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Parental Internet Controls |
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Well, it
started. I now have a daughter who has a computer in her room.
Still no TV, just a computer…It all started about two months
ago when we decided to purchase a new computer for ourselves and
were subsequently faced with the dilemma of what and where to
put our old computer. After a lot of discussion and pleading
from our eight year old, we decided to let her put the computer
in her room. She has been fascinated with computers since the
age of one and a half and regularly corresponds via
email with her cousins, aunts, and uncles. Once we got the
computer set up in her room
complete with wireless internet access, we had to come to some
decisions about what parental internet controls to install. So
I have spent the last two months researching
what my options were for parental internet controls and wanted
to share what I have learned.
The first point I want to make is there are no fail safe methods
of protecting your children from every “undesirable” on the web.
All options have their shortcomings and still require parental
monitoring to ensure little eyes are not seeing more than they
should.
Secondly, as parents we have a lot of choices in how we go about
protecting our kids. Choices range from complete blocking to
only establishing household rules. Your ultimate choice will
probably most depend on the
age of your child and what you want as a parent. Lastly, not
only do we have to worry about what our kids see when they
“surf” the web, but we also have to worry about
instant messaging and chat rooms. It’s a lot to take in, but
here we go.
Options for
Parental Internet Controls
Internet
Service Providers (ISP’s)
Many ISP’s
today offer parents a lot of choices for parental internet
controls. Most allow some type of blocking and filtering of
inappropriate websites and emails. AOL by far has the best
reputation for state of the art parental controls, but many
other ISP’s are beginning to step up their efforts and also
offer options for parents. To help you
in this, I have included the
parental
control links
to some of the biggest ISP’s, so
hopefully you can easily check to see what your ISP has to
offer.
Web Browsers
Both Internet
Explorer and Netscape Navigator have built in but limited
controls for parents to use. In
Internet
Explorer
parents can set limits by using their own criteria,
criteria established by the Recreational Software Advisory
Council (RSACi) and SafeSurf , or the rating system of another
organization they trust. It is important to note that both
RSACi and SafeSurf rely on website owners to voluntarily
(currently there are not laws requiring them to do so) rate
their site, something that many choose not to
do (both good and bad sites), and since the web browsers
automatically block anything not rated it makes getting around
on the web without a lot of “blocks” very difficult. Netscape
Navigator
also sets limits based on
the criteria established by RSACi and SafeSurf, but to the best
of my knowledge do not allow parents to set their own criteria
or use the criteria of a rating agency other
than the two mentioned.
Blocking/Monitoring/Filtering Software
By installing
blocking/monitoring/filtering software on your computer you can
control what your children see and do on the internet as well as
monitor what they are doing when you aren’t around. Most
software packages today offer the capability to do all three
functions as well as offer
protections for instant messaging and chat rooms.
Blocking software allows the parents to block “bad” sites from
reaching their kids and many also allow parents to designate
“good” sites and only grant access to sites on the “good” sites
list. Software packages with blocking
capabilities usually have a list of predetermined “bad” sites
and may charge a monthly service fee to get the updated lists.
If you go this route, be sure to pick a package that also gives
you the ability to add to or customize the “bad” site list.
There is also blocking software that prevents children from
sharing personal information (address, phone number) with
someone over the internet. This can be helpful when your
children start using chat rooms to protect them from sharing
personal information with online predators.
Filtering software works off of a list of keywords (i.e. sex) to
block sites. Because it is very difficult for even the best
software programs to keep up with the multitude of sites being
added everyday, filtering works as a backup to the blocking
function to prevent any “bad” sights sneaking through to the
kids. The keywords are pre-set in the
software and like the blocking option be sure to choose a
software package that allows parents to customize the keyword
list.
Monitoring and tracking software is a tool that allows parents
to keep track of everything the kids are doing on line including
reading emails, instant messages, seeing which websites have
been visited, and how long the kids have been on-line. Some
software packages even allow parents to control at which times
of day and for how long kids can be on the computer. This can
be helpful for parents who work outside the home and whose kids
are home alone after school. It is important to note that these
monitoring and tracking tools (if purchased in a stand alone
package) don’t prevent kids from visiting certain sites, they
just tell parents where they have been and for how long.
If you are considering purchasing filtering or monitoring
software, then be sure to visit the
Internet Filter
Review
at
TopTenReviews.com
or the
Filtering
Software Review
at PC Magazine. Both offer a lot of insight into how these
software packages work and their recommendations for the best
purchase. Another good resource are the
Family
Tools
at
GetNetWise.org.
Kid Search
Engines
Also available
to parents are search engines designed specifically for kids.
The search engines only access “safe” websites and materials.
These search engines are okay, but only until your kids learn
how to type in a new address in the address bar. My daughter
and I have personally used
Yahooligans
quite a bit for school research or for other activities, but
there are many others
available. Click
here
for a more comprehensive list. Another option is to set the
safety controls of other search engines to filter out porn.
These filters are not perfect and some unacceptable sites can
get past them. Click
here
if you would like to learn more about using the filters of the
major search engines.
Kid Browsers
Kid browsers
are web browsers designed for children to use in place of
Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. They are very kid
friendly and filter out unacceptable sites.
A couple of good ones I have found are
Children’s Internet
and
KidRocket.org.
Children’s Internet charges $9.95 per
month whereas KidRocket though more limited is available through
a donation of your choice. Kid browsers are geared more
toward younger kids (ages 3 – 10) and older kids may find this
type of browsers “babyish”.
Resources for
Parents
Here is a list
of some good resources for parents to help educate them on
internet safety and some of the dangers on the web. Also, you
should visit
CommonSenseMedia.
They are an independent organization that reviews and rates
websites, TV shows, video games, movies, books, and songs for
appropriateness for kids. They also allow
parents and kids to provide reviews as well. It is a good
resource if you want to hear what other people have to say about
a website your child is visiting.
GetNetWise.org
WiredKids.org
Cyberangels.org
Our Solution
After all my
research, we have decided that for now to just set up a few
rules and monitor her on-line activities ourselves by reviewing
the history in her browser address
bar and checking the emails she receives and sends. As she gets
older and her web surfing and internet activities (instant
messaging and chat rooms) more sophisticated, we will have to
consider more, but for now we think this is enough.
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