by Todd Jordan

In the previous articles we’ve talked about a variety of tools you could use to keep your kids safe online. There are browsers, suites, and toolbars, but each requires something not included in the package.  

That something is parental involvement.

Increase Your Knowledge

Internet safety is more about knowledge of the pitfalls and coming along side children instead of waging a war of prevention.  Each of the tools already mentioned require downloading, installing, setup, and monitoring.

That said, they lull parents into a false sense of security.  They make us tend to set and forget, and hope for the best.  What can we do to step out off attrition mode?

Get safety smart and get involved.

Get Safety Smart … Get Involved

So what’s a parent to do to get educated and take part?

I recommend play!   You can have a good time and learn a bit at the same time, so dig in!

Get an account on your kid’s favorite network  – (let’s take Faceboook for example, very popular these days)

 Step 1:  Set up your profile

1. Don’t share your birthdate – real friends will know, for the rest it doesn’t matter

2. Don’t share your phone number – again, your real life friends should already have this

3. Leave the address information blank – it adds no value, and those that need to know do

4. Leave the Political views blank – not only do your friends know, this is a magnet for trouble

5. Religious views – this is a safe one to fill in – but realize this won’t ward off folks of opposite beliefs

6. Instant message – leave it blank to start with

7. Work and college info – leave it blank – this is not picked up on by Facebook except for ads – there is no automatic connection with others involved

       
      A little more common sense about our profile

• What is in your profile is visible and searchable by others, at least in part?

• When you make someone a contact, they have much higher access to your profile information.

• Leaving fields blank isn’t dishonest. (Don’t be trapped into the myth that only predators keep information private)

• Anything shared with your profile that’s public is not only searchable, but likely to be permanently available in Internet archives.

Step 2:  Find your child’s profile and add them as a contact
Don’t give them a choice on this one. ( It’s not cool for most children, but don’t let that deter you)

Have them make you a friend.  – This will give you greater access to what they’ve posted in their profile and what they share on that service.

Step 3:  Invite them to a game – this the fun part

1.  Find something age appropriate

2.  Find something they like to play

3.  Don’t badger them about it.

Step 4: Leave them alone - Note: This is the hardest step

That’s right – don’t pester them, constantly write on their wall, or send them messages.  They live with you!

1.  Don’t ignore them.  Leaving them alone does not mean not checking in on them. This is where having them as friends on Facebook comes in handy.

2.  Read their wall posts. 

3.  Check their status updates.  This will allow you to see what they write about.

4.  Breathe.  Yes, once you start reading what your children have to say, breathe.  Your kids are going to talk about things that might make you uneasy or wonder if they are your child.  Step back and compare what you’re reading online to what you see in person.  Apply common sense.

5.  Don’t confront them online.  Trust me, this crosses so many boundaries it isn’t worth the trouble. Key is that it calls them out in front of their peers.  That will be an immediate trust destroyer.   Do your talking offline and away from the computer.

So you’ve signed onto your first social network and you and your child aren’t total enemies yet.  That’s really good, but now what? 

It’s a patience game, the next step to online safety is patient observation.

Getting Involved…  Patient Observation

Before we go on, here’s a tip, ‘poking’ is not usually a stand in word for Sex.  Poking is a social tool on Facebook, and other networks to essentially be a virtual poke just like you’d poke someone in real life with your finger, akin to a nudge. That is all on that.

* Watch the groups they join - Facebook, and other social networks online provide chat rooms and groups to join. Pay close attention to which ones she joins. Facebook doesn’t police these groups, nor are they locked by age or other criteria. If you can’t tell by the description if it’s safe, only then join it yourself.

* Watch what applications they add - 99% of Facebook applications are harmless fun and timewasters – few should cause concern. Here the worry is more about age appropriate. There are adult games out there. Oh, you won’t find nudity, but lots of sexual innuendo and sex related topics show their face. Many applications involve a blase attitude towards violence. Use your best judgement.

Note: these applications can be addictive. Beware adding too many to your own profile.

* Check out what they post – All social networks allow posting text, but Facebook allows posting of video, recordings, and pictures as well. It also encourages link sharing. The thing you’re watching for here more than them talking about sex, or other things test the waters with, but is your child being safe in what they share

1.  Are they sharing their address, even remotely close?

2.  Are they telling their age?

3.  Are they giving out their full name and ways to reach them?

4.  Are they arranging to meet people you don’t know or know aren’t safe?

5.  What are other people sharing with your child

Article Wrapup…  Main Takeaways

Joining your son or daughter on social networks is just one way to get closer to them and minimize the risks of their online life.  That won’t always be possible, nor is every community going to be one you’ll feel comfortable joining. 

The tips and tricks above though can be applied in general towards your shared experience with them.

* Be careful what you share – Name, age, address and phone number are the most important ones to be careful with.  Predators of all types will latch onto this information.

* Be careful where you go – Not all groups and communities are problems, but some are more trouble than others. Set the same standards for yourself that you set for your child here.  Avoid obvious pitfalls such as ‘adult’ rooms, and rooms you’d wouldn’t want your teen to visit.

