Internet Filters/Monitors: How They Differ and Which One Is Right For Your Family?
This is the fourth and final article in a series drawn from the booklet Kid Safe Cyberspace: A Parent’s Guide… This 20 page booklet is available here. To read Part 1, 2, and 3 of this series, click here, here, and here, and don’t forget to download the free Internet Safety Tips page.
********************Part 4
When you read the next two sentences I want you to think William Shakespeare’s Hamlet (To be, or not to be…).
“To filter, or not to filter: that is the question.” “To monitor, or not to monitor: that is the question.”
Wrong!
The real questions are “which,” “what kind of,” and “how many” different levels of filtering/monitoring should there be?
Every computer that your child/teen can access should be filtered and or monitored, and this is why: half a billion pornographic web pages; 600,000 registered sex offenders in the U.S., and more being caught every day; teen cyber-bullying and sexting out of control; 50,000 predators on the Internet at any given time; and the list goes on.
So, what are filters and monitors, and how do they differ?
Filtering software, sometimes called blocking software, is designed to protect the innocence of your younger children by screening out and blocking objectionable material from ever appearing on your computer screen. The most prevalent Internet perversion is the half billion pornographic web pages. They are easily accessible, and often accidentally, due to tricks pornographers use to lure web surfers unsuspectingly to porn sites.
Most filtering software has many blocking categories that parents may select. Pornography is just the worst. However, no filtering software is 100% foolproof and that is why you also need the Kid Safe Cyberspace booklet which gives you other parental control ideas. Order it here.
Use Internet filters for kids, up to ages 10 or 12 years old, who only use the Internet for children’s web sites that you, the parent select (simple games, reading, exploring the world around them, school projects, fun kid stuff, etc.).
Visit these two, top rated, filtering software websites. Both Net Nanny and Safe Eyes are the best at protecting your kids from the many Internet dangers. Check them out and see what they can do to give you peace of mind.
Each has a two week free trial, so give them a test drive. Even if you are technology challenged their excellent customer support should be all you need to set up the software the way you want to best protect your kids.
There are also some free parental control systems like those built into Microsoft Vista, Windows 7, and recent Mac operating systems, as well as the K9 Web Protection filter from Blue Coat. The cost is right but these do not have the functionality, versatility, or, most importantly, an easily accessible customer support to answer all your questions, and there will be questions . Net Nanny and Safe Eyes, two of the very best.
What ever you do, don’t delay. Your kids are at risk.
Once children begin to use email, instant messaging, social networking sites, lots of web surfing, then you must add monitoring software to your arsenal of parental controls. As a parent, you want to keep track of where your children are and what they are doing, not only in the real world, but in the virtual world as well (the Internet is far more dangerous than the real world and it is closer than your front door).
Monitoring software essentially records and tracks all computer and Internet activity such as; both sides of chat and instant messaging, web pages visited with screen shots of some of the pages, email, keystrokes, peer-to-peer downloading, and everything else. This recorded information is then made available to you, the parent, to allow you to keep track of what your kids are doing, where they are doing it and with whom they are doing it with.
Both Web Watcher and Spector Pro are absolutely the two best monitoring software packages you can buy. In addition to logging everything that goes on with your teens computer, they have excellent customer support to assist you from set up to understanding the reporting features.
Web Watcher has the best remote reporting features, but it is not available for the Mac without jumping through technology hoops.
Spector Soft has several versions to tailor to your specific needs. First, there is a Mac OS version. Secondly, for Spector Pro, to access the reports, you must view them on the computer you are monitoring. However, if you want email reporting you can get the eBlastor version.
There is much more to learn about both these monitoring systems, so be sure to visit their web sites. Keep in mind, unlike the filtering software, you do not have the same free trial options with these monitoring packages.
I hope this short series of articles, and the other resources on this web site has convinced you how important it is for you to filter and or monitor every computer your children/teens have access to. It is time for you to order the Kid Safe Cyberspace booklet and get a jump start on protecting your children from Internet porn, cyber-bullying, predators, sexting, identity theft, drugs, and all the rest of the garbage found in the Internet landfill.
Be sure to review the other Internet Safety links found in the top navigation bar.
Consider subscribing to the RSS feed for this website.
Take courage, my friend.
***Be a friend to your friends with kids and share this web site with them. Buy them a booklet too. You may prevent the heartbreak that is inevitable if Internet porn or other online dangers win the day.***
Filed Under: Featured • Filters/monitors • Internet Safety
