How to Make Internet Surfing Safer for the Kids?

[ohms]

Pure Purple:

Hi, I've delayed introducing IT to my child, now 7. But looks like I need to cave in soon.


How do I make internet use safer for my kids? There is so much trash out there. I do not wish for them to view unsavoury advertisements, pornographic materials etc. Can Google search results be free from adult-oriented websites? Are there free child filters easily available? I'm an absolute beginner on this matter. Your advice will be greatly appreciated.

You can try this service \"FAMILYShield\" from OpenDNS.com. I have used Open DNS services and they are a US-based internet service provider, and got no complaints on their services. But I have not tried this new service before - and its free! This is the website http://www.opendns.com/home-solutions/parental-controls/
It re-routes all internet requests to its equipment. As usual, expect all filters to \"slow\" things down.
Hope it helps!

[Pure Purple]

Thanks for this ohms. I’ll try it. We don’t use a router, I hope it works nonetheless. Looks like a good resource. Thanks so much!

[ohms]

No probs.


Anyways its a PC based-product - so only the PC is affected. Tho’ I dunno about the friendliness of the setup!

[sharonkhoo]

Besides these PC-based products and software, I believe that simple solutions are also important. Most importantly, educating kids about what they should avoid and providing adult supervision. When my kids first started using the computer, we forbade them from using searches - they only made use of the bookmarked links that I vetted and bookmarked for them. Any new recommendations from friends had to be vetted by me first. They had to ask permission to use the computer, and we would only allow it after schoolwork or during weekends when we were around. We would talk about the dangers etc now and again, and we started letting them do their own searches around 10yo, still under supervision. Our PCs have always been located in central areas where I am constantly around (I am a SAHM, it would be harder to supervise if parents are not around). We are also strict parents and our kids know that when we say there will be penalties for misuse, we mean it! Now my kids are teens and they each have their own PC, but we still don’t allow them to use them behind closed doors and I make a point to peer over their shoulders at random intervals, and we also don’t allow unlimited use.

[jango]

Hi, you may want to try out Microsoft Live Family Safety Filter. It is free and all you need is a live.com email address. The filter is quite easy to use and is capable of filtering applications, web sites based on URL or content categories, time-based management, and all sorts of activity logging. I use it for my 8 yo girl and I could put my mind at ease giving her access to the PC knowing what she can and cannot access, especially when she needs the PC for school e-learning. Hope this helps!

[Ctls_Rajesh]

I have same problem but If we use filter then it will stop all the porn sites and unwanted ads or not. Can you brief???

[jango]

Yes I would say a mass majority of porn sites. As for ads not too sure since they are usually loaded as a web frame. If a certain site is not filtered you can manuualy add it to the deny list. Then monitor the access logs weekly very simple.

[jango]

Yes I would say a mass majority of porn sites. As for ads not too sure since they are usually loaded as a web frame. If a certain site is not filtered you can manuualy add it to the deny list. Then monitor the access logs weekly very simple.

[barjo]

hi, Microsoft Live Family Safety Filter is good, but I can suggest you to try some commercial software like Pc Pandora or PCWebControl, those two are the best in my opinion as far as friendly interface and number of features are concerned.