* Be careful who you friend – Just as you will keep back some of your information for safety, others will keep it back for more devious reasons. Watch who you daughter talks to online by observing the conversations you can.  Likewise, don’t trust someone you talk to with too much personal information.  If you aren’t in person friends already, no reason to give out too much.  Kids make this mistake a lot.

* Looks for early signs of trouble – This goes along with some of the above as well. Be wary of folks asking constantly for full name, address, age, or phone number. Keep on the lookout for those sharing photos of themselves that are provocative or increasingly so. Also, if they’ve got something that they need money for, that’s another sign of potential trouble. Kids are easily taken in by their desire to help.

All in all, being online isn’t the riskiest place in the world, but the ease of access makes it easily accessible for trouble makers.  Think about it as a huge social mixer with folks you don’t know. If you wouldn’t share it or take it on board from those folks, then don’t do it online.

This series has been fun to write and made me really set down and think.  Thank you Vicky for inviting me to tackle such an important subject, and thank you readers for coming on board.  I’ve appreciated the feedback and suggestions and can’t wait to visit here again.

 _____________________________________________________

Related Posts:

• Facebook Tutorial – The Basics  (ParentPowerIndex.com)
• Bridging The Communication Divide With Blogging (ParentPowerIndex.com)
• How Using Social Media Has Helped Me Be A Better Dad (RemarkableParents.com)
• How Social Media Has Taught Me To Be A Better Dad (RemarkableParents.com)
• If 40 Is The New 30, Is 18 The New 8 (RemarkableParents.com)

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Featured Guest Writer BIO:

Todd’s blog is The Broad Brush and his interests include activities with his church, online safety and awareness, social media, and multimedia. 

He is  an avid social media user and  a member of the Christian Men of Twitter.

by Robert Hruzek

Photo by M. Ryan

Hey, do your digital photos tend to come out looking pale and washed-out?

Mine sure do!

Are the colors not quite as vivid as you remembered?

Yep;  that’s me, all right!

The Free, Fast, & Easy Software

When it comes to capturing those great moments with today’s cameras, well, I must admit to being something of a dweeb.  I’ll tell ya; I can never figure out how to get the best out of ‘em.

The good news is, help is available! For instance, there’s a great photo-editing tool available that’s easy, fast and – best of all – free! (Don’cha just love that word?)

Trust me; it’s easier than you think.

Edit It & Store It

With just a couple of clicks I will show you how to use a free web-based photo-editing tool called Picnik to make even ordinary-seeming photos come alive. But here’s the best news: Picnik has partnered with Flickr in such a way that they’re practically joined at the hip!

(NOTE: the following steps assume you already have a Flickr account. The basic membership for Flickr is free, but there’s also a Pro membership available for $24.95 for a year. Although you can use Picnik without a Flickr membership, the ability to edit from within Flickr is, in my opinion, a big plus.)

Editing Your Photo

Here’s how to quickly edit a photo using Picnik (from within Flickr):

1. Pick any photo from your photostream. This will take you to that photo’s page.
2. OK, see all those little icons just above the photo? Click on that second one from the right: “Edit Photo”.
   
3. Now, the first time only, you’ll be asked if you want to open Picnik within your Flickr account. Click on “OK”. (Only happens your first time.) This step is necessary because the application has the ability to manipulate (even delete!) photos in your Flickr account, so they just want you to be sure. It’s OK; that’s what you want.
4. Once Picnik opens (it’ll take a few seconds), you’ll find yourself on the main edit page, which should look something like this:

Now, if you’re anything like me (and sincere condolences if you are!), then you’re probably thinking to yourself, “Ooh, lookit all the pretty buttons!” For the purposes of this demonstration, though, let’s just keep it simple for now, shall we?

Trust me, this one thing may be all you’ll ever need.

OK; only a couple more steps and we’re done!

1. Now click on the “Exposure” button there in the middle. This takes you to a different page, where you’ll see, among other things, two buttons: “Auto-Fix” on the left and “Advanced” over on the right.
2. Click on the “Advanced” button. Another menu appears just below it.
3. Now – and here’s where the instant magic happens – click on the box at the bottom, next to the words “Local Contrast”. Keep your eye on the photo so you can watch what happens.

Voila! You’ll see the photo pop to life like you won’t believe! With a little practice, it’ll take less time to edit a photo than it took to read through these instructions.

Plus, you don’t have to stop there; with a free Picnik account you’ll find a huge number of editing tools available that provide an amazing amount of creative freedom. (Remember, for the more advanced features a Premium membership is required – also $24.95 a year; this is a different animal than a Pro Flickr account.)

Before & After Photo

Here’s a before-and-after split of the photo I used, with before on the right half and after on the left half. Isn’t it amazing, the difference just a few clicks can make?

In no time, you’ll be turning your pale, washed out photos into something you can be truly proud of. And as we say down here in Texas, that’s just finer than a frog’s hair!

_________________________________________

Image: Say Hello to Me Mum! by Robert Hruzek

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Robert Hruzek currently lives in Houston, Texas, and is usually employed as an engineering project manager. He has travelled, lived and worked in many locations within the United States and around the world.

