ISP's And Parental Controls

There are so many Parental Control programs that it is hard to know which one will suit your needs. Before heading to the store to purchase your programs, check your Internet Service Provider to see if they offer any content filter first.

Here is an example of an ISP that does offer such a tool. Yahoo's AT&T Internet offers Parental Control for the parent which includes:

1. Email—you can specify with whom they can exchange email while using their AT&T Yahoo! Mail accounts.
2. Instant messaging—you can restrict with whom they can exchange instant messages while using AT&T Yahoo! Messenger
3. Web filtering—you can restrict the types of web sites, as well as specific web sites, that your children can access

Yahoo also offer reports cards that provide you with the users activity as well as permission slips which allows the user to request permission to access certain websites or communication with other friends.

Be sure to read as much information as you can on what can and cannot be filtered to ensure your ISP is offering what you need. You may be lucky enough to make one less trip to the store this week!