"When children visit these kinds of sites they may encounter two kinds of danger," said Abdulhayoglu. "First, predators look for them on those sites because those sites attract children. This predator is willing to invest both time and money in gaining a child's trust. Children online need good sense, at a time when they are still trying to develop it. Comodo strongly recommends that parents take time to discuss what their children are doing online, to guard children from online predators. A very helpful resource is the FBI's Parent's Guide to Online Safety."

At the same time, children online face the same hazard as netizens everywhere: malware. Just like grownups, they may unthinkingly open email attachments containing viruses, or they may visit infected websites. "In fact, because they are not as worldly, they probably do this more often," said Abdulhayoglu. Doing so causes malicious software to install itself on their computers.

"Malware has evolved," said Abdulhayoglu. "Once it installs, even a grownup may not even know that it's there. It sits in the background and sends out spam emails. Or it tracks the keystrokes that Mum or Dad types into the computer, including their online banking password and other confidential information."

"The good news about malware is that it goes out to thousands or millions of people in hopes that a small percentage of them will take the bait, without the elaborate ruses that online predators use. This means that security software can protect against most malware."

Just as malware has evolved, security software has evolved as well. "The best protection is a whitelist," he said. Whitelists are lists of safe software. If the software that tries to install itself is not on the list, security software such as Comodo Internet Security will not permit it to install. "Most security software uses the outdated blacklist approach. When a child meets today's threat, but your blacklist only includes yesterday's threats, you can see that there is a gaping hole in your security. Instead of letting it install because the file is not on the blacklist, a whitelist prevents it from installing until a responsible adult can check it out."

Today's youth are especially fond of mobile devices according to the Kaiser Family Foundation report. "Those mobile devices are computers—totally capable of running applications," Abdulhayoglu said.

"All criminals have to do is trick us into opening up their application. If you download or install the application, you've just given them full access to everything that's in your mobile device. And, again, kids do not have the judgment and discrimination that adults have."

The Internet offers vast amounts of valuable information for people who can use it wisely, he said. But when children venture online, he recommended "responsible supervision when possible, and reliable security software at all times."

About Comodo --

Comodo is a leading brand in Internet security, covering an extensive range of security software and services, including digital certificates, PCI scanning, desktop security, online faxing, and computer technical support services.

Businesses and consumers worldwide recognize Comodo as standing for security and trust. Comodo products secure and authenticate online transactions for over 200,000 businesses and have more than 25,000,000 installations of Comodo desktop security software, including an award-winning firewall and antivirus software offered at no charge.

The Comodo family of companies is committed to continual innovation, core competencies in PKI, authentication, and malware detection and prevention. As a catalyst in eliminating online crime, the companies' mission is to establish a Trusted Internet.

With US headquarters overlooking Manhattan on New Jersey's waterfront, and global resources in United Kingdom, China, India, Ukraine, and Romania, Comodo products offer intelligent security, authentication, and assurance. Comodo -- Creating Trust Online®.

For more information, visit Comodo's website. www.comodo.com