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Keep your kids safe on-line.

The internet is fundamentally a great place for children, but there are some areas of cyberspace that are not appropriate. There are also certain activities on the internet that may be appropriate for adults but not for children, and areas that are suitable for some children but not for all.
Just what the innappropriate places and activities are depends on the child, the family, and the community, but they typically include sites which are sexual in nature, which contain violent or hateful material, or which advocate the use of weapons or harmful substances such as alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drugs.
The most serious problem imaginable is a child that's missing or is molested as a result of an online contact. Most of these cases are not strangers bursting into homes and stealing kids, they are almost all young people who have left home on their own volition, usually after 'meeting' someone online. ('Luring' is the term for online behavior that leads to these meetings). The vast majority of them are over 15 and female. What we have here isn't a case of bad guys snatching children; it's mainly teenagers exercising poor judgment. Nevertheless, luring is illegal, and if your child meets someone online whom you perceive to be a threat to her physical safety, contact law enforcement.
There are many ways young people and adults can lose their privacy on the Internet, and all have their own dangers. Disclosing your address, telephone number, or even your name to a stranger can put you or family members in danger. It's also important to warn children not to give out information that could jeopardize others - family members, friends, teachers, and classmates.
Sometimes companies and organizations collect information about children for use in marketing, fundraising, and other activities. Children should also be instructed not to give out personal information to websites, even if they have heard of them or have good feelings about them. That includes registering for contests or filling out forms in exchange for prizes, or for the right to download software, or for any other purpose. Children should never reveal any information about themselves without first checking with their parents. Even reputable companies may not obtain information about children without parental permission.
There are lots of things you can do to help protect children online, below is a guide to help, but it's not the only options available.
Using a web filter, this is a program that screens an incoming web page to determine whether some or all of it should be displayed to the user. The filter checks the contents of a web page against a set of rules provided by the person who has installed the web filter. Any objectionable content found by the web filter is simply removed or blanked out.
The best defence here is to properly explain the dangers in a way the child or children understand. Also keeping an eye on what online conversations are taking place can give peace of mind. If online chat begins to get suspicious you can take the appropriate action.
Again properly explain the dangers, children should never fill in forms or divulge personal information on the web. And again keeping an eye on what sites the child or children visit can give peace of mind. If they begin doing inappropriate things online you will know about it and can take action.
There are lots of software on the web that can help protect children online, some are free and some have a small cost.
The software we recommend here is Nortons 'Online Family'. Click here to visit their web site and get further information.
The software is free, easy to install and setup, and if you already have Norton Internet Security or Norton 360 installed, there is a link in the software to quickly set it up. Below are full details to setup Nortons 'Online Family' whether you are already using a Norton product or not.
Note: The example given below sets up a parent as 'Dad' and has 2 children Aaron and Natalie. They both have their own user accounts on the home computer running windows XP.

If your child or children don't have their own user account, now is the time to create them.
Click on the relavent link below to get started:
Click here if you have Norton Internet Security.Click here if you have Norton 360.Click here if you don't have either.
To download the Online Family software add-on, open Norton Internet Security Control Panel and click on the Online Family button.
Click on the 'Click here' link for the Norton software to take you to the download page.
Click on the 'Download Norton Safety Minder' link that appears on the web page.
Click here to jump to the next bit.
To download the Online Family software add-on, open Norton 360 Control Panel and click on the Online Family button.
Click on the 'Click here' link for the Norton software to take you to the download page.
Click on the 'Download Norton Safety Minder' link that appears on the web page.
Click here to jump to the next bit.
Click on the link below to open Nortons 'Online Family' web page. From there first bookmark the web page for later. Next you'll need to click on the 'Sign Up Now' button to register.

Note: It's important that your child or children are not watching this as you'll need to enter a password that's very important they never know.

If asked you'll need to select the free version. There is a Premier version but at this moment in time, it's only available to the US.
Click here to open Nortons 'Online Family' web page.
If asked you'll need to select the free version. There is a Premier version but at this moment in time, it's only available to the US.
Register your details here, make sure the child or children don't see your password.
Next setup your display name, I've used 'Dad'. Choose a display picture from the list provided. Then click on 'Agree and continue'.
Now it's time to setup each child, put in a name to recognise the child in the 'Online Family' report. I've just used Aaron in this exmple. Then click the 'Add Child' button.
Next I'm setting up a second child Natalie, if you don't have any more children to setup, simply move on to the next step. Remember to hit the 'Add Child' button for each child that needs setting up.
Once you have completed the setup for each child hit the 'Install Norton safety Minder' button.
If you are using an Apple Mac computer there is a link on the page to install the Mac version of the software. For all using windows hit the purple 'InstallNow' button.
Depending on your web browser a pop-up will now appear asking whether you want to Run, Save or Cancel the download. Select Run.

When the download completes you maybe asked again if you want to Run the software, hit Run or Yes, which ever gives permission for the software to install.
Nortons download manager will now complete the download for the software.

The next window that opens will be to finialize the settings for the software on this computer. Select 'Yes' if 1 or all of your children use the computer you are currently on.
Click on the 'Agree and Install' button for the software license agreement.
Next each child is linked to a user account. Here you can add more children if needed or update details to say who uses which account.

In this example Aaron has link correctly, but because Natalies user account name is Nat X, the software has not linked her account.

To correct this we click on the 'Change' button next to her details.
Now we select 'Uses these Windows user accounts' and tick the box next to the relevant user account. Click 'Next' to finish.
Re-check all the details, if ok click on the 'Next' button.
Finally give the computer a name, I've set this one up as 'Family_Computer' and click 'Finish'.
You'll now get a message to say the installation was successful, hit the 'Done' button.

You now have Parental controls setup for you child or children.

Note:You will need to install this software on each computer your child or children have access to in your home.
Now if you open your web browser and go to the book mark you made earlier or click here to log in to your Norton Online Family account.
Here you'll be able to keep an eye on everything they do online. To begin with it will be blank, nothing to report but after the kids use their user accounts information will be store.

Just remember data is only held for 7 days so it's important to review it here on a weekly basis.
That's it for this guide. I hope it helps you and gives you some piece of mind knowing that your kids are safe online.
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