Family and Child Online Safety Blog - SafetyClicks

If you're like many parents, you try to keep track of what your kids are doing online by watching them when they're on the computer. This can be a time-consuming method, and your kids may want to explore the Internet even when you're not around to "babysit" their activity. Parental Controls software can help you feel more confident about letting your children explore the Internet without you needing to be physically present ever time they go online. In this article, I'll give you a basic overview of the types of tools available so that you are better equipped to decide what type of software best suits you and your child.

The breadth of parental controls software available on the market today can be confusing and overwhelming. But in general, they fall into four basic categories:

1. Basic Filtering

Basic web filtering software blocks access to inappropriate web sites, such as pornography sites. The two most popular basic filtering solutions are browser toolbar plug-ins: Parental Control Toolbar for Internet Explorer, and Glubble for Firefox. Both allow parents to approve websites from the toolbar based on a history of the websites blocked. Glubble requires users to login so that child accounts can only access a pre-approved list of kid-friendly websites. Although limited in features compared to other types of parental controls software, these basic plug-ins are free.

2. Operating Systems

Microsoft's Vista and Apple's OS X both include basic parental controls in the operating system, accessible via a Control Panel or System Preferences, respectively. Parents create their own administrator accounts, and then create individual accounts for their children. Both provide basic web filtering, computer time limits, application controls and activity reports.

3. Security Suites

An increasing number of security suites, such as McAfee and Norton, have started bundling parental controls features within their higher-end suite offerings. These software packages incorporate anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, and parental controls into one bundle. The parental controls features include web filtering, application controls, timers, and activity reports.

Many ISPs now offer security suites free with their service, or for a small additional fee. Check with your ISP provider to see if it offers a security suite, and if that suite contains parental controls. If so, remember to download and activate the software properly. (You may also want to look at the fine print: Some ISPs only offer the suite free for a limited time.)

4. Specialized Parental Controls Software

These "stand-alone" solutions are still extremely popular. At one time, these products were only available to purchase in a box from a retail store, but now are also available for purchase and immediate download online. These products offer robust features including web filtering, application controls, time limits, e-mail and IM monitoring, and alerting/reporting. Some also offer basic social networking monitoring (such as Safe Eyes monitoring for Facebook). Some of these programs even go as far as logging every IM conversation or e-mail for a parent to review (such as WebWatcher) in a way that is entirely invisible to the child. Some parents are uncomfortable with this type of surveillance, though, and believe it to be a form of "spying" -- the online equivalent of reading their child's diary. Other parents welcome this level of monitoring and consider it appropriate.

Now that you're familiar with the basics of parental controls software, here are some things to keep in mind when considering the right software for you and your child:

1. How old is your child?
   
   
   • Is your child 7 or 15? The level of monitoring and safeguards you may want probably differ depending on your child's age. You may want your younger child to have tighter safeguards in place to help prevent them from stumbling upon inappropriate web sites. But you may want your teenager to have a greater degree of freedom when browsing the web. Consider software that allows you to customize your child's experience based on their age.
     
2. How much time do you have to monitor activity?
   
   
   • Most parents do want to provide a safer Internet experience for their children, but dislike the amount of time they have to spend reading logs or responding to requests. If this is the case for you, select software that aggregates your child's activity into an easy-to-read report. Some reports are only available on the computer that has the software installed on it. Other software can e-mail or text parents a report or alert. A few products even enable parents to go to an online web site to view a report.
     
3. How much information about your child's online activities do you want to know?
   
   • Do you want just a high-level summary of where your child goes online? Most parental controls software can record this level of information. Some break down the list by individual child, and some by computer (no distinction between users).
     
   • Do you want to know absolutely EVERYTHING, including full transcripts of your child's IM conversations and e-mails? Then you may want to install software that goes beyond monitoring and enables surveillance capabilities. These features may be referred to as keystroke logging or text scraping. Beware: some of these applications may be marked as spyware or trojans by security programs and can sometimes work to erode trust between child and parent. Some child safety advocates recommend against using surveillance features for this reason.
     
4. Management and notification?
   
   • Since you can't always be around when your kids are using the computer, it's important to consider programs that allow you to manage settings and receive reports/notifications remotely. Many products offer to send you an e-mail when your child tries to access a blocked website. Safe Eyes even lets parents receive these notifications via text message. Some products, like AOL Parental Controls and McGruff Safeguard, allow the parent to manage settings and view reports for their child on the web. This type of remote configuration gives the parent the flexibility to change their child's settings and view their child's online activity from any computer.
     
5. How much do you want to spend?
   
   
   • Free -- consider the free browser plug-ins mentioned above, or consider free parental controls stand-alone software such as AOL Parental Controls or McGruff Safeguard. Both of these programs are available free to anyone (regardless of your ISP), and are comparable to retail programs costing anywhere from $30-$80. And dont' forget: You can also check with your ISP to see if it offers parental controls for free.
     
   • $$$ -- If you prefer deeper levels of monitoring and controls, you may want to purchase one of the specialized parental controls software programs. These applications can run anywhere from $20-$100, with most of them falling somewhere in the middle. $50 seems to be an average price.

Parental Controls software can definitely help make your job easier when it comes to protecting your child's online experience, but no software, no matter how good, can replace talking to your kids about safe Internet behavior and practices.

Want to read more about selecting the right parental controls software? Check out these resources:

• 2008 Internet Software reviews
• 12 Tools to Keep Kids Safe Online by Neil J Rubenking
• Parental Controls & Online Child Protection: A Survey of Tools & Methods by Adam Thierer