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

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

Internet Safety Rules : Kidsguard4u

inappropriate content, pornography or violent images is a major concern when this information can be just one click away with a mouse.There are many options available to provide parental control over Internet content that can be made available to your children. We will start with the basics. Depending on the Internet service provider (ISP) you use, most will supply you with a free security suite that comes with your monthly subscription. This will allow you to filter out most inappropriate content online and some offer filtering by age level. Your best bet would be to contact your ISP for availability.

Internet browsers like Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox browser can also be configured to block content for kids. Internet Explorers parental controls can be found under the tools section of the toolbar in the upper right corner of the browser. By selecting the content tab you can choose from a list of content categories that you might not wish your child to see.

In Firefox you can use add on extensions from the tools section of the toolbar to find content blocking applications. You can search for these add ons from the toolbar which will open up Mozilla's extension web page. These must be installed to your Firefox browser and then you have to restart your browser to activate them. Just search for parental controls from the add ons web page. Some good add ons include, Glubble for families, ProCon, LeechBlock and FoxFilter. Leechblock will allow you to set a time limit for your child's web usage.

For a very high level of child safety content filtering, third party software is available for a monthly subscription or one time cost. These programs will not only block most objectionable content but can also alert you to your child's activity online, provide you with weekly reports on surfing habits and can offer services to help you find the best ways to remove objectionable content. Software is also available to work with iPads and iPhones as well as computers. These programs can be used by families, businesses and churches to provide additional protection. For more information on Internet safety for kids and these high quality programs please visit us from our bio links below.

Jon Angel is a parent that actively promotes Internet safety rules to help other parents and kids stay safe online. Providing Internet safety tips for teens on the possible dangers online to help promote a better Internet experience.

source:http://ezinearticles.com

Child Protection Software - Give Your Internet Strong Protection to Keep Your Child Safe

The function of child protection software nowadays is a must especially to those who have children at home using the internet. It is a type of internet control software program that gives you the capability to control whatever web activities or what websites to access on your computer.Since the internet has become a monstrous source of good and bad information, you might not want the idea of your child exposed to it. There are several reasons why any responsible parent should get this child protection program, but taking care of the safety of your children against all types of internet dangers is the bottom line of it all.
If you don't want your child to be exposed on the bad side of the online world, getting this product is one safety measure that you can do. Two major ways can be obtained to protect your child. The first one is through an internet monitoring software , which as the name itself implies, will monitor the web activities that your child is doing while using the internet.You can change the settings of your internet such that you can control some activities you believe are suspicious. By doing so, those malicious activities will be aborted once the software detect them. Some parents still hesitate using this protection program because of trust issue.

Some see it is a violation of trust between parent and child relationship. But if the use of monitor software is for the protection of the child against the viciousness of the internet world, it is ludicrous to see it as a violation of trust. What kind of parent are you if you allow your kid to use the internet without protection knowing that anytime and without warning, they can face different online abuses anyway?

The use of internet content filtering tool is the second way to protect your child. It is used to filter the websites that are being accessed, as what its name implies. It works for two purposes. The first is to filter out so that your kids will not be able to access any adult-themed sites, like those that contain obscene, pornographic, and violence.The second one is to prevent them from being unproductive by turning off access to websites that disturb their focus like the entertainment websites. While you can get these two tools individually, some software products offer both internet monitoring and internet content filtering tools in one product. The software program that offers both tools is the ideal product if want to be more practical.

source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Child-Protection-Software---Give-Your-Internet-Strong-Protection-to-Keep-Your-Child-Safe&id=4762636

Why is Internet Safety Important?

