Safe Surfing for You and Your Children

Spend time "surfing" the Net with your child. Encourage them to explore the healthy, creative opportunities offered by access.

Make use of parental control features. If your service provider doesn't already offer them, a variety of aftermarket programs are available quite inexpensively and will allow you to block out pornographic, obscene, or violent content. Some of the more popular programs are CyberSitter , CyberSnoop , Internet Filter , Microsoft Plus 4 Kids , NetNanny , NetRated , PlanetWeb , Surf Watch , X-Stop , NetParents

Make sure your computer is in a public place in the house. An area heavily trafficked will not provide much opportunity to hide what your child may be doing, and will give you a chance to step in and correct any problems.

It's a good idea to restrict both the amount of time and the time of day you allow your children on the Internet. Late nights often mean not only a slower connection due to typically heavier traffic, but also more adults and less children using these systems. Overly long hours spent on-line aren't healthy either, as this causes vision problems and discourages exercise and social interaction.

Carefully watch your children's "chat-room" discussions. While they may find someone on-line that genuinely shares their interests and hobbies, there have been a number of cases where predators have targeted children through the Internet. Severely limiting or even blocking access to chat-rooms is probably a good idea.

Review history logs kept by your computer. These can tell you what sites your child has been accessing and even record your child's chat-room conversations. This can provide valuable warning if your child should be approached by a predatory personality.

Teach your children not to send personal data such as phone numbers, house address, school name, or photographs of themselves over the Internet. Anytime someone asks them for this kind of information, make sure they know to tell you.

Don't ever allow your children to go to meet someone they befriend "on-line" alone. Make sure you have a chance to talk to their "cyber-buddies" first and even talk to the friend's parents. If the person is an adult, be very wary. Make sure you know who they are and what they do for a living, as well as why they want to meet your child in person.