Setting Parental Controls Tips

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

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!

Comments

   

Can My Child Bypass Parental Controls?

As much as we want to protect our kids from all of the ugly content that is available on the Internet, parental control filters on a computer are just not going to cut it by themselves. Children's curiosity, when peaked, can turn them into mini super sleuths. If they want to find something out, they will do whatever it takes to get it, whether that means going to another computer at a friends house, or getting the help of a friend to help bypass whatever settings you have on your computer.

Is there a way to derail these little masterminds? Having a couple layers of protection will definitely help. Choose an Internet Service Provider that provides content filtering from their servers as well as have local protection on your computer at home. Also, if you have broadband Internet (high speed) try enabling logging on the router or DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) or cable modem, and password protect the modem. Then you can check where people are going to in the logs. Do not forget the power of Parent discipline -- it too can be just as effective.

Comments

   

Why Use Internet Parental Control?

The Internet is home to millions of pages offering content and entertainment on almost every topic you can think of such as news sites, gardening sites and homework sites and even dating and social networking sites. However, the Internet's great advantage is also its disadvantage: anyone with a computer can develop a web site, and the web pages that person or company makes available may not be something you want your child to be exposed to.

Parental Control Software can help in blocking that content by giving you a number of controls. These controls allow you to block websites, take screenshots and record chat sessions. No computer accessible by young children should be without Parental Control Software.

Comments

   

What Do Parental Controls do?

Parental Control options are found in computer software used to access the Internet. The parental controls allow a parent to limit what a child can see or do. These controls often allow for the blocking of inappropriate websites, such as those containing pornography, or the automatic censoring of swearing. Some examples of Parental Controls are:

1. Monitor children's key strokes real-time from anywhere

2. Read Instant Message (IM or “Chat”) Conversations

3. Block any webpage based on content or web address

Comments

   

Spying On Your Kids - Good Or Bad?

It is always hard to determine how much privacy you should give your children when it comes to the Internet. Some would say that spying develops trust issues between children and parents. On the other hand, by being honest with your child and communicating with them about online risks and safety, you can help build a trust between you and your child.

Sit your children down and talk to them about your expectations of them using the Internet and everything that has to do with the Internet. Explain to them that you would like to have their usernames and passwords for email, web forums and anything else that requires login information. Let them know that this is not for watching their every move, but just so that you check every once in a while.

Set time limits on the computer. You can come up with a certain amount of time that you deem reasonable, and perhaps let them pick the time of day. If not, you can simply tell them what the time will be and go with that.

Finally, install a Parental Internet Monitoring program that will help you monitor what sites your children are visiting and what they are looking at. If you feel that there no real threat or problem right now, but you would like to have a monitoring program for safety purposes, then let your child know that.

If you do know or feel that your child is trying to hide something from you, then perhaps it would be best to install an invisible monitoring program that runs in the background. You might get better results when they don't know your watching.

Comments