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Note:  As of November, 2009, I have retired.  I am leaving the website in place for now, as it contains much useful information, and it took countless hours to collect and assemble all of this.

 

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Parental Control

 

Parental Control

This is a difficult, but important topic.  Because of the complexities involved, I can't recommend any one solution.  Information is provided here to assist parents in learning about the protection of children using the internet, but this should not be construed as a definitive reference. 

 

One of the best, but least appreciated, approaches to protecting your children, is education--- both yours and theirs. Some parents, for example, spend time and effort blocking adult Web sites, but don't realize that non-adult sites like MySpace, or applications like instant messaging, can be sources of both inappropriate content and exposure to online predators. It's important for you to know where the risks are. And it's a good idea to have occasional, frank conversations with your teen about the risks and dangers out there. After all, you can lock down your home PC, but most kids have access to other PCs as well, at the library, school and in the homes of friends. Making your kids generally self- resistant to the lure of online evils is often a better approach, in the long run, than trying to shield them from all those evils in all their forms on all their sites.

 

There are two general alternatives to simply giving teens full, uncensored and unmonitored access to the Internet: 1) blocking content; and 2) monitoring content.

Software products abound for both these approaches, but you can enable limited protection without installing special software. If you have younger children or teens unlikely to tinker with the software (and undo your changes), you can use your browser's built-in content- blocking features. In Internet Explorer, for example, choose Internet Options from the Tools menu and click the Content tab. Click the "Enable" button in the Content Advisor box and adjust the slider bars for the four categories of inappropriate content. To "spy" on kids using Internet Explorer, you can click the "History" button from time to time and see where they've been.

 

I would encourage parents to research this issue to make an informed choice.  Be aware that various products work in different ways, and some provide more than just parental control.

 

http://www.google.com/search?q=child+safety+internet

BeNetSafe

CyberTipline

Internet Filter Review 2007 (Lists some popular products)

Net Family News - kid tech news for parents

NetSafeKids

NetSmartz.org

PC Magazine Article - Do You Know Where Your Kids Are Clicking?

Protect your family

SafeKids.com

SafeTeens.Com

SnoopStick From CYBERsitter

WiredSafety - the world's largest Internet safety and help group

 

These products received the PC Magazine Editor's Choice award:

Net Nanny

Safe Eyes