Security pros cringe as their users download software for personal use, turn off firewalls to speed up a connection, or leave their passwords stuck to their laptops.Wouldn't it be nice if you could give end users a list of the most dangerous things they do online every day, and then tell them why those activities are particularly risky? The following is our list of "The Ten Most Dangerous Things Users Do Online," along with some explanation of the risks - and solutions - associated with each.

Join the discussion about "What advice do you give to the victim of a bully?"

A New Ad Warns About Abusive Texting\nA new public service ad highlights the growing problems of "textual abuse," where harassment of children occurs by way of text messages.

This issue of bNets@vvy focuses on texting and includes articles on: Understanding the Benefits and Risks of Texting, A Pediatrician's Advice for Managing Your Child's Texting Activity, Parents Share Their Strategies for Managing Kids' Texting Behavior, A Teen Talks About Texting and What Parents/Educators Need to Know About It, What's Up with Texting? A Teacher Asks Her Students to Clue Her In

New study on the effects of instant messaging on reading comprehension. Students who send and receive instant messages while completing a reading assignment take longer to get through their texts but apparently still manage to understand what they're reading, according to one of the first studies to explore how the practice affects academic learning.

University of Minnesota study uncovers the educational benefits of social networking sites. "What we found was that students using social networking sites are actually practicing the kinds of 21st century skills we want them to develop to be successful today," said Christine Greenhow, a learning technologies researcher in the university's College of Education and Human Development and principal investigator of the study.

Teachers and students in Lamar County, Mississippi, can't be Internet friends this year after the School Board revamped rules prohibiting them from being friends through online social networks.

"The lawyer for a Missouri mother accused of creating a fake MySpace page to harass a 13-year-old girl is arguing that charges should be tossed out of court because if she is guilty, then so are millions of Internet users every day."

Facebook chief privacy officer Chris Kelly has put out a statement to the Keeping the Internet Devoid of Sexual Predators Act (KIDS), which President George W. Bush signed on Monday (10/13/08) along with the Protect Our Children Act.

"In general, the networks connect novice teachers to others in their preparation classes, teachers who instruct in the same subject or grade level to one another, and teacher-mentors to colleagues-even when they are not located at the same schools. The sites facilitate online discussions, workshops, coaching, and collaborative study groups and work teams."

Today's students live in an incredibly high tech world- from cell phones to Facebook to YouTube to iPods- K-12 schools are faced with a multitude of new challenges that must be addressed in your student handbook. How can you restructure your student handbook to include the potential issues that may arise as a result of students' increased use of these technologies? Join us for a live, 60-minute audio conference where you and your colleagues will learn:
* Keys to Drafting K-12 Handbook Policies for Today's Students
* Online Use Policies: Facebook, MySpace & Online Communities
* Crafting Guidelines & Policies for Cell Phone & iPod Use at School
* Protecting Your School from Liability: What You Need to Know
* Cyberbullying & Technology Misconduct: What Educators Must Know

Teachers to meet Tuesday (3/3/09) with representatives from Google, MySpace, CNET, YouTube and Technorati for training on how to bring blogging, podcasting, online video and social networking into their classrooms.

This article offers seven things all adults need to know about social networking sites like MySpace.
1. Social networking is enormously popular with young adults.
2. Friends are probably just that.
3. Blocking sites at school won't keep kids away from MySpace.
4.Some degree of danger does exist for MySpace users.
5. The MySpace organization is working toward a safer online
6. Teachers might want to check to see if they have had a MySpace account created for them.
7.MySpace and social networking have value.

Saywire is a safe, social learning community that provides access to a single network where teachers, staff, and students can reside and work together. There is no public access. Saywire provides teachers with a platform in which they can safely communicate and collaborate in their traditional and virtual classrooms.

As online social networks explode in popularity, administrators wonder: Is it OK for teachers to 'befriend' their students online?

The decline in family time coincides with a rise in Internet use and the popularity of social networks, though a new study stopped just short of assigning blame. The Annenberg Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California is reporting this week that 28 percent of Americans it interviewed last year said they have been spending less time with members of their households. That's nearly triple the 11 percent who said that in 2006.\n\nThese people did not report spending less time with their friends, however.

A federal appeals court in Philadelphia must decide whether a Pennsylvania middle school can suspend a student who, at home on her own time, created a lewd MySpace page aimed at her principal.

This article offers new research results regarding the academic benefits of students use of social networking sites.

As high school students flock to social networking sites, campus police are scanning their Facebook and MySpace pages for tips to help break up fights, monitor gangs and thwart crime in what amounts to a new cyberbeat.

InfoSource Learning, through their website www.SimpleK12.com, shares a collection of links to resources for teachers, teens, and parents during June 2009 - Internet Safety Month.