The Internet is a powerful and useful tool for research, entertainment, news and commerce. It has also become a convenient way for criminals and predators to infiltrate our lives. The best tool to defend ourselves and our children from these threats is knowledge.

The 9NEWS.com's Internet Safety Section, provides adults and children with information and resources to safely navigate the web and avoid dangerous situations. The links to the right provide general Internet safety websites for children, teens and their parents. Each story also includes video and links to resources related to each topic.

Click HERE to watch an introduction to internet safety.

9NEWS Internet Safety Stories

Internet Safety Tips & Resources For Kids While computer experts all agree that there are a lot of sexual predators waiting on the Internet, they say there are some concrete ways you can avoid being a target. More...

Glossary of chat room terms While millions of children are chatting online, many parents have no idea what they're saying because of shorthand and acronyms used in chat rooms and instant messenger. Below are hundreds of terms listed alphabetically used in online chats. Some important acronyms parents should know are: ASL - asking someone their Age Sex and Location P911 - Parent Alert PAL - Parents Are Listening PIR - Parents In Room POS - Parents Over Shoulder Don't be in the dark about  the lingo your kids use online, Tonight at 10 Nelson Garcia will help you chat like a pro. More...

Find Your Teen on MySpace.com If you're worried about what your teen might be doing online, one way to see is by checking their page on MySpace.com. More...

Staying Safe On MySpace.com With more than 50 million users, MySpace.com is an amazing meeting place.  On the site, you can share your profile, photos, interests, and thoughts with people from around the country and even the world.  While it?s a great place to catch up with old friends and meet new ones, users must be cautious.  The site is also a perfect place for sexual predators. More...

The Danger Online Once upon a time, parents warned children about talking to strangers in dark alleys or those asking about lost puppies.  Now parents have to worry about a new threat inside their own homes?-on the computer. More...

Think Before You Post Being able to post something the entire world can read instantaneously can be exciting.  Through blogs it?s easy to post your thoughts on everything from movies to politics with a few clicks, but you may want to think twice before you do.  What you post today can have far reaching impacts now and the future that you may not even realize. More...

Internet Safety Tips & Resources For Parents Parents can feel a little overwhelmed when it comes to their kids activities on the Internet.  While the web has become an important source of information for adults, our kids are exploring far beyond the websites and emails many of us navigate. More...

The Internet and Your Child The Internet and Your Child is a comprehensive Internet safety and education program for adults. Volunteers from the Lakewood Police Department, Colorado PTA and various other agencies offer the free class to parents, grandparents and caretakers of children. More...

A Girl's Life Online Although the Internet provides us with an endless amount of information at our fingertips, not all of this information is sound or credible, including information about others. More...

Lawmakers seek to ensure access to Internet service records DENVER - Colorado lawmakers will consider a measure to require all Internet service providers (ISPs) in the state to keep their records for at least a year. More...

27 face charges in international child porn enterprise INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - U.S. and international authorities have charged 27 people in connection with an online child pornography enterprise, federal authorities said Wednesday. More...

Preventing and dealing with identity theft The following is information from the Denver District Attorney & Federal Trade Commission on best practices to help prevent idenity theft and how to deal with the problem if it happens to you. More...

Convicted sex offender arrested for alleged internet blackmail scheme COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - A 23-year-old convicted sex offender is accused of hacking his way into Internet accounts to extort sex. More...

Online predator caught after propositioning undercover officer WESTMINSTER ? Police arrested a man with an uncreative screen name who they say made plans in an online chat room to meet a ?young girl.? More...

Texas law enforcement officer arrested for soliciting child sex in Colorado CANON CITY - A Texas constable is being held in lieu of $100,000 cash bond after allegedly crossing state lines to have sex with a child. More...

Parents Safety-Net Test The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Qwest are working together to keep kids safe from internet threats such as pornographic pop-ups and cyber-bullying. A centerpiece of the effort is the Parents Safety-Net Test... More...

"TableSwipe" Tech: Answer To Restaurant ID Theft? The restaurant industry is trying out some new technology designed to cut down on "restaurant skimming." The TableSwipe credit card reader was developed by a company in Colorado. More...