Robert writes on the Web at Middle Zone Musings (http://middlezonemusings.com/). It’s a comfortable place to have a cup of coffee, swap a few stories and share practical ideas for the real world. He doesn’t ask for much, just a bit of your brain every now and then. Why not drop by, take a load off, and relax for a spell…

You may contact Robert by email at: rhruzek [at] sbcglobal [dot] net

Microsoft® Word 2007: introduction

Word 2007 enables users to create professional-quality documents, such as letters, brochures, newsletters and web pages. In this class, you’ll learn the basics of using Word 2007, and then move on to customizing the Word environment.

You’ll also learn how to create and edit documents, work with graphics, use editing and proofing functions and more.

• Learn the Word 2007 environment and become comfortable manipulating that environment to make workflow more efficient for individual style
• Create documents and edit documents
• Use formatting and page-layout functions
• Use editing and proofing functions
• Create graphics using SmartArt
• Create basic tables and use Quick Tables

Microsoft® PowerPoint 2007: introduction

Microsoft PowerPoint® 2007 is a full-featured program for creating professional-quality presentations. In this free Microsoft PowerPoint tutorial, you’ll learn how to customize the PowerPoint 2007 environment, use presentation views to maximize efficiency, apply color schemes and document themes and create a basic presentation with text and simple graphics.

• Explore the PowerPoint 2007 environment
• Understand the most important tools and features of PowerPoint 2007
• Create documents and edit documents
• Use different views to improve efficiency
• Apply color schemes and document themes
• Create a basic presentation using text and simple graphics

Microsoft® Excel 2007: introduction

In this free online class, you’ll explore the Excel® interface and learn to enter, edit and format data and use Microsoft Excel formulas and functions to calculate and analyze numeric data. You’ll also get tips on using Microsoft Excel for simplifying many tasks.

• Learn how Excel can help you organize, analyze and present data
• Create simple, effective spreadsheets that include text and numeric data
• Use formulas and functions to perform automatically updating mathematical calculations
• Apply attractive formatting to worksheet rows, columns and cells to make data more readable and interesting

Writing a high-impact business plan

If you’re starting or expanding a small business, this course gets you started on the process of writing a business plan that will impress potential investors and help you get the funding you need. The course is based on The McGraw-Hill Guide to Writing a High-Impact Business Plan: A Proven Blueprint for Entrepreneurs by James B. Arkebauer.

• Understand the importance of creating a good business plan, and the level of effort required
• Learn the components of a comprehensive business plan
• Get background for writing the most important part of your plan: the business description
• Find out how to describe your market and develop a definitive operation plan

Build your business identity with a new logo

This class will help you build a true business identity. To brainstorm business logo ideas, you’ll take a close look at your business and identify what makes it unique. Next, you’ll learn to translate those distinct qualities into a relevant business logo design that sets you apart from the competition. Finally, you’ll explore the different ways you can use your new company logo design to create high-quality color business documents in-house.

• Brainstorm business logo ideas by clearly articulating what makes your business unique
• Have a logo that truly personifies your business
• Be familiar with the ways you can use a business logo in marketing materials
• Use your business logo design to create in-house the marketing materials you need to succeed

How to build your first website

Websites aren’t magic.

Planning, designing and implementing a site for yourself, your small business, your family or your model car club is well within the capabilities of any person with a reasonable amount of computer know-how.

A broad range of free and low-cost tools are available to assist the novice web publisher. This class shows you how you can let these tools do the technical work while you focus on your vision. Podcast version of this class available.

• Design an effective website from scratch
• Discover tips and tools to help you build a site you can be proud of
• Build a website
• Get your site published on the World Wide Web
• Add audio, video or slide shows to your website
• Promote the site and keep visitors coming back again and again

by Todd Jordan

In part one of this series, Keeping Kids Safe – Parental Control Software, I talked about software suites like NetNanny. These aren’t the only tools available to parents. For those of you who are less technically inclined who may find a package of programs complicated, browser replacements are much easier to manage.

Internet Browsers

The majority, over 80%, of internet users are using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer to access and visit web sites, with a handful more using other browsers. In most cases, concerned parents are not given the expertise nor are the parental control settings adequate in these browsers. To make life a little easier for parents, especially those with younger children, easy to use browser replacements are available.

Locating And Evaluating Browser Replacements

It’s easy to locate these browser replacements by doing a good search engine search. Here is the search criteria that I used. I would like to point you to a couple of promising choices:

• KidRocket
• KidZui

I’ve only mentioned two, but there are several choices available. The key point to understand is that each bowser offers a different experience at a different price. It is worth your time to spend a little time evaluating the differences and finding the right choice for your family.

Internet Browser Replacement Features

A large part of the browser replacement experience that your family or child has is related to how the software is programed to control your Windows desktop. If we use KidRocket as an example, not only does this software replace the internet browser, it becomes your child’s entire computer experience. This type of total control software, which essentially means that when the computer is turned on, the user either is automatically routed to the appropriate software or it can be setup that this is the only software that the child can run.

