Friday, July 29, 2011

Teen Internet Safety

ssues of teen internet safety are very important for your teen to understand as he or she naturally becomes more involved in social networking sites and other social habits that are based around internet use. Texting, IM, Facebook, and other electronic methods of communication have quickly replaced traditional dating and socializing. It is important that your teen knows the dangers of internet communication and how to stay safe when using these various mediums of communication. It's also important that you as a parent take an active role in helping keep them safe until they are mature enough to make good choices.

Establish Rules at Home

One of the first things you can do to establish teen internet safety in your home is to set rules with your teen regarding electronic communication. Veto the exchange of addresses and phone numbers on social networking sites and discuss about the importance of communicating only with people he/she knows.

Monitor Computer Use

Parental monitoring is a key part of teen internet safety. Make sure your teen understands that all forms of electronic communications are subject to monitoring. You can and will review the internet sites visited online. Use the history section of your web browser, read text messages on cell phones, review their status updates and their friend list on Facebook, as well any other monitoring you feel is necessary. You can use the parental control features on your internet browser to password protect your browser or to block certain types of websites on your computer.

source:http://ezinearticles.com

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Teaching Internet Safety To Children


If you are a parent you well know that parenting is easier said than done. To add to this parenting now is considered incomplete without teaching internet safety to children. And in this times of cyber crimes and online threats this is not something you can afford to neglect.Teaching internet safety to children effectively of course means that you have to first get yourself educated, become aware of the latest happenings online especially in regards to online safety for children. If you don't know already, you will be amazed even shocked at what is going on online, the kinds of content which is easily accessible by anyone including children too.

Simply knowing how to operate the computer and access the internet won't do, this is one area where you want to be at least a step ahead of your kid. You have to be able to find out whether they are hiding anything from you. Thankfully it doesn't take much to educate yourself in the areas of computers and internet, resources are within easy reach both offline and online.

Like in parenting, it does help in teaching internet safety to children if you already enjoy an open relationship with your kids. For that matter, if your relationship with your kids is one of trust and reliability, it will be far easier not only getting across your messages to them but anything important you want to share with them. Hence building up a good relationship with your children helps in keeping them safe too although indirectly.

Maybe you already know this, but there has been some unfortunate cases where some kids ended their lives due to extreme tormenting experiences online. Even if not this extreme, we know that experiences of deep hurt during childhood can scar a child for life. The parents of the kids who went through extreme sufferings due to online activities would surely have regretted not having taken the right steps in time to protect their children.

source:http://ezinearticles.com

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Why Use Internet Tracking Software?

It is impossible to imagine our life without the Internet. Indeed, the Internet is a powerful force and it is used in business, education, entertainments etc. At the same time, the Internet can be dangerous, especially for kids. Access to information is unrestricted. Thus, kids may become victims of scammers and even criminals. That is why it is extremely important to make sure your kids visit safe websites with appropriate contents. Use of the Internet monitoring software can be very helpful for parents who care for their kids.The Internet monitoring software can be installed to a PC in an invisible way. Thus, your kids will not even guess that you know what websites they visited. One of the greatest advantages of using such software is the ability to filter sites. Thus, it is an excellent opportunity to make sure your kids will be unable to visit porno web sites or other dangerous web pages. The filter can be adjusted in a variety of ways. The software is user friendly, thus parents with minimal software knowledge will be able to use it.

