Keeping Kids Safer with IM

Alec Saunders has brought to light a very important new startups flagship product called IMSafer, the premise behind IMsafer is it allows parents to monitor IM conversations without intruding on childrens privacy. With the recent public outrage over the Foley emails and IM's currently under investigation in the US - the need for a product like IMsafer couldn't be more apparent.

According to Alec

It lurks in the background on any PC, discretely monitoring IM traffic, and uses lexical analysis techniques — the same techniques used by law enforcement – to look for the telltale signs that your child is having an exchange with a sexual predator. If it finds those signs, it alerts you, the adult, so you can intervene before it’s too late.

The IMSafer service also allows parents to leave feedback on people they believe are having inappropriate conversations with their child. This feedback allows IMSafer to be even more proactive in alerting parents about potentially inappropriate online relationships. As more parents get involved, the stronger the service becomes.

Check out the post on Alec's blog, and I would kindly ask you digg the story from there as well, it is important and needs to get out. They are launching tomorrow with support for AOL, MSN, AIM, ICQ and YIM, and plan to add support for Skype and Gtalk soon.