There is now a new type of computer thief known as the "mother hacker." They are parents who sneak into their children's rooms to find out what their kids are downloading onto their hard drives.
I discovered this when I dropped by to visit with Francesca Wainright, mother of George Wainright. She was sitting at her son's keyboard.
She said, "I'm checking out what George has in his memory."
"Is that legal?"
"I'm his mother. I should know what is in his files."
"Are you sure you want to do that?"
"Suppose he's saving some Penthouse pornography? This is information I should be aware of."
"So what can you do if he is saving some porno stuff in his cache?" I asked.
"I can erase it. That's what mothers are for."
I said, "This is the way I see it. A computer is like the postal system. You have no right to read anything on your kid's screen."
"Suppose he's corresponding with a girl in Norway? If I don't stop him, who will?"
"I think you're exaggerating the girls that your son is writing to. You have no right to open up your son's e-mail. Besides, there is nothing wrong with George contacting a beautiful girl in Scandinavia."
"I'm his mother, and I know what is good for him and what isn't. I already found a picture of Madonna in his temporary file."
I said, "I can't stop you, but someday when your son tells his shrink what you did to him, you are going to have to pay the piper."
"You can say that now, but if you had a son who spent all his time in his bedroom, you would want to know what was in his drive. I could save his life if only I found out the signals that are coming in from the Internet."
She went back to the computer. "Look at this," she yelled. "It's a newsletter from Naked Came the Stranger."
I said, "All the kids get a letter like that from somebody."
"I didn't buy my son a computer so he could read Naked Came the Stranger."
"But if you erase it he'll know that you found it and he'll never trust you again."
I could see she was getting upset. She said, "If a mother can't read her son's AOL, who can?"