The Internet Can Be A Dangerous Place Parental Control Software Can Help Protect Your Children

In todays internet , parental control software is a must have. The internet is overloaded with sex , violence , drugs , and predators. Kids are curious ! and with the likes of MySpace and YouTube and other such sites it makes it real easy for kids to find just about anything .

Instant Messaging & Chat Rooms : A Place That Brews Trouble

We see it in the news all the time . Kids hook up with someone they have met online in a chat room or thru instant messaging and terrible things happen. Its a hot spot for predators

Some of the worse threats come from instant messaging and chat rooms !!!

A good parental control software program can filter instant messaging , social networking sites , and chat rooms or block them entirely . It can also filter and restrict access to web pages based on entered key words such as sex , violence etc.

Internet filters, such as CyberPatrol, are designed to restrict Internet access in many ways. First, the software will block access to web sites with content deemed inappropriate for kids by the software company. Most software will also filter and restrict access to web pages based on key words such as "sex." Each company's software works from a unique and guarded database of blocked sites and key words which are based on company criteria of inappropriate materials.

General categories for blocking websites include text and photos of an adult sexual nature, drugs and drug culture, violence and hate, racism , gambling, tobacco, alcohol, and cruelty to animals. Adults can select some or all of the categories to activate blocking of sites on those topics.

Most parental control software programs include other types of options allowing users to customize Internet access to fit family needs . Example, the software may allow parents to set the time of day or number of hours per week children can access the internet. Adults can also expand or subtract the list of blocked sites. Some programs allow parents to create different levels of internet access based on the varying ages of children in the family.

Top Parental Control Software Programs

Important Point :

Be sure that the software program is independent of your web browser; A tech-savvy teen can simply download a new browser and use that instead. Another feature to check is that the program doesn't allow kids to kill a process in Task Manager.

A real good program will report the addresses of websites kids have visited and will restrict the sending of personal information such as name, address, and telephone number, This is known as "outgoing filtering."

Computers and the internet are great learning tools for kids ,but if its misused its a very dangerous one !

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