Protect children from the Internet

Point value changed by question poster.

Point value changed by question poster.

Boy, you sure know how to frame a loaded question. I expect to see opinions all over the scale and probably some controversy as this subject also touches on the subjects of free speech, privacy, and censorship (especially in your public library scenario).

What I would like to do is give you my gut feelings on this subject as it allpies to the home environment now and add comments as they come to mind and I read other's comments.

In the home, the single, best protection is parental involvement. As children are exposed to computers in schools at younger and younger ages (I have a nephew who is doing his 3rd grade homework (which includes Internet research) on the computer) parents need to ensure they are deeply involved with their children's web surfing (I would go so far as to say not allowing it unless they are present).

Parents cannot totally rely on hardware and/or software solutions without abrogating their parental rights AND responsibilities. As any parent probably knows, if you just tell a child they can't do something, the child will find a way to do it anyway. If a parent just implements filtering software and leaves it at that. All the child knows is that 'I cant't get to that site because Mom won't let me!' He then goes to his friend's house (whose parents are never home) and surfs from there. If an admonition not to do something is accompanied by a clearly understood reason why not (other than 'because I said so'), a child is much more likely to refrain from that behavior.

Software is the most likely tool to be used in a home environment. Most packages accomplish this using list-based and keyword-based filtering. However, no piece of software is going to be 100% effective.
(continued)

Hi Maxwell

You have come up with a very interesting topic and though it seems to be a solution to overcome the perils of technology to allow our young generation access to it's resources,it does not seem to be any software or configuration setup that will protect them from the wolves.

Words and meanings that were created before their existance puts us at a disadvantage of trying to protect them from the very things that we have created,you cannot use a common word on the internet that maynot expose them to some unwanted sites such as pronography.A word such as "Black" will yield results that you probaly would not associate with what they are doing.

What we want software to do, may just be another method of baby sitting and raising our young ones when the Parenting software will only be the best solution,centrally located computers in family areas will help to curtail some of the chat room and unwanted surfing that is going on in isolated areas of the home.

Monitoring of computers in a public place,should be implemented so that no one should be allowed to surf off limit sites using monitoring equipment such as IPRISM,a Cisco System product that will block censored sites from being accessed.
Then you have software programs like NetNanny,PeaceFire,Children's Rights
and PEP Internet Safety Products,configured by installing the program and then listing the sites that cannot be accessed.

Consider that we to are dealing with here the next generation of entrepernuers,that have computers to develop their skills,which leaves us at a disadvantage to thwart their efforts,because we lack the skills to use the equipment that they have gained expertise with.

Society as a whole has to take a stand and not support those that market products for greed only.

Software is another way someone else will make money,so are we willing to limit ourselves to protect the innocent?

Well Maxwell,

There is only one answer that I can think of that addresses all of your concerns at once.

A filtered ISP. I have lost track of the links that I had. But there used to be a number of organizations (mostly christian) that were operating ISP's that monitored and filtered the content in realtime.

This is one step better than surfing with the children, as it stops the content before it gets to their PC.

The last one that I personally recalled operated out of Grand Rapids Michigan. I think they got caught up in one of the many provider consolidation mergers and lost their backbone connection.

Chas

Hi Maxwell

I approach it this way. The internet is not any more dangerous than the real world. In the end, it all comes down to being a good parent and educating your child. Just as you tell them to look both ways before crossing the street and to never talk to strangers you must inform them of some of the shadier sides of the net. We all know it is out there, yet it is also on the street. Anyone can grab a child on his way to school...every parents worst nightmare, same goes for the net. Education education education!!!! It is all we can give the little guys. I find if we shelter them too much, they will never really know what they are defending themselves against.

Michael Richter

Hi, Maxwell,

I think you look the wrong way - there's no (and probably won't be) any software or harware solution for this problem. Now, let me explain a bit:
Children now become more and more used to hi-tech things and no matter what kind of lock you'll put on their way - they will find a way around it or just crack it. 12 year old script-kiddies DDoS large systems today - what will they do tomorrow? I'm 21 now - so I'm not so far from nowwadays children, but sometimes even I feel old.
The only solution here is good relationships with your children. Not only 'parental' advice - you must become a friend to your child, so that they trust you like a friend. You both will win from this.

