OT: Kids website BeBo

heads up for all you parents out there about a website called Bebo
which your kids may be accessing. It allows kids to register in a
"school" area, but nothing in that area is controlled by the school,
and is operated by a company nothing to do with education or the
school system.

We have blocked it at school this week. Operates similar to Friends
Reunited, but allows you to post pics of yourself, and see lots of
people at the school.

Came to the attention of the ICT team, when they found some kids on
it. Allows them to communicate across schools, but *no* checks are
made on the people logging in. The network manager, a 55 year old
male, decided to test the security of the system, and was able to
register as a 14 year old female, and able to see all the kids at our
school and schools in the surrounding area. By the end of the day, he
had been listed as a "best m8" of many of the kids, and was being
invited out. It does rely on you knowing some of the e-mail addresses
of the kids, but if you know the main root domain, the rest is easy to
guess by simply typing in random names.....

www.bebo.com
--

Simon Isaacs

Peterborough 4x4 Club Chairman, Newsletter Editor and Webmaster
Green Lane Association (GLASS) Financial Director
101 Ambi, undergoing camper conversion www.simoni.co.uk
1976 S3 LWT, Fully restored, ready for sale! Make me an offer!
Suzuki SJ410 (Wife's) 3" lift kit fitted, body shell now restored and mounted on chassis, waiting on a windscreen and MOT
Series 3 88" Rolling chassis...what to do next
1993 200 TDi Discovery
1994 200 TDi Discovery body shell, being bobbed and modded.....

"Simon Isaacs" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> heads up for all you parents out there about a website called Bebo
> which your kids may be accessing. It allows kids to register in a
> "school" area, but nothing in that area is controlled by the school,
> and is operated by a company nothing to do with education or the
> school system.
>
> We have blocked it at school this week. Operates similar to Friends
> Reunited, but allows you to post pics of yourself, and see lots of
> people at the school.
>
> Came to the attention of the ICT team, when they found some kids on
> it. Allows them to communicate across schools, but *no* checks are
> made on the people logging in. The network manager, a 55 year old
> male, decided to test the security of the system, and was able to
> register as a 14 year old female, and able to see all the kids at our
> school and schools in the surrounding area. By the end of the day, he
> had been listed as a "best m8" of many of the kids, and was being
> invited out. It does rely on you knowing some of the e-mail addresses
> of the kids, but if you know the main root domain, the rest is easy to
> guess by simply typing in random names.....
>
> www.bebo.com
> --
>
> Simon Isaacs
>
> Peterborough 4x4 Club Chairman, Newsletter Editor and Webmaster
> Green Lane Association (GLASS) Financial Director
> 101 Ambi, undergoing camper conversion www.simoni.co.uk
> 1976 S3 LWT, Fully restored, ready for sale! Make me an offer!
> Suzuki SJ410 (Wife's) 3" lift kit fitted, body shell now restored and
> mounted on chassis, waiting on a windscreen and MOT
> Series 3 88" Rolling chassis...what to do next
> 1993 200 TDi Discovery
> 1994 200 TDi Discovery body shell, being bobbed and modded.....

Frightening I checked the site it looks almost like a sophisticated
chatroom, have you contacted the site operator and voiced your opinions
feedback is usually welcome and you will be helping to protect the
vulnerable.
Derek

On Wed, 08 Mar 2006 21:36:30 GMT, "Derek"
<[email protected]> scribbled the following nonsense:

>Frightening I checked the site it looks almost like a sophisticated
>chatroom, have you contacted the site operator and voiced your opinions
>feedback is usually welcome and you will be helping to protect the
>vulnerable.
>Derek
>

the school is on the case with the company, but aren't holding out
much hope. They have informed the schools in Lincs, and then it is
left to the county council to decide who else to spread the message
to. We thought that message needs to go to a wider audience and now!!
--

Simon Isaacs

Peterborough 4x4 Club Chairman, Newsletter Editor and Webmaster
Green Lane Association (GLASS) Financial Director
101 Ambi, undergoing camper conversion www.simoni.co.uk
1976 S3 LWT, Fully restored, ready for sale! Make me an offer!
Suzuki SJ410 (Wife's) 3" lift kit fitted, body shell now restored and mounted on chassis, waiting on a windscreen and MOT
Series 3 88" Rolling chassis...what to do next
1993 200 TDi Discovery
1994 200 TDi Discovery body shell, being bobbed and modded.....

On Wed, 8 Mar 2006 21:43:41 +0000 (UTC), Simon Isaacs <[email protected]>
wrote:

>On Wed, 08 Mar 2006 21:36:30 GMT, "Derek"
><[email protected]> scribbled the following nonsense:
>
>>Frightening I checked the site it looks almost like a sophisticated
>>chatroom, have you contacted the site operator and voiced your opinions
>>feedback is usually welcome and you will be helping to protect the
>>vulnerable.
>>Derek
>>
>
>the school is on the case with the company, but aren't holding out
>much hope. They have informed the schools in Lincs, and then it is
>left to the county council to decide who else to spread the message
>to. We thought that message needs to go to a wider audience and now!!

