Decide where your children can, and cant go on the internet
If you don't spend a lot of time browsing the Internet, your first step should
be to see what's out there for yourself. Even if you're familiar with Web
sites that appeal to your interests, it's a good idea to check out some sites
for kids. Pay particular interest to sites that collect personal information.
There's no shortage of safe places for kids to go on the Internet. If you
don't agree with the privacy statement of a particular site or if you don't
want to give away any of your child's personal information, do a little searching
and you may find a similar site that doesn't request any information at all.
If you have Microsoft® internet explorer as your browser, there are numerous
features for security that come with it:
Internet Explorer 6 Content Advisor. As a parent you have an opinion on what
kind of content is appropriate for your child depending on his age, maturity,
and your personal beliefs. The Content Advisor feature in Microsoft Internet
Explorer 6 helps you limit what your children can and can't view whilst they
are online.
You can set and change security options when you are in an IE browser by clicking
tools, then internet options, and then you can change between the security,
privacy and content tabs
Increase your security and privacy
Create different user accounts; Microsoft Windows® XP Home edition
allows you to create different user accounts for your pc. Each user can log
on separately and has a with his or her own Desktop and My Documents folder.
As a parent you can set up an Administrator account for yourself, with full
control over the computer, and give your children a Limited User account,
with restricted controls. Limited Users cannot change system settings or install
new hardware or software, including most games, media players, and chat programs.
Keep track of where your kids go online
It may not always be possible to be present while your children are
surfing the internet. But internet explorer it is possible to check to see
where your children have spent their time online. By clicking the history
icon in internet explorer, you can view which sites your children have been
on;
• Using only a first name or nickname to identify themselves.
• Never send photographs of themselves.
• Never agreeing to meet someone they have met online without supervision.