Why is internet safety important? The number one reason is because there are pedophiles that seek out young, innocent children to prey upon by using the internet. This is a problem nationwide. If you read your syndicated newspapers, you will find numerous articles regarding this problem. Parents really need to safeguard their children. Every computer comes with safety features. Always go to "internet options" and set security levels on the computer that your child uses all the time. There are programs that parents can buy that has "parental guidelines". These programs allows the parent to actually see what websites and chat rooms that your child visits. You can also set a time limit on how long your child can spend on the internet.Why is internet safety important? Because it may save the life of a child. There are bad people that live in our world. They do not care about the person they are chatting with on the internet. Their only concern is what they can get from their victim, no matter what, no matter how. If you love your children, you will want to restrict and or monitor all internet activity that they are involved in.

The internet was not designed for just chatting purposes only. It was designed as a research tool. There is information on the internet about every topic, person, people, place or things all made available at the click of a button. But because people are people and because people are inquisitive, then you get pedophiles that seek out victims on the internet.

Why is internet safety important? There are terrorists in the world. Remember Columbine, Colorado. The two students that killed their classmates had a website that was linked to terrorists. Fifteen to seventeen year old students cannot buy guns or ammunition without an adult with them. Someone had to supply those kids with the weaponry that they used to murder the other students. Columbine was the only school shooting incident that was linked to terroristic activity. It is so important to know what your children are doing and what they are involved in.

Your child may very well not like the idea of you "getting involved'. But remember, YOU are the parent. Also, remind your child daily of how much you love them, and how much you want to protect them. Help them be aware of the dangers that they can encounter just by surfing the web. Your local police officers can get information for you that you can share with your children. Go so far as to have a local police officer talk to your child. By doing this, you could very well save your child's life.

source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-is-Internet-Safety-Important?&id=1620596

Children Safety On The Web

The Internet exposes children to a whole new world which can contribute greatly to their education and can be very enjoyable.In our dynamic technological world where knowledge is power, parents want their children to surf the Internet, and learn as much as they can. With this wish there is also the desire to protect our children.The growth in Internet popularity is followed by a growth in immoral and criminal activities on the web. Hackers, crackers, web bullies, identity thieves, children predators all of them and more are out there in the cyber world.Since this generation of children possess high technological skills, the main problem that parents face is the need to create boundaries for their children in a virtual world where the authenticity of communication is questionable. In order to protect our children and educate them to safe and productive internet activities we should become Internet savvy and get familiar with our children's Internet experience.

Following are a few general guidelines:

1. Keep the communication channels with your child open. Show an interest in your child's internet activities. Supervise your child when surfing the Internet. It is important to try to understand your children experience when surfing the web, in order for you to guide and assist them.

2. Be a role model to your child. Constantly talk with your child on what is right and what is wrong when surfing the web.

3. Become Internet savvy. If you have knowledge about services and applications that are available on the Internet , you will be more effective when guiding your children. Sit with your children when they are surfing and try to learn as much you can about their habits. If you feel you don't have enough knowledge you can use Internet security websites in order to gain more knowledge and confidence. In addition, you can also talk with other parents.

4. Create a list of suitable websites. Give your children a list of websites that you find suitable for their age and that may interest them. Update this list on a regular basis with new websites in order to keep your kids interested. Once in a while, check if the websites you have selected are still suitable.

5. Make sure that the PC your child is using is in a family space , so you can supervise them.

6. Define clear guidelines for your children regarding Internet use. Different families may have different guidelines, but it is important that your children are aware of what you expect from them. Define the guidelines according to the child's age group. You can also define an Internet use policy that your child will be obligated to .

source:http://www.articlesbase.com/parenting-articles/children-safety-on-the-web-963484.html
 

How To Protect Your Child Against The Evil Side Of The Internet

In the world today, there are many people who take advantage of children. It used to be that we had to worry about predators in parks and playgrounds, and in our neighborhoods. In today's society, we now have to watch and protect them from online predators.Statistics indicate that children who use the Internet often are targeted by online predators more often because they can disguise themselves as same age as the child using the Internet. There are however, guidelines for parents to follow in order to protect their children from the dangerous side of the Internet. 

