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Contact With Inappropriate People and Content Parents' Biggest Fear for Their Children While Online, According to Panda Security Survey

Posted on: Wednesday, 18 March 2009, 09:15 CDT

Company Coincides Survey with Launch of New Online Community for Concerned Parents and Educators to Keep Kids Safe on the Web

-- Panda Security releases results of independent study that surveys parents and educators about their knowledge and experience with children's online behavior

-- 71 percent of respondents speak with their children about online safety; only 35 percent use parental controls

GLENDALE, Calif., March 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Panda Security, a world leader in IT security, today announced the results from a nationwide study conducted by Safecount Viewpoint Community to learn more about what parents, caregivers and educators actually know about the evolving online behaviors of children. The study, which gathered responses from 2,372 participants across the country, was commissioned to help raise awareness about people's knowledge of online dangers as part of an ongoing campaign unveiled by Panda today, called "Protect Our Kids on the Web."

The "Protect Our Kids on the Web" campaign is supported by a website, www.protectourkidsontheweb.com that includes free online resources, games and videos to increase awareness about the evolving online behaviors of children and their families, and keep them safe through a combination of research, best practices and community advocacy. The campaign will evolve in the coming weeks and months to include partnerships with leading non-profit organizations and influential parents and educators that are committed to creating a safe internet environment that fosters growth, creativity and education for children.

The study revealed that 53 percent of respondents rank inappropriate people such as strangers or child predators, and content such as pornography or violence, as the biggest online threat to children. And while 71 percent of respondents speak with their children about online safety, only 32 percent were aware of available tools, such as parental controls, that can help them protect their children from online threats. Additional survey findings include:

• 27 percent worry the most that children will give out personal information; and 17 percent rank viruses, worms and other malware as the most dangerous threat
• 35 percent use parental controls to help protect their children from online threats
• More than one-third of respondents say they monitor their children's online activity all of the time; one-third monitor activity "sometimes" and one quarter never monitor their children's online activities
• Of the 58 percent of respondents who know their children chat online, 14 percent said they do not know who their child is talking to, and only 52 percent know what their child's online username is
• Seven percent say either they or their child have been a victim of an online attack

"While there are certainly a lot of great products designed to keep kids safe online, technology is just a part of the solution," said Penny Sherstobitoff, chief operating officer, Panda Security U.S.A. "What's most important is that parents maintain an open dialogue with their children about the Internet and how they use it, whether for entertainment, social networking or learning. The Protect Our Kids on the Web program is designed to grow a community of concerned caregivers that want to help improve the online environment for our children."

Panda Security produced two videos to accompany the site launch, and encourages viewers to post their own video responses to keep the conversation ongoing about what kids are doing on the internet, and how parents are keeping them safe. To view the videos and learn more about the community, go to www.protectourkidsontheweb.com.

About Panda Security

Panda Security is one of the world's leading IT security providers, with millions of clients around the globe and products available in over twenty languages. Our mission is to keep our customers' information and IT assets safe from security threats, giving them the most effective protection with the minimum resource consumption.

Every day, thousands of new malicious codes are created. To combat this threat, Panda Security has developed an innovative and unique security model which can automatically analyze and classify thousands of new malware samples. This model is collective intelligence and ensures that Panda Security solutions can protect against far more threats than the products of any other company. The exceptional detection capacity of collective intelligence can be put to the test at the Infected or Not website (http://www.infectedornot.com)

For more information and evaluation versions of all Panda Security solutions, visit our website at: http://www.pandasecurity.com/

SOURCE Panda Security

Source: PR Newswire

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