpace.com we show you exactly how they can remove
compromising information and what information they should remove.
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If you decide that you don't want your children on MySpace, we will show you insider tricks and
programs that can make it impossible for your kids to even reach MySpace from any of the
computers you have, no matter how hard they try. We will tell you the pros and cons of that
approach.
How Do I Know This Information is Current and Up to Date?
This is a very good question. Most available information of this type is out of date. Everything on
the Internet changes so fast that only the most current information is of any real value.
This report was created in May 2006, so it is by far the most up to date report on this subject.
Even better, we will give you the URL to a special page for buyers. This page will contain any
updated information, such as newly released programs and methods of blocking MySpace from
your computers.
Bulletin: May 5, 2006 MySpace announces MySpace Mobile. Now your kids can
read and reply to mail, post bulletins and send pictures from their cell phones to their MySpace
account.
Bottom line, now your children don't even need a computer to access MySpace! You need
weapons to fight back! – More Knowledge Will Provide Help.
About the Authors
Mark Hasting and Ed Osworth have over 50 years combined computer experience and 22+ years
of internet experience. We are both well known web experts. Mark has 9 years of customer
support services for a major internet service provider. We are both paid researchers in our fields,
and we can find anything, anywhere about the workings of the internet. We put our heads
together to come up with the easiest, most detailed, step-by-step instructions that any parent can
use to locate their children's profiles - even if the child has taken extensive steps to hide their
activity from their parents.
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CHAPTER 2: More Details on MySpace.com
MySpace.com is a social networking site on the Internet that has become a favorite of teens and
young adults. It allows any user to easily publish on the web their own pictures, homepages,
biographies, likes, dislikes, favorite bands and movies, and all sorts of other personal information
for anyone to see.
MySpace allows a user to create a network of friends to chat with, exchange messages, pictures,
listen to their favorite music and more. MySpace requires users to be at least 14 years old,
however many teens will lie about their age to create a profile.
How popular is MySpace.com you ask? According to Alexa.com, as of April 2006, it’s the 5th
most visited site on the Internet. That’s one behind Ebay.com, and ahead of such powerhouses
as CNN, ESPN, and AOL. Currently there are over 80 million members on MySpace.com and
counting. When we started this report, the number of members was below 70 million, in 30 days
the number of members has increased by 10 million.
Consider that the US population (according to the CIA fact book) is 298,444,215. That means that
that nearly 25% of the population is a MySpace member. That number is our entire population,
not just young folks. Since MOST MySpace members are young adults and teens, you can see
how likely it is that your children will be “users” of MySpace.com
Why is it So Popular?
On one hand it is a “social phenomena” like iPods and Sony Playstations. No one knows exactly
why some things hit young adults as “must have” things, but it happens all the time. Once it
happens, word of mouth spreads and millions upon millions of people follow the flock to the next
great thing. For better or worse, myspace.com is one of those things.
On the other hand it is popular because it’s an easy site to meet new people and hang out with
friends in a virtual world.
Isn't it Monitored?
Yes it is, but let's get real here. We are talking 80 million members who can and do change the
photos, text, and designs of their pages on a daily basis. There is no way humanly or technically
possible to effectively monitor what is happening on 80 million web sites at all times.
To be fair to MySpace.com, they expend a ton of energy on monitoring the site. MySpace uses
a majority of their resources to monitor the site and remove inappropriate material, but there is
simply only so much they can do.
The 3 Huge Dangers of MySpace
The first big danger comes from the fact that young adults are usually not aware of the
consequences of posting seemingly innocuous information about themselves to the entire world.
Much of that personal information comes from simply answering the questionnaire that MySpace
provides to them.
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The second danger is that anyone who has an email address can join for free. The only thing that
is required to join MySpace is an email address. Anyone can get dozens of email addresses and
create as many profiles as they like. This makes it a “fishing expedition” where someone can use
several different types of “bait” . They can easily and cheaply create different identities using
sexes and ages to snare kids into starting conversations with them and opening up to them.
The third danger is the scariest. What pedophiles do before they have sex with a victim is called
“grooming” and it involves connecting with a child in a very personal way. MySpace pages give
them a huge head start in this process. Each page is truly a snapshot into a child's personality
and life. It includes each child's slang, profanity, and gossip.
Put these 3 dangers together and here is the ugly truth. Sexual predators and pedophiles can
create a fake profile, browse for and interact with their victims and ultimately meet potential
victims.
Unfortunately recent news stories have confirmed how real these dangers are.
How MySpace is Dealing with these Dangers
MySpace.com has started to run public service ads trying to educate users about personal
privacy and teaching them how to be safe online. They have also hired new corporate personnel
to monitor the site more closely.
