Tuesday 22 October 2013

Internet Safety....how concerned should we be??

So obviously Alfie is still a little bit young to be surfing the internet and all that jazz but is it too early to start thinking about internet safety and the sites that can be viewed as a child or teenager? Well I don't think it is too early to think about it and be prepared.  At 18 months Alfie is into everything and I imagine that as he get a little older he will be just as inquisitive when he is able to understand using a computer and starts the surfing the internet. 




Personally I'm always concerned browsing the internet and doing banking and confidential matters on the computer. Do we really know who is viewing our information and what information can be gained from what we look at or input into our PCs?? With a husband that is interested in I.T (information technology) and works in this industry I suppose I'm at a bit of advantage that we will know how to protect Alfie from inappropriate content on the internet but there is a great website called PC Advisor which has a really informative article on how to keep your children safe online and how to block any websites from prying eyes!

I find the statistics of children being able to access porn and inappropriate content online quite concerning, reading this Daily Mail article really makes it clear that even when you try and block certain websites it is still possible for children to be able to access unsuitable material. 

As you can see from the article above, PC Pro actually voted Norton’ Family protection filter the best out of the lot on the basis that it proved to be efficient at blocking the majority of indecent content and is generally recommended for families with young children. It did everything from blocking sites displaying indecent images, content with blood and gore, sites promoting gambling, while delivering value for money at the whopping cost of…oh wait, it’s free.




There is however a premium version of this web filter if specs are your thing, with added features such as video monitoring (e.g shows videos watched on YouTube), mobile app supervision (useful for older children as you can see what apps they are installing on mobiles etc), text message supervision (monitors texts that are being sent) and also weekly/monthly emails to keep you informed, again useful if you have older children. 

It does definitely does give me some peace of mind that when Alfie does start to become more interested in the internet that I will be able to monitor what he is able to view, I've used the Norton brand for many years and always found them very easy to use and install and effective in what they say they do.

Anyone else concerned about what children are able to access online? How do you tackle it?
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* This was written in collaboration with Norton.

2 comments:

  1. I find this really interesting, knowing how much younger children are getting into technology. It's good to know of a place where I can advise friends and family to go to learn about blocking websites that they don't want their children accessing.

    Kate (UK Bloggers)

    Sephora & Vegas Haul

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