Spyware on Children's Computers; Regorian Rhetoric

Harlan Coben in an editorial titled ¨The Undercover Parent”(March 16,2008) claims that parents should have conversations about their concerns with teens, and let them know spyware is a possibility. Coben develops and supports his claim by using anecdotes. One example of an anecdote Coben uses is in paragraph one,¨… friends of mine confessed over dinner that they had spyware on their 15 year-old son’s computer so they could monitor all he did online.¨ He also supports his claim because he is giving the parents a decision on if they want to use spyware or not. The intended audience for this article is parents because this article is about protecting your kids while they are online and to prevent bad things to happen. I both agree and disagree

While there are pros and cons of spyware, I believe the pros outweigh the cons. Kids don’t always make the best decisions and especially not online, where they feel safest. If you don’t monitor your child it could end badly. It’s better to be safe then

Email – If children have email accounts they could come across files of people they don’t know and they may inadvertently open a virus or an inappropriate image.

In this Coben tries to get the reader to think the idea of spyware is a good thing and not so bad as it sounds. It sometimes helps reduce negative feelings by explaining what spyware is and how easy it is to get. When Coben says, "you have the ability to log every keystroke your child makes and thus a good portion of his or her private world" it does kinda scare the reader a little because of how he phrases some words but then he adds, "that’s what spyware is—at least the parental monitoring kind" this reassure the reader. "Am I suggesting eavesdropping on every conversation? No. With new technology comes new responsibility" this statement shows us that he feels that we shouldn't eavesdrop on every conversation Which makes the reader think that now it won't be such a time

As the Internet developed, it brings a lot of benefits, such as getting information much quicker; however, it also brings problem. One problem that Internet brings to today’s society is children’s safety on virtual world; there are a lot of temptations attract kids on the Internet. This issue Coben discusses is a particularly controversial one because it’s hard for parents ignore the dangerous on the Internet; on the other hand, if parents surveillance kids’ privacy world, it’s really embarrassed for children. How could we solve this problem? What is a compromise way for both parents and children? Coben thinks parents should use spyware on the computer, but not surreptitious doing this; parents should tell

Spyware is Software that enables a user to obtain information about another's computer activities by transmitting data from their hard drive.

The title of the essay is The Undercover Parents, which was written by Harlan Coben. The essay was published on the 16th of March, 2008. In the essay, Coben presents his main ideas and thoughts regarding the use of spyware by parents to monitor children. He says that installing a spyware on the computer used by children, especially those in the teenage years, can help parents track what actually their children view on computers. In the essay, the author says that while it is quite hard to follow up on children while they are away from home and this causes parents to be so worried, installing spyware on the computers in the house really helps. Coben says that the program allows parents to keep track of the children

Every day teenagers use the internet, whether it’s on their phones or on the computers at school or at home. Their lives are practically centered around it. They’re connecting with each other on social media such as: Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, and even online video games, and this has is benefits, but it can also have some negative and possibly dangerous situations. The internet is not a safe haven for anyone or anything. In the article “The Undercover Parent” the author, Harlan Coben, makes the argument that spyware is alright to be used by parents on their kids computers as long as the parents are using the software responsibly. I agree with Coben’s statements because of his solid arguments of dangerous conversations, privacy, and bullying.

Parents can also have a more direct role in monitoring the technology that their children use. There are multiple options available to parents, including tools and software designed specifically to protect juveniles from online predators. One popular tool is the Net Nanny, which allows parents to monitor everything that happens on the computer and can limit the access a person has to online activities based on the specified settings (Cohen-Almagor, 197). Another method available is the Engine for Relationship Analysis (ERA), which monitors, analyzes, and assesses online relationships as they develop (Cohen-Almagor, 197). This tool could be effective with preteens and teens as it allows more freedom than the Net Nanny, but still keeps parents informed of any potential issue. The ERA is used to analyze instant messaging platforms, which would be an effective method to track as using email would stifle the conversation and there would be a greater risk for the predator of being caught. This type of prevention would work well with addressing the issue of having a capable guardian concerning Routine Activities

The reason I really agree is because Coben is showing how good spyware could be because it could tell you what your kids are doing and see if it’s bad and even see who they’re even talking because they could be talking to some crazy and weird people. Another good thing about spyware is that you could put a tracking device in their cell phones to see if they’re going in a bad neighborhood. If I was a parent I would consider using spyware just to make sure that my children are ok and not in danger. Coben is trying to get parents to agree but some parents might think it’s invading their children's space but Coben is just trying to show that without protection it could lead into

Coben uses reasoning by frequently bringing up the different issues with spyware, only to refute them and strengthen his argument. He possesses a more lenient perspective on what should be considered safe on the Internet and what should not be. For example, he argues that not all of a child’s conversations need to be considered and neither does the issue of pornography. Coben argues that pornography is a natural interest amongst many teenage boys. Thus, he persuades his reader to be more open about spyware through his lenient position on spyware and by addressing almost all of the issues that come to a reader’s mind. Coben both establishes his credibility and appeals to his audience’s emotions through his use anecdotes. For example, he includes how his friend had a talk with his daughter after monitoring her using drugs and having an affair with her dealer, which ended up well and put his daughter in the right direction. Coben also uses personal anecdotes to appeal and connect with audience. For example, Coben uses a personal anecdote of how he used to look at magazine from Playboy to relate to the audience of teens, who would be against spyware. Coben establishes a well-rounded argument; although, I do feel that installing spyware on a child is still very wrong to do, I have somewhat become more open and can see why some would consider

In his article "Undercover Parent," Harlan Coben encourages and supports the concept of spyware being placed on teenagers' computers by their parents. With these programs parents can view every keystroke their child makes and examine what websites their children visit. While Coben’s viewpoints are bold, his argument still stands weakly with several invalid and questionable viewpoints.

Coben states that parents should put spyware on their kids computers, but shouldn’t be nosey and be completely responsible look for anything hazardous. However I disagree and believe teenagers should be trusted with online responsibilities. One reason for this is a third party (the vendor) makes a record of what you do ,but the author did not make note this or did not even know which in my opinion is worst than a faceless bureaucrat because that third is likely to release it to other parties such as google or other big corporations.

Your child may think that if they post a nude or a semi nude picture on Instagram, they will become somehow popular. But certain things shouldn't be posted online because they will harm your child's reputation or hurt their future chances for a job or college admission. Also, monitoring can help parents identify “bad apples”. Some of your child's friends could be trying to convince him to do drugs, shoplift, or do something else against your family's moral code. In addition, monitoring can help parents to keep away online predators from their child. The Internet is the #1 tool of child predators for finding and developing friendships with children around social media. If a child has a smartphone, he has extensive access to the Internet through his mobile device. This translates to your child having convenient access to virtually any type of website, including gambling and pornography. All this can be avoided if you start watching what your child is doing in the

Is your privacy getting invaded by your parent? Technology gets better each and everyday, but how will it affect you? It has put a big effect on teens so their parents can know what is going on while their teens aren’t home. Parents have worked around problems to figure out many things such as where they are, who they called, and how fast they are driving. Depending if a teen is responsible or not tells how much freedom the teen can have. Privacy is important but parents also need to consider the teens perspective. In the article “Parental Monitoring Or An Invasion of Privacy”Robert Foltz discusses how parents are worried about everything their children are doing at all times. In the article “How Private Is Your Private Life?” the author Andrea Rock talks about her privacy is always close to being invaded. Privacy is not always taken the right way, teens can be tracked, what the teens think about their privacy may cause problems, and the actions they make results in what they are able to do.