Ultimately however, its up to parents to understand the technology behind MySpace and be able
to help their children avoid the dangers of cyberspace. The same privacy issues that apply on
MySpace apply everywhere online.
BOTTOM LINE - It is up to you.
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Chapter 3: Let's get Started and Eliminate the Problem Once and For All
The first thing you should do is find out for yourself whether or not your children are users of
MySpace.com. We will show you exactly how to do it.
Our suggestion is that the best way to know something is to do it yourself. So if you locate your
child's profile on MySpace, why not join MySpace.com yourself?
It may sound crazy, but it will show you the most detail about the sign up process. Plus you may
have to join to see all of your child's site. To see ALL of the photos a user has posted on
MySpace.com you must be a user. You can see the basic front page your child has posted as a
visitor but to see “additional photos” etc, you must be a member.
Don't fret! You don't have to post anything personal at all. You can put up a site and use pictures
of your dog or cat or no pictures at all.
Preparing Yourself
Before you search out your child's site remember the immortal words of “Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy” - DON'T PANIC. Prepare yourself for the possibility that what you see may not agree with
what you believe your child's personal life and preferences are. Don't forget you were a rebellious
teen once yourself. Think of all the feelings you hid from your mom and dad, but not your friends.
Now realize that this is your kids “secret hideout” from you, so to speak.
This is the time for understanding – not anger. Your children are expressing themselves to their
peers and peer pressure is even more intense these days than when we were young. They will
most likely have things on the site that may shock you. It is to be expected. If they don't – you are
one very lucky and blessed parent.
Calmly go over what is there. Rather than focus on “immorality and bad language”, it is best to
concentrate on things that compromise their privacy.
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If you can keep your discussions around the privacy issues the kids will understand you care,
especially if you overlook other things they thought you would get upset about. Explain to them
that your biggest concern is their safety.
If you get upset, yell and scream and criticize their opinions and artistic expression they will most
likely be unresponsive to the privacy concerns (or anything else you say on the subject for that
matter).
This is called “shooting yourself in the foot” and being a parent gives us unlimited opportunities to
do it.
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Chapter 4: How to Find Your Child’s Website on MySpace.com
Does your child have a page on MySpace? If so, do you know what it contains, what pictures and
comments are there, and what information your child is putting on the Internet for anyone to find?
Follow these simple steps to go to MySpace.com and search for your child
1. Open Internet Explorer and type into the address bar the following URL
http://www.myspace.com
2. Click on the Search option in the top menu
Locate the “Find A Friend” search box and enter your child’s email address or name and
click Find. Depending on how private your child’s profile is, you may have to browse through
your particular zip code instead, and in some cases you may have to join MySpace to search
for a particular profile.
If you don't find your children's profile using this method – go to the advanced methods
shown below. Many children use free email addresses you don’t know and many also use
fake names.
The Search results should have your child’s picture (if they posted one online) and some
basic information about them.
3. Click on the View Profile link to view your child’s website and see what your son or
daughter has posted about themselves including what friends they have placed on their
accepted list or what comments people have left on their site.
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Chapter 5: Advanced Ways to Search For Your Child on MySpace.com
1. Browse MySpace
Visit MySpace.com and click on the Browse option.
Start with a zip code search. This is one of the easiest way to locate your child. In
small towns and rural areas, it is incredibly easy to locate children using this particular
method. In larger zips, it helps to know how many miles you are from the “center” of your
zip code as you can specify how many miles from a certain zip.
A zip code search is the most effective way to locate a profile because the zip code is the
one thing a kid will NOT fake. Without your real zip, it is hard to locate new friends and
dates. They may use an email address you don't know about and even a fake name
(rapper type names are very popular), but they will almost certainly be listed under their
correct zip code.
Browse through the photos and look for nicknames. Check your kid's school for matches.
Back Door Search Method: Here is a “back door” way to find your child's site. If you
can't find your kid's site, search for their friend's names. If you can also find a friend of
your child then look at their profile and check that person's friend list. Most profiles show
the friends of the user.
You can narrow your search by age range, marital status, country, postal code and more.
Try them all until you locate your child's profile or are reasonably sure they are not there.
If they aren't, count your blessings but you are not off the hook. You still need to talk
about MySpace to your kids. It’s not going to go away. Sooner or later it will tempt them.
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2. Browse MySpace Groups
Visit MySpace.com and click on the Groups button to view various chat groups.
Remember, your child must be a member of a group to show up here. If you child has
particular things he/she is very interested and active in (ie: a certain video game) this
may be a good place to search.
3. Use the MySpace Search feature
Go to Myspace.com and click on the Search button. You have options for “Find A Friend”,
“Classmate Finder”, and “Affiliations for Networking”.
