The Real Dangers to Kids Online and How to Avoid Them: Top 5 Internet Safety Tips

The Real Dangers to Kids Online and How to Avoid Them

Did you know

* 1 out of 5 kids has been sexually solicited online

* 1 out of 4 kids has been sent a picture of naked people or people having sex online

* that May 21, 2002 there was the first death of a child linked directly to an Internet Predator?

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Parents' biggest concern about the Internet used to be pornography, but there is definitely a greater fear today.

You have probably taught your child not to talk to strangers, and in many situations, they would remember this. But the Internet is different.

Due to the Internet's anonymity, strangers are talking to children all the time. They try to gain the child's trust by having friendly conversation at first, but over time, their true objective of sexually soliciting the child becomes evident. Children and parents alike are unaware of this, yet this is exactly what is going on via the Internet.
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What can today's parent do? Armed with information, there's quite a bit a parent can do.

Software4Parents.com's Top 5 Internet Safety Tips

1. Tell your child to NEVER EVER reveal their name, address, phone number or any other personal information to ANYONE online. Once you give out this information, it is impossible to retract.
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2. Communicate regularly (not just once) with your child about WHAT they do online and WHO they talk to online. If you have actually met the friends they are talking to in person, you'll know it is OK for them to chat with them online.

3. Take computers out of kids' rooms and put them into public areas such as the family room. Many parents think they are helping with homework by giving the kids a computer, but it also opens certain dangers that you may be unaware of.

4. Choose your child's screen name, email address or instant message name wisely - don't' reveal ages, sex, hobbies, and CERTAINLY NOT suggestive or sexy names. Predators are more likely to pursue a child with the screen name "sexyteen5" than "happygirl5"

5. Use technology to help you protect your child. Monitoring software gives you the ability to review your child's Internet usage. Even if you don't look at each and every email or instant message they send, you'll have a good idea if they are making smart choices online.

The Internet can open many doors and provide useful information for children. An aware and informed parent can help keep children safe.

Resource: Joshua Finer, Internet Safety expert and CEO of Software4Parents.com For free information on choosing the right Internet safety product for your family, email choosing@software4parents.com or visit www.software4parents.com/choosing.html

About The Author

Joshua Finer is a Penn State MBA and Internet Safety expert. Joshua has appeared on The Montel Williams Show, and in The Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, The Chicago Tribune and many more national media outlets.

Joshua is an Internet Safety expert and CEO of Software4Parents.com For free information on choosing the right Internet safety product for your family, email choosing@software4parents.com or visit www.software4parents.com/choosing.html

joshua@finertechnologies.com

Parental Internet Control Tips

The Internet is one of the greatest inventions of all time. Parental Internet Control will protect our loved ones from internet filth like pornography and hate material just a click away. The fact that every stranger in the world has access to your child, right in your own home is scary enough. exercising some kind of Internet Control will protect the people you love from the tens of thousands of troubling sites on the Internet.
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Although nothing can replace a well-informed parent that takes an active part in their children's online activities, Internet Filtering Software provides a strong, additional layer of defense which gives parents an added measure of control and further peace of mind.
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With a lot of Internet filtering software choices available, researching and choosing the Internet filter that's right for your family can be complex and time-consuming, and that's where we can help.

What makes a great Internet filter software solution?

Though the perfect Internet Filter does not exist in today's marketplace, there are a number of great solutions depending on what the family needs are. Here is a list of attributes of good filtering software.
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Easy to Use - How easy it to install the product?, Is it easily set up, and easy to use? Is it easy to find the functions you are looking for? Is it easy to customize the filter settings?

Effective at filtering-Does the web filtering software strike a good balance between filtering objectionable material and non object ional - not filter too much? The ability to customize sensitivity of filtering by each individual family member is important as well.

Activity reports -Parents should be able to see what their individual family member has been doing on the computer. This would include viewing where they have been on the Internet, what has been going on in chat rooms, and activity based on other functions within the Internet filtering application.

Foreign language filtering -One of the tricks that teenagers have found to bypass Internet filters is to type in the foreign language equivalent of certain keywords. By typing in the French, Spanish, or German versions of the word "sex" or "girl" for example, you can easily bypass many filters to view objectionable content.

Individual profiles -Can you create a profile for each family member with different filtering rules?

Notification capabilities -Can you be notified at work or at home that un-authorized access or blocking is occurring?

Negligible response times -Does the Internet filter allow you to access the Internet without noticeable slowdown?

Remote management -Can you change settings, change rules, and change profiles from work or while on vacation without the installed software? The correct use of Internet filters in harmony with parental controls can make the Internet a safe and wonderful experience for the family.

Go to http://www.parental-web-control.com for more articles with side-by-side comparisons and comprehensive reviews on Internet Filtering Software that will help you make a fast, informed decisions.