Good luck,
Vagab0nd

Hi Maxwell,
Yours is quite an important question in these days in Internet age. Of all the answers provided so far, Answer1 has been the most comprehensive. The best way I believe is to have parental involvement. Parents should be made aware of how to check for nuisance like pronography etc. on the Net. There are softwares like Net Nanny and others available which can filter such contect, but there are always ways to get beyond them.

Maybe parents can talk to their children and make themunderstand the goodies and baddies of the Net. As always, the more you insist a Child not to do a thing, the more likely it is bound to happen. As someone said, the Child can visit a friend's house whose parents arent at home and give a peek at suchsites. Then there can be Cybercafe's and other public Internet access places where these things can be easily done.

One on one talk with the child, the use of filtering software and councelling ought to be the best way.

I teach in an elementary and am very concerned. I have started designing my website/domain in order to keep the children on only what and where I want them.

I would like to find a company who would hire me for this full time. It has been verytime consuming, therefore, I have chosen not to publish what I have at this time.

I think it will get to the point that organizations will have to hire someone to maintain the sites for the children that are appropriate.

Sweetie0427

Maxwell, you ask a question upon which we could all write volumes. But I'll be as brief as I can. I believe that the time for every home to come with a time-configurable router (for both broadband and dialup) has come. For instance, the SMC 7004ABR allows for no access during preset times (like when the parents are away.) This would limit what the kids can see to only certain allotted times. Also, there are programs like Net Nanny that do an "ok" job, although I give them a "C" grade. Computersneed to not be "in the back room" or "in the office" but rather out in the main living area, where the parents are. The Parents must take some responsibility for what the children find. I also believe that a youth-related TLD needs to be made, ".kid" for instance, where NO porn or hate related sites are allowed, then you can produce software that will lock out anything but those approved sites. IRC, chat rooms, yahoo, msn and the rest of the pagers are the haunts of some truly depraved individuals that need to be monitored rigidly. An OS that can be configured by the parent to assist in this matter would be something MS could do easily: multiple users, with an Administrator controlling and monitoring access. At the same time the desires of an adult to view and participate in adult material must not be infringed. Clearly, I haven?t even touched the surface, and I apologize for the ramblings, but you did ask ;)

There's no way a piece of software or hardware is going to protect children from what's out there. Information is power. ALL parents need to be involved with their children as they grow to help them form THEIR values (i.e. the children's values). Just like with drugs, sex, violence and discrimination, nothing talks louder than action. If they are brought up with good values, they will be able to handle themselves in any situation.

Think of how much time, money and expertise the US government spends on trying to eliminate drugs and prostitution. They have been around forever and no amount of effort is going to get rid of them. The same applies to the 'NET.

Don

Hello again,

I realize you will receive all sorts of comments. As a teacher I will try to direct you to sources I feel are helpful as I find them.

In my search to try to find what the cmos battery looks and where it is on the motherboard I found the following site. I thought this may help you even if it is not the winner.

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick!/topscie.html
Hope you do not object to me answering more than one time.
Good luck!

Hi Maxwell,
I'm glad to see you give children such a high point value. I have three children, two of whom are beginning to use the internet (they are 5 and 4 years old). Are you aware that there are isp's which monitor content? One is called
CommunityChoice.net there is also wefilter.com, I'm sure there are many others as well. It seems to me that having people who work full time at monitoring content could do better than I can personally. I have personally chosen not to filter the content, but to monitor my children. I realize this will become more difficult as they age, but, the information is there, shielding them now could be just as harmfull in the long run as exposing them now while I can explain things to them (5 year olds tend to listen better than 13 year olds). I think I have a more solid answer to hardware though. Kids tend to "optimize" a computer in there own way, they are also very tough on software. I have a small network in my home and at my office, both networks have a socket7 class machine with no netwrok rights but full internet access. They are free to install software and browse the net. The worst thing that has ever happened is a game from a serial box messed up the video, it was restored and no"important" data was lost. The machine itself is cheap to repair or replace. Have you seen what kids do to keyboards? I prefer that they have their own puter, I also believe that puters are personal in nature. Well, I could go on forever, but I wont. I will look forward to reading all the other posts here.
Dave.

