 |
|
|
|
Filling online-safety gaps at home (October 19, '01 issue)
When we interviewed Nick and his mom for last week's issue, Leonor asked us what online-safety software we'd recommend. Here's our one-size-fits-all answer, which has to be very basic and generic because there are as many "right" solutions as there are families.
Ideally, we'd all discuss this together so we could consider different scenarios - for example, Nick and Leonor's and then Candy's more challenging one (with a proactively curious, technically sophisticated teenager at her house). But since it'd be tough to get you all in one room, let's start a virtual discussion here. Then you email us what works for your family, and we will gladly keep the conversation going!
Basically, we think the very basic priority list for working out the best home online-safety formula should look like this:
- People
- Software
In other words, rules and/or family acceptable-use policies/contracts come first and are best hammered out by kids and parents together (see links below for samples).
That said, we are not big fans of filtering software by itself - because kids can disable it, it can block out useful content, and blocking criteria are based on a software company's values, not your family's). But using some *forms* of filtering with some other aids can be quite effective for families that need them, e.g.:
- The Web rating system of the Internet Content Rating Association. You can go to the Parents area of that Web site to find out how to configure a browser to "see" ratings (or see mention of it in this recent issue). This option - which applies only to Web activity, not chat, IM, or other online pastimes - might need an accompanying rule (more for big kids) that only the ratings-enabled browser can be used for surfing/researching.
- Safe searching. Include in family rules one about using only Google.com, Lycos.com, or other search engines that allow for filtered searching (see links below for more). After filtering's enabled, any searches conducted in those search engines on that computer will be filtered from then on (or until the filtering's disabled). Kids can easily disable the filters, but hopefully they can be trusted to obey a filtered-searches-only rule.
- Monitoring software. Best used as a deterrent with parents being totally up front with kids that it's to protect them, not spy on them. Choose a product that works with all programs on the PC - chat, IM, email, etc. One example we like is "Predator Guard" by Security Software Systems, because it actually honors kids' privacy (by noticing only online-safety "violations" rather than monitoring all activity randomly). The violations it detects are sexually explicit language, personal information being given out in chat, etc.
- Other aids. These include time-limiting software (that imposes a curfew or schedule on both computer and online time), kids' browsers or safe e-playgrounds (that "fence in" children's Internet activity), and filtering Internet service providers. Please see the links below for resources that can point you in those directions.
Links to great online-safety resources
- SafeKids.com's family Internet-use contract and Guidelines for Parents
- GetNetWise.org's page on why filtering is controversial
- A chronological index to our reports on online-safety resources and trends - safe e-playgrounds, safe chat & IM, next-generation filtering technology and services, etc.
- SearchEngineWatch.com's list of kid-safe search engines. (The list may be a little out of date; for example, at Go.com, we couldn't find the "Go Guardian" filtering tool.)
- Internet Product Watch's list of 100 filtering and monitoring products, with links to their Web sites (there's also a firewalls list).
- Software4Parents.com - a software engineer's top picks for family online safety, with good customer service for parents seeking advice to fit their family's needs (products can also be purchased and downloaded there).
- A recent New York Times look at a few filtering and monitoring products that have been around for a while (nothing particularly new here, but one more perspective never hurts).
- PC Magazine's "Clean It Up" looks at about a dozen Internet examples of filtering hardware and software designed for home, school, and office.
- Subscriber and mom Candy's email in July about the porn file-sharing problem at her house, with our explanation and possible solutions; other subscribers' responses thereto; and the US Congress's own findings and warning to parents, as well as some additional counter-measures we found.
HOME
| newsletter | subscribe
| links | supporters |
about | feedback
