Protecting Children on the Internet
Discover How To Protect Your Children On The Internet By: Paul Wilcox
With the age of the Internet comes many advantages and many disadvantages. While there is a world of information just a few clicks away, there are also many dangers that lay in wait for our children. Without proper parental supervision what is to stop a child from stumbling on age inappropriate website that arenít meant for their young eyes.
Teaching children from a very young age how to properly use the Internet is key. They need to understand that just as they must protect themselves and their personal information from strangers in the real world, so too must they on the Internet. Understanding that the Internet is anything but anonymous is vital, and keeping information such as age, gender, and where they live secret is of utmost importance.
However, as children get older we canít monitor their every move, and parents feel less and less in control of where their children are surfing to on the web. Luckily, there is some excellent parental control software available that can help keep your children safe when online.
Many companies use filter software, and now it is available to the at-home customer. Filtering software works by blocking website that contains certain keywords. You can choose which categories, such as pornographic, are off limits and the software will do the rest.
Furthermore, filter software can be used for much more than just website blocking. If you want to prevent your child from file sharing via peer-to-peer hosting, messaging, email, or newsgroups, you can do it all with some initial software setup.
Filters must constantly be updating their databases with current information, and with all the new websites constantly going up it is impossible to block every single one. But anyone who has used filter software can attest for the most part is does its job.
If you want to take it one step further you can purchase software which will document your childís computer and Internet usage. Not only can you see what websites have been viewed, but in some cases you can even see what has been typed.
Many parents are resorting to computer software which will automatically shut the computer off during certain times of the day. This prevents children from using the Internet unsupervised.
Another option is software which will automatically hide personal information such as name and address.
There are also some browsers which claim to be child safe, but most children will find it easy to locate and use an alternate browser.
Tips for Children: How to be Safe When You Want to Make Friends on the Internet
1. You must always remember not to give your full name and address to the person you are interacting. All information regarding you should be confidential as much as possible.
2. You must always be open to your parents about your new friends. It is important that parents should know the things that you are talking about. Do not hesitate to tell your parents that you are not comfortable dealing with your new friend and there are certain topics that you do not agree.
3. You should ignore any offers from your new friend knowing that you do not yet know the friends true intention in meeting you. You may ask the permission of your parents if you wish to meet him at a specific place and ask for companionship with your parents or to your friend.
4. There are instances that your new friend have sent or mailed something that can be eaten, you may just ignore the food or you can show it to your parents if the food is safe to be eaten.
5. Ignore the sites where sex and exploitation is present. You might get abused or harassed. This is not something that should be accessed by young kids.
6. Your parents must know if there are messages from your friend that exploits you through the internet.
7. You may ask a friend or a family member to guide you in surfing the Internet.
8. If your friend is asking for your credit card number, ignore it and do not entertain his concern anymore.
9. You should not trust any friend in the internet that you have not yet met before. You should always be aware on the danger of being exploited and abused in the internet.
10. Be sensible and, if in doubt, ask an adult.