There are two basic premises in computer security
Blocking access
Auditing activities

You really have to make the decision first as to which approach you wish to take.

Blocking - if you wish to choose this method, then you really have toconcentrate on what you wish to block, and then really get after locking down everything possible.

Auditing - Auditing means that you allow access, but you carefully monitor activity. Then there are consequences for poor decisions. (i.e. accountability).

once you decide your approach you can then decide what to do.

But, to be truthful, your main job as a parent is to train your child's spirit so that they make good decisions based on character.

There is no end to the amount of filth in the world, whether on the internet or not. The internet just makes it more accessible.

You can do a lot to stop the ads and the pop up boxes - go to cnet.com

Internet Explorer 6 really does have a lot of parental controls and features to make the browser more or less sensitive.

My experience with a lot of the software tools, is that some of them restrict too much to where you can't do anything, but then again - that might be what you want. You really have to work with them for yourself.

You know you can always set up your own iis server and then filter whatever content you want and then connect your child's computer to your server. You'll be able to control more that way.

Answering your question is something that takes more time than I have to give right now. I'll try to spend more time later.

Hey Maxwell,

An excellent question. I have a 15 year old, and I'm going to hook his PC up to the internet in a couple of weeks, so this kind of question has been on my mid recently.
At first I thought Netnanny, Surfpatrol, or any of the dozens of filtering software products, but I know that they don't work that well and can limit access o legitimate sites.
I looked at routers. Many allow you to filter sites. One router allowed you to configure it so that it would email me when an unauthorized site was accessed. I went with another that just does filtering, and I'll probably do some of that.

But in the end, it comes down to trust. I know my son pretty well, and his friends, and what he does. Acouple of years ago, I found him and his buddy online in a Nintendo chat room. I asked if they had done this before and they said no, they had just found it. I watched as some of the language got course, and taunting of others in the chat room got nasty. I had them close out, and when themother of the other kid came over, we all had a long "chat" about chat rooms and what kind of behaviour is acceptable. With the support of other parents, I think that kind of thing made more difference thatn anything.

Talk to your kids. There is know way to hide them from everything. Just make sure that they have the emotional tools to handle what they may find.

And check the history file once and a while.

Maxwell,

I am afraid the only solution for the question that you have posed to this forum is that of the individual and their actions. There is no software or hardware that can address each of the areas that you have asked to be protected from. If your child were to go to a friends house for instance, they would have unlimited access to whatever site that they wanted.

The only sure fire 100% way to protect children from the internet is to shut it down. Therefore, it is up to parents, educators, employers and ISP's to try to protect children. However, in the end the individual must be responsible for their actions on the internet.

I for one (with three kids of my own) try to educate my kids about what is appropriate and what is not. I get much information via the web and a lot of garbage also. The sites that you are trying to prevent your children from accessing have found different ways to have people access them. There have been times that I have received e-mail that lookedlegitimate only to find it directed me to inappropriate areas that in my opinion should have never been allowed to be placed on computers in the first place. In the future they will continue to find other ways to circumvent the security that we impose on them. So, there is no way, today, that we can prevent our children form seeing something that is inappropriate.

There are probably even some designers of some sites, like those discussed, that belong to this forum. They see the ways that people try to prevent others from accessing their sites, only to come up with a way to disable it or go around it.

So, in the end, it is still up to people like you and I, to monitor what our kids do, who they play with, what they eat, what they say,and where they go. Especially on the internet.

I think two situations need to be looked at:

1. The children are trying to view inappropriate material behind mommy and daddy's back.
and
2. The children have no desire to see it, but might accidentally run across it while doing some innocent surfing.

To prevent children from surfing for inappropriate materialm the best thing to do woyld probably to let them know that if they do, you will catch them and they will get in toruble.

There are a number of utilities that ccan be purchased that run in ghost mode and record things done on the computer, including addresses and titles of web pages visited, and every single keystorke.

Loading this on a machine and showing a child after he has been on the computer, that everything he didwas recorded and always will be will make the child think twice about looking for inappropriate material.

