I am the proud father of a 13 year old daughter and a 7 year old son. Up until recently neither was interested in the internet so I didn't need to worry. That all changed when my daughter got a MySpace account.  I really haven't been paying much attention but a few days ago it hit me. What the hell am I thinking? So I went through my daughters entire browsing history, and thankfully found nothing objectionable. It got me to thinking about what steps I could take to minimize the danger of exposing my children to the part of the net I don't want them to see. Here are a few steps I have taken, its not a perfect solution, but it is a big start.

Whenever you type a URL in your address bar or click on a link, that request is first sent to your "domain name server" or "DNS". Computers dont understand words so the DNS takes that URL and translates it into an actual IP address. For example the URL "www.google.com" has an IP address of "209.85.225.104". Because all of your browser traffic is routed by the DNS it is the perfect place to set up blocks to certain types of pages or domains. Most people use the default DNS from their service providers, but you can choose which ones you want to use.

OpenDNS

OpenDNS is a free DNS service that features multiple levels of content filtering. The site provides step-by-step instructions that are really easy.  It will not slow your machine down because it runs on a server. OpenDNS allows you to customize your content filtering. A minimal level filters out most phishing attacks, while the maximum denies access to all adult-related sites, illegal activity, social networking sites, video sharing sites, and most anything else fun. The useful part of the maximum setting for those with children is that you can explicitly specify sites that wont be blocked in a white-list. So you can lock down browsing but can still go to Disney.com by white-listing it. Any changes can be undone easly, and OpenDNS is fast and may actually speed up your browsing experience.

Most modern browsers have content filtering features included, or those features can be added through the use of "plug-ins". Browser level filtering can include ad blocking, language filtering, page and domain blocking, and other fine tuned features.

Firefox

This browser from the Mozilla project is a major competitor to Internet Explorer. It is free, fast, and has some really great features and plug-ins. For content filtering, the plug-in "ProCon Latte", offers multiple levels of filtering. It includes general and advanced options, a white-list, a profanity filter, and the ability to lock your settings with a password so that content filtering cant be turned off.

Internet Explorer 8

This popular browser also includes built in content filtering. Enable the "Content Advisor" in "Internet Options". The content advisor has an "Approved Sites" tab where you can list sites to either deny or allow. To deny an entire site use the "*" character like this, "*.google.com". Under the "General" tab there is a place to set a supervisor password.

The only thing that is going to effectively filter the content of your kids email is you! Nothing your kids do needs to be secret from you. YOU should be the only person who knows the password to your child's email account! YOU should go through their mail before they are allowed to! I'd like to say that kids shouldn't even have an email account, but truthfully my daughter already does. Is this extreme? I don't think so. Explain to your child what you are doing and why. They wont like it, but its better to know who they are communicating with and what they are seeing than not.

Google is a fantastic search tool, but anyone can turn off the safe filtering settings in Googles preferences. If you are using filtering software but are still allowing Google, pornographic images in Google will still be displayed. In fact, there is no good way to filter just bad images on the internet, just all images. There are however "kid safer" search tools.

Kid Rex

Kid Rex is really still a google search, but with additional filters applied. I spent a couple of minutes trying to fool it into finding something inappropriate but I couldn't.

Yahoo Kids

A good search site for kids with all sorts of other activities. Kids can watch cartoons, and play games and read up on the newest coolest stuff.

Never let you children log into the computer using an account that has administrative priviledges. Not only can they figure out how to get around all of your efforts, they will be able to cover thier tracks more easily. Add to that the problem of viruses and spyware using that administrative priviledge to really screw up you computer, and you have a real mess on your hands. Always create limited user accounts for everyone, even yourself. It will save you a lot of trouble in the end.

KidZui is different, it integrates into your browser and completely customizes its looks and functions. KidZui is almost like a separate internet. It includes games and videos as well as access to the web. Only parent-approved sites are allowed and there are over a million. It offers one feature that I really like, the ability to lock the browser so it cant be closed without a password. This way your kids have no access to the desktop or any other programs on the computer.

Keeping tabs on our kids internet usage is important. If you have any good suggestions I would like to hear them, so leave a comment.