Until recently, ensuring your children remained safe online was a
reasonably simple affair. Often the only computer they used was the family PC,
which could be set up with parental control software that would limit
the web browser, IM chats, and hopefully prevent them handing over
passwords or financial and personal details. These applications also
provided a way to limit the time kids spent on the computer, and some
packages even offered ways to monitor - or spy on - what they were
doing.
See also: Parents' guide to safer internet use
With the advent of mobile technology this landscape has changed
rapidly. Now it’s not uncommon for a family to have tablets, laptops,
phones, or even iPods that can access information online, and keeping
control of all these devices can feel like a Sisyphean task. Take heart
though, PC Advisor is here to help, with a guide on how you can use
system settings, device features, and parental control software to chase
the digital wolves from your doors.
Before we move on to the various software and hardware solutions it’s
important to remember that none of them are designed to replace the
role of a parent or guardian.
‘Talking to your child is one of the best ways to keep them safe’
states the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
(NSPCC), ‘Preventing your children from using the internet or mobile
phones won't keep them safe online, so it's important to have
conversations that help your child understand how to stay safe and what
to do if they ever feel scared or uncomfortable.’
Creating an awareness of the wonderful possibilities the internet
holds is a very positive approach, but it should definitely be augmented
with conversations about the potential dangers of inappropriate
content, cyberbullying, and talking to strangers. As your child grows
older they will also need different levels of supervision, and
conversations should be on going, rather than having ‘the one’. Many
schools now include these subjects in lessons, which gives you an
excellent opportunity to continue the discussion at home.
The CPS is also on their side against cyberbullies and fraudsters,
and those who create fake social-media profiles in order to troll or
harass others could soon face charges. Cases will also follow if posts are indecent, grossly offensive or so false they cause distress and anxiety, reports the BBC.
This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t implement software restrictions to
safeguard their internet access. So much hard-core material is available
online within a few key presses, that it would be foolish to let your
little ones loose in such a jungle without protection. But preparing
your child for the eventual exposure to something adult is the wisest
course, as even if you successfully lock-down your own home and devices,
there will always be friends at school with tablets or phones and
unfettered internet access.
In the end, you are still the parent, and thus remain in charge. If
you feel your child is ignoring warnings, or actively seeking out the
wrong sites, then you can remove their internet privileges, or move them
back into the centre of the house where you can observe their
behaviour. While some software does allow you to monitor the internet
activity of your children, we feel it would be best to tell them in
advance that you are using these techniques. It could be quite damaging
to the trust of a child to find out that you were secretly spying on
their every conversation. Again, and we really can’t stress this
strongly enough, talk to your children rather than rely on a software
solution. With all that being said, here are some ways in which you can
use settings and applications to help you protect your young family.
Best parental control software: Ways to make the internet safe
Start Monitoring and Protecting your Kids Online: Read Details/Guidelines Here!!!
While there exists many tweaks and features within browsers and
software that can make your internet access more secure, one almost fool
proof step you can take is to actually go to the source itself – the
router. That little box with all the flashing lights is your gateway to
the web, and it’s actually possible to use special apps such as
Familyshield by OpenDNS to directly filter all the content that emanates
from its glowing heart.
We have a guide showing you how to install Familyshield,
but before you rush over there it’s worth noting that this is a
unilateral setting – meaning there is very little in the way of granular
adjustments. You choose from either High, Moderate, or Low filters, but
this applies to everybody on the network, not just your children. There
are ways around this, as seen in the guide, but they can be somewhat
complicated. It’s not just Familyshield that suffers from this
broad-brush approach. Many Internet Service Providers, such as Sky, BT,
and Virgin, offer family security filters, but once again these are
blanket apps across all content, reducing the internet to a children’s
version for everyone.
We have seen improvement recently though, with offerings such as Sky’s Broadband Shield
allowing you to set time limits, so access is opened up after a
watershed time when the kids are in bed. Obviously the advantage of this
approach is that all devices connecting to your home Wi-Fi will have
the same restrictions, so you don’t need to go around setting up each
tablet or PC. Remember though, this doesn’t apply to 3G or 4G signals on
mobile phones, or any other Wi-Fi connections that are in range and
don’t have passwords.