Another point was brought up that kids will go over to their friend's house to look at it. The best possible solution to this is to talk tothe parents of your children's friends about the matter. As awkward as it might seem, I think other parents will understand your concern about protecting your children.

Protecting your children from accidently viewing inappropriate materials is a bit tougher. The best way to do this would probably be to get an internet censoring program, and if any web page that might seem useful is restricted, your children can ask you to let them access that specific web page, which you can look at first.

You can down load and save web pages for viewing off line. You can filter, remove, delete, monitor and forbid. But it's human nature to be inqusitive. As kids get older they find ways to learn what they want. Some just get bored with it after awhileand others become more intrested. I think it's the parents that need to sit down with the young and talk, mabie thats what we all needed was guiding and answers when we were young. Wow I sounded like my dad! Heh restricting things created hackers and the first hackers helped create the internet.

Hi,

I have recently attended a product launch of a very interesting software. Its called WebMarshal from Marshal Software (www.marshalsoftware.com). According to their brochure, [The WebMarshal solution delivers site blocking capabilities to ensure employee (and children) are kept away from undesirable and unnecessary surfing. This should deliver better productivity (and protection) and bandwidth usage].

[The WebMarshal rule set is made up of site rules and content rules. Site rulesoperate on user names, the URL that's requested and time of day/week. These rules are used to either permit or deny access to sites.. TextCensor Scripts operate within the content rules and allow URL lists to be updated automatically based on wheterthe content meets the organization's policy.]

[It may be necessar to apply content rules to downloadable data. These may include cookies, which you may want to strip out, or files that you want to either permit or deny access to. Files are usually recognized before they are downloaded to assess whether they are allowed. In the event they are not easily recognizatble they are trickle fed, and only one tenth of a file is sent before scanning. If WebMarshal decides that the rules block it, then the connection is automatically lost].

[Marshal software also has an email security solution called MailMarshal that similarly protects the corporate environment by using policy-based decisions to allow email to be content checked before delivery.]

Hope this helps.

You know,
reading through these post has brought something to my mind. This is a very similar argument to one I had with a former partner. We both managed very large networks, though in very different environments. As partners we were considering an addition to our current business which would include lease time computers and a cafe. We were at great odds on how to "controll" both minors and adults on our machines. He wished to stricktly and actively monitor and control the clients with some type of auditing software. This may have come from his background in a community college. I believed that our only responsibility was to ensure that clients were not exposed to unwanted material and that minors were in a more public area where they could be supervised. I believe that the harder you try to impose values the more resistance you will get in return. Sort of the "more flies with honey" approach. He always had stories about how he had to terminate a students session with b****slap or a similar utility and how abbusive the users were of policy. I think that an attitude of power and arrogance propigates this type of behavior. One of the reasons some of this material is so highly sought after is because it is illegal or taboo.

PS, I had to clip about three paragraphs after rhis to fit but you are probably better off with just the beginning anyway.

Dave

Yikes, this sure is a touchy issue. Unfortuntely I didn't read all the answers posted, so If i'm what I'm going to say was already said, my apologies. I myself am a father of two young boys and I agree with most of the answers leaning towards parental involment. My spin on things, however, is a combination of software, hardware and parental involment. On the network I administer at work, we use a software/hardware combination called SurfControl, (sorry I don't have the web address right now). Basically what it does is monitor ALL internet traffic coming in before it reaches it's destination. It doesn't stop the traffic, but it does log it. You can the generate reports on the information it collected. Using this information a parent could track what his/her children were viewing without "nagging" them. If an issue came up (pornography for instance), it could then be discussed by the family to deter the behavior. So far it's worked at the office, with only a few bad apples. Possibly it could work for you.