4. Search Your Web Browser’s History
Everything that is viewed in a web browser (like
Internet Explorer or Firefox) is stored in the
browser’s cache (Temporary Internet Files) and in
its History. Examining what your child has viewed on
the Internet is a simple way to search for
MySpace.com related pages.
To search the browsers history follow these steps:
In Internet Explorer, click on History button near
Favorites on the Button Bar. A sidebar should
appear showing you the different sites that have
been visited in the last few weeks. Click on these
sites (especially the MySpace.com ones and see
what your child has been visiting on the web.
5. The Direct Approach: Ask your teenager to
Show you their profile.
If they allow you to see it, you may be surprised how revealing some of the information
might be.
13
6. Google Search
Go to google.com and type in the name of your child. Try it with quotes around
their name to narrow the search. If you receive some results, browse through them
and check for any MySpace.com pages that show up in the results.
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Chapter 6: Creating Your Own Profile to Take a Closer Look
Follow the simple steps below to create your own MySpace.com profile so you can access all the
options in MySpace.com and evaluate the site completely.
1. In your web browser, visit the following URL
http://www.myspace.com/
2. Click on the Signup Link in the upper left corner of the screen
You’ll notice on the signup screen, that everything is required including, First and Last
Name, Email Address, Country, Zip Code, Gender, and Birth Date. These items can be
removed later but must be included initially to sign up.
3. After the initial signup, you are presented with an option to upload a photo. Skip this for
now.
4. Next, you can invite friends to MySpace.com – a large part of how MySpace.com has
grown so large is the ability to invite others to create a profile.
5. Now the profile is created and you are switched to the Edit Profile homepage where you
can modify and customize your profile. Notice the My URL section. Write this down. This
is the quickest way to get back to this profile. Although when you log into MySpace.com,
you will land on this Edit Profile page.
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Chapter 7: Evaluating Your Child's Bio Page for Dangerous Information
Now that you’ve seen your child’s space on MySpace.com, read through it and see what personal
information they are allowing anyone to view. Ask yourself if it would be easy to locate your child
with this information. Look for facial photo, school name, teams, work, favorite hang outs,
physical description, clubs, associations, car driven etc... Any of this stuff, especially with a photo,
can be used to locate someone.
The search features of MySpace allow anyone to quickly search by gender, age, marital status,
location, body type, education, religion, income, and more. All of this information provides
someone enough info to quickly search and find anyone in the MySpace directory and contact
them.
MySpace Bio Pages and Information Included on Them
Included on a typical MySpace profile is personal information including name, age, sex,
hometown, general interests, pictures, and comments from other users.
Fortunately most adults understand that certain information should be kept private, however the
same isn’t true when it comes to teenagers.
When teens use MySpace they begin to think that its only themselves and their friends on the
site, so they share a lot of personal information to get to know each other better.
Because the bio pages can be customized with HTML (web browser) commands, people will add
music, pictures, personal surveys, and much more to their sites. This information can be used not
only by predators, but also hiring managers, law enforcement, or anyone else wanting to know
more about a particular person on MySpace. Be sure your kids are aware of this.
Because it’s interactive and very current, journalists and marketing experts even use MySpace to
research new trends or discover the latest gossip and news.
Other sites such as PimpWebPage.com, Whateverlife.com, Memegen.net, Kwiz.biz and others
allow users of MySpace and other blog-like sites to customize their page to fit their personality or
add surveys to tell visitors more about themselves.
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Anyone can create a profile. Once a profile has been added, its easy to search the site for people
even providing searches within so many miles of a certain zip code.
This makes MySpace.com a very popular site for teens to find and meet other teens in their area.
Most of these teens are pretty cautious when meeting a stranger, but they tend to let their guard
down if they have been talking to someone online for quite awhile and feel comfortable with that
person.
A Sample Survey and the Personal Information Your Child May Be
Providing
TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF - The Survey
Name: (last name can be used to locate)
Birthday: (can be used by ID thieves)
Birthplace: (can be used by ID thieves)
Current Location: (can be used to locate)
Eye Color: (can be used by ID thieves)
Hair Color: (can be used by ID thieves)
Height: (can be used by ID thieves)
Right Handed or Left Handed:
Your Heritage:
The Shoes You Wore Today:
Your Weakness:
Your Fears:
Your Perfect Pizza:
Goal You Would Like To Achieve This Year:
Your Most Overused Phrase On an instant
messenger:
Thoughts First Waking Up:
Your Best Physical Feature:
Your Bedtime:
Your Most Missed Memory:
Pepsi or Coke:
McDonalds or Burger King:
Single or Group Dates:
Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea:
Chocolate or Vanilla:
Cappuccino or Coffee:
Do you Sing:
Do you Shower Daily:
Have you Been in Love:
Do you want to go to College:
Do you want to get Married:
Do you believe in yourself:
Do you get Motion Sickness:
Do you think you are Attractive:
Are you a Health Freak:
Do you get along with your Parents:
Do you like Thunderstorms:
Do you play an Instrument:
In the past month have you gone on a Date:
In the past month have you gone to a Mall:
In the past month have you eaten a box of
Oreos:
In the past month have you eaten Sushi:
In the past month have you been on Stage:
In the past month have you been Dumped:
In the past month have you gone Skinny
Dipping:
What do you want to be when you Grow Up:
What country would you most like to Visit:
In a Boy/Girl..
