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SALT LAKE CITY -- A new peer-to-peer chat program is gaining tens of thousands of users per month. It's called Chatroulette.com, and it connects you via webcam with random strangers -- but people should be aware of the dangers before logging on.
KSL News tried the site Friday. Within 20 minutes of logging on, we talked to guys from Turkey, Norway, Spain, France and England.
Chatroulette allows you to click next if you don't like the person you're speaking with, so you're able to see a lot of people in a short amount of time.
People we chatted with wanted to know why there was a camera in the back of our shot. We explained we were doing a story on the site and asked what they thought.
"Chatroulette is a strange site. A lot of people [are on it], but no one will talk," said a man in his living room in France.
"The site is growing," said a graphic designer from Spain. "But there are a lot of perverts. I think the site is going to fall down because of them."
Although many people we met were friendly and appropriate, we also easily experienced the other side of the site. We were exposed to nudity and received explicit requests from chatters.
The concept is concerning to Sariah Donnahoo, the community education specialist with the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
"They want to see what they can get somebody to do," she says.
Donnahoo says the danger with Chatroulette is that there's little monitoring. Although you can report offensive conduct, you can't control what you see. You also don't create an account or log into the site.
Furthermore, Donnahoo says many people -- kids especially -- don't realize their chats can easily be recorded.
"They can capture that video of you that they can save and distribute as they please," Donnahoo said.
And they are. When we Googled "Chatroulette screen shots," we got pages of results. Some were funny; some just plain weird or embarrassing. All are proof that you may want to think twice before you step in front of a camera.
Donnahoo recommends parents get rid of webcams all together; you can tape over the lens if it's built into your computer. She said viruses and worms can be programmed to activate your webcam without you even knowing it's on.
E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com