I agree with the filtered ISP option. I work at a school in England, and have had the pleasures of children going where they shouldn't on the internet, and the introduction of a filtered ISP into the school has helped the situation no end. It allows us to give the kids greater freedonm on the internet, with the added safety of knowing the amount of banned sites will be those not just to do with pornography, but also gambling etc.
I have also found an email facility that the isp provides, that allows you to report sites that may have slipped through the net, which they inturn will add to their ever growing database of sites not to be accessed. I have found that this isp has had no bearing on the educational an fun value that the web has had to offer to the children at the school, as they can still access the sites that are of value to them.
As a school we do not want children going home saying to their parents that they have done this and that on the computers, as it can look unfavourably on the school itself. This has led to niche in the IT sector that requires stringent filtering by an ISP's. I can believe that the same is true in the US. which is why we use this service.
The only disadvantage of this that I can see is it may not be cost effective for a single household to persue this as it may invoke higher costs to the user that are impractical

The internet is by far the most informative and dangerous tool a parent can give his child.
I believe at first simple protection software such as Net Nanny and CyberPatrol should be used, but to some extent. Also browser (aside from those children browsers) can be configured to filter any pornographic and hateful material on internet. This, however, does not properly protect a child using the internet.
I think behaviour is an important aspect to this matter. Parents should sit with their children when browsing the internet. The computer should be in view of an adult when a child is using it.
Also, the temporary internet files and history should be checked regularly.
As far as I know, there isn't any particular hardware that aids in this problem.

Wow, what a question.

I see a lot of answers here involving filtering and special ISPs and other hardware/software solutions. What happens when the child goes to the library, the cybercafe, the babysitter's house, other relatives, etc? We as adults have the right to see what we please. We may not like "offensive" content. What you term offensive and what I do are probably totally different. That's where free speech comes in. So how *do* we protect kids while preserving freedom? And just what do you think you are protecting your kids from? When I was young, there was no Internet for kids to surf. No, we raided the garbage bins behind the local 7-eleven for our x-rated pics. We talked trash worse than you'll ever see on most Internet sites.
But today, we adults seem to think children are exposed to so much more danger than we were. And in some cases, this is very true. However, the kids in the most danger are the ones whose parents don't talk to them. My parents and I were very close and had a great relationship. I knew what was acceptable and more importantly what was not and *why* it was not. I think the way to keep your children safe is to actually spend some time with them. Talk to them. Make them feel safe talkingto you - don't judge them too harshly. My friend, whose parents were religious fundamentalists and never let her do anything, was pregnant and strung out by her 16th birthday. I graduated with a near straight-A average and stayed out of the major trouble spots like drugs and alcohol.

Talk to your kids. They'll listen. let them talk to you - and you must listen. Really listen. Don't think about the meeting tomorrow, or how peeved you are at the boss, or what you wish you could do fordinner. Be present for them. It's the best present you can give them. Trust me - my Mom gave that present to me, and it's still my favorite.
~nikki~

Where you sit determines your point of view: I am a father of teenage kids and a professional geek, and use AOL for my ISP.

Basically I have opened up my kids access to the net one step ahead of the AOL parental controls. I.e., "Mature Teen" when they were still "young teens".

I did change their user names when I observed my daughter chatting on line. Using the standard "professional user name", i.e., last name - first initial, does not afford you much privacy when yours is the only listing of that last name in the whole city.

Content filtering based on web site IP address does cut a wider swath than intended: Researching the "IT Infrastructure Library" sent me to a dutch site that was blocked for sexual content. (I know being a geek, service delivery is an exciting topic, but ....).

Finally, just as a point of principle I'll echo one point made before: Buttom line is parental control. I am the only person responsible for my kids' behaviour (ok, my wife, too). My children are not a victim of society, but the product of my efforts to raise them.

Similarily, the internet content I view at work is not "caused" by the lack of oversight provided by my employer. I, as a responsible adult (or so I hope) am responsible for my own actions.

Now, on the question of free speech - i.e., the access to objectionable sites from public libraries: IMHO the answer is a separate "private" viewing area for adults only - where unsuspecting over-the shoulder watchers cannot accidentally be exposed to such material.

Maxwell Answer 2 was posted by soulrider,I am not sure how I got the user deleted tag,maybe I took to long to reply and thread was disconnected.

There are plenty of things like the Safari Browser, SurfControl and NetNanny but one useful technique for dealing with nuisance porn ads and sites is blocking them in your HOSTS file. An entry like 127.0.0.1 ads.pornserver.com will get rid of at least one site at a time. Blocking sites like xxxcounter.com, sextracker.com will eliminate ads on otherwise clean sites that resort to porn ad revenue. websense.com gives a 30-day trial of their filter. If you want to filter their email I suggest you read it all first because porn spammers find ways around filters and probably always will. Another method is a text only browser like Lynx. 99% of porn eliminated right there.

