HOUSTON -- Thousands of young teens visit Internet chat rooms everyday on their computers.

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Many times they just talk with friends. But adult strangers are also talking in these rooms. And many times those adults are not just looking for innocent talk. Some are looking to talk sex with the teens. It's a danger in itself.

But the News2Houston Investigators quickly found the danger does not end in the chat room.

Instead, a chat room conversation could end with your children actually meeting those adult strangers in person.

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So, how big a problem is it?

The News2Houston Investigators posed online as a 13-year-old Houston girl. We entered several different chat rooms listed on both Yahoo and AOL.

It didn't take long for Houston adult men to talk sex with us. Dozens went even further and sent us private messages where we talked one on one. Then, some arranged to meet us in person.

But instead of finding the young girl they thought they were chatting with online, these men found the News2Houston Investigators with cameras rolling.

What Parents Can Do

Parents can keep track of their children's online activity with help from some products.

Pat Victory and his team at Academic Planet work with hundreds of schools and parents to protect children on the Internet.

He said there are two types of filtering.

Server-based filtering is found on Internet service providers like America Online.
Client-based filtering is a program that the consumer installs on his or her computer.

Some of the most popular programs include Cyber Patrol, Net Nanny, Cybersitter and McAfee Security.

They can all be purchased at local computer stores or online for about $30 to $40.

Victory showed News2Houston how client-based filtering programs work. After they are installed, parents must decide what their children access.

"I can block instant messaging and so it blocks the Yahoo chat or instant messaging client," he said.

One of the benefits of this type of filtering software is that it provides a log that shows where a child has been on the Internet.

But even with filters, unscrupulous people can still get through.

"None of them out there are 100 percent," Victory said.

He recommended the following tips for parents.

Talk with your children about the dangers.
Keep the computer in a central location and not hidden away in their bedroom.
Know your child's buddy list.
Know which Web sites they visit.