Favorite Eye Color:
Favorite Hair Color:
Short or Long Hair:
Height:
Weight:
Best Clothing Style:
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Another Typical Survey
[HAVE YOU EVER..]
been kissed..
lied to a friend..
dyed ur hair
dressed punk
kissed a girl
saw something u didnt want to
danced in the rain
lied to ur parents
went barefoot in the snow
played hockey
made ur own clothes
[IN THE LAST 24 HOURS..]
got in a fite
took a shower
gave a dirty look to someone
cried=(
did a cartwheel
went to school
shopped
danced
got sick
did something u regret
discovered something new
[IN SCHOOL YOU...]
run to class because ur always late
act perfect
act hyper
are a nerd
in band??
[RIGHT NOW UR..]
in ur pjs
drinkin
listening to music
watching a movie
iming someone
talkin on the fone
eating
[CLOTHES..]
hot topic or abercrombie and fitch
thongs or briefs
boxers anyone?!?!
sweatpants or jeans
longsleeved shirts or short sleeve
tube tops or tanks
[CURRENTLY .. ]
current clothes
current mood
current music
current taste
current make-up
current thing I ought to be doing
[ LAST PERSON .. ]
you hugged
yelled at
IMed.
you touched
[ EiTHER/0R .. ]
coffee or hot chocolate
big or little
lace or satin
new or old
vogue or cosmopolitan
skirt or dress
wool or cotton
[DO YOU..]
put on a "front"
have a crush on someone
if u got a tatoo where wud u get it
[RANDOM QUESTIONS..]
what is the online symbol u use the most
u have a boyfriend or girlfiend
who's hotter, Josh Hartnett or Chad Michael Murray
what was the last thing you said
who would u want to be stuck in an elevator with?
do you like stickers
are you suicidal
is your window open
what was the last pair of shoes you bought
do you have a little brother
does he draw you cute pictures
where do your grandparents live
what do you think of when you hear the word click
are you a moron
do you like trampolines
have u ever accidentally sucked something up in the
vacuum
did you see American Pie 2
do you cut yourself
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Chapter 8: What Else is In MySpace.com?
Chat Group List (as of 4/12/06)
Activities (32713 groups)
Automotive (27754 groups)
Business & Entrepreneurs (7583 groups)
Cities & Neighborhoods (19076 groups)
Companies / Co-workers (19942 groups)
Computers & Internet (8329 groups)
Countries & Regional (7936 groups)
Cultures & Community (36654 groups)
Entertainment (67226 groups)
Family & Home (17376 groups)
Fan Clubs (117936 groups)
Fashion & Style (33582 groups)
Film & Television (28880 groups)
Food, Drink & Wine (24653 groups)
Games (28686 groups)
Gay, Lesbian & Bi (23171 groups)
Government & Politics (15631 groups)
Health, Wellness, Fitness (11008 groups)
Hobbies & Crafts (14888 groups)
Literature & Arts (16649 groups)
Money & Investing (4212 groups)
Music (192894 groups)
Nightlife & Clubs (35618 groups)
Non-Profit & Philanthropic (10274 groups)
Other (1154701 groups)
Pets & Animals (21132 groups)
Places & Travel (10744 groups)
Professional Organizations (25204 groups)
Recreation & Sports (75802 groups)
Religion & Beliefs (60169 groups)
Romance & Relationships (47178 groups)
Schools & Alumni (107968 groups)
Science & History (5650 groups)
Sorority/Fraternities (19734 groups)
These chat groups, especially the Romance & Relationship ones, can be very provocative with
sexual innuendos and profanity. Most of the groups are similar to ones found on Google Groups
where members can post questions on any number of topics and talk with people who share the
same interests. As shown above, the number of active groups on MySpace is staggering and
growing at a phenomenal rate along with the rest of MySpace.
Information on Music, Film, Videos, Classified Ads
Because MySpace.com has exploded in popularity, many bands, individual artists, celebrities,
and others have created pages to connect with their fans, introduce themselves to a new
audience, and promote their current music, film, video, and more.
Some recognizable artists such as the Pussycat Dolls, Rascal Flatts, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and
the Black Eyed Peas all maintain MySpace pages to talk with fans and promote themselves. Most
relatively unknown artists also see MySpace as a great way to create a fan base.
