How to keep your children safe online - Children and Online PC Safety

Let's face it, we live in the Technology Age - a time in which the majority of Americans and Canadians are using a computer every single day. As the internet becomes more widespread throughout households, children are more at risk than ever with each click of the mouse.



Did you know that forty two percent of Internet users between the ages of 10 to 17, recall seeing some form of online pornography within the last 12 months, without searching for, or anticipating viewing such images? The majority of the children surveyed, noticed "unsolicited pornography" that "just popped up." Many parents who have children feel secure that their children are protected from online porn, due to the fact that they "bookmark" childrens' sites and or do not allow their kid(s) to access certain sites unsupervised.

==>> A recent survey of children has revealed that one out of every two children in North America have gone home after school (to their own or to a friend's house) and watched adult websites. 

==>> Many of these children are as young as six and seven.  Surveyed girls in their teens and even younger admit that they know more about "oral sex" than they do about "kissing." 

==>> Many home computers are completely unsecure and many unsupervised children are visiting porn, adult social media and radical political websites that would shock their parents -- if they knew! 

==>> Since children cannot often discriminate, they are unwittingly putting traceable material on their parent's hard drives that could literally get their parents arrested!

Along with that, many other websites that appear "innocent," can contain scripts that allow X-rated images and video, to pop-up, or appear without warning. What many parents aren't aware of is that popular sites such as YouTube, contains extremely mature video and language. Your child can view much of the content on this site without verifying his/her age!

That can create several problems for young children, as they aren't emotionally prepared to view sexually related content - therefore possibly causing trauma throughout their young and adult lives. Luckily we have the solution for you caring parents and it's:



Internet Content Filtering!!

Internet content filtering is necessary in order to monitor your child's surfing habits and websites visiting, as well as preventing access to websites, ads and pop-ups that you deem unacceptable. There are many types of internet content filtering software that you can obtain - either free or for a small fee.

==>  If you are unsure just what "deleted" material is on your hard drive, Scan your registry for free at Covert Surfer - PC Scan - Disabled Vet Operated

==> Children and Online PC Safety 

When your child uses a real PC, there are many steps which are necessary to keep your computer safe for them even before you allow them to login. Follow these steps to protect them from harm especially of online content.

Firstly, create them a guest account, away from your normal accounts that are used by other members of your family. This will firstly, let them keep their own bookmarks and history, and also prevent any malicious software from accessing your computer using administrative rights. Many attacks occur because of the heightened privileges of the account, so by performing this first step, you have already prevented the majority of risk.

Secondly, Install an anti malware application. This can either be in the form of anti virus, or anti malware. If your processor has the power to handle both, then it is recommended that you install both types of software. There are many anti virus applications that do not have the ability to detect malware and online attacks simply by visiting the wrong sites.

One well known but seldom used protection method, is to protect your hosts file if you are using a Windows operating system. This can easily be protected by setting the file to read only, and also popular programs like spybot search and destroy can populate the file with a loopback address for well known dangerous sites. In fact, this method should be one of the first things you do, before logging onto the internet and connecting your pc online.

When you are online, one of the first things one should do is to update their windows operating system. This will not only give you the latest updates to stop any vulnerabilities, but it will also allow you to test the speed of your connection, since Microsoft website is known to be one of the fastest sites around.

After the operating system is updated, proceed to also update your browser. Many people see Internet explorer as an unsafe option, however, when setup correctly, this browser can become as safe as any other option such as chrome or Firefox. It is a good idea when your child is online, so set all the setting in the browser to the highest safety option. This will disable many unnecessary features like ActiveX and automatic signing.

Once the basic security has been installed, proceed to install 3rd party applications like Net Nanny, which will add a third layer of protection to their online experience. Many unsafe sites will be automatically filtered based on their content and words that are detected as they surf.

At this point it is also worth mentioning that all these applications may not be able to capture the risks associated with online social games. Games such as IMVU and Disney channels are filled with other real people across the internet. The behaviour of these other people are never guaranteed, and precaution must be taught to your child. There is no software which can prevent this activity and interaction that your child experiences.

==> How to Keep Your Children Safe Online 

Keep your children safe from Personal Computer and online security threats...

Children, like adults, are just as susceptible from computer and Internet
security risks. Thus, it is important to keep children safe and have your
data protected.

The following are simple yet effective steps so that security threats could
be reduced dramatically.

Implement parental PC control.

It is always best to implement a kind of parental control when kids are
using the computer. Fortunately, there are ISPs available that could be
purchased as software that is separate.

However, keep in mind that a software program is really a poor substitute
for authentic supervision provided by a parent.

