Safe Surfing: Ways to Guide a Child's Web Use
For parents a few mouse-clicks behind their kids on the Internet, help has arrived: software baby-gates.
These blocking or filtering devices help prevent children from falling prey to any nasty spiders on the Internet's World Wide Web.
Whether the dangers are indecent sites or electronic chat rooms with anonymous pedophiles, a whole industry is booming to help parents (and schools and libraries) guide children toward safe surfing.
The best advice for parents is to sit with their child at the computer and know what the Web offers in its galaxy of goodies and how a child is using it. Linking to the many fun and educational kid sites can temper the temptation to trip down dark alleys of the Web.
But like TV before it, the Web is ripe for some sort of regulation. Right now, the jury's still out on whether government, companies, or parents - or all three - will do the regulating.
National on-line-service providers, such as CompuServe and America Online, police their own electronic byways. And companies eager to fend off government regulation are rushing to set industry standards to help parents block access to dubious Web sites or to use rating systems to judge content.
Netscape, Microsoft, and other companies have put their stamp of approval on just such an emerging standard, called Platform for Internet Content Selection (PICS), as a filter system for site selection.
Here are some software programs to help parents guide a child's use of the Web:
* SurfWatch Software's SurfWatch
800-458-6600
http://www.surfwatch.com
* Cyber Patrol from Microsystems Software
800-489-2001
http://www.microsys.com
* NewView Inc.'s Specs for Kids
800-318-2441
http://www.newview.com
* Solid Oak Software's CYBERSitter
805-892-2557
http://www.solidoak.com
* InterGo's KinderGuard
214-424-7882
http://www.intergo.com
* Trove Investment Corp.'s Net Nanny
800-340-7177
http://www.netnanny.com/home.html
* Turner Investigation, Research, and Communication and
J.D. Koftinoff Software Ltd.'s Internet Filter
604-708-2397
http://www.turnercom.com
* Net Shepherd Inc.'s daxHOUND
403-250-5310
http://www.shepherd.net
* PCDataPower's Rated-PG
http://www.ratedpg.com
Here are a few helpful sites that keep track of issues on the Web and children:
* SafeSurf
http://www.safesurf.com
* Recreational Software Advisory Council http://www.rsac.org
* Project OPEN
http://www.isa.net/project-open/empower.html
* Larry Magid's Kids Page
http://www.larrysworld.com/kids.html
* SAFE-T-CHILD On-line
http://yellodyno.safe-t-child.com
* FRIDGE ARTZ
http://www.go-interface.com/fridgeartz
* The Internet Advocate
http://silver.ucs.indiana.edu/~lchampel/netadv.htm