MySpace provides the perfect outlet for artists to connect with fans, increase their exposure, and
ultimately promote their new film, video, music, or other project.
19
20
21
Chapter 9: How To Remove or Hide Personal Information on MySpace
Setting Your Profile to Private
According to MySpace, the option to set your profile to private is only for younger users under 16
years of age. However there are other privacy options that can help in protecting your identity.
Changing Your Privacy Settings
To change your privacy settings, log into MySpace.com, click on Account Settings, and then click
on “Change Settings” next to Privacy Settings. The following privacy settings can be changed:
•
Check "Require email or last name to add me as a friend" if you want other users to be
required to know your email address or your last name in order to send you an add friend
request
(this prevents people who don't know you from trying to add you as a friend).
•
Check "Approve Comments before Posting" if you want to review comments to your
profile and journals before they are posted. Comments will NOT appear unless and until
you approve them.
(users on MySpace.com will sometimes leave nasty comments, this option will let
you review and approve those comments before they are seen by others)
•
Check "Hide Online Now" to make your online status invisible to other users.
(this privacy setting allow you to remain anonymous while surfing MySpace.com,
making your presence invisible to other users so they don’t contact you while
online, if you just want to browse and no be bothered by others, this is a good
choice)
•
Check "Show My Birthday to my Friends" to alert your friends when your birthday is near.
•
Check "No Pic Forwarding" to prevent other users from emailing links to your images
from the site.
(this keeps your images on your profile private and won’t allow others to send
them across the Internet)
22
•
Check "Friend Only Journal Comments" to allow only your friends to post comments on
your blog entries.
•
Check "Block Friend Request From Bands" to block unwanted friend request from bands.
(Because MySpace.com started as a way for musical groups to interact with fans,
this option will stop those groups from contacting you)
Changing Your IM Privacy Settings
IM or instant messaging in MySpace is similar to other instant messaging programs used on a
computer such as ICQ, Yahoo Messenger, and MSN Messenger. The IM or instant messaging
settings can be changed as well. As long as you have checked the Hide Online Now from the
privacy setting page, the following options can be set.
•
Check "No one can IM me" if you want to prevent
anyone from sending you an IM request.
•
Check "Only Friends can IM me" if you want to
prevent anyone that is not your friend from
sending you an IM request.
•
Check "Anyone can IM me" if you want to allow
any user to IM you.
23
Removing Personal Information from a Profile
You may change your name, age, and/or add to the information on your Profile through "Edit
Profile." Start by clicking on "Home" in the top navigation menu from any MySpace web page.
Once on your personal home page, click on "Edit Profile," appearing in the upper left portion of
the page, next to your picture. You will be taken to your "Edit Profile" page where you may edit or
add information from the following categories: name, age, city, state, zip, ethnicity, body type,
reason you're on MySpace, who you are looking for, your headline, about you, interests,
background, lifestyle, schools you've attended and companies for whom you have worked.
Don’t Include Personal Info in the Form of Surveys or Questionnaires
Although filling out a questionnaire or survey online and posting it in your MySpace profile may
seem like a good way to get to know other teens. It’s not the most private way of exchanging info.
Answers to these seemingly harmless questions can provide a predator just the information they
need to make contact, befriend, and ultimately meet their victim.
Unless you know the person, don’t exchange such private information with them, even through
IM, email, or telephone.
Blocking a User
To block a user follow this step:
You will need to visit that user's profile and click 'Block User'. This is found in the Contact
box.
Remember: Blocked users can still view your profile, but they cannot send you a message or
communicate with you. There is no way to prevent someone from seeing your profile.
Reporting Inappropriate Content
If there is something on the profile itself that is inappropriate, look at the bottom of the profile and
click on the link 'Report Inappropriate Content'. If the content is an image uploaded to the user's
image gallery, click on the 'Report this Image' link that is under the image.
24
Chapter 10: Advanced Ways To Hide MySpace Information
Using HTML/CSS and Other Tricks to Hide Information
Since the profiles on MySpace.com are HTML pages and can be altered to customize them, they
can also be altered to hide information. CSS or Cascading Style Sheets are lines of computer
code telling the web browser how to display the particular page. These codes can alter the
information shown in a MySpace.com profile
Pimpwebpage.com offers CSS suggestions for the following:
Hide the “Add Comment” Link
Hide “Age, Sex, Location” info
Hide Blogs
Hide Comments
Hide Contact Table
Hide Details
Hide Friends
Hide General Info
Hide Last Login
Hide Links
Hide Search Form
Hide Top/Bottom Links
There are Ways around Hidden Objects
Unfortunately, the reality is since there is a way to hide items using CSS, then there is a way to
show that information even when individuals have hidden it.