Internet Safety

Children are extremely vulnerable to Internet predators because they are by nature very trusting. It is important that you teach them safety protocol. It is important that they understand that under no circumstances should they ever give out their personal information on the Internet, and explain to them why these precautions are necessary.

Protect Your Passwords

It is critical that you limit your child's access to certain Internet sites. One way to do this is to password protect your computer and under no circumstances give those passwords to your children. Most children will share passwords with their friends and it defeats the purpose of having them. Passwords will also alert you when your children use the Internet, and you can keep a better watch over what they are doing. They will not be able to sneak on the computer when you are sleeping or at work because they will not know what the passwords are.

Monitor Computer Time

It is very important that you monitor what your children are doing online. Tell your child what is appropriate and what is not. Warn them of the dangers of online communication. Sit your child and watch what they do and say online. More importantly, watch what is said to them. If you are suspicious, keep a log of what is said and contact the local authorities.

Block Access
Blocking access to sites that are not appropriate will go a long way in protecting your child. Many Internet providers provide tools that will allow you to better control your child's time on the Internet. Using parental controls to protect your children is advisable to all parents. With them, you can set the parameters to keep your children safe. With parental controls, you block sites and chat rooms that you feel may be unsafe for your children.

Parental Controls

Parental controls are a great resource for parents in the fight to keep children safe. However, it is not a parental replacement or babysitter. Studies have shown that parents who have direct involvement in their child's Internet use have fewer incidents of predatory harassment.

Kid Safe Browsers

Because of the growing problem of online predators, safeguards have been developed. Kid safe browsers are specifically made for children and do not allow certain keyword searches to be performed.

It may be difficult to explain why these precautions are necessary without scaring your child, however, being cautious is very important when it comes to online safety. Some children are willful and will give their information anyway. This is when it is necessary to restrict their online activity altogether until they are more responsible.

source:http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/how-to-protect-your-child-against-the-evil-side-of-the-internet-246381.html

How To Make The Web Safe For Kids

Following this year's Safer Internet Day, which took place last month, NSPCC Northern Ireland has called on parents and carers to make sure both they and their children are web-wise.With social media constantly evolving, children are communicating online not just through their PC, but on mobile phones and game consoles. Understanding the internet and the risks it can pose is the first step to keeping your child safe.Neil Anderson, national head of service for NSPCC Northern Ireland, said: “The internet can be a wonderful resource, but it is not without its pitfalls.“Safer Internet Day has offered an opportunity for parents to find out more about the online environment, and make sure their children understand the risks and can make sensible and informed choices.“As young people across the region log on to play games, chat to peers and socialise, I would urge parents to find an opportunity to talk about the possible dangers online. Not only can you never really be sure who you are talking to, but without meaning to do so you can make yourself vulnerable by giving away personal information.“Parents can play their part by talking openly to their children about their activities on the internet, ensuring they follow advice on internet safety and encouraging them to speak out if they see anything that makes them feel upset or uncomfortable.”

While interactive social media technology continues to grow, the potential for misuse is high. Risks can include cyberbullying, grooming and potential abuse by online predators, identity theft and exposure to inappropriate content.

The NSPCC is offering parents some advice on how to make cyberspace safer:

• Help your children to understand that they should never give out personal details such as their email address, mobile number, school name or arrangements for meeting up with friends.

• Make them aware that they need to think carefully about the information and pictures they post on their profiles. Once published online, anyone can change or share these images.

•If your child receives spam or junk email and texts, remind them never to believe their contents, reply to them or use them.