Through using the Internet Explorer, it allows anyone to conveniently
restrict or simply do not allow particular web sites to be seen. Settings for
these could be set through passwords.

In order to see these options, click on Tools on the menu bar, then
choose Internet Options, select the tab named Content, click the button
named Enable under the Content Advisor.

It is also best if you purchase software that enables you to watch and
monitor any and all sites your kids go to.

Partition it now, partition it right.

It is advisable to partition your personal computer into accounts that are
separate. Many operating systems (these include the Mac, Windows XP,
Linux) provide users the option to create different and various user
accounts.

This works well especially if you have that fear of your kid accessing,
modifying or deleting your own files. Giving your child an account that is
separate decreases the access amount and the privileges your child has.

Use anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall...

Software that provides anti-virus activities protects computers from any
viruses that could destroy data, help prevent slow performance of your
computer, helps prevent crashes and does not allow any spammers to
infiltrate your e-mail.

Basically, this works through scanning the computer and any e-mails that
are incoming. If there are any that contains viruses, these are
automatically deleted.

An effective anti-virus program should have constant and routine updates
as well as antidotes for any latest bugs that are currently in the Internet.

Meanwhile, firewalls have the ability to keep any hackers away from your
own computer thereby preventing them from accessing any of your
personal info without your express permission.

Basically, a firewall is a guard that watches any attempts from the outside
to access your personal computer system. It also blocks communications
to and from sources that does not have your permission. As much as
possible, always turn on your firewall and regularly update it.

Scan your registry for free at Covert Surfer - PC Scan - Disabled Vet Operated

Anti-spyware programs meanwhile protect your personal computers from
any malicious forms of spyware. What spyware does is monitor all activities
you do online. It also collects your personal info while you innocently do
your surfing on the web.

Through anti-spyware, it scans in a periodic manner your computer to
check if it has any spyware software and programs available. After which,
it offers you the opportunity to immediately remove harmful software.

WUVING words are secure, safe, browse, online, surf, web, children, kids, adult, mature, filter and protect.

==>> Protecting your children from online predators

This tutorial will help to educate you on ways to protect your child online. The reason it is so important is simple. Law enforcement officials estimate that there are around 50,000 predators online at any given time. This does not mean you need to keep your child off the internet. These easy to follow steps along with some of the software shown on this website and careful vigilance can help you keep your child safe online.

First step: Tighten up your settings. A very popular teen site for girls is gurl.com however if they mistype and put in girl.com then they will be directed to a pornographic site. There are many similar addresses as well like whitehouse.com, no that's not the white house your kid wanted whitehouse.gov ooopps!

If you have windows XP and most do the best place to start is creating the child's own log in account. To do this you go to START (the lower left hand corner) Select the control panel, open up the user accounts by double clicking, then select add a new account. Follow the simple steps to create a new account. While you are in there you might want to put a password on yours so your child will not have access to it. It is also a good idea to only grant them limited access. This will ensure they can not change their setting or install any programs. That way you KNOW exactly what is installed on the computer.

Next we will take a look at browsers. The most popular one out there is Internet explorer. You know the one that looks like an E and is blue. You can set the setting to block out language, sex, nudity and violence. To do this open up the browser and go to tools > internet options > Content and in the content box select enable. You will see a screen pop up and in that you will see the 4 titles I previously mentioned.

Slide the bar at the bottom all the way over to the left so the level is 0. Click the apply button and you are set. You can also set a password under the general tab so no one but you can change the settings. The unfortunate down side to this is it will also block some sites your child may need for homework like Google and others. A good way around this is to install a completely separate browser if you are unsatisfied with Internet Explorer. A few that work very well and that are free are

www.crayoncrawler.com

www.kidrocket.org

Even with all those precautions pornography may still find its way through. The only thing to stop this from happening for sure is to purchase software to protect your child. you can view a list of software products we recomend at www.brainboxcomputers.com

So you did all that now is my family safe you ask? Well you're off to a great start and if you made it this far in the tutorial I know you are a Great parent and want to do everything in your power to make your kids safe.

The following may be the most important information in this tutorial. MONITORING IM (instant messages) If there is one thing kids love it's IM clients like yahoo, AOL, ICQ, MSN and the like.

Start by telling your kids not to give out any personal information even when they are in a chat room with friends. It's a good idea to review your kid's profile. Look for words that would attract an on-line predator like CUTE or YOUNG. Make sure their profile is vague. Never have them list their age or gender.

All Instant Messengers let you block messages from unknown users. Make sure to set this up.

