The first step to protect your family is to install parental control software on your computer. Some of the best-known and respected parental control software packages are CyberPatrol, Net Nanny and Safety Surf. Also, some ISPs (Internet Service Providers, the companies that let your modem connect to the Internet) provide content filtering as part of their basic service. Check with your ISP to see if this is an option they offer.
Some key general Internet-related safety points for your children:
- Tell them to never give out personal information about themselves or the family to strangers they might meet online or in a chat room.
- Remind them that online it's easy for people to pretend to be someone else. They can easily change their name, age and gender in an effort to get close to children.
- Teach them that they should never meet a new online friend without an adult present.
- Tell them to never give out their picture to a stranger, and that if they ever get a picture with sexual content, or something they find disturbing, that they should get off the computer immediately and tell you about it.
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Here are some sites where you can get parental control software:
ICRAplus (free)
http://www.icra.org/icraplus/
CyberPatrol
http://www.cyberpatrol.com/
Safety Surf
http://www.safetysurf.com/
Good Internet safety information sites for both kids and adults are:
GetNetWise.org:
http://kids.getnetwise.org/
RestrictedToAdults.org:
http://rtalabel.org
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