Miss. America launches kid-safe internet browser

Lauren Nelson, seven years ago had a bad experience in the internet, when she and her friends visited a chat room during a sleepover. Soon after, an online predator started sending lurid photos. She said it was partly their mistake for sending private information to strangers, who then sent photos to them, but lucky for them no harm was done. Since, then she wanted to do something for children so they can browse the web in a safe environment.

The Miss America Kid-Safe Web Browser is to debut on Thursday and you can download it from here. The browser contains blocking mechanisms that will prevent phishing and intruder attacks. It also features an animated Lauren who guides kids with their online experience teaching them about Internet safety and asking random trivia questions. You can watch the demo of how the browser works here.

The animated character reads the e-mails out loud and can be programmed to have remainders for them to do their home work and other chores. The browser allows access only to 10,318 web sites, pre-screened by the Miss America Organization and the Children’s Educational Network, which provided the software for this browser. The browser has one main feature that will allow parents to lock the computer and prevent access to other web browsers. Parents can also add or edit to the approved sites here.

When kids try to access other sites not listed in the pre-approved sites, the animated Nelson warns them, "This Web site is not on the master list. Please ask Mom or Dad to add this site for you." When they exit the browser, Nelson says “Buh-Bye!”

I think it is a good start; I haven’t downloaded the browser to see how it works. From the demo, it looks ok, but it seems too commercial with Disney, Lego, and other major companies, so I don’t know how good that is. It may prevent predators, but I think it will make the kids spend more money. The Miss America kid browser has a premium option with more features, but the parents have to pay $4.99 a month. But if you just want to start fresh and want your kids to be in a safe environment, then this browser is healthy for them.