KidRocket

The largest benefit of this type of software is that it totally locks down the child’s options. KidRocket comes setup with a set of allowed sites*. This is common among browser replacements. KidRocket has a demo of their browser on their site. Since this browser replacement is meant for smaller children, when the software is loaded, the child is presented with buttons that lead to the content areas. Content that is specifically controlled is one of their strongest features, but can also be a limiting one. With this software, children are only able to access pre-setup programs and are unable to explore other programs.

KidZui

An alternative approach to the locked down Windows desktop is a browser replacement such as KidZui. Their approach gives you a desktop icon only, and does not take over the entire computer. KidZui effects only the internet access portion of the computer. One of the features that is shared between both KidRocket and KidZui is that they both have a pre-setup list of approved sites. A subscription service is available which gives parents access to additional updating and reporting features. Another difference is that instead of just focusing on the browser, they make an effort to make your child’s internet experience more game-like. Like some other online games, kids can progress up to new levels, earn rewards, and participate in the community. This novel approach seeks to draw kids into the experience through positive reinforcement.

Keep Browser Replacements Age Appropriate

Both of the above browser options have committee’s of parents, teachers, and education experts that decide what is safe and appropriate. The choices include fun games, learning, and education related sites. That is a huge plus for these sites, but keep in mind the appropriate age range for each product. As kids get older their needs will change, it is important to meet those needs with a new age range appropriate solution that will keep them excited and not frustrated.

Other Considerations

If you’ve made the choice to go with a browser replacement, here are some of the factors you can use to base your family’s choice on.

• Cost – Both immediate and/or a subscription. This will vary and many choices are free.

• Control – All have pre-setup list of approved sites, but different products have the ability for you to add sites or block additional sites.

• Browser only – Is the software protection browser only or does it provide protection for the entire computer experience?

• Age appropriate – Choose a product that is tailored for your child’s age group or interest level.

Final Thoughts

What really helps many parents decide on the best solution is when the software has a free trial period. This allows you to try multiple products before making a final decision. Note: Only evaluate one product at a time. The last part in this series will be Part 3: Keeping Kids Safe – Increased Knowledge of Internet Safety. Please share any experience you have had with browser replacements. Also if you could let us know in comments if you have chosen to implement one of these products or if you already have one, how it has worked for your child. In Keeping Kids Safe -Part 1, one of our readers shared her experience with a product called iBoss which was very interesting.

“You are Democrats and Republicans and Independents.

But you all served together, and fought together, and bled together under the same proud flag.

You did not serve a Red America or a Blue America – you served the United States of America.”

— Barack Obama VFW National Convention August 19, 2008

Quick Question

Are you a Republican? A Democrat? An Independent?

Quick Answer

I don’t care about your political preference, this is a rhetorical question.

With the upcoming presidential election, many American’s have drawn their lines in the sand. We hear ‘military’, ‘troops’, or ‘soldier’ and man y people relate it back to the war, the current president, or a political party.

The effect is that many people are confused about their support for such organizations as eMail our Military. I think Barak Obama making this and other statements will help bring healing and a realization that these soldiers are American’s, just as each of us is. Any line drawn in sand can be easily erased and is not permanant.

“eMail Our Military is composed of volunteers from all walks of life who understand that regardless of our political views, our military service members deserve our respect, support & encouragement.”

— Trish Forant, founder eMail Our Military

What Is eMail Our Military?

Due to the anthrax scare, two major letter writing campaign’s to our troops were canceled. These programs were the Department of Defense’s “Any Service Member” and Dear Abby’s “Operation Dear Abby“. When Trish Forant heard about these campaigns ending, eMail Our Miliatary was founded in 2001 as direct response to the cancellation of these two programs.

Reaching out on Twitter through social media

eMail Our Military Partnerships

Babble Soft
Babble Soft and eMail our Military are partnering to offer free subscriptions to Baby Insights and Baby Say Cheese for active duty service members with newborns.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to partner with Babble Soft.” said Trish Forant, Founder and President of eMail our Military. “My husband was called into service only one week after our first child was born. I had very few friends and family to turn to for support where we were stationed and it was difficult for me to convey to him what I was going through with our new baby.

“Our goal at Babble Soft is to help strengthen and enhance connections between family members during that wonderful, yet chaotic time after a baby is born.” said Aruni Gunasegaram, founder and president of Babble Soft. “We support our troops and know how important it is for new parents who have to be away from their newborns to feel connected to what is going on at home. Partners can share experiences and photos with each other through Babble Soft’s unique web and mobile applications.

As an added bonus, members of eMail our Military will have access to a discount code to purchase gift subscriptions for their other family members who may or may not have military ties.”

Qipit

Qipit has partnered with eMail our Military to provide for even more personalized communications. By creating better quality copies of documents to be included as a part of their email communications, we hope to make it possible for military families to literally share everything from legal documents to Little Johnny’s artwork.

While being home with their families is undoubtedly what every member of the military would most want, we are proud to be a part of helping them stay in close touch, in a very personal way, while they are separated from their loved ones in service to their country and in pursuit of world peace.

