My oldest daughter just turned 13 and got a laptop for her birthday (from her uncle and grandmother). When we tried using Microsoft or McAfee's parental controls, it seems as though she can get onto almost NO websites--just about everything was blocked. We are looking for something that would control ONLY inappropriate content, as well as perhaps allow us to look at the sites she's been visiting as well as any chats she has participated in. We haven't allowed her to use Myspace or Facebook yet so she isn't on the computer too much at this stage (mostly when she has to research school projects), we just want to do our best to protect her now and in the future. Thanks for any advice or recommendations!
I recommend K9 web protection. It lets you pick exactly what type of sites you want to block and shows you on a history what sites she tried to access that were denied and if anyone has tried to change the settings. I helped my parents set it up on the home computer for my brothers. It seems to work really well, no complaints! And it's free!
Go to Frys, Best Buy or the sort to purchase software. Be sure and take all your info on your current PC to insure compatability. My husband is a software engineer for NASA. He says that all the "protection" software is readily available.
On a side note from me....learn to use her PC as well..(obviously I dont ;) Make sure you can scroll through all her history and check out "where she has been"....its sad to say that kids these days have less privacy than all us old knockers had...but, then again, when I was a kiddo in the eighties, I didnt have the common affect of having a predator stalk me on-line.
Better to be safe, and nosey, than sorry.
Good Luck,
Margaret :)
Norton has a product called Safety Minder, where you can customize each child's access based on their age.
can't remember the name right now. but the one Dave Ramsey recommends. See his site: daveramsey.com
Besides the software, make sure the computer is kept in a common family area - where anyone can casually see what is on the screen - what games she is playing, etc. Also, privacy on the computer is an illusion. Even when she goes to work, her employer will have the right to review any email she sends from her work machine, and prospective employers will seek out people on Facebook to check out what kind of person they are, and will throw out their resume if they are not what they want for their company based on their 'private' lives.
Net Nanny has been pretty good for our family. It gives a list of areas you dont want access too. It also has a time regulator so you can set the times she can be on eg. 9-5, and be able to block nights, chore hours, etc. It also sends you an alert to another computer to show you what sites she has gone to(only to "blocked" sites). Sometimes it happens for weird reasons. Like Myspace and Sears, you have to play with it. It can also be put on three computers. 800.485.4008
Look at www.SafeEyes.com. It is about $60/yr. All of these online safety issues have been a BIG concern for me. I have a parenting website and I just started an online safety tab to address topics like these. It is such a big issue and concern that I have been doing a lot of research.
I also put together a presentation about what parents need to know about internet safety, cell phones and wi-fi gadgets like iTouches. I am doing my first big presentation to our elementary school on Friday.
If interested, my site is www.MomsMaterial.com.
Good luck!
C.
Feel free to contact me about this subject, my goal is to help educate parents on this topic.
Even though this was a gift, you need to make it clear to her that you have full access to her computer at all times!! If you put this software on it, she can just turn it off, change it, etc. They are smarter than us!!!
When I finally allowed my now 17yo 3 yrs ago to get myspace, she showed me her page she set up at school!!! I told her that I needed her password and she knew that I would check it at anytime. After about 6 months, I told her she could change it and I did not need the password but set up my own account and added her as a friend. If you do this, you will notice many other kids also have adults/relatives as friends.
You do have to be strong and not comment on something you may take offense to but talk one on one with your daughter about it rather than posting.
Another thing, you may set this software up on her computer but if she goes to a friend's house, school, etc. they won't have the software. So your best bet is to educate your daughter about the pros and cons-just like anything else you teach her.
With having younger kids, you definitely need to become tech savvy because believe me, they are going to do it with or w/o you involved!!
My youngest is now 13 and she makes posts to her friends when they list their phone number, etc.!!
Oh, and remember, make sure you check her instant message history-they think we don't know how to do that!! If you don't know how to do any of this, find a friends older kid to show you!!
covenant eyes is a tracker that scores web sites according to content, then emails parents a report. my kids know if they go somewhere they aren't supposed to, I'll find out and they will lose their computer for awhile. www.covenanteyes.com