For parents, at home, there is a very effective solution. It is two fold, first and most important, teach your children the proper morals and discernment. This is an ongoingprocess that will take most of their pre-adult lives. It takes a lot of effort and, of course, the parent(s) must be willing and able to set the proper example. This protects them by helping them to develop thinking abilities, which in turn helps them to reason on matters of right and wrong. Of course the source of what is right and wrong must be impeccable. There is one book in particular, written by a group of men, that is available that has excellent guidelines on right and wrong for young and old. Second, put the computer in a visible place where you can watch your children while they are in the internet. Even the best trained child will occasionally accidentally stumble into a dangerous site or will let curiosity get the best of them. That's why it's important to have the computer where you can monitor its use. This sounds simplistic, but it is very very effective. In today's hi-tech world we often forget our repsonsibilities and the simple answers get overlooked.

Hello Maxwell,
I am new here, and just ran across your question.
Like so many have said, in the virtual world the dangers are just as real as in the real world. If you want to safeguard your children, keeping them safe while using the internetyou will have use some 'elbow grease' You can use hardware and software, but the best weapon you have is you. Manually check the history logs of what urls are left on your computer when they have logged off. Monitor the children while they are online at all times, keep the computer in an open place that is accessible to the whole family such as the den or living room. You can also filter some of the websites through browsers made for children, but don't just rely on them! Watch your children for changes in their personalities and habit, this can too be indicative of online seduction. It's not easy to safeguard your children online anymore than in real life without putting lots of hard work into it. If your children are computer savy and you suspect they may be deleting the histories before logging off, contact your isp and see if they can help with printed out records of urls they may have visited. As far as I am concerned when it comes to email, they have no privacy rights, read all of it! They may, probably will, be angry about this, but it's better that they be mad and not dead.

Working as systems tech within an educational institution, this has been a matter of some concern for several years. The solution that we have chosen is ISA 2.0 server which, has a considerable degree of content filtering options. Sites that are found to be legitimate although which have been blocked, can be unblocked upon request. The degree of customisation allows for maximum freedom whilst blocking the undesirable content to an excellent degree. Whilst ISA server is not as simple to use as some of the routers that offer content filtering and does require a decent tech knowledge, it is a scalable solution that works.

Hello,
You've had some helpful hints here on how to build a comprehensive strategy. I think you should take responsibility for what happens in your house - you cannot control what your kids do in the houses of their friends.

I liked the hosts file option, and you can combine this with filtering from a firewall for simplistic blocking.

But what I would recommend you do is audit the history logs (you should be able to disable clearing the history in the System Policies), and tell your children that you will read the logs once a month, and will report back to them on what you find. Then use a carrot/stick approach, like "You visited a lot of educational sites, therefore you are relieved of this chore this week", and "You visited this porn site - no pocket money for a week". Make them understand that they're going to have to justify anything to you that you choose, and they'll regulate themselves.

But I don't have a right to tell you how to bring up your kids. Good luck.

Many excellent answers. However, few have touched upon the real question. I realize that hardware, software and configuration solutions are not the ONLY solutions, but they should be part of the equation. I’m not looking for advice on parenting or dialogue on censorship. It goes without saying that the ultimate defense lies within the parent’s realm of responsibility. Moreover, I never indicated that the issue was with my kids, although that is an understandable assumption. Perhaps explaining my motivation for asking this question would have been helpful.

I am preparing for a presentation I am giving for concerned parents at a local school. Their “responsibility”, therefore is implied, or else I would not have been asked to address the issue at a forum they devised. These concerned parents, acknowledging their lack of computer savvy, have implemented all the other “good parenting” lines of defense, and are simply seeking every option available to them for establishing the best way to setup their computers. In the end, they will walk away with some specification ideas to ADD to their “good parenting” solutions.

