{"id":17678,"date":"2012-11-25T14:53:32","date_gmt":"2012-11-25T04:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=17678"},"modified":"2024-02-07T13:53:54","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T03:53:54","slug":"internet-security-tips-for-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2012\/11\/25\/internet-security-tips-for-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"Internet Security Tips For Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Farhad Kamal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

November 25, 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n

Murgon State High School Technical Officer Farhad Kamal provides ICT support for his school and a number of other cluster schools in the South Burnett region.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Farhad\u00a0also has a\u00a0YouTube channel<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0with\u00a0IT updates, reviews and tutorials.<\/p>\n

He has prepared the following advice for parents concerned about their children’s use of the Internet:<\/em><\/p>\n

* * *\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I was a kid, my parents didn\u2019t monitor my use of Internet … \u00a0because there was no Internet in \u00a0my childhood! I fondly remember staying outside playing outdoor games until well past dark.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It never seemed like our parents were too concerned. \u00a0I’m sure they kept tabs on us, but they didn’t watch our every move!<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, though, times are different now.<\/p>\n

It’s amazing to think about the advancements that have been made since the Internet went mainstream. But not all things are good.<\/p>\n

Along with the really neat features the Internet has, there are many bad elements – from online porn to online sexual predators.<\/p>\n

And we, as parents, have a duty to keep a vigilant watch over our children’s use of the Internet because of these bad elements.<\/p>\n

When we were kids, our parents would ask where we were going, who we would be with and when we would be home – and we would invariably break the rules sometimes.<\/p>\n

The difference is that now we have the Internet – and instead of us asking the above questions, we have to ask them what websites or chat rooms they will be on and who they are interacting with. And no matter how much you tell them to not visit a certain site, they will visit it when you are not looking – whether on purpose or on accident.<\/p>\n

We cannot watch over their shoulders all the time – and sadly there are huge numbers of sexual predators online – but we can keep track of our kids’ every move online, record their passwords and even send us an email alert when they are doing something they shouldn’t be with some useful monitoring software installed in the computer.<\/p>\n

It is absolutely essential to protect our kids from the vulgarities of the Internet by investing in quality monitoring software.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Internet poses three main risks to your kid: adult websites, spam emails and chat rooms.<\/strong><\/p>\n

How can you make sure that your kids have the freedom to roam the Internet, do their homework or chat with friends without putting themselves at risk?<\/p>\n

Here are three tips to keep the Internet safer.<\/p>\n

1. Protection from adult websites<\/strong><\/p>\n

Adult websites containing explicit and violent images are widespread on the Internet \u2013 as well as guides to making bombs and other explosives \u2013 and there\u2019s a chance your child may stumble across one.<\/p>\n

Some of these websites have a warning on the homepage that alerts visitors to the content of the site, but the best way to avoid them is with parental control software that allows you to restrict and block certain sites using keywords, or monitor the sites that your child has been visiting.<\/p>\n

Some options are listed below.<\/p>\n