Kids can access porn on game systems

(WMC & KOLD) - It's game night at the Haddow house.  The kids focus on the Wii game system with remotes in hand.

Mom Laurie Haddow watches the contest and the content confident that her kids' real vulnerability to pornography is going to be their computers.

"I think it's going to be over the Internet," Laurie said.

What Haddow didn't know is that we got porn on the Wii.

"I can't believe you can do that," she exclaimed in disbelief. "I don't actually understand how"

Jeff Horton is a Web Security Expert.  "Virtually any device you can get now...has a web browser on it," he told Haddow.

"And, you can get to anything out there completely unfiltered," he added.

To control your kids' access to Facebook or anything else on your Wi-Fi, Horton recommends the online service  OPEN DNS. "It will filter that out… and, it's free."

It's the same service that businesses use to track their employees' online behavior at work.  Open DNS keeps a record of every attempt to access anything on your wireless network.  It includes any device connected to your wireless network.  It can be customized to block up to 30 categories of objectionable content or specific web sites.

Horton said, "It can be anything from lingerie and swim wear to violence and hate speech."  That also includes any spyware or malware.

When Horton installed Opendns on Haddow's Wi-Fi network, every attempt to access pornography on her computer was blocked.  That included her smart phone, DSI system, computers and even her kids' Wii.

There's one drawback to the Open DNS protection system is it only filters and monitors what's going through your specific Wi-Fi network.  If the kids hop on to another unprotected Wi-Fi network in the area, all bets are off.

James F. Ruffer III is an Ethical Computer Hacker. "Kids are very tricky," he said.  "They know how to get around things, so they'll connect their Wii to the neighbor's Wi-Fi. "

"Now, they're able to have full access to see whatever they want.  They're not being regulated by Mom or Dad."

Which is why Mom & Dad need to play umpire with or without the right Wi-Fi protection.

"We need to protect ourselves...from ourselves," Laurie said.