INTECO

05/09/2008

Internet is a medium for communication and for engaging in social relations, especially so for minors. Indeed, children and adolescents use the Net not only to search for useful information for their school activities, but also as a means for entertainment and to keep in touch with their friends. The most used service for this is instant messaging. Apart from the benefits this service brings to minors, we must also be aware of the existing threats. In this sense, parents, teachers, the companies that provide the service, the administrations and the security bodies and forces are worried about the relatively easy manner in which, on some occasions, minors can encounter strangers and/or illicit and fraudulent contents when using instant messaging.