Bantering with the Bots Virtual chat companions are putting some humans to shame Carol Mah fears cyberspace the same way some children fear the boogeyman. Mah's is not the unfounded concern of an overly protective parent.
Pornographic websites are as pernicious as weeds and just as twisted.
As of last May, there were some 500,000 porn sites on the Internet pandering to just about any prurient interest you would rather not imagine. Last year, one quarter of American youths who went online strayed into areas that are supposed to be adults-only. Mah says she and her husband monitor their kids while they are using the computer, but it's nearly impossible to keep an eye on them all the time. Help is at hand. Software programs designed to watch your kids' online excursions when you can't are readily available.