I mentioned a product called “Internet Safari” developed by a company called Heartsoft. This product will work great for some, but will fall short for others. Are there any other similar products? What are they? How do they work? Has anyone else heard of this Heartsoft product and/or reviewed it? Therehave been some great suggestions posted, such as the ones that mentioned NetNanny, PeaceFire, etc. Those are great suggestions - keep them coming. You’ve suggested some child friendly ISPs such as the one created by the folks at PAX. Keep those kinds of suggestions coming.

Parental responsibility and interaction is, without saying, first and foremost. I’m looking for all the things those parents can consider in

Point value changed by question poster.

Thanks for the clarity and feed back,will stick to the question at hand.
1)Kid Shield-a book written by Zachary Britton,it gives you user friendly guidelines for guarding your child's online adventures

2)Net Scrubber is a generated form that is filled out with inappropiate material listed and then sent out as a report that is sent out to parental control software companies,Internet Service Providers and School districts

3)CyberPatrol Web Filter- Customize level of filtering for differentmembersof family
a)Filter descriptive search engine results
b)Prevent the disclosure of personal information over the internet,such as in a chat room
c)Manage the amount of time spent online

4)For Internet Safety Guidelines,see Larry Magid's Child Safety On The Information Highway

Parental Control/Internet Filters

AUP Action Tools-iTECH,Inc-Proxy Server

Bess, The Internet Retriever-N2HS-Proxy Server

Clck and Browse Jr. 98-Netwave Inc

Computer Cop- Computer Concepts

Ed View
EdSmart Zone search engine of 7 million pages of educator-reviewed child sagfe sites allow users to see appropiate content,while blocking pieces and subsets of sites. Content is organozed by subject. Password-protected software keeps users in safe areas. Blocking is age specific.

Kid Control-Tybee Software
Capture screen images of web sites and chatrooms, Monitors and saves all keyboard activity and conversations i chat areas
Works with AOL and other services.Available as a free download
iWAY Patrol-iTech Inc.-Proxy Server
Content filtering is enforced at the system level,preventing students from access to Chat Rooms,gambling,games,sex or pornography sotes on the WWW
Teachers can add/delete sites from blocking lists or restrictaccess to specific sites

Planet Web Browser-Planet Web Inc-Sega TV Boxes,ISP's

Hi Maxwell,

In addition to the above steps, I would suggest that Parents (or some one who knows better) should periodically chk the History folders of the computers being used by the kids. Here the sites visited by them are listed.

Also, ifavailable, then can get some URL tracking softwares (or more advanced History keepers).

Nise

I see that a lot of products have been listed in this near-battle between the youth that we would like to protect from the underside of the Internet (a dark vastness that is so huge, so dominant, and, unfortunately, so profitable). I agree with the statements of how we should be involved in our childrens' lives, so we know where they go online and why and who they meet.
I also agree with the statements that our parental duty also includes raising good, healthy, moral children with a strong foundation that would help them THEMSELVES to resist what all of these programs attempt to defend against. Encouraging our kids to take up sports, or religious groups, or after-school clubs and organizations.
All of these things are the stuff that parents should already be doing.
They ARE your kids! Parenting is a 24-hour a day job.

Ok, off the soapbox now.

Now, just do a search of "child protection software" and you will get 416000 hits at Google.com. There is a lot out there.
SpectorSoft.com has SpectorPro. an e-mail/IM/Website/Keystroke logger with alerts if "bad" words are read by it. Plus, it has the "Visual Snapshot Recorder," which records all screen images that are displayed on the monitor! So, you could go to the system after your child had been online, and "play back" every single thing they saw!
Cybersitter.com has their product that blocks web sites, logs violations, and "For inexperienced users, complicated configuration is not necessary. CYBERsitter installs withdefault settings that will provide exceptional filtering, performance, and security."
Next, this web site has links to a dozen child protection softwares:
http://www.worldis.com/protectkids.htm

There are dozens of others. I found one in German (LuckyKid).

What a discussion! For the record, I agree that good parenting is the first line of defense. But I strongly disagree with the idea of letting kids have access and then checking up on their history files to hold them accountable. Pornography is too powerful a drug; don't allow them any access that you can prevent. It is not logical to hope your teen boys can discipline themselves to avoid such sites when many adults describe it as an addiction they cannot control.
We have a filtered ISP calledlightdog.com. I have some concerns about other aspects of their service, but the filtering part has been very effective and includes functionality to request a review of sites you think are wrongly blocked or allowed.

