To BLOCK or NOT TO BLOCK!! and how do I do it?

My kids love the Internet, or to be more precise, they love the fun and games that they can access on the Internet.  Some of these games can provide hours of fun and learning activities for them and who knows, they may actually learn something.  Now for the BUT sandwich, the Internet as we all know can also be a dark and seedy place as well, accidentally misspelling a URL can take them to places they should not be, not to mention, the chance of getting virus’s etc.  So what can we as parents do to minimize the exposure to these types of unfortunate web sites?

I have a suggestion… don’t let them on the Internet until they are 18, that way as a parent, your conscience is clear.  “Tongue planted firmly in cheek.”

 Kidding aside, we can do some things to mitigate this but you have to actually do it, the problem is how and where do you start? The first and most obvious is to talk to your kids, explain what might happen, how it can happen and DON’T hide it if it does.  Keeping an open mind and an open dialog with them can go a long way.  Secondly, check to see what parental controls your OS has to offer.  Microsoft, for example offers a “Parental Control” suite in their Windows products and it really isn’t too difficult to accomplish it.  Here is the link to the Microsoft page to set up the controls.  What I like about this is you as the administrator have the control, while your child only has a standard account.  You can restrict access to certain websites “Age appropriate” either manually or automatically.  Set time limits and even control access to games.  Again, please see the link above to get a much more detailed overview of this subject.

If you want to get a bit more draconian, you can even purchase or download free computer monitoring software that you can load onto your kids PC’s.  CNET.com is a great web site to get reviews and find a software platform that can fit your needs.  Programs to block websites or log keystrokes and basically monitor everything they do. You can be the NSA.....

Again, the goal in this post is to give you a few options that you can have in your arsenal to not only protect your kids from unwanted, inappropriate web content but to protect your PC from unwanted threats.  I have seen it happen, a child gets on a website, gets nervous and instead of closing the web page out, they accidentally click on a link on the page or a picture and the PC gets infected.  Explain to them the importance of knowing who is sending them something and that their e-mails can have infected attachments.  Instant messaging is another foul little beast that gets them.  What computer these days doesn’t have some sort of IM program? These programs are a hackers dream. Never, ever click on a link that is sent by anyone you do not know.  Phishing isn't a relaxing day at the lake…..

Parting Shots: So even though programs are out there, the best option, you have as a parent is knowledge.  The more you can pound into your kids thick, I know absolutely everything, skulls full of mush, the better you will be as well as them.