Its a full time job just trying to block all the crap that the kids in
school try to look at!
The internet link was down for the last 2 days at one of my schools
and it made it so much easier! - kids didnt like it as they actually
had to do some work rather than finding games to play!

On or around Wed, 08 Mar 2006 22:10:13 +0000, Tom Woods
<[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:

>On Wed, 8 Mar 2006 21:43:41 +0000 (UTC), Simon Isaacs <[email protected]>
>wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 08 Mar 2006 21:36:30 GMT, "Derek"
>><[email protected]> scribbled the following nonsense:
>>
>>>Frightening I checked the site it looks almost like a sophisticated
>>>chatroom, have you contacted the site operator and voiced your opinions
>>>feedback is usually welcome and you will be helping to protect the
>>>vulnerable.
>>>Derek
>>>
>>
>>the school is on the case with the company, but aren't holding out
>>much hope. They have informed the schools in Lincs, and then it is
>>left to the county council to decide who else to spread the message
>>to. We thought that message needs to go to a wider audience and now!!
>
>Its a full time job just trying to block all the crap that the kids in
>school try to look at!
>The internet link was down for the last 2 days at one of my schools
>and it made it so much easier! - kids didnt like it as they actually
>had to do some work rather than finding games to play!

Quite honestly, I wonder sometimes whether the correct approach is not to
block things but to educate children so they recognise exploitation and
other nastiness. The whole "think of the children" thing is, IMHO, getting
way out of hand, and being taken to ridiculous limits in some cases. I
realise you have to take steps to protect children from the (very few)
people who actually would physically prey on them, but if by so doing they
don't have any sort of life, then it's something of a pyrrhic victory.
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
Travel The Galaxy! Meet Fascinating Life Forms...
------------------------------------------------\
>> http://www.schlockmercenary.com/ << \ ...and Kill them.
a webcartoon by Howard Tayler; I like it, maybe you will too!

Simon Isaacs wrote:

> heads up for all you parents out there about a website called Bebo
> which your kids may be accessing. It allows kids to register in a
> "school" area, but nothing in that area is controlled by the school,
> and is operated by a company nothing to do with education or the
> school system.

That's probably why the kids like it so much ;-)

> We have blocked it at school this week. Operates similar to Friends
> Reunited, but allows you to post pics of yourself, and see lots of
> people at the school.
>
> Came to the attention of the ICT team, when they found some kids on
> it.

Not wanting to slag your ICT team, but I've been hearing bebo being
talked about for ages now by youngsters however it's only just now I've
looked at it.

> Allows them to communicate across schools, but *no* checks are
> made on the people logging in. The network manager, a 55 year old
> male, decided to test the security of the system, and was able to
> register as a 14 year old female, and able to see all the kids at our
> school and schools in the surrounding area.

He would only be able to see the ones that registered!

> By the end of the day, he
> had been listed as a "best m8" of many of the kids, and was being
> invited out. It does rely on you knowing some of the e-mail addresses
> of the kids, but if you know the main root domain, the rest is easy to
> guess by simply typing in random names.....

I think educating the kids on the dangers of meeting strangers and the
potential implications of putting stuff on the web is far more
beneficial then simply banning/blocking sites. If I were on your ICT
team I would agree with you in banning bebo - not from a point of view
of "kids details" - they register themselves and put things up
themselves and they know that anyone who registers can see things that
go up, but I'd be blocking it because of some of the horrendously
inappropriate anime videos on sites and adult dating site banners. Not
going to make much difference anyway as most kids will have access to
PCs elsewhere and I imagine most access is outside school time.

Regards

William MacLeod

Tom Woods wrote:

> Its a full time job just trying to block all the crap that the kids in
> school try to look at!

Tell the departments that a whitelist system is going to be put in
place at the start of a new academic year, then do it.....

Otherwise you're always going to be fighting a losing battle.

Regards

William MacLeod

Austin Shackles wrote:

> educate children so they recognise exploitation and other nastiness.

Got it in one, Austin. I agree wholeheartedly.

Regards

William MacLeod

On Thu, 09 Mar 2006 09:50:46 +0000, Austin Shackles
<[email protected]> wrote:


>>
>>Its a full time job just trying to block all the crap that the kids in
>>school try to look at!
>>The internet link was down for the last 2 days at one of my schools
>>and it made it so much easier! - kids didnt like it as they actually
>>had to do some work rather than finding games to play!
>
>Quite honestly, I wonder sometimes whether the correct approach is not to
>block things but to educate children so they recognise exploitation and
>other nastiness. The whole "think of the children" thing is, IMHO, getting
>way out of hand, and being taken to ridiculous limits in some cases. I
>realise you have to take steps to protect children from the (very few)
>people who actually would physically prey on them, but if by so doing they
>don't have any sort of life, then it's something of a pyrrhic victory.