The procedure to do this is: View a profile, write down the number at the end of the “FriendID” in
the address bar
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=XXXXXXXX
This number can then be put into the various addresses for the comments page and friends
pages:
For comments:
http://comments.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.HomeComments&friendID=ProfileCode
eg:
http://comments.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.HomeComments&friendID= 72513167
For blogs:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=ProfileCode
eg:
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID= 72513167
25
For friends lists:
http://home7.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewfriends&friendID=ProfileCode
eg:
http://home7.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewfriends&friendID= 72513167
For this reason, I don’t recommend using CSS or another way to simply hide
information. The only way to be safe is to remove inappropriate information
from the profile completely.
26
Chapter 11: Restricting Access to MySpace.com
If talking to your child and monitoring their activities on MySpace is not enough, then you may
want to consider restricting access to MySpace. Be warned, however, kids will be kids and many
of them will go to a friends house or gain access another way if you decide to prevent access to
MySpace from your home.
Using a Hosts file
To block MySpace.com follow these steps to add it to the computers hosts file.
1) Click on Start, Run
2) Type in the following command and press Enter
For Windows XP type:
notepad C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC\HOSTS
For Windows 2000 type:
notepad C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC\HOSTS
For Windows 98/ME type:
notepad C:\WINDOWS\HOSTS
For Mac OS 9: look in System Folder:Preferences for the Hosts file and use a text editor to
add the additional lines.
For Mac OSX: look for the hosts file in /etc/hosts
3) Notepad should open with a text file that looks something like this:
127.0.0.1
localhost
4) Add the following lines to the hosts file so the host file looks like the following:
27
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
127.0.0.1
localhost
myspace.com
www.myspace.com
addressbook.myspace.com
blog.myspace.com
browseusers.myspace.com
bulletin.myspace.com
collect.myspace.com
events.myspace.com
favorites.myspace.com
forum.myspace.com
groups.myspace.com
home.myspace.com
invite.myspace.com
mail.myspace.com
music.myspace.com
musicsearch.myspace.com
profile.myspace.com
profiles.myspace.com
search.myspace.com
signup.myspace.com
topartists.myspace.com
vids.myspace.com
videos.myspace.com
viewmorepics.myspace.com
5) Click on File and Save to save the new hosts file
6) Now try to go to http://www.myspace.com and see what happens
Host files are only one way to try to block access to myspace.com or other objectionable web
sites, but are they really the answer?
Because host files can only block sites based on domain names, they don’t block access
to pure IP addresses. For instance, if you block myspace.com and www.myspace.com in your
hosts file your teen could still access it by typing the following into the address bar of the browser:
http://63.208.226.43
Try it and you’ll see it goes directly to MySpace.com. All domain names resolve to an IP address
located on a server where the particular domain is hosted. So typing in the IP address of the site
is the same as typing in the domain name.
This brings us to the next way to prevent access to MySpace.com or other sites: parental filtering
software.
28
Chapter 12: Using Filtering Software
Listed below you’ll find some good links to reviews of parental filtering software. However be
aware that not all filters are alike. Some filter on domains, similar to host files, while others filter
based on keywords, content, or a combination of everything.
About.com’s Review of Filtering Software
http://familyinternet.about.com/cs/productreviews/tp/filteringsoft.htm
ConsumerSearch’s Parental Control Software Consumer Report
http://www.consumersearch.com/www/software/parental-controlsoftware/fullstory.html
Many of the filtering software products I examined did a good job of filtering out domains such as
MySpace.com but failed when it came to filtering out proxy requests to MySpace.com from
another site.
Let me explain: teens are smart when it comes to circumventing blocking software. There are
hundreds of sites called web proxies that allow you to visit other sites anonymously. The address
bar will still show the URL of the web proxy so most filtering software will not be able to block the
information served up by the proxy software. However, a teenager can type in myspace.com or
some other domain and still be able to access the site even though filtering software is in place to
block it. In order for you to fully understand this procedure you may want to visit some of the more
popular web proxies listed below to see how they work.
http://www.ibypass.org/
http://www.ipzap.com/
https://proxify.com/
http://kproxy.com/index.jsp
http://www.attackcensorship.com/attack-censorship.html
http://mrnewguy.com/
http://www.unblockwebsites.com/
http://spysurfing.com/
https://www.the-cloak.com/anonymous-surfing-home.html
http://www.stupidcensorship.com/
http://www.evilsprouts.co.uk/defilter/
http://www.bypassbrowser.com/
http://www.proxymouse.com/
http://www.fsurf.com/
http://www.browseatwork.com/
http://www.surfonym.com/
http://www.iamnewguy.com/
http://www.ninjaproxy.com/
http://www.myspaceatschool.com/
Sites for web proxies are changed all the time on the web so there will never be a complete
list, but visiting google.com and searching for something like
myspace proxy
will bring up good results.