For MSN messenger got to tools > Options > Privacy and enable "Only people on my Allow list can se my status and send me messages

For AOL Messenger hit F7, click Privacy and then select "Allow only users on my buddy list"

For ICQ click Main > Security & Privacy Permisions > Spam Control and then enable "Accept messages only from users on my Contact list"

For Yahoo click Messenger > Preferences > Ignore list and then enable "Ignore anyone who is not on my messenger list"

Now onto emails. This one can be very hard to resolve and even then I can not guarantee your child will not get exposed. If your child uses Outlook or Outlook Express then Click Here Content watch is a good program to use. Most likely your child uses a free web based e-mail service like hotmail, yahoo, AOL, Gmail, myspace.

If that is the case then the only thing you can really do is set the spam filter to the highest protection. Education is key. Letting your teenage girl know that the mail she just got in her junk mail box may say it's from Brittany Spears but it is really not and not to click on any e-mail attachments unless they know exactly who they came from in which case they should be in the regular e-mail box folder and not junk mail folder.

If you're teen does use Outlook consider switching them to Mozilla's free e-mail service. It is similar in appearance and use to outlook but has a built in filter. www.mozilla.org. I would still get the Content Watch software. It's good stuff!

Something I do with my 4 year old(He may not be able to type yet but he sure knows his way around a computer) which works out great is bookmark approved websites for them. This way you give them somewhere to go and they won't be wondering the web aimlessly. Some good sites are www.kidgrid.com and www.kaboose.com. There are many others so look around and decide what is best for your child.

Education is really the key. You may be able to protect them when they are at your house but what about their friend's house. The best way is to communicate with other parents and inform them.

Give them our web address! Let your child/teen know what concerns you have and some of the tips you learned here. If they are not aware of sexual predators then they may walk into a bad situation.

==> 5 Steps to Internet Security for Kids 

While the Internet has certainly brought a wealth of information, convenience and has a made the world a much smaller place, the Internet has its liabilities and especially so for children, teens and all minors. The responsibility of protecting children from online dangers lies with parents. There are several steps you can take to provide Internet safety for kids.

One solution, which some parents choose, is to completely restrict their children from using the Internet. This solution while keeping your children safe is not always the best option.

One, the Internet is here to stay, it is an important part of everyday life, and its use is a skill that is often required by schools and in the work place.

Also, if you just tell your kids that they cannot have or use the Internet then you eliminate the opportunity to teach them how to use it safely.

So, if they do use it when they are away from you, (which believe me does happen, even with the best of kids) at a friends house or school then they will not have the tools they need to stay safe. Having talks and discussions with children about the risks is very important, and as a parent you should set certain limits and keep the conversation open in regards to Internet safety.

The following are 5 hands-on steps you can take to teach, limit and restrict children while they are online and therefore provide Internet safety for your kids.

5 Steps to Internet Safety for Kids:

1. Have a conversation with your kids. Explain to them, in as much detail as their age will allow some of the dangers that exist online. For example, that strangers in chat rooms, are just that, strangers. That they should never agree to meet anyone, give out their phone numbers, personal information like address etc. The same conversation that you had with them about not talking to strangers applies even more so when online, so use that and extend it further. Remember that most of these steps will only apply to computers you have at home. When your children are away from you they will have access to other computers and that is when those conversations will be the guidance that ensures their safety.

2. There is software available, which can help to protect your children from any content that is not appropriate for them. Software like, Microsoft Windows Vista Parental Controls, helps parents to manage, monitor and administer the use of the computer by children. The software, Windows Live OneCare Family Safety, filters certain chosen information and even a child's searches can be blocked by filtering certain keywords.

3. All web browsers allow for parental control settings. You can make personalized adjustments from the browser to set limits that you desire and to insure your child's safety.

4. You can increase children's safety by creating Limited User Accounts for your children from your Administrative Account. This restricts children from changing system settings, installing any new software which includes chat programs, games, etc. You can see the help section of your Operating System for detailed instructions on how to create User Accounts. This is a simple process and the instructions are step by step.

5. Be active and be a snoop. Yes a snoop, keep track of the websites that your kids are surfing. You can view all websites that they visited in the History List or Cookies from the web browser. You can even see the email addresses, correspondence and downloaded files. If you see something inappropriate or dangerous take the necessary parental actions. Sometimes we want to be our children's friend but we have to always be parents first.

Always remember that these are concrete steps that will provide Internet safety for your kids and protect them while they are online and still allow them to get the benefits of using and learning to use the Internet.

==> 5 Ways to Protect Your Kids from Online Predators 

Protecting your children is an everlasting experience each and every parent must do, both on and offline. With the growth of technology taking over our children's lives, we're stuck wondering what they're doing online.

