Monthly Archives: December 2011

Dec29

Would you like to have a Safe Internet for your children to use?

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Would you like to have a Safe Internet for your children to use?

The Internet has an awesome amount of information, however, it also contains material and websites that are not appropriate for children to view.  Let alone stumble upon it when they least expect it.

Here are some statistics you need to consider:

  1. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that among teens online, 70 percent have accidentally come across pornography on the Web (Kaiser Family Foundation).


  1. A study by the NOP Research Group found that of the four million children, aged seven to 17 who surf the net, 29% percent would freely give out their home address and 14% would freely give out their e-mail address if asked. (Telegraph.co.uk January 2002)


  1. Nine out of 10 children aged between eight and 16 have viewed pornography on the Internet. In most cases, the adult sites were accessed unintentionally when a child, often in the process of doing homework, used a seemingly innocent sounding word to search for information or pictures. (London School of Economics January 2002)

 

These statistics are very disturbing, and seriously affect our children’s well being.  Now, would you like to have an Internet that is Safe for your children to use?  You could go about your house work and get your business done without worrying about what websites your children are viewing.  This would take a huge burden off your shoulders.  Want to know how to achieve this?

Actually it is really easy and affordable by simply installing “My Kids Browser”.  This program will protect your children against pornography, predators and other Internet dangers, even if you can’t be there to monitor them.  My Kids Browser is different than other filtering programs because it will only let them access clean websites.  If you would like to add a website to your child’s “white list” you can.  Then the website will be checked out by the program and you will be advised of any risks.

The My Kids Browser has many great features, such as turning off the print feature so that you kids don’t print every picture they see on the internet.  In addition, you can set the amount of time they can use the computer.  Once that limit is reached, the browser will shutdown.  This should eliminate a lot of arguments you may be experiencing right now.

Here are some more of the many features that are included in My Kids Browser:

·  Protects your children every second they’re on the internet!
·  Web-page analyzer that analyzes any page you add to their list.
·  Desktop lockdown that allows you to prohibit children from using Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc so that they only use the Kid Safe Internet Browser. (For Windows 2000, XP, & Vista)
·  History area that lets you see where your kids have been (they will only have access to SAFE areas)
·  Helps children learn and practice math, English, and science
·  Sandbox area for kids to play almost unlimited games.

· Full featured web browser
· Password-protected Parental Admin area
· Unlimited updates / auto-update checker
· Keeps children safer than by using only filtered internet
· Pop-up blocker (configurable)
· Enable / Disable the printer and search bar
· View how long your children have used the internet per day.

The My Kids Browser program offers a Free Trial so you can use it before you actually purchase it.  To find out more information about the this program and to check out all of the features, please visit:

http://www.mykidsbrowser.com/

Dec15

CyberBullying Can Happen To Anyone ~ The X Factor Incident

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CyberBullying Can Happen To Anyone ~ The X Factor Incident

Photo Credit: IrisKH

Recently, we have seen news reports on how some of the X-Factor contestants were the object of CyberBullying.  This just goes to show that CyberBullying can happen to anyone.  Be it your average Child in your hometown, your own children, or someone who is in the News.The most important thing that a parent can do to protect their child is to keep the lines of communication open.  Just sit down and have an open and honest discussion with your child about CyberBullying.

You could even use the X-Factor CyberBullying information as a way to approach the subject with your children.  It is always easier to open up a conversation when it’s somebody else you are talking about.  This will put the child at ease while you try to find out if there are any problems they are currently dealing with.

Ask them if they are aware of  CyberBullying and if this has ever happened to them.  This may encourage your children to tell you if they have been or are currently being harassed.  If your children admit to being CyberBullied, take action immediately.  Don’t ignore the situation thinking that it will blow over because this type of behavior more times than not can escalate quickly.

Remember just how fast the internet can deliver emails, Facebook posts, and tweets on Twitter.  If there is any type of CyberBullying behavior being directed to your children, do whatever it takes to stop it.

