Internet Safety

The internet has become a great resource for children doing school work but at the same time
there's a wide world of danger that lurks online. The anonymity of talking online gives predators
a greater access to unsuspecting children who are trusting enough to believe that people are who
they claim to be. Also, there are many things that can be found online that may not be
appropriate for children of a young age to view. As parents we need to do our best to protect our
children from these predators without completely cutting them off and denying them access to
this wonderful resource.

The method of internet protection that is best to use depends a lot on the age of the child using
the internet. A young child needs more protection from inappropriate websites than anything else
because that is the greatest danger to them. A young child isn't as likely to be on social
networking sites or using messenger systems so a simple program that prevents access to adult
content is often enough protection.

There are several programs available that can handle this and they come in a range of prices with
a wide variety of available features. This type of protection has become so common that parental
controls now come packaged with the newest operating systems from both Mac and Windows.
This is great for parents because most new computers come with the new operating systems
already pre-installed and this gives instant access to these parental control features saving both
the time of looking for the right program and the expense of buying a separate one.

As your child gets older and starts using more areas of the internet the danger becomes greater.
They become more involved with social networking sites like the ever popular Myspace and
come in contact with more and more people. It's impossible for a parent to be looking over their
shoulder every minute of every day to monitor what they are looking at and who they are talking
to so it's important to find a program that takes this into account. A simple access blocking
program doesn't work as well at this point because there needs to be the flexibility of allowing
them to express themselves but also protect them.

The best programs in this case are the ones that not only block access to certain types of sites but
also monitor all computer usage including messengers. These programs have a lot more options
than the simple access blocking. They range from simple monitoring logs that are stored on the
computer to complex key logging programs that track every keystroke made on the computer
and allow remote access from another computer so that you can see exactly what is being done
on the logged computer at any given time. Which program is the best is really a matter of
preference more than anything else.

As you can see there are a few different software options to help protect your child online but the
best safety feature of all is open communication. Taking the time to sit down with your child and
explain why it's not safe to talk to strangers or why certain sites shouldn't be looked at by young
people can quite often alleviate any problems and at the same time give the parent a little peace
of mind.