What a discussion! For the record, I agree that good parenting is the first line of defense. But I strongly disagree with the idea of letting kids have access and then checking up on their history files to hold them accountable. Pornography is too powerful a drug; don't allow them any access that you can prevent. It is not logical to hope your teen boys can discipline themselves to avoid such sites when many adults describe it as an addiction they cannot control.
We have a filtered ISP calledlightdog.com. I have some concerns about other aspects of their service, but the filtering part has been very effective and includes functionality to request a review of sites you think are wrongly blocked or allowed.

What a discussion! For the record, I agree that good parenting is the first line of defense. But I strongly disagree with the idea of letting kids have access and then checking up on their history files to hold them accountable. Graphic sex is too powerful a drug; don't allow them any access that you can prevent. It is not logical to hope your teen boys can discipline themselves to avoid such sites when many adults describe it as an addiction they cannot control.
We have a filtered ISP calledlightdog.com. I have some concerns about other aspects of their service, but the filtering part has been very effective and includes functionality to request a review of sites you think are wrongly blocked or allowed.

This is a article regarding the federal governments(USA) newest attempt to control the internet.
Although it will have a limited appeal, likely only the very young, under the ages of six or seven at most. Is it really worth the money of implementing & maintaining, not by a long shot.

U.S. mulls child-friendly Internet domain

Reuters News Agency

Washington in An effort to create a child-friendly Internet zone free of violence, pornography and other adult material cleared another hurdle on Wednesday when a U.S. House of Representatives panel gave its unanimous stamp of approval.

A bill approved by the committee would set up an area within the little-used ".us" Internet domain that would allow only Web sites deemed appropriate for children 12 years old and younger.

Web sites bearing a ".kids.us" address would have to certify that they did not contain sexually explicit material, hate speech, violence or other material not suitable for minors.

The House Energy andCommerce Committee approved the bill by a voice vote and sent it to the House floor for approval.

Unlike previous congressional attempts to screen out on-line smut, the bill would regulate content only on a corner of the Internet that falls directly under U.S. government control.

"It would be a place that parents know they can send their kids to be safe, much like a children's section of the library," said Michigan Republican Rep. Fred Upton, a bill sponsor.

Under changes incorporated into the bill on Wednesday, Web sites using the .kids.us handle could not set up chat rooms, instant messaging or other interactive services unless they could certify that they did not expose children to pedophiles or pose other risks.

Links to other Web sites outside the .kids.us subdomain would also be prohibited.

Onr of the methods used by our local library system is to restrict the viewing of graphics on selected sites. This helps to stike a balance between free speach and child protection. A user can request that the site be opened for viewing.

Hi Maxwell

My God! How much info do you want?

Speaking as someone who, shall we say does his bit as a concerned parent.
Lets face it this is as multi facited question and so is the answer.
1. The parents have a responcibility to the welfare of the childern
2. The ISP's like wise although I think they dont do enough.
3. Local and National authorities also have a responcibility to protect the welfare of the populus.

So what can be done?
You would have to start at the top. The Internaltional Community, and work down.
To start with a firm and legal poclicy that would ensure the welfare of uor children. I'm sure if the EEC can ban "Johnny Walkers" wiskey from the UK as they did back in the 70's they could put a little effort intothe welfare of future voters (yes that was sarcastic!). An international policy needs to be layed out. This would need to cover everything from governing ISP's and the content they provide to them, if required, providing a "Sub Internet" with restricted access to minors.
Lets face it kids will be kids. They have enquiring minds and a thirst for knowledge it is upto society as a whole to decide the content.
The ISP's and Private server companies need regulating, licensing and monitoring correctly with a view to the long term future.
The sites that display inappropritae material also need to be included.
Yes I know there are other issues that relate to the problem as a whole but we have to start somewhere. So thats where I would start at the TOP!. Because our society is built on rules we all generally accept as being law. If we find something that offends the general population then in theory at least, it should be wrong and against the law.

Good luck.
Regards

Thanks to all who took the time to provide an answer.

Maxwell

This question was closed by the author