29
So what is the answer? Is there a filtering software that is able to block
myspace.com as well as proxy requests for it?
I like a product called Content Watch. In the testing I completed, it was able to block not only
domains, IP address and keywords but also proxy requests. You can find out more about Content
Watch by visiting the link below.
Content Watch
http://www.parentsguidetomyspace.com/updates
For Macintosh Computers
The best filtering software I could find is a product called Content Barrier, although I did not
personally test it, it appears to work on the same principles that Content Watch uses. You can
find out more about Content Barrier by visiting:
Alternatives to MySpace.com
Social networking sites like MySpace.com and Xanga.com are popular because they allow teens
to chat and find other teens who have the same interests. In fact, MySpace.com has become a
teen version of Match.com as far as dating is concerned. Since it’s completely interactive and
teens can customize their own pages and add people to their list, there isn’t anything quite like it
currently.
Alternatives such as normal Instant Messaging programs like ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo
Messenger and others provide the chat alternative but not the other interaction.
Because MySpace.com is so popular there are others following the same formula. MSN created
their own version at http://spaces.msn.com
The best alternative is to talk to your teen and monitor what they are posting to the site.
Communicate with your teen about what you find acceptable and unacceptable on their profile
and work with them to change information that can be harmful.
30
Chapter 13: Abbreviations and Acronyms Commonly Used On
Myspace.com and Instant Messaging
121: one to one
ADN: any day now
AFAIK: as far as I know
AFK: away from keyboard
A/S/L: age, sex, location
B4: before
B4N: bye for now
BAK: back at the keyboard
BF: boyfriend
BFN: bye for now
BG: big grin
BTA: but then again
BTW: by the way
CID: crying in disgrace
CNP: continued (in my) next post
CP: chat post
CU: see you
CUL: see you later
CYO: see you online
DBAU: doing business as usual
FUD: fear, uncertainty, and doubt
FWIW: for what it's worth
G2G: got to go
G: grin
GA: go ahead
GAL: get a life
GF: girlfriend
GFN: gone for now that
GMBO: giggling my butt off
GMTA: great minds think alike
HAGN: have a good night
HDOP: help delete online predators
HHIS: hanging head in shame
IAC: in any case
IANAL: I am not a lawyer (but)
IC: I see
IDK: I don't know
IMNSHO: in my not so humble opinion
IMO: in my opinion
IOW: in other words
IPN: I’m posting naked
IRL: in real life
L8R: later
LD: later, dude
LDR: long distance relationship
LLTA: lots and lots of thunderous applause
LMIRL: let's meet in real life
LTR: longterm relationship
LULAB: love you like a brother
LULAS: love you like a sister
M/F: male or female
MILF: a mother I would like to f***
OLL: online love
OTOH: on the other hand
PIR: parent in room
RPG: role playing games
SHID: slaps head in disgust
SO: significant other
SOMY: sick of me yet?
SOT: short of time
TTYL: talk to you later
UW: you’re welcome
WB: welcome back
WFM: works for me
WIBNI: wouldn't it be nice if
WTGP: want to go private?
WTG: way to go
YM: young man
31
X RATED ACRONYMS:
WARNING: If you are offended easily you may
well want to skip this section.
OK Now that we have covered the common ones we will list the X rated ones. These
abbreviations started on online adult meeting sites and have trickled down to the young
adult population.
So what does “m4w “ mean?
The first letter is for the one seeking and the last letter is the one being searched for.
m4w = man for woman / w4m = woman for man
Some variations: if there's a "t" there it's either transsexual, transgender or transvestite. m4t
= man 4 transsexual
If there's a plural form (mm4ww, mw4w, w4ww etc.), "m" will always be man, "w" will still be
woman. And "t"... well you see where this goes.
The first letter signifies marital status or sexual orientation, the second letter is race and the
third is gender.
SAF = Single Asian Female
BiWM = Bisexual White Male
MBM = Married Black Male
GHM = Gay Hispanic Male
DWF = Divorced White Female
SWPM = Single White Professional Male
If there's a "j" in the middle, it stands for "Jewish."
SJPM = Single Jewish Professional Male
If they post only two letters, they don't want to reveal either their marital status or race.
WM = White Male SF = Single Female
32
Assorted acronyms/terms you may encounter.