Best parental control software: User settings
Start Monitoring and Protecting your Kids Online: Read Details/Guidelines Here!!!
If the nuclear approach of router-based solutions feels too
restrictive or cumbersome, then you can work on an individual device
level. Depending on the operating system you’re running, the approaches
are slightly different. On both of Google’s platforms – Chrome and
Android – you are able to set up different User Profiles so that a
number of people can share the same device, but not the security levels.
If your children have their own Google accounts, then these profiles
are independent from one another and therefore harder to control, as the
settings are always available to the user.
For younger children, the answer is to create Supervised User
accounts on the Chrome browser. These are linked to your full Google
account, but allow you to set limits for the websites they can visit, as
well as keeping a log of their online habits. If you share an Android
tablet then a similar feature is Restricted User accounts.
These are easy to set up via the Settings>User menu options, and
give the administrator (you) the ability to select which apps the
account can access, plus blocking any purchases or even the app store
itself. It isn’t a completely satisfactory solution though, as content
settings are still available within YouTube and Chrome, so explicit
material could still sneak through. In many ways it’s more a feature to
stop your children running up bills through in-app purchases, or
installing random apps on your device.
With Android 5.0 (Lollipop) Google
has created the option to create separate profiles on an Android phone.
While this can be useful in short bursts, as you can disable phone
calls and SMS messaging, it’s not really suitable for children as such,
due to the fact that you can’t limit the things they can access online.
Child-friendly tablets
Start Monitoring and Protecting your Kids Online: Read Details/Guidelines Here!!!
There has been a real rise in child-focused tablets
in the past couple of years, so it’s not always necessary to buy a
fully-fledged device and then try to restrict it. Some newer Android
devices we’ve seen arrive complete with their own suite of parental
controls already installed. The now-discontinued Tesco Hudl 2
features specially designed Child Safety settings, that allows parents
to set when your children are allowed to go online, for how long, and
the sites they can see. The Amazon Fire range of tablets (such as the
Fire HD6)
is also child friendly, with its FreeTime controls offering the same
level of customisation as the Tesco models, while also allowing you to
share specific books and movies from your Amazon account with your
children.
FreeTime even has advanced settings that can withhold access to
entertainment apps until user-defined targets for educational tasks
(reading, for example) have been achieved. We recently conducted a
series of reviews to find the best child friendly tablets on the market and were pleased to see that the range is wide and varied in its approach.
Apple’s iPad
is often regarded as the most desirable tablet around, but the company
has a different approach when it comes to user accounts – namely that’s
it one per device. You can’t create a child account on iOS, instead
there is a Restrictions area in Settings that can be switched on and
off. Within Restrictions you’ll find on/off buttons for apps, websites,
TV shows, Movies, Music, and others. If your child is the only user of
the device – say an iPod Touch – then you can create an account for them
(as long as they have a valid email address) then set the restrictions
and lock them with a passcode. This is a relatively quick solution, and
means you can adjust the settings as the child grows older.
How to set up parental controls on an iPhone and iPad
To access this feature go to Settings on your iPhone or iPad and
scroll down until you find Restrictions (which should currently be Off).
After selecting this you will see a menu of the available options. At
the top is Enable Restrictions, tap this to access these settings.
You’ll be prompted to create a passcode for the Restrictions. This
will ensure that your children don’t simply go to Settings and disable
your choices.
Now you can select the options that you feel are appropriate to your
child, remembering to look at the section covering Allowed Content, as
here you can limit explicit songs and TV shows from iTunes.
How to activate Kid’s Corner on Windows Phone
Windows Phone also comes with its own safety features, such as Kid’s
Corner, a built in safe-area on your handset where your children can
play. Here they have access to apps and media decided by you, and won’t
be able to accidentally delete any of your photos, contacts, or emails.
In many ways it’s similar to the Amazon approach, and can be switched on
and off as and when you need it. To activate the feature go to the App
list>Settings>Kid’s Corner, and follow the instructions.