Qipit turns camera phones and digital cameras into mobile copy centers so people can turn photographs or written and printed materials into scan-quality digital documents they can share and store on the go.

There is so much more to say with this story that we are going to be doing a Part 3. The next post will include an interview with Trish and more about their supporters, and partners

Please contact Trish at the eMail Our Military web site if you or a loved one would like to be signed up to use these programs they offer, volunteer, or support their wonderful program.

by MacKenzie Lovings

This tutorial is part of an interview that Remarkable Parents did with Parent Power Index. Some of the responses our only on their web site and you will need to follow the links to their site.

Overview of Facebook Tutorial

In our first interview, Vicky Hennegan definitely provided food for thought as to why “blogging” and other new Web technologies are helping to form new bonds between parents and their children. That interview also included the “5 Steps Toward Technology and Social Media Use” which Vicky feels are an essential base for us to have as we build our technical knowledge and technology skills.

Vicky is back to discuss Facebook, one of the most popular social media services on the internet. It has recently been gaining exposure as a social tool useful to a wide audience.

________________________________________________________

Facebook Interview Questions

MacKenzie Can you give us a brief history describing the background of Facebook? How it got started, how people use it, and who the original creator was?

Vicky Below I have answered 5 Basic Facebook Questions. This will give readers an idea of the original intention of the application as well as it’s evolution over the last few years.

5 Basic Facebook Questions

1. How did Facebook start?
Facebook was begun by Mark Zuckerberg a student. Initially Facebook was available to only students. In a fairly short period of time, Facebook would go through four additional iterations, each time giving new audiences access to this web-based application.

The second expansion made Facebook available to other Ivy League University students, while it’s third iteration allowed it to add further to this base age group by including all university students.The fourth iteration expanded the age group to include high school students and the final iteration made it available to anyone over the age of 13 years old.

The final iteration was when Facebook began to really become a main stream social tool with the diversity to appeal to a wide audience.

2. Why was it named Facebook?
It’s name refers to the printed, paper face books that are made available in some American colleges and prep schools. Leave it to some young whipper-snapper to go ‘old school’ on all of us parents and use a name that not only makes sense, but that has to do with such classic elements as print and paper.

The original printed face book purpose was to provide incoming students, faculty, and staff with a way to get to know the other people.

3.What is Facebook?

See original interview

4. How many people are on Facebook?

See original interview

5. What are the basic features that come standard with Facebook?

See original interview

Facebook Tutorial Section

MacKenzie What is your favorite Facebook application and why?

Vicky One of my favorite applications on Facebook are the Status Updates. A Status Update is a short update of about 30 words.

The Status Updates box (see Figure 2 – Step 2) will show me the Status Update information for two or three of my Friends, depending on the length of each update, which can include a url (example www.facebook.com).

You also have the ability to see All Friends –> Status Updates (see Figure 2 – Step 2, Step 3) which will show you how to access this screen.

The screen is what the All Friends –> Status Updates screen (see Figure 3) looks like.

MacKenzie What are a few more of your favorite Facebook applications and why?

Vicky: I would have to say the News Feed and Facebook Chat are two features I find very useful.

See original interview

MacKenzie: Is Remarkable Parents available on Facebook and can web sites be setup on Facebook?

Vicky: I have My Blog Remarkable Parents Blog as a Facebook Blog and then I have a Group Remarkable Parents Group. The Group will be for our readers to socialize with each other, while the Blog will have articles available from the web site.

See original interview

Facebook Tips & Tricks

Finding Friends/Contacts on Facebook

Facebook will try to help you look for your friends and loved ones. It will offer to import your contacts from your email application and use that information to find people that you know. When it has finished, it will tell you who it was able to find and not able to find.

You may not want to add all your email contacts to Facebook, you will have the ability to choose the people that you want to import and to have access to your Facebook information. I believe that they give you a list of your email contacts and you put a check in the check box to indicate the people that you want to import.

Remember however, that they have access to a lot of information about what you do, where you comment, and what Groups you join. Give yourself some time and start off slowly.

Add-On Applications for Facebook

See original interview

Accepting or Denying a Friend Request

See original interview

HAVE LOTS OF FUN!

Thank you MacKenzie and Parent Power Index!

Have you decided to try Facebook after this tutorial? Did you create a new account? What’s your favorite Facebook application and why?

by Todd Jordan

In those days, things were much simpler.

When we were growing up, what our parents worried about, when trying to keep us safe, is much different than what parents need to know today!

What Has Changed?

Parents once focused on keeping kids safe in their neighborhoods and warning them of the dangers of talking to strangers. Today’s parents still must warn and educate their children about strangers, with the difference being, that strangers now have global access. Threats can come from around the corner, a neighboring state, or across the country. Our access to the online world predominantly comes through the use of our web browsers. Popular web browsers include: Internet Explorer, Safari, and Firefox.

Through these browsers, our children don’t just have access to read content, but to view photos, download music, and to privately chat. The ability to be watchful is quickly exceeded and becomes out of our immediate reach! So what are we to do? It’s no longer as simple as keeping questionable things physically out of their reach.