•Help your child to understand that some people lie online and that they should never meet up with any strangers.

source:http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/technology/internet/how-to-make-the-web-safe-for-kids-1.1042425

Keeping Teenage Girls Off Dangerous Websites

Like most teenage girls, Hannah Black and her friends love to check their Facebook pages and post photos.But one day, one of Black's friends was brutally attacked online."They were making up rumors about her, calling her a whore, saying she was ugly and she wasn't pretty and no one should like her and no one does like her," Black said."Here, this beautiful, smart, intelligent, well-rounded young girl being sexually harassed and taunted at every turn," said Black's father, Sam Black.
Besides being the father of a teenage girl, Black is an Internet safety professional.He knows first hand what dangers lurk online for teen girls."Body image, sexualization of women and girls, cyber bullying," he said. "All these things can play out on the Internet."Michele Borba, author of the "Big Book of Parenting Solutions," says while sites may post rules against bullying or harassing, not all teens follow them."There are a number of new sites that look like they're harmless, but are actually teaching our girls very, very vicious lifestyle changes," Borba said.

"Formspring is one of the new kinds of websites that looks like a social network that is popping up online for our daughters," Borba said. "It looks tame enough. But once they log on, what it actually encourages instead is to send vicious notes toward one another in an anonymous nature."Formspring.com said in an e-mail that they take safety and privacy seriously and have developed practices for blocking inappropriate content.The people behind Formspring say they're developing more tools for a safer online experience. For example, all questions sent to Formspring stay in a private inbox until a member responds.

But experts say social networking sites aren't the only types that raise concern.There are new online games where teens create and play highly-sexualized characters. "If you earn a certain amount of points in life, you can even buy yourself a sugar daddy," Borba said. "Totally unhealthy and you do not want your daughters in any part of it."Then there are the websites that promote anorexia and bulimia with photographs of frail and skinny models and step-by-step "tutorials."

"Specific directions on how to purge, how to purchase diet pills and it is doing damage," Borba said. "Stanford University found that 96 percent of girls who are anorexic learned a lot of their eating habits on those sites."So how can parents keep kids off potentially dangerous websites? They should invest in parental control software and monitor their teen's online history.They can also do Google searches on their kid's full name to see if anything comes up.A walk by to see if they abruptly stop as they're online is also a good idea.Finally, they should take the time to get Internet savvy. It could make all the difference in their daughter's life.

"You need to step up to the plate," Borba said. "You need to monitor because we're raising our children in a tough world."

source:http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/national_world&id=8000536

When Playground Behavior Enters The Virtual World

A 16-year-old and another girl have a dispute over a boy.Pre-MySpace, maybe one girl would write the other's name on the boys' bathroom wall, with a promise of a good time, and a phone number. Now, though, a Putnam Valley teenager is charged with second-degree criminal impersonation, a misdemeanor, accused of creating a MySpace.com account using the other girl's name and photos.

Fake profiles are de riguer in social networking sites like MySpace, where users can chat, make friends, send messages and vent about others, and try out new personas. The difference in Putnam Valley is apparently the part about pretending to be someone else -someone who happens to exist. The girl's mother said her daughter didn't think she had done anything wrong. "We're talking about a straight-A student," she said.

Is cyberbullying different than old-fashioned acts on the playground or school bus? Do existing laws need to be upgraded to include bullying with assistance of fill-in-the-blank technology (MySpace, Facebook and text-messaging today, who-knows-what tomorrow)? Do we need new laws to handle cyber-aggression? And what is the appropriate punishment for, say, an 8-year-old who engages in name-calling in the Webkinz.com chats as opposed to a 16-year-old who posts private information about another teen on a social-networking site? What if the bully is an adult who cyber-teases a child? And where on Earth is the line drawn between prohibited conduct online and protected speech?