Too many parents are facing the dangers in losing their children to social networking websites that create chaos in their child's life. Today's trend to 'fit in' the crowd of online chatters can cause a few problems if a predator is lurking. This article will address five tips to help you educate, manage, and configure your kids' web experience to keep them safe from potential predators.

Educate Your Child about Internet Dangers

Top social networking sites never explain the true dangers of joining in on the fun. If you have young children (under 13), concentrate on explaining the true dangers of talking to strangers online. Do not scare them away from the idea of learning new technologies or visiting sites; encourage exploration to educational sites that can help with their homework.

Try your best to let your children roam the net freely until they enter some critical territory such as online chat rooms, social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook, and show them the proper way to interact with online strangers. If they understand the dangers, they'll be considerate in not sharing sensitive information online.

Manage Account Accessibilities

Windows XP and Vista offer a beneficial feature to create a separate account on your computer system. Allow your children to create their own account, ensure network security procedures are in place, and let them browse the internet under their own browsers.

Before letting them roam, consider configuring their browsers to perform certain actions that are not regulated to your personal account. Parents with Windows Vista should check on the new Parental Controls such as web restrictions, games, allow or block specific programs, and time limits.

Configure Web Browser

The web browser is the mainframe in which you can protect your children from online predators. It is your responsibility to access and configure the Security settings if you use Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or Opera browsers. All you have to do is open your child's browser, then set limitations, restrictions, and blacklists of websites in which they cannot visit.

Monitor Web Activity

A lot of parents find web browser configurations a fast, easy way to manage their child's internet activity. Other levels of security can include adding web monitoring software, some are available for free or you can purchase it from an online manufacturer. This level of monitoring is extreme, but it can save your child's life in the long run. You can visit the Web Browsing History to pay attention to every website your child visits while online.

Teach Defensive Chat Skills

Sometimes social networking is inevitable with today's teens and younger generations. If your kids love to browse the net on a continuous basis, just teach them defensive chat skills.

Tell them that it's cool to keep their information secretive on the net because anyone can use it the wrong way. Keep them up-to-date with any news related to internet-related crimes that could change their minds about the way they chat.

Encourage your kids to chat with children from their high schools or neighborhood kids met from sport activities, but keep it in a tight circle. It's best to chat with someone they have a history with than a complete stranger met on the street. Remember, there's nothing wrong with protecting your children from online predators. Just let them know that's all you want to do to keep your family safe.

==> Protecting Your Kids Online 

There are many things parents can do and need to do in order to keep their children safe online.

Because the Internet is here to stay and is a necessary tool for many people, precautions need to be taken in order to ensure the safety of our children and our teenagers.

-Keep the computer in a central area so you can see what's happening when your kids are using it.
-Choose a browser that's child friendly such as Yahooligans
-Install surveillance software such as the one located at emailspy.com to keep track of everything happening on the computer. This can provide you with details you can use to ensure safe usage of your computer.
-Post the rules for safe computer use near the computer so your child sees what's expected of him/her.
-Set times for usage such as set times per day when your child is allowed to use the computer so you know exactly how much time they are spending online and can track their activities appropriately.
-Tell your children they can only chat with people that they know and review their instant messenger buddy lists to determine who your child is speaking with.
-Review your child's 'myspace.com' or other similar sites to see what information they are posting about themselves to ensure their safety.

Safety rule suggestions to be posted near your computer are:

-Don't chat with strangers
-Never give out your real name, address or phone number
-Do not send out pictures online
-Do not download files or programs without permission
-Do not use the web cam with strangers
-Only use Yahooligans (or other parent approved website)for Internet searches unless Mom or Dad is present before you click on a link
-Ask Mom or Dad before entering any online contest that requires personal details.

Children can benefit from help with their homework, fun and games and contest entries online. You need to be careful to overlook your children's activities.

Children are trusting by nature and some predators gain children's trust by engaging in conversations with them over a long period of time before subtly asking for personal information and photographs.

Many pedophiles will pose as children in chat rooms for long periods of time before making a move in order to secure your child's trust.

Having a computer can enhance our lives and the Internet is fast becoming an indispensable tool in not only adults lives but in the daily lives of children and teenagers.

A little bit of safety can go a long way in terms of protecting our families.

==>> To read more articles by these internet and PC security experts, Click Here...

==> How to find your soulmate in 2011! 

Love is in the air! The year is 2011 and it seems that many people have one main concern in their lives -- Finding The Perfect Soulmate! Your soulmate (or soul mate) is the person that you were "predetermined" to have a romantic relationship with, or the person that you are most likely to "connect with" romantically.