Your Online Safety Arsenal

Their are numerous tools and ways for parents today to keep their children safe online. A child’s safety can be increased considerably by implementing some or all of the suggestions in our new series "Keeping Kids Safe" online. The series will consist of three main articles which are outlined below.

Keeping Kids Safe Series

Part 1: Keeping Kids Safe – Parental Control Software
Part 2: Keeping Kids Safe – Internet Browser Replacements
Part 3: Keeping Kids Safe – Increased Knowledge of Internet Safety In this first article, "Part 1: Keeping Kids Safe – Parental Control Software" we will use NetNanny software for our case study. Parental control software is designed to control and filter access to the internet. Let’s examine what it is and how it is used.

Keeping Kids Safe – Parental Control Software

NetNanny is one of the top names in parental control software and won PC Magazines Editor’s Choice award. Some common features of parental control software can be seen if we review NetNanny’s features:

• Internet Access Time Controls
• Web Access Filtering
• Chat Blocking
• Easy Configuration
• Logging
• Updated Filtering Lists
• Individual User Profiles/Roles

Internet Access Time Controls Time controls are perhaps the easiest parental control tool to understand. This feature enables the parent to set time limits or ‘windows of time’ (example 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm) that their child can be on the internet. The software translates your settings and sets up the time periods when the internet is accessible and when it is not. This is ideal for parents that are unable to monitor closely all of their child’s computer use. Perhaps you would like to block the internet from 3 pm – 5 pm when your child should be doing homework. You could also set it up to only allow internet access between 7 pm and 9 pm each evening. This effectively marks out a clear time period of usage and avoids daily haggling (which we all know they will) for internet access.

Web Access Filtering Web access filtering is a little more complex. Filtering effectively means blocking access to certain web sites on the internet. The nice thing is that you, the parent don’t have to make up a list ahead of time. Each software package comes with a prebuilt list of web sites to block. The blocking lists that come with the software can have entries added to them by parents. What you’ll often find is that site blocking won’t exactly meet your needs or computing habits. A gleaming example of this is a search on ‘breast cancer.’ Likely results will contain both sites you’d like your child to be able to access and those even you would want to avoid. NetNanny and other packages often block web sites that contain key words in the site name, such as ‘breast.’ That would include most sites for breast cancer research and support. For this every reason, the software will allow parents to ‘white-list’ a certain site and let them include the site in the allow list.

Chat Blocking 

Chat blocking is a third prong of parental control software. Chat blocking controls have their own built in filtering. Each software package handles it a bit different, but generally this tool allows blocking chat completely as their maximum and then minimally it can block a specific buddy or a list of buddies. Many of the packages allow control at the buddy level. This permits parents to lock down who their child can chat with. You could arrange ahead of time with the other parents to allow your children to chat, and exchange their IDs. This method is probably the next safest besides completely blocking chat. Chat rooms can be blocked as well as certain chat networks. Parents can research ahead of time which chat areas they feel are safe, and just allow those. Many chat rooms are not monitored or don’t screen the participants.

Easy Configuration Easy configuration is a hallmark of these types of packages. NetNanny and the others come with default settings, filtered web sites, and chat. These can be put in place with just one-click. These settings are password protected and in some software, is hidden from regular computer users.

Logging Logging is one of the most important features in any parental control software. Logging is the recording of sites visited and blocked, as well as a log of the chat that records what was written. Checking the logs on a routine basis will alert you to the sites your child is visiting and the ones they are attempting to visit. Children love to explore their boundaries, and the Internet is no exception. By reviewing the logs, patterns will become obvious and you can nip-that-in the-bud quickly. Chat room logging is very helpful. Remember, it isn’t about prying into your child’s private life, but protecting them from predators. Skimming through chat logs regularly is a quick way to discover who is talking with your child online and what they’re discussing. Key words can also alert you to problems. Several software packages in this category allow for key word alerts over the logs, reducing the need to review every line within the chat.

Updated Filtering Lists Blocking lists aren’t static and don’t stay the same. With new slang and abbreviations that are so popular, you will need to update your list. NetNanny for example provides a subscription for periodic and annual updates to their filter lists.

Individual User Profiles/Roles Configuration really boils down to establishing profiles or roles, such as parent/administrator, and child/user. Each profile or role will have settings for filtering. Thus all children in a household could share one role or each be given their own.

Getting Started

Features aside, parental control software is a great first step to protecting your family in their online adventures. It is recommend that parents find a package they like after reviewing several detailed product reviews that contain in-depth tool descriptions. Another option is to use a search engine and search for the terms ‘parental control software’. Getting started today is made even easier by the fact that each of these packages encourages try before you buy options. These options range from a few days to a couple of weeks. Be sure you only try one parental control software program at a time. In the second part of this series, I’ll be discussing another type of software tool, alternate web browsers. So come back after you’ve given those other tools a spin.

Todd’s BIO: Todd’s blog is The Broad Brush and his interests include activities with his church, online safety and awareness, social media, and multimedia.