These are questions school districts, state legislatures and Congress are grappling with in the cyber age. In New York, legislation is being developed, notably bills that seek to define the crime of "cyberbullying," spelling out the particular elements and charges. This week's misdemeanor charges out of Putnam Valley put all on notice that law enforcement takes bullying - by any means - seriously. Schools, law enforcement and legislators need to continue sending clear messages that threatening and harassing behavior will bring consequences.

source:http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008802230312

Monitoring Software For Parents and Families

As a parent I am always acutely aware of my actions towards my teenagers. Getting in the way of their self autonomy and self confidence can arrest their selfhood. I know my kids need direction, but knowing when to act and when to let them stand on their own is often a dilemma. I have found using a monitoring software can greatly increase your control over the safety of your children on the internet.Clearly not allowing your kids to use the internet is not a good thing to do, because despite the dangers, the internet is an exceptional learning tool. Dis advantaging your children by removing their computer is obviously a mistake. To gain the protection and peace of mind for me and my wife, we found the most interesting solution is a monitoring software.
This type of software can be installed on your childs computer and with a simple keyboard shortcut that you have to remember, you can make it invisible and then re appear again for settings or editing. You can also have logs sent remotely so you get real time monitoring while you are at work. It only takes a second to look at the most recent log to find out which website they are visiting and what they are doing and who they are talking to. This type of close monitoring is very useful and we will continue to do this until she is old enough to make her decisions online for herself without getting into trouble.

source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Monitoring-Software-For-Parents-and-Families&id=4134893

Internet Safety - Internet Safety For Kids

What Internet sites did your childs access yesterday?

How much do you know about what your kids do on the Internet?

What safety setting do you have set on your computer and what setting does your child set on any social networking websites or chat rooms she uses?

Most parents want to protect their children and keep them from harm.If your child was going out on her own you would want to know where he was going and who he was going to be with. Why then do many parents not take the same care about knowing who their child is associating with on the Internet?

How much danger could your child be in when she uses chat rooms and social networking sites? What are the chances of your child being unsafe while accessing the Internet?

Thousands of youngsters today will be placing themselves in position where they could be at risk while using the Internet, how likely is that your child is one of these?

Be responsible for keeping your child safe and don't negate your responsibility.I was watching a television program this evening that demonstrated how much information an online predator could learn about a youngster just by persuading her to add them to their list of friends on a social networking site. He learnt about what she was doing on a daily basis and included bits of this information when he contacted her. It was really easy because she didn't have the privacy setting set on the social networking site she used. The predator learnt about her friends, school and other personal details by not only looking at her profile and chats but by looking at what her friends said also. When she went on a visit to a museum with her school he followed and approached her. It was amazing how much he learnt about her this way.

In the UK police receive 400-500 official reports a month from children and parents concerned about online abuse and the number is increasing.The police say "awareness is of critical importance". So be aware as to what your young person is doing on the Internet and who he's exchanging information with and who's contacting him.There is software you can use to monitor what your child is doing when he's on the Internet.

source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Internet-Safety---Internet-Safety-For-Kids&id=1208648

Web Monitoring Software Popular With Parents

Many parents are using web monitoring software to keep track with their child's online activities. With all the sexual predators and internet crimes, this is considered necessary by many parents. The following paragraphs will take a look the software parents are using to keep up with their child's online activity.

Popular tracking software used to monitor computer activity are often referred to as keyloggers. These programs need to be installed on the computer you will be web monitoring. Once installed, the program will keep track and record each and every keystroke typed into the computer.

Once the data is collected, the log file is normally encrypted, as well as password protected. Most children (and adults for that matter!) are unable to detect that new software has even been installed on their computer. With most keylogger type software, the log file can be exported to HTML format or as a.doc file.

Many monitoring software downloads are available for free all over the world wide web. These programs can be highly effective if your child is not real computer savvy. These free keylogger programs rarely offer some of the more premier services that some paid programs do provide.

For example, some of the free programs will be detected as a virus if a child uses a virus scan. Most of the paid programs will not be detected as a virus in the same situation. In addition, most of the free versions are detectable in the task manager option of Windows. Most paid versions have the program blocked from showing up in the task manager.

Parents use web monitoring software to help protect their children from the evils of the internet. A nosy parent is an informed parent. It is important to know if your child is abusing the internet before they do something too stupid to fix. Monitoring software makes knowing possible.

source:http://www.articlesbase.com/software-articles/web-monitoring-software-popular-with-parents-1575690.html