At their recent meeting, the Syosset-Woodbury Rotary Club discussed Internet safety, a discussion that focused on children and how to keep them safe.

Paul Matthews, senior investigator for the New York State Attorney General's Office and Brian Herrington, the assistant director of Intergovernmental Affairs from the Attorney General's Suffolk Regional Office, were on hand to give a presentation that informed parents about how to protect their children from Internet hazards including cyber-bullying, pornography and sexual predators.

The Internet has grown exponentially and has become the largest part of many kids' social lives. Matthews explained that although there are benefits to allowing your kids to use the Internet, there are many dangers.

Social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, are very popular. According to Matthews, over 70 percent of kids between the ages of 12 and 17 have Facebook pages and these sites offer predators a lot of personal information.

"We suggest that you become one of your children's 'friends' on these sites so you can access their page and see who they are 'friends' with," said Matthews.

Both Matthews and Herrington warn that once something is on the Internet, it is on there forever. "What you say online stays online, and information that was placed on these social networking pages is starting to be reviewed by college admissions boards and potential employers," they warn. "Assume that everything posted on the Internet can be seen by everyone."

Attorney General Cuomo recommends the highest privacy setting on these social networking sites and suggests that parents follow up and check their children's settings.

Chat rooms, according to the presentation, are the number one place to find sexual predators. "You don't always know who is really on the other end of the conversation when you are IMing," said Matthews.

Attorney General Cuomo's office offers many tips to make the Internet a safer place for your children. "Ask questions and know what websites your children are visiting. Also, purchase filters and programs for your computer to track the websites that are visited," Matthews and Herrington suggest. Their number one suggestion for parents is to keep the computer in a common room and not to allow kids to have computer access in their bedrooms where you can't glance at what they are doing.

Also, ask questions and discuss the dangers your child could encounter on the Internet. "Only 12 percent of youth who encountered a sexual solicitation told a parent," said Matthews. "It is very important to foster a relationship with your child before a solicitation occurs and also be ready to talk about it if it happens."

Attorney General Cuomo was responsible for the creation of the Electronic Security and Targeting of Online Predators Act (E-STOP), which mandates that sex offenders register Internet accounts and screen names used for social networking purposes with law enforcement, but Cuomo stresses that parents are the best weapon to combat this problem.

Rotary member Jeff Rozran suggested that parents google their children's names and screen names to see what potential predators might see.

There are website designed to help parents - Visit www.netsmartz.org and www.netsmartzkids.org for more information.