Do you have parental control software on your computer? If yes, what ages are your children and why did you feel it was necessary? Which software did you buy? Are you satisfied with the software or thinking of looking again?

For those of you who do not have the software, is there an age of your children that you would buy it? Do you have other ways of monitoring their use? Please share with the group in comments, this is a very important topic.

We hope to get a great conversation started!

Photo by Joyseph

This is every parents worst nightmare!

You would never trade places with these parents! Not in a million years, not for a million dollars!

Eyes Of An Angel

We’ve all seen those beautiful little faces with the eyes of an angel. We’ve seen them on the back of milk cartons, we’ve seen them on posters at the post office.

Every time I find myself saying “Thank God that’s not my child”. I’m sure most people do this too, but is it enough?

Isn’t there something more we can do? Isn’t there some way we can help? Help get the word out, make others aware of these missing children, contribute to the cause?

Making A Difference

One person that’s making a difference is Nate Ritter. Nate is a small business startup strategy consultant and a talented web designer, here is a link to his portfolio.

How did I meet @NateRitter? Well actually I didn’t.

I found his fabulous Twitter account @MissingChildren and began following this account on Twitter.

Below is an example of the types of messages that are added to my Twitter timeline when I began following @MissingChildren.

Endangered Missing Alerts:

Endangered Runaway Alerts:

Family Abduction Alerts:

Recovery Alerts: (Yeah!)

I love this idea! I love using a social media tool like Twitter to make our world a better place! I found out who the creator of the account was and knew I must request an interview.

I want to help!

I want to spread the word!

I want to make a difference!

This post is my small way of contributing to the cause.

The Interview

This is a transcript of my interview with Nate. I hope you enjoy it and consider following @MissingChildren on Twitter and encourage your friends to do the same!

Vicky H: What was your motivation for starting this project?

Nate Ritter: Living in California my wife and I are used to seeing traffic warnings and alerts about missing or endangered children displayed above the highways.

After the California wildfires in October 2007 and seeing how Twitter could easily get information to people’s cell phones, I thought it would be great to have these kind of messages sent to the public. It would help notify those people who aren’t on the highways, and could probably be faster too.

I was also motivated because my mom’s sister went missing quite a few years ago and hasn’t been seen since. The technology at that time wasn’t anything like it is now, but there’s still some missing pieces even today. I just wanted to connect those pieces because I saw the opportunity to help people.

Vicky H: Where and how do you get the data?

Nate Ritter: The data is retrieved from http://missingkids.com. I haven’t actually told them that I’m using their data, but I figured they wouldn’t complain.

Vicky H: What feedback have you gotten?

Nate Ritter: I’ve had the pleasure of doing a few interviews and the response has been positive.

I would love to get the word out even more. I think it’s useful. There’s a few things people have asked for that I haven’t had the time to accomplish yet, like separating them out into different geographies.

Vicky H: Approx. how many hours did the project take?

Nate Ritter: It took about a day’s worth of programming, but most of that time was trial and error with which format to get the data in. The main problems I ran into have to do with getting good information consistently from MissingKids.com.

Vicky H: How is the information updated?

Nate Ritter: The information is updated based on the emails sent out by MissingKids.com. Each email they send out is gathered into an account which my program checks. It checks and gathers the information, follows a few web addresses given in the email, puts together a short message with a url, and then pushes that to Twitter.

It’s quite a few steps, but the end result is pretty obviously worth it.

.

Keeping Our Children Safe – Resources for Parents & Guardians

1. Get important resources on the issue of Child Identification.
2. Know what to do if your child is missing.
3. Understand the importance of having a good quality photo of your child.
4. Know if your child is at risk for International Abduction.
5. Report Child Sexual Exploitation.
6. Familiarize yourself with your state’s Child-Sexual-Exploitation Resources.
7. Help kids learn to stay safer online with the NetSmartz Workshop.
8. Get answers to your questions about Internet Safety, computers, and the Web with NetSmartz411.
9. Use NCMEC’s Corporate Partner Safety Programs and Materials to assist you with keeping your kids safer.

Please share any wonderful resources that you have found in the comments.

Since it is summer and the kids are home and have time on their hands, of particular interests are those resources that can help parents keep their children safe, contests for family’s to complete together, or other hands-on activities that contribute to the cause.

MacKenzie Loving’s writes “Vicky definitely provides some food for thought as to why “blogging” and other new Web technologies are helping to form new bonds between parents and their children in a manner that touches people today and in the future. Even if you know a lot about technology, take a moment to read Vicky’s comments because there will be a parent out there you’ll want to share this with.”

Question 1:
You say on your site that the internet is the great equalizer between generations. Can you expand on this and give an example where you’ve personally experienced this happening?

My 18 year old daughter Kay will be heading off to college in the fall. Like every parent my feelings are somewhat conflicted. I want her to discover who she is as a young adult and to experience life on her own, yet I am worried that now that she’s 18, she may feel that it’s a failure of her new found adulthood to come to me with her problems. I just want to be in the loop, have an idea of what and how she is doing, and know that she’s safe.

