5 filtering tools to keep your kids safe online

As wonderful and magical as it may seem, the World Wide Web has more than its fair share of content that’s unsuitable for children. Now while most of these web sites are hidden behind a perfunctory page that queries whether the user is over the age of 18 years or not, a simple affirmation to the former is enough to let kids bypass this so-called ‘warning’ and on to material that you definitely do not want your child to access.

Given the dangers that lurk in Cyberia, it becomes imperative for parents to intervene and instal safeguards on their home PCs to prevent children from accidentally stumbling on lottery and gambling, pornography, or any other web property of questionable repute.

To that effect, we list five tools that will help you facilitate a safer computing experience for your children.

WINDOWS PARENTAL CONTROL
If your home PC runs Windows Vista or Windows 7, it already has several features that allow you to set up permissions and restrictions that could help in the online safety of your kids. Using the inbuilt Parental Control feature - activated from the Control Panel - you can set up separate accounts for your children; enforce when and for how long they can use the computer ; which programs they can use and what kind of games they can play.

This tool, however, lacks advanced features such as logging your kid's computing sessions. Still, Windows Parental Control is a handy feature to have at hand, especially during exam time when you feel that your child should be spending more time with books, rather than on the internet. Get it from: Inbuilt in Windows Vista and Windows 7

WINDOWS LIVE FAMILY SAFETY
To make optimum use of the Parental Control feature in Windows Vista or 7, you need to download this free program from the Microsoft web site. Family Safety, which requires you to create a free Windows Live ID, will allow you to filter web traffic, specify sites you want to block and even monitor the web sessions of each of your children.

The program filters your kid's surfing on the basis of either a pre-configured list of harmful sites, or the topic you have specified. If your children try to access any site that is harmful, they will see a message telling them that they need parental permission to view it. Get it from: http:// explore.live.com/windowslive-essentials-otherprograms ?T1=t3

NORTON SAFETY MINDER ( NSM)
For people still on Windows XP or those who feel that the inbuilt parental controls in Windows Vista and 7 are inadequate , there’s a solution in the form of Norton Safety Minder. NSM is a free offering, but requires users to register with Norton Online Family . Just like paid software, NSM offers a number of features that help parents monitor their child’s browsing sessions.

The software can monitor web surfing (including social networking sessions) and even block and filter web sites. It can generate surfing logs; keep an eye on what your kids are saying on instant messengers and even what they are searching for on Google. There is also an app available for the iPhone, iPad and Android phones that allows you to keep track of NSM logs and even remotely switch its features on or off. Get it from: https:// onlinefamily .norton.com/familysafety /loginStart.fs

K9 WEB PROTECTION
K9 works on both Windows and Mac. It can block web sites by category, including pornography, illegal drugs, dating, violence, hate, racism; enables safe search on sites such as Google and Bing; and even allows parents to put time restrictions and night guard on internet access.

Like other parental control software, K9 also generates reports on web browsing session. Get it from: www1.k9webprotection.com /get-k 9-web-protection-free

KIDZUI
Unlike other parental software in this list, KidZui uses a different approach to keep your children safe online. There are no blocked lists or time restrictions. Instead, KidZui is a browser specifically tailored to the needs of kids.
It taps into the vast network of child-friendly internet resources that are pre-screened by experts. This limiting nature of the browser, however, makes it unsuitable for older children . Still, for those who are below 10 years old, it is a wonderful and safe conduit to the Internet. Get it from: www.kidzui.com/

Note: Software tools are only a mild form of censorship and parents should also make time to educate their children, as well as create ground rules for them with regards to DOs and DON’Ts on the internet.