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Some web pages and content on the Internet are not suitable for all audiences. Below is a listing of different steps you can do to help ensure your children are protected from harmful material or web pages you believe are not suitable for your children.
- Firstly, and most importantly it is essential that you talk to your children about the dangers of the Internet and what they should not do while on the Internet. Don't frighten your children, the Internet is still a brilliant and magical place but certain precautions should be taken as with everything in life. Below is a basic listing of what you may consider discussing with your children.
Personal Information - Never give personal information about yourself in chat rooms, web pages, or online forms. This includes age, postcode, email address, home address, home city, Internet Service Provider name, Instant Messenger name or address, other location related information, passwords, personal web page, phone & mobile phone numbers, pictures of yourself, school name, school grade, school web page, weight and webcam address.
Never meet someone - Never, never, never agree to meet an individual from the Internet without parent or guardian being at the agreed meeting location (which should be a public place like a shopping centre, cafe etc.
Internet Purchases - Never enter an area that costs money, requires a credit card, requires personal information, asks for passwords, and/or requires you hang up and dial another number with your computer without explicit permission from the parent or a parent present.
Downloads - Never accept a file or download from another user.
Web page - Do not visit web pages that are sent to you via email, chat, or instant messengers without a parent or guardian present.
Gifts - Never accept any type of gift from users you meet online.
Friends - Don't give out your friends information as it could be tied to you.
Talking about sex / provocative images - When online don't talk about sex, post provocative images, or tease other people online.
Talk to you - If your child ever witnesses something that upsets them or makes them feel uncomfortable, make sure they know it's 100% OK to talk with you.
- Monitor or browse the Internet with your kids and/or try to keep the computer in an open area like the front room, kitchen or lounge/diner. Don't allow your child to have their own computer in their own room.
- Make sure your child is not viewing any web pages they should not be viewing by looking at the Internet browser's history and/or make sure they are not deleting the history in order to hide what they are viewing. A deleted History is a possible indication that they are viewing things they shouldn't be.
- Look at the browser address bar or location bar for additional information about what was typed in the browser address bar. This can be altered so it's not fool proof however to alter it takes a bit of know how fiddling with the PC's Registry.
- If your computer has an Instant Messenger program, make sure that their friend or buddy list doesn't have anyone in it you do not know of.
- Social networking sites such as MySpace are a very popular destination for teens and younger users on the Internet because of the ability to communicate with friends and make new friends over the Internet. Unfortunately these locations are also frequently visited by online predators because of online pictures and personal information posted by many of users participating on them. If you allow your children to use these sites make sure they are not posting personal information about themselves as mentioned earlier. We also strongly encourage that a child's profile should be set to private so only their friends and family can view the profile.
- Watch your child's school web page for any personal information about your kids such as pictures of a student, full name, address, etc. This information can be easily found using search engines if a predator knows your child's full name, school, and/or grade.
- If your computer has any type of digital camera or webcam connected to it prohibit your child from using it without your presence and/or disconnect or disable it when you're not using it.
- Many children and adults play online games. Just like other parts of the Internet children should be taught not to give out any personal information to other players or participate in any type of trading of in-game items for in-game services or real life personal information. Most genuine gamers will be happy just knowing your nickname and the country you are playing from.
- Users using Microsoft Internet Explorer can help protect their family from harmful material by enabling Internet Explorer Content Advisor, go to Tools > Internet Options> Content.
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Consider a third-party filter programs that help protect your computer from inappropriate sites. You could try: Parental Control Bar - is a simple, powerful tool to help shield your children from explicit websites. Simply activate Child-Mode while your children surf the internet, and the toolbar will block access to adult-oriented websites. Parental Control Bar is provided free of charge by www.WRAAC.orgWebWatcher - monitor and control your child's computer and internet usage. Keep children safe online with parental control software & remote viewing facility too. See: www.webwatcherkids.com NetNanny - has been among the market leaders for a number of years and in comparison with many of its competitors, NetNanny certainly delivers the goods. See www.netnanny.comCyberPatrol - is one of the most powerful and popular client-based, browser independent, Internet safety software solutions for Windows-based standalone PCs. See: www.cyberpatrol.com
Please note: the above third-party filter programs & web addresses are listed here for guidance purposes only. Pure Energy Multimedia does not endorse, sponsor or affiliate with any of these programs/websites and therefore accepts no responsibility for the use thereof. |