The Internet monitoring software can be also used in offices. According to the recent surveys, more than 50% of employees use the Internet for their personal purposes. It is not acceptable since such employees will not show their top performance. Besides, the Internet is very interrupting. At the same time, employees might need the Internet to perform their duties. What is the solution? The Internet monitoring software will solve the problem. If employees are aware that they are controlled they are unlikely to upload new pictures to their Facebook profiles. By the way, social networking websites are very popular and addictive. Thus, you can simply adjust the internet monitoring software so that employees are unable to visit, for example, Facebook.

source:http://ezinearticles.com

Friday, July 15, 2011

Parental Control Filter Options

In this day and age of untrammeled information explosion, setting parental control filters to regulate children's online activities may be the wisest thing to do. It is laudable to offer children the freedom to explore the vast expanse of knowledge and communicate with others. But safety and security being paramount, parental control filters with time-tested and cutting-edge software are the right way to channel children's curiosity.Children are naturally drawn to anything that not only raises their curiosity but also offers them easy reward. Parents, therefore, have a duty and a responsibility, to guide their kids in their impressionable and formative years in the right direction. For instance, it is essential to emphasize early on the importance of never giving out one's name, phone number, address, social security number, or other private information to strangers online. It is easier said than done, especially when children run into tricksters who are too smart to handle. Of course, there are laws out there. For instance, according to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), any web site that collects information from children under 13 must clearly state the nature of information they're gathering and to what purpose. More often than not, it is mandatory that the web site obtains parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information about a child. Parents may want to read privacy statements in detail before deciding whether to give their consent. But if there is no reason why anyone should waste their time in the first place, there is no better way than to exercise parental control filter options to the fullest extent possible. Parents may want to configure software to allow only approved contacts to prevent children from running into strangers while instant messaging. And it is here that technology can play a major role. Parental control software can block exposure to such websites and inappropriate content for good. Software that can enable parents to monitor, manage, and administer their children's computer use is the key to success.

Parents would need to know how to limit searches, block or allow certain web sites. After all, any filter should be intelligent enough not to block educational content that can enhance a child's intelligence and social awareness. It is essential that parental control filters provide adequate guidelines that could help parents control child's use of online communications safely and intelligently. While setting user accounts, parents can filter any inappropriate, violent games, media players or chat programs by setting up limited user accounts for their kids. Being in full control as administrators, they can easily set web browser security and privacy preferences.

source:http://ezinearticles.com

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Computer Monitoring Software

If you are seriously interested in understanding computer monitoring, you need to think beyond the basics. This informative article takes a closer look at things you need to know computer monitoring.
You may not consider everything you just read to be crucial information about computer monitoring. But do not be surprised if you find yourself recalling and using this very information in the next few days.With advances in technology today, when it comes to software for monitoring children, whatether parents want - is likely to be available! As the popularity and the need for increased monitoring software, makes the need for a reliable source of information on software, including the various functions that are available to parents today.Parents should keep an eye on their children all day - not only when they do not work. One reason is computer programs, which is gaining popularity because parents cannot physically be at their house to watch a child or teen when they are online. Most parents have jobs and this means that they cannot always be present when their children out of school. Thus, today more and more parents are turning to software tracking than ever!

Keyloggers can also monitor keystrokes, thus, and can actually send you by e-mail so you know, when someone wrote a chosen keyword. It is commonly known as remote access, and it can really help you monitor your children when you are away, and also see what your employees are in place when you can be outside the office or traveler.Looking Up recorder essential services, Internet services and parental oversight of online monitoring, you can access a range of different services that are able to meet all your monitoring needs. A careful examination of the features offered and the cost can help you decide on the most convenient service. Once you've chosen the right product to download online, you just have a few minute for installation and you are on your way to understand precisely what others are when online.

source:http://www.articlesbase.com

Friday, July 8, 2011

Internet Safety - How to Protect Your Children

Has your child seen any adult images online? You might not think so, but recent studies show that more than half the children who use the Internet have been exposed to indecent material and only one in six parents is aware of it. As a parent, there are some things you can do immediately to stop it.Today, any computer-literate child can view anything, from adult material to graphic videos, online chats, live adult shows, virtual adult parties, user-generated offensive material, and material that is illegal and subject to prosecution. Children are given all this access free of charge as a means to lure them into becoming victims and to get them to reveal information about your family.

