PLAINVIEW, N.Y. -- A click on the computer, and the taunting begins.

Today's bullies aren't just aggressive kids in the school yard -- they are sitting at keyboards, they are anonymous, and they could be hurting your child.

Education Reporter Carol Anne Riddell has more on the issue from a high school freshman -- whose identity is being protected.

The teen said cyber bullying can be painful -- even frightening.

"I got a lot of instant messages and calls and threats about how the second I get into high school I'm going to have a lot of trouble," the teen said.

And things got worse -- the student told Riddell that at one point, a doctored photo showing her face on another person's naked body was sent to dozens of people.

"It is very embarrassing because people who I don't know look at me and are like, 'Oh, there's the girl with the naked picture,'" the teen said.

Cyber bullying is more common than you might think; a student survey shows that 25 percent of students in grades 9 through 12 said they know someone who has been cyber bullied. Another 32 percent admit they've said mean or hurtful things on the Internet.

Surveys show that the taunting can take place in e-mails, instant messages and chat rooms. Today's bullies are computer savvy and anonymous -- able to conceal their identities and even make it look like hurtful words are coming from another person not actually involved.

"There is no end to how downright mean people can be with it," the teen said.

Glen Zakian is an assistant principal at John F. Kennedy High School in Plainview, N.Y., where the school district recently changed its policy to include cyber bulling in its code of conduct.

The district said the change is an effort to get in front of a growing problem.

"Everybody can be a bully," Zakian said. "There's really no limit -- no limit at all."

What else can be done about this modern bullying? Old-fashioned lessons on kindness -- at an early age, officials said.

Riddell sat in on bullying prevention class at St. Patrick's School in Huntington recently and received some feedback on how bullying makes others feel.

Girls in a group also attending the prevention class said that though bullying starts at school most often, there is a message that parents need to hear as well.

"You can't say you don't know anything about the computer," Ginger Lieberman of LIPEN/Bully Frog Program said. "You better know about the computer. Your child has a secret life, and you have to be a part of it."

Another tip is to encourage kids to talk to adults about bullying.

Also -- if your child is a victim of cyber bullying -- save the messages, because you may need them later if action is going to be taken.

For more information on how to keep your children safe from bullying, visit Bullyfrog.com or iSafe.org.