Most parents like to know where their children go when they leave the house, but too few keep tabs on where their children go when they surf the Internet. According to a Ziff-Davis poll, more than 75 percent of on-line users wished that access to unacceptable sites could be restricted, but the overwhelming majority do not use any filtering software.
But how close a watch should parents keep on their children’s computer use? Some parents argue that a little knowledge gleamed on the Internet never hurt a child, and that out of a respect for the child’s privacy their Internet use should not be monitored.
Others argue that the Web has more than its share of unsavory neighborhoods, and that children need to be supervised and protected when they are on-line. If you don’t believe it, they say log onto an on-line service and create a profile that says you’re a 12- or 13-year-old, then hang out in a teen chat room. Odds are that within an hour you’ll be sexually propositioned by an adult.
For these parents, help is at hand with a variety of software geared to restrict children’s access to chat rooms and sites that are pornographic or that promote hatred or violence. Of course, these packages aren’t foolproof. Occasionally, they will keep children out of a harmless site. For example, most of these programs won’t let kids into sites that mention “breasts,” but that means they also screen out sites involving “breast cancer.”
Moreover, the cleverest children will find a way to circumvent even the strongest safeguards. Still, these programs will add a level of protection that should allow children to surf the net safely.
Cyber Patrol (Learning Company; $30) lists a variety of topics, such as violence, profanity, nudity, drugs and gambling, then lets parents decide which categories to allow or block. The plus side is the program handles most of the chores from there; the downside is that it doesn’t allow parents to pick and choose which sites within a certain category are OK.
Cybersitter (Solid Oak; 800-388-2761; $40) works like Cyber Patrol and offers free weekly updates to its list of objectionable sites. Of all the programs reviewed, it was the most aggressive in filtering out sites, always erring on the side of caution. However, this program will not work under Windows 98; you’ll need an upgrade for that.
Net Nanny (NNSI; 800-340-7177; $40) allows parents to view and modify which specific sites to block or allow. The major advantage to this is that perfectly safe sites that are often blocked in other approaches (such as breast cancer or AIDS awareness sites) can be allowed. The drawback is the time parents need to invest to review the long lists of allowed and forbidden sites.
Cyber Snoop (Pearl Software; 800-732-7596; $30) is an excellent choice for parents who basically trust their kids’ judgment but who subscribe to the old adage, “Trust, but verify.” This program runs in the background and creates an extensive log of what sites and newsgroups are visited. Parents then review the log to make sure their children are not going to sites they shouldn’t.
Surf Monkey is a Web browser and on-line service geared for kids 7 and up that offers site and content filtering. If a child tries to access an inappropriate site, an animated robot named Cybot appears and announces, “No, no, no. You can’t go there.” Profanity is automatically blocked out, and parents develop an approved list of people their children can receive e-mail from. E-mail from strangers is locked until parents read it first. Chat rooms for kids-only are hosted and closely monitored. The software can be downloaded free at www.surfmonkey.com. Full membership for a year is $29.95.
Microsoft Plus! for Kids ($20) takes control even before a child logs onto the Internet. The program can restrict a child’s access to your system’s hard drive to prevent files from being erased or certain programs from being run. The program gives children 3 to 12 their own Windows desktop and their own suite of applications, such as Paint It and Play It. The program uses the Recreational Software Advisory Council’s rating system (similar to movie ratings) to restrict access. A major drawback, however, is that the RSAC has rated only about 500,000 of the estimated more than 100 million Web sites.
Lycos SafetyNet is a free version of the popular Lycos search engine that filters out sexually explicit material as well as hate words, while still allowing users to research the Web. It can be accessed from the Lycos home page at www.lycos.com