There are legitimate sites for children but predators have easy and anonymous access to children online where they can conceal their identity and roam without limit even on legitimate sites. While more and more law enforcement agencies are setting up cyber crime units, for now, it is the responsibility of parents to play cyber cop to protect their children and family.Explain to your children that talking online to strangers is a very bad idea. Be as direct as you can, even to the point of frightening them. Stress that they may be endangering not just themselves but your entire family by exposing details to a predator. Being online is not as anonymous as most people believe. Predators have ways of easily finding out real names and addresses of children they chat with.

Explain to your children, male or female, that child molesters frequent chat rooms on the Internet. If you are not familiar with chat rooms, it is time that you investigated what they are and how they work. If your children have access to the Internet, they have access to chat rooms. Child molesters pose as children or "confidants" trying to develop friendships with unsuspecting children. Child molesters lure their victims with promises of friendship and material goods. Many adolescent Internet users look for anonymous friends, someone they believe they can safely chat with while their unsuspecting parents are not present. And, too often, it works!

If you are not computer savvy, ask your children to show you how it's done or take some night classes. Do not just watch your kids surf or just talk to your kids about what they are seeing or doing online. Get involved. This will help everyone, including you, understand better what is going on.

source:http://ezinearticles.com

Monday, July 4, 2011

Internet Safety - Keeping Your Kids Safe Online

As a parent, there is a responsibility to keep your child safe. While they use the internet, there are some potential dangers to be aware of. Part of good parenting is being sure that your child is safely using the internet and not being put into any danger. It's also important they do not run into any content that might be disturbing.First, you need to know where they are going. Most people use one browser and the history is shared. If you find a page that you may not approve of, you have no idea which kid or adult in the house was on that page. Some browsers like Firefox have profiles where each user gets their own settings and history. This would be an easy way of knowing who is going to what pages and being exposed to what content. If you have an idea of where the kids are going, you can know what steps are needed to take to ensure their internet  safety.

If you are concerned about the content that kids see, there are programs that help filter the internet. This would help stop most of the pornographic, adult only, and violent images that you wouldn't want your child being exposed to. There are even Firefox add-ons that can filter words. A parent can take a series of swear words, for example, and make them show up on the screen differently or not at all.

Be careful about who they chat with online. Generally it's best if they only chat with people they know in person. If they do use a chat client like Yahoo or MSN consider using a username that does not give away who they are and don't put in their personal information when signing up for the account. If they are using social networking sites, use the privacy option. This means that only approved friends can actually view the profile. This gives the child a way of still being part of the social network without many of the issues involved.

source:http://ezinearticles.com

Friday, July 1, 2011

Some Internet Safety for Kids Age 5-7 Years Old

Kids from 5 to 7 years old are very dependent on what their parents or older people tell them. They don't question people's authority although they are curious on finding out the "whys?" of everything. They are trusting and interpret the world as they see it.

Internet threats to Kids Age 5-7 Years Old

Kids from 5 to 7 years old have knowledge on the basic operations of the computer like manipulating the mouse, using the keyboard and turning the computer on and off. However, the internet may be complicated to them so they are very dependent on adults to find web sites and explain the information given online. They have little capacity to use the internet alone.Since they can't discern what is real from fictional, they are vulnerable to believing everything they see online as true. They can accidentally enter websites that aren't proper to their age. They may not exactly understand the text from websites, but they clearly understand the violent images. Since they are trusting in older people, they can easily be persuaded to provide personal information through instant messaging, surveys, or similar forms.

These vulnerabilities should be protected at all times. Here are the things you should do to ensure the internet  safety of your kids while using the internet:

•Never leave your kids alone in front of the computer. Always sit with them whenever they use the internet.

•Have a list of friendly websites saved on your personal bookmark so that you can easily access his favorite sites. Teach your kids how to direct the mouse to it.

•Enable the security settings of search engines.

•Keep the internet-connected computer where you can see it.

•Use filtering devices such as firewalls or setup a security system wherein the forbidden sites can't be opened (intentionally or accidentally).


source:http://www.articlesbase.com