Sure, the Internet has offered a once-unavailable means through which one can gain unlimited information and resources, communicate on a global level, and even shop and play games without leaving the couch. But this unsupervised social network comes with as many disadvantages as there are perks.

Have you ever thought of your home as the mecca for sexual predators and identity thieves? Well, if you have a computer it is! Despite the dangers, there are ways you can protect your children and the first step is to make them aware of the risks.

For adult eyes only

Your teens don't have to be intentionally searching for pornographic or other explicit graphic material for it to be readily available for their viewing pleasure. A simple search for information regarding your child's biology project can result in more anatomy than you would have hoped for. Parents can protect their children from porn pop-ups by installing filtering software which can block websites and scan keywords.

Sexual predators

The Internet is a haven for soliciting sex from children online, as it provides a means for unsupervised and unadulterated conversation, and even visual interaction via webcams, between your young ones and strangers.

Predators take on fake identities and pose as children with the same interests as those you have at home. Doing this gives these predators the opportunity to make friends with your children and meet outside of the online chat room. Many times this leads to sexual abuse.

Reputation

Social networks like hi5, MySpace and Facebook are just a few of hundreds which allow individuals to create interactive profiles. These profiles often include personal photographs and videos, so it's important to teach your children what is and what is not appropriate for public viewing so as not to ruin your child's reputation.

Privacy

Identity theft is a concern for more than just adults, as children are often privy to their parents' credit card information, among other important details, and with the growing number of professional hackers and identity thieves, the information required for such a process is getting less and less. Be sure to tell your children not to give out any personal information.