A few friends who’ve children have gone off to college have prepared me that that college students don’t devote a lot of time to keeping in touch. I know she has good intentions to keep in touch, but realistically I should be prepared to feel left out. To bridge this communication divide we have been talking about ways we can keep in touch. We don’t plan on using only the telephone, we also plan on using IM (instant messaging), Email, Twitter, Facebook, and Skype. Kay already uses these technologies and so do I. More >>

Question 2:
What is the most incredible or satisfying aspect of writing or managing your own blog?

The most satisfying aspect of the web site is having planned the overall vision of the site for so long and seeing that vision implemented. When the first article Who Taught My Kid That Four Letter Word? was published, along with the web design which I really love, I felt amazing, absolutely amazing and I really haven’t come down yet.

Question 3:
For any mom who is new to the blogosphere and social networking, can you offer a quick how to get started list to help ladies get engaged?

I purposely put some links, print screens, and definitions in the first question, so the ladies can go to those sites to get more information on those technologies.

Steps towards technology and social media use

1. Email Sign up for an email account. Most email accounts are free. I suggest using Gmail. Google’s Gmail has has one of the best spam blocking engines that will block most spam and make your experience much nicer (a second choice would be Yahoo).
2. Search Engines Google is by far the most popular search engine and is also free. When you are searching you can use individual words for your search criteria or you can use phrases enclosed by quotes (a second choice would be DogPile). This phrase will search for pages that Google has indexed that have these three words many times anywhere on the page.



This phrase will search for pages that Google has indexed that have the phrase ’small breed’ (must be the entire phrase) and the other word anywhere on the page.

This phrase will search for pages that Google has indexed that have the words ‘small’, ‘breed’, and ‘dog’ anywhere on the page. More >>

Question 4:
If moms could learn one technology this year, what would you say it should be?

I would have to say that it would depend on the individual mom and their family’s needs.

If you need to communicate with your kids while your at work and they’re at home, I would say get two webcams, headphones w/ mics and use Skype or you could use IM.

If you are lonely, want to crowd source advice, or make new friends I would say Twitter.

If you will be soon changing jobs, finishing school and want to either get a job or network with others in your same profession, I would say Linked-In.More >>

Question 5:
Your site is asthetically pleasing want to offer kudos into anyone in particular?

The web designer for Remarkable Parents is Randa Clay. We worked remotely as I am in Wisconsin and she is in Texas. The relationship did work well for us and it wasn’t a problem that she didn’t live in the same state. I am amazed at how well she got the concepts and my vision for the site. Randa has done a case study on many of the steps we took and tips that clients can use to translate their vision to the designer.

Someone who also helped me considerably was Chris Garrett who was handled some of the more technical issues and helped me develop and organize my vision for the site. Chris lives in the United Kingdom, so we used Skype for many of our sessions.

I would like to thank MacKenzie Lovings and Parent Power Index for giving me this opportunity to share what Remarkable Parents is about with their readers.

Please let us know if we are headed in the right direction for our readers in the comments. What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of? Let us know, we’re writing for you!

Not because I taught her that four-letter word.   I spell out all my bad words. She didn’t hear this one from me.

Nothing Means What To A 16 year old?

When my daughter Kay was 16 years old, we were talking about college applications. The problem was that she only wanted to apply to colleges she was sure she would get in to. I’m like, “What?” The plan had always been University of Wisconsin, Madison. That had always been her first choice!

Really, I don’t mind her changing the plan. The issue is why she’s changing the plan.

After I told her that Madison accepts only 20% of its applicants, Kay reduced her dreams to other schools because she was afraid to fail. Bad mom! I never realized my little trivia lesson was going to be negative.

Fail – that’s a word I don’t want in my daughter’s vocabulary!

She doesn’t want to fail? Again, I’m like what?

You want to change your plan because you’re afraid to fail? You don’t even want to submit an application? You couldn’t take a UW-Madison rejection letter? It would make you feel like your whole life up to this point is a failure? If you weren’t accepted, all these years of school, the great grades, and the honor role would all be for nothing?

Nothing means ? (what) to a sixteen year old?

I snapped into ‘mommy-mode’! I put my brain on listen while I strive to be calm. I attempt to see things from her point of view.

But by this time she was in tears. She started explaining how she would feel, getting that particular rejection letter. It would make her feel like a complete failure. She would have no future. She would be working behind the counter at Pizza Hut for the rest of her life.

What I Learned that Made Me a Better Parent

This lesson really made me think about how serious and important it is that our kids can share their feelings with us!

What if she felt she couldn’t have shared her real feelings with me? This would have been smoldering inside her. I would never have known. I would never would have been able to help. I would have never been able to comfort her. She would never have applied to the school she wanted!

Just as in any relationship, trust and being non-judgmental or objective until you have a full understanding of the situation is a basic; but one that is easily forgotten. For me this is especially important in my relationship with my kids. They’re not adults. They’re not my friends or peers. Sometimes I forget to give them that same basic courtesy that I would give someone else.

It really is so basic. It really is so easily forgotten.

Let’s Get Real with Our Kids

Are you ready to hear the truth? Does your teen feel comfortable enough to share their real life with you