CL = Craigslist (another popular meeting place with separate versions for every metro area)
SP = Strictly Platonic
CE = Casual Encounters
RL = Real Life
hwp = height weight proportionate (not fat)
iso = in search of/is seeking only
a/s/l = age/sex/location
SO = Significant Other
NSA = No Strings Attached
IM = Instant Messenger
Cam = webcam
LTR = Long Term Relationship
bareback = sex without condoms
BBW = Big Beautiful Women
FB = Fuck Buddy
FWB = Friends With Benefits
d/df = drug/disease free
fugly = fucking ugly (as in, extremely)
sugar daddy/mommy = someone financially supporting another's lifestyle
top/bottom = position for gay sex
Sub = Submissive
Dom = Dominant
BDSM = Bondage Discipline/Domination Sadism Masochism
strap-on = fake dicks
420 = pot
CD = Cross Dresser
FOB = Fresh Off the Boat
yellow fever = likes Asians
brotha = black male
sista = black female
33
Conclusion
Most teenagers are intelligent, vibrant people who understand the consequences of their actions.
They don’t necessarily need to be deprived of participating in this MySpace.com phenomenon but
they do need some guidance in what they should watch out for while on MySpace. Parents and
children need some guidelines to help them understand the good and bad side of MySpace and
how to navigate it.
Guidelines for Parents
1. Make sure the computer your child is using is in a public place, such as the living room ,
and not in their private bedroom. Placing the computer in a group area will allow parents
to see exactly what their teenager or young adult is doing online and allow them to
monitor the activities on the computer.
2. Don’t allow your teenager to password protect their identity on the computer. Parents
should have full access to the computer to monitor the child and know exactly what your
teen is doing on the computer.
3. Talk to your teen and insist that no compromising personal information is added to their
profile such as their last name, school they attend, place of employment, address, phone
numbers, date of birth, or where they hang out.
4. Talk to your teen about not using a real photo of themselves. If they must have a photo
advise them to use a fake or modified photo or an anime (popular Japanese artistic
drawing). This provides some anonymity. Their real friends will already know what they
look like.
5. If you suspect your teen is doing something inappropriate online, try to find their profile
and talk to them about it. If they aren’t forthcoming about it, you could install parental
filtering software or a keylogger to change their minds.
6. Ask your teen not to interact with people who are over 18 unless they know them
personally. They may end up receiving some material that was meant for adults instead.
Although, a person’s age could be forged, most predators will probably fake their age to
be younger instead of older.
7. If you are over 18, don’t flirt with minors. Be an adult.
34
Guidelines For Teens and Young Adults
1. Build your site keeping it PG-rated. Avoid inappropriate comments, sexual imagery,
and adult themes. This will keep your parents satisfied and also keep your site from
being taken down by MySpace.com management or others who find it inappropriate.
2. Don’t list the city where you live or any other personally identifiable information.
3. Never use MySpace to threaten or abuse anyone. Your presence on MySpace can
be tracked by IP address and other means. Don’t do anything illegal or there can be
consequences.
4. Never share your MySpace email address with anyone or your profile may be the
target of hacking if anyone discovers your password.
5. Don’t try to circumvent access restrictions to MySpace or other sites that your school
may have in place. Doing so may lead to disciplinary actions from your school.
6. Avoid indirect links to adult web cams or adult-oriented sites. Such links can bring the
wrong person to your site or be reason for your site being banned by MySpace.
7. Don’t be someone you are not. If you are 16, be sixteen and don’t try to act 25. You
may not like the outcome.
8. Don’t judge a profile only by the comments on a page. Many people with hundreds of
friends may not have the time or energy to delete questionable posts with
objectionable material made by so-called friends.
9. You don’t need to accept all friend requests. Be sure to deny or block users that
harass you, spam you, or look suspicious. Use your privacy settings to hide your
online presence and only accept friends that you know.
35
Updates to Parents Guide To MySpace.com Ebook
For updates to this E-book , reviews of the software packages we
recommend, how to contact the authors, Ed Osworth and Mark Hasting,
and other information please visit the following URL
36
References
Safety Tips From MySpace.com
http://collect.myspace.com/misc/safetytips.html
Tips for Parents From MySpace.com
http://www1.myspace.com/misc/tipsForParents.html
Other “Tips For Parents” Sites
●
●
●
●
●
●
Netsmartz.org
WiredSafety.org
The Child Safety Network
GetNetWise.org
SafeTeens.com
http://parentalcontrol.netintelligence.com/chat_glossary.htm
Law Enforcement
FBI
http://www.fbi.gov/
A Parent’s Guide To Internet Safety published by the FBI
Federal Agencies
•
•
•
U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Department of State
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Missing Children
• National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Most Wanted
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Perverted Justice
America's Most Wanted
DEA Fugitives
First Coast Fugitives
FBI Most Wanted
U.S. Most Wanted Criminals
U.S. Marshals 15 Most Wanted
U.S. Postal Inspection Service Wanted Posters
37
Law Information
• Emory University School of Law
• Southern Poverty Law Center
• New Jersey Law Network
•
National Criminal Justice Reference Service(NCJRS)
Emergency Contacts
• National Emergency Number Association
38

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