There has been ages of debate on how a person can attract a soulmate, and how online dating doesn't work, for meeting that special person. So now we will provide you with some online dating tips to help you keep or find your perfect soul-mate in the year 2011!

-------

1.) Make sure your internet works

You MUST have a computer with a working internet connection. When we say "working", we do not mean Dial-Up! If you don't know what dial-up is, you are doing well so far; if you DO have dial-up internet, that is a red flag! Why is internet important you ask? It's the year 2011, and there is no other way to meet the person that was born to be with you than online, because no one leaves their home anymore! Everyone stays locked indoors, posting their every move, problems, heartbeats and "dirty laundry" on Facebook!

-------

2.) Use antivirus protection

So, you have your internet connection established, and you're ready to hit the dating scene and HARD! It's time to make sure that you always protect yourself! Sticking your USB drive into unknown computers can be disastrous! Always be sure to have virus protection at all times and make sure that you're educated on how to use it! Just because you can't SEE a virus, doesn't mean it's not there!

-------

3.) Use Photoshop!

Next on the list of requirements, is looking good. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but what if "The Beholder" is a superficial, egotistical person who thinks looks are a deal breaker? The answer? PHOTOSHOP! Install it and learn how to use it! Photoshop can make you look better than you really do! Blemishes? Acne? Scars? Airbrush them off in Photoshop! One leg? Add another in Photoshop! No longer do you have to care about how you look...because Photoshop makes you look GREAT....online.

-------

4.) Use speech to text

Writing is a thing of the past. With software such as "Dragon Speak Recognition", you don't need to learn to spell or construct proper sentences any longer! Your computer can be the brain behind the operation, and all you have to do is speak! So what if you type "There" when referring to your friend's plans; and so what if you say "you have scene it all" instead of seen. Speech to text will guarantee that your high school [and college education] was a complete waste! When it's time to actually meet your soulmate in person, you can just say you have laryngitis and can't actually speak....BRILLIANT!!

-------

5.) Throw away your phone

If you have a "regular phone" in your home, you are doing yourself an injustice. Why keep your phone? It hasn't touched your ear in a couple of years! Your keys are worn out from text messaging but you can just buy a new phone...so trash that land line! When someone calls you, you hit ignore and then text them saying "What's up", so ditch that old ear weight! There's no better way of showing your affection to your sweetheart than typing "OMG I luv u" or "U R my BFF"....etc..etc. Is there?? Throw that unused phone away and cancel your cellphone minutes, who needs 'em?

-------

6.) Ditch that love song CD

That old CD of your favorite romance music is better as a coaster these days. When you're sitting with your honey, or trying to lure your date into your trap, why let a skipping song from a scratched disk ruin your momentum? There is no need to buy CDs anymore when all you have to do is go to your favorite file sharing site and download all of the music you need for your love song compilation! So what if your ISP comes after you and threatens to shut off your internet, you're in love! So what if the RIAA threatens to sue you for $1,000,000.00 for downloading three songs...you can't pay it if they tried to collect it anyways! So what if you get put in jail...love takes sacrifice! Ditch those CDs!

-------

7.) Learn Acronyms

Last but not least, you MUST LEARN ACRONYMS. These days no one types a full sentence anymore when speaking the love language. If you tell your new found date or girlfriend/boyfriend that "you love them" in more than four letters, you are WAY off the mark. That's a red flag. Learn to type in non-English, non-understandable terminology, or expect to be alone for LIFE. Look at it on the bright side though...when he says "I thought ILU meant - I LOVE YOU....you can say: "no, I meant that I lacked understanding." Works everytime. Acronyms are the weapon of choice for newly dating couples, and disgruntled couples alike. Now you no longer have to "mean what you say (or type)."

-------

Well ladies and gentleman, hopefully these online dating tidbits will prove priceless in professionals dating, finding your soulmate, or being happy with the one you now have...

SINGLE PARENTS DATING - Get Back Dating - Again - Single Moms and Dads - Love   SINGLE PARENTS DATING Get back in the dating scene! Join our single parent dating site designed for all single moms and single dads seeking love! Cupid.com.  Dating Tips...

Dolphin Secure is the safer way for kids to connect, learn, and explore safely online.

With this, parents can breathe easier.

A small fee of only $5.95 a month - with a 30 day money back guarantee.

Kids can connect and interact with friends, create profiles, instant messages and build groups around shared interests.

The internet is now vital for childrens' education and communication...

Make it safer and more age appropriate.