Each Website has a report or abuse button that you can use to report CyberBullying activity.  Also, you can notify the school principal of the situation so they can let the teachers know what is happening and take measures to protect your child.

For more information about how to handle CyberBullying and the articles about the X Factor contestants please visit:

Dec13

7 Parental Guidelines to Keep Your Children Safe Online

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7 Parental Guidelines to Keep Your Children Safe Online

Photo Credit: FotoChronicle Frankie

Most parents have been running around the electronics stores purchasing the latest and greatest electronic gifts for their children’s Christmas Wish List. You probably cashed in on some of the smoking hot deals during Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Now as you sit down at the dining room table wrapping all of these presents while the kids are still in school you start to worry. How are you going to protect your children while they are using this exciting new technology?

Suzie is getting her first tablet, and John needed a computer because he will be in High School next year. Plus, for the family you splurged and bought an Xbox 360. Now is a good time to start thinking about what guidelines you need to have established when the kids start using these fantastic gifts you saved a bundle on.

 Here are 7 Guidelines to keep your Children safe online.

1) Explain to the Children that all electronic devices will be used in the family room where you will be able to periodically monitor their use. They cannot use them in their bedrooms.

2) Install software that allows you to set Parental Controls so that you can indeed monitor where your children have been surfing on the internet, and have the ability to block sites as needed.

3) Take the time to sit down with your children and actually show them how to use the Internet safely and set clear expectations of consequences if they do not follow your guidelines.

4) Stress the fact that you will not allow them to use chat rooms. This is how personal information is often discovered.

5) If they want to set up an account on a particular website, they need to come to you first. Tell them you will review the website and determine if this site is age appropriate for them.

6) Set up the account on the website your child wants to use yourself, allowing you to maintain access for periodic checks of activity and site changes.

7) Finally, stress to your children that if they are ever the victim of cyberbullying or receive any type of inappropriate information to report it to you immediately.

Now, this is the hard part. You, the parent will actually have to get up periodically when the children are in the family room using these devices and monitor what is on their screen. Not just one time but several times when they least expect it. Use the Parental monitoring software to see what websites they have visited.

If indeed, the children have been following your guidelines, then you should congratulate yourself on a job well done. However, if they have not been following your guidelines, follow through on the expectations of consequences you originally set.

For more information about keeping your children safe on the internet, visit:

 Kidshealth.org Internet Safety

Dec5

Ugly Meter App ~ Trick App or Possible Cyberbullying Tool

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Ugly Meter App ~ Trick App or Possible Cyberbullying Tool

At the end of last week, I came across some articles about the new release of the Ugly Meter app that is available for the iPhone and iPad on iTunes for $.99.  The Ugly Meter app, Version 2.76, created by Dapper Gentlemen was released on November 29th, and adds a Bully Mode with meaner insults.  This app is rated 9+.

Photo by: David Goehring

For those of you not familiar with the app, you take a picture of a person’s face, and it scans the photo.  Then the app uses the Ugly Scale to rate this picture and assigns it a number from 0 to 10.  The rating of 0 is the Best rating and 10 is the worst rating you can receive.  Along with the rating you will receive a narrative statement, the higher the number the meaner the insults become.  Then the results can be posted to Twitter or Facebook, if the user chooses to do so.

The results are random, and this app is intended for use as entertainment.  However, as a parent, you know how impressionable our children can be, and they may take the rating seriously.  This article is intended to make you aware of the application, and to remind you to check your iTunes statements to see if your children have downloaded this $.99 app.

If your child happens to find themselves affected by the Ugly Meter, you may want to have them view this YouTube Video below.  This video explains the app and shows that it is a trick app and how you can change the outcome of the results.  It also shows a picture of Brad Pitt getting a score of 8 which means he’s ugly, and the statement received was, “If ugly was a crime you’d get the electric chair”.  Of course we all know that Brad Pitt is not generally perceived as  ugly.  It may help your child realize that the results are not real.

(Please note that this video was created when the app was a Free App, but now it costs $.99)