SENTRYCAM™ was written by a parent, for parents. It is uncomplicated and has been designed for every level of computer skill from experienced to novice. SENTRYCAM™ is not a blocker/filter, it contains no libraries to create, no security alarms to set and no punitive responses if a child makes a mistake.

SENTRYCAM™ works only with the Internet, (at the present time), and does not interfere with anyone's ability to surf the Web. SENTRYCAM™ watches and captures screenshots of every area of the Internet. It captures games, chat rooms, generic websites, e-mail read and written online and it even follows a child into the dreaded private chat room or private message window.

No Perfect World

There is no such thing as a perfect world. Parents rediscover that each time they must leave their child with a sitter, or send him off to school or permit him to pursue his education on the Internet. Conventional wisdom declares that good parenting requires constant, in person, monitoring of every youngster's visit to the Web. However, conventional wisdom doesn't go to work, cook, clean, mow the lawn or have other children to "monitor" constantly.SENTRYCAM™ is a passive monitor that offers parents the opportunity to share their children's online experience without having to stand over the child every minute.

Tools, not Weapons

Parents need tools, but most technology offers them weapons. Complicated blockers and filters do the job of sanitizing the Web pretty well. They use specific words to decide what children cannot see and where they cannot go. And, they do prevent very young children from going to the worst sites...and also, some of the best. But, as good as they are, they cannot negate every inappropriate site on the Internet. Many harmless sounding words are not harmless at all. Heaven's Gate may sound positively innocent, but members of that cult, (which maintained a site on the web), committed suicide and left the earth in the wake of the Hale-Bopp comet. Some child protection programs offer punishment along with protection in that they shut down the computer if the child commits a violation. (Very frustrating if the parent meets with the same fate.)

SENTRYCAM™ acts as an early warning system, telling parents when a youngster has visited such a site and offering them an opportunity to discuss the child's feelings about the subject. It can also bring some insight into a child's change in behavior. Discipline, if required is left where it belongs -- with parents. With SENTRYCAM™ parents decide whether or not a violation is serious enough to require simple conversation or some kind of restriction.

SENTRYCAM™ also acts to monitor a child's online behavior. If a youngster is disruptive in a chat room or deliberately seeks out inappropriate sites or is having an inappropriate relationship online, SENTRYCAM™ will warn parents of these events, too. Ultimately, SENTRYCAM™ or any program for that matter, is only as good as the people who use it. However, if online safety and a stronger relationship with your children are important to you, SENTRYCAM™ will empower you in both areas.

Child Pornography

A reasonable definition of Child Pornography is: Any visual depiction of a minor, (under the age of 18), engaged in any sexually explicit conduct, including sexually explicit exhibitionism. This prohibition extends to all forms of visual media, including photographs, film and electronic and digital reproductions.

One last item about SENTRYCAM's™ interest in and dedication to the protection of children: SENTRYCAM's™ time/date stamp places a predator at a particular location at a specific time. It is evidence an ISP can use to track a screenname. It is our hope to have a qualified agency or organization establish a safe address where parents may send the evidence SENTRYCAM™ gathers for them. At the present time, there is no such address and Internet users MUST destroy all child pornography they receive because it is illegal to receive, send or possess such material in any form. Local law enforcement may or may not be able to cope with the information taken to them by worried parents. However, the Internet is the great leveler -- it brings the entire world to small towns and rural areas and most such communities have few resources to handle computer crime. Internet predators do not discriminate between city kids and country kids.

Child pornography is evidence of a crime. It's like being witness to a rape or murder except that you are required to bury the victim and the evidence, but to obtain the criminal's address and license plate number. The children and adults in these photographs have faces which are usually recognizable and there may be clues in the background that will lead to the identification of the animals who torture children. If we, as a nation, are really serious about ending child abuse, we need to offer parents and guardians more than a law which is intended to punish predators, but merely drives them underground and severely limits a parent's ability to report a crime. A safe address is not a perfect solution, but it is a start. If you are interested in joining us in our drive to have Congress create a safe address, we'd be grateful for your participation. Please contact us by e-mail at: