Time to alert the parents:

LYNCHBURG — Bedford County’s battle against Internet child predators and pornographers received a financial boost last week. The Southern Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, known as Operation Blue Ridge Thunder, received a state grant for $95,000 to help in its efforts to find and arrest those who exploit children through the Internet, Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown said.Grant will help Va. fight child porn (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

When social networking Web sites MySpace and Facebook surfaced a few years ago, millions of teenagers rushed to be part of a new form of socializing and sharing interests. At the same time, parents and educators worried about online predators as well as students posting private information and questionable photos.Parents grow more comfortable about teens networking online (Greenwich Time)

Sexual predators are scary, but the bigger threat may be what your kids do by accident.Keeping Your Kids Safe Online (Forbes)

Last week, 19-year-old Alicia Kozakiewicz told the House Judiciary Committee about her horrific ordeal at the hands of a sadistic rapist she met in an Internet chat room.Magid: Abductions by online predators rare (San Jose Mercury News)

Portcard.net is already providing Facebook users with an effective tool to combat online predators. Users of Facebook and social networking services such as AIM and MySpace can increase their security by using Portcard.net to immediately authenticate the identity of other users and remove the total anonymity predators use to exploit children on social networking sites. (PRWeb Oct 18, 2007) Post …Portcard.net Gives Facebook Users Extra Level of Protection Against Internet Predators (PRWeb)

A 51-year-old Vidor man was arrested in September for indecent behavior and online solicitation of a minor. The crime is growing in Orange County and across the nation.Indecency on the net: Offramps everywhere for predators searching for children (Orange Leader)