I dont disagree with you, but they are not in school to play on the
'net!
They can do whatever they like on the internet but they should be
doing it at home (under parental responsability/supervision), not
while at school.
I'm also pretty sure that the ICT teachers do teach some 'internet
safety' type of lessons. I remeber one about chat rooms and the like.

I'm very trigger happy with my block button!

Firstly - I (or the school) dont want to get in trouble if one of the
little darlings looks at things they shouldnt do. A school library
wouldnt have porn mags on the shelves!..
With chat pages/programs and external email, what legitimate uses are
there for them in a school?
we have had instances of pupils being bullied/harrassed over instant
messages and chat. Easier to block them all and remove the
risk/temptation.

Secondly - The site has a limited amount of bandwidth. When 90 kids
try and play stupid flash games at lunch time it slows it down for the
people trying to do legitimate work and research on there.
We also have people using external web based sites for teaching
lessons and teaching materials now, and things like a controlled
test/work enviroment that need the bandwidth to download things.

Thirdly - They like to waste time in lessons when theyre supposed to
be working.
When i was at school before the internet people would get in trouble
for doing things like reading a magazine in a lesson rather than
reading the proper books or doing work.
I dont see how limiting the internet feed is any different to stopping
something like this? It just happens that the same tool can be used
for both typing something up, doing proper educational research and
wasting time.
Telling the 3 apart when youve got 30+ computers and users in a room
can be tricky.

On 9 Mar 2006 04:19:08 -0800, "[email protected]"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Tom Woods wrote:
>
>> Its a full time job just trying to block all the crap that the kids in
>> school try to look at!
>
>Tell the departments that a whitelist system is going to be put in
>place at the start of a new academic year, then do it.....
>
>Otherwise you're always going to be fighting a losing battle.

Unless the allow list was constantly updated and modified to reflect
the ever growing and changing nature of the internet then it would
probably cause just as much hassle!

A whitelist system would be nice - but for it to work it would take a
full time team of people to do it.
School internet connections are currently all run by the individual
counties. It wouldnt take much for something to be done nationally, so
a whitelist isnt totally out of the realms of probability in the
future.

As it is in the 2 counties i work in, the internet feed is provided by
the county council. They filter it using a combination of external
classifications and rules (surfcontrol for one county) and sites
blocked on request by any of the recieveing schools.

When the filtered county feed arrives in school it is filtered again
using my rules on category (using preexisting/external
categorisations) along with sites blocked manually by staff in the
school.

Unsuitable or unclassified sites (porn for example) still get through
all the time, despite it (before it gets to me) in effect going
through:

The team that controls the classifications at the supplier of the
filtering software. This is also built up by all the customers of the
software.
The county provided filtering, which also has imput from every school
in the county.

On Thu, 09 Mar 2006 21:13:57 +0000, Tom Woods
<[email protected]> scribbled the following nonsense:

>On 9 Mar 2006 04:19:08 -0800, "[email protected]"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>Tom Woods wrote:
>>
>>> Its a full time job just trying to block all the crap that the kids in
>>> school try to look at!
>>
>>Tell the departments that a whitelist system is going to be put in
>>place at the start of a new academic year, then do it.....
>>
>>Otherwise you're always going to be fighting a losing battle.
>
>Unless the allow list was constantly updated and modified to reflect
>the ever growing and changing nature of the internet then it would
>probably cause just as much hassle!
>
>A whitelist system would be nice - but for it to work it would take a
>full time team of people to do it.
>School internet connections are currently all run by the individual
>counties. It wouldnt take much for something to be done nationally, so
>a whitelist isnt totally out of the realms of probability in the
>future.
>
>As it is in the 2 counties i work in, the internet feed is provided by
>the county council. They filter it using a combination of external
>classifications and rules (surfcontrol for one county) and sites
>blocked on request by any of the recieveing schools.
>
>When the filtered county feed arrives in school it is filtered again
>using my rules on category (using preexisting/external
>categorisations) along with sites blocked manually by staff in the
>school.
>
>Unsuitable or unclassified sites (porn for example) still get through
>all the time, despite it (before it gets to me) in effect going
>through:
>
>The team that controls the classifications at the supplier of the
>filtering software. This is also built up by all the customers of the
>software.
>The county provided filtering, which also has imput from every school
>in the county.

yep, tomorrow google the google pictures site for "playboy logo" and
you will find it is probably blocked because of the word "Playboy",
yet google for "bunny logo" gives you the playboy logo, and a whole
lot more which is associated with Playboy....
--

Simon Isaacs

Peterborough 4x4 Club Chairman, Newsletter Editor and Webmaster
Green Lane Association (GLASS) Financial Director
101 Ambi, undergoing camper conversion www.simoni.co.uk
1976 S3 LWT, Fully restored, ready for sale! Make me an offer!
Suzuki SJ410 (Wife's) 3" lift kit fitted, body shell now restored and mounted on chassis, waiting on a windscreen and MOT
Series 3 88" Rolling chassis...what to do next
1993 200 TDi Discovery
1994 200 TDi Discovery body shell, being bobbed and modded.....