How to make YouTube and Facebook safer for kids
Two of the most popular websites are Facebook and YouTube. Facebook
is something of a mixed bag when it comes to content. There are no
obvious filters that can restrict explicit content, although the friends
you follow obviously have a great effect on the kind of material that
appears in your newsfeed. You can block individual users and apps in the
settings options, but that’s about the extent of your controls. It’s
worth remembering that the minimum age requirement of a Facebook account
is thirteen years old, so it’s not really intended to be entirely
child-friendly. Many of the family security software packages available
now often include social media features, so if your child is a regular
Facebook user then it would be worth investigating some of these.
YouTube is another huge draw for younger users, especially due to the
huge amount of music videos on the site. Google does provide a safe
mode option, and once applied it covers any instance of YouTube that
logs in with the same account. On your PC all you need to do is navigate
to the YouTube site, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click on the
‘Safety:’ box. Here you’ll see an explanation of how it works, and the
restrictions it applies. To set the safe mode up on a tablet is slightly
different.
On Android devices launch the YouTube app, then tap of the three dots
in the top right hand corner. This opens the settings menu, where
you’ll need to choose Search and then tap on the Safesearch option. If
you have an iPad or iPhone launch the app and you’ll see the cog icon in
the top left next to the account name. Tap on this and then select the
Safesearch option.
It’s not foolproof of course, but it will at least limit the amount of unsuitable material that might otherwise get through.
Start Monitoring and Protecting your Kids Online: Read Details/Guidelines Here!!!
Best parental control software
While system settings and user accounts are useful, they often don’t
have the same kind of complexity as dedicated software. Also, the
Restrictions on an iPod won’t mean anything when your child moves onto
the family PC. In years gone by the effectiveness of a centralised
computer in the home meant you only needed to set safety restrictions in
one place, now, as we’ve established, controlling access is more
challenging. Thankfully many of the software solutions currently on
offer cover pretty much every platform available, and also usually offer
some form of remote control so you can adjust settings without needing
access to the device itself. Norton Family, McAfee Family Protection, AV Family Safety and Net Nanny are among the prime examples of cross platform protection, each providing an impressive level of security for your family.
The initial setup of dedicated software is more time consuming than
simply adjusting settings, as you’ll need to install the software on
every device individually, but once this is done, the content your
children can access should be far more regulated than the often generic
approach of browsers and profiles. One way this is usually implemented
by the mobile apps is replacing your existing browser with a purpose
built one from the security company. AVG actually offer this service
for free on iOS through its AVG Safe Browser, but sadly haven’t released
an Android or Windows Phone equivalent as yet. There’s also a
financial element to consider, as many of the advanced features found on
these suites usually appear in the premium versions, and might need to
be renewed annually at a cost of around thirty pounds. In the long run
though, if you’re serious about protecting your children from the
various dangers lurking behind a web browser, then it’s a worthwhile
investment.
A good example of how dedicated software works is Qustodio,
which offers a decent blend of control and flexibility, without needing
a degree in network administration to understand its features. There’s
also a free version that allows you to install it on one device and
create one user profile – which would be a good way to experiment with
the service. If you think it’s useful then, much like the others we’ve
mentioned, you can upgrade to a year-long Premium package (five users
and five devices) for just under thirty pounds. Qustodio’s clean
interface makes it very easy to understand, and you control everything
via a web portal that displays the sites your child is visiting, how
long they are there, and lets you change the content filters, plus
settings usage time limits, all remotely. It’s not perfect, as we were
able to avoid a safety filter on sports sites by visiting the Guardian
and then navigating to the Football section without detection, but in
many cases it’s an effective safeguard.
The job of a parent has been made a little more challenging by the
internet, of that there is no doubt. While we’ve gathered together as
much helpful information as possible in this feature, and there are some
fine tools available, in truth none of them are a guarantee that your
child will be safe online. That’s not to say that they won’t help, but
as we stated at the beginning, they must only be used in conjunction
with your own presence and on going engagement with your children to be
fully effective.
Combining many of the features together though, will at least limit
the potential of unsavoury material appearing before their young eyes.
Ensure that the various Safe Modes are enabled on search engines, add
restricted profiles if possible, and if you’re happy to pay the money
then invest in one of the safety suites we mentioned above. This will
get you a good way along the road to security. But remember to take time
out to talk with your young ones about how they use the web, what they
like, and what their friends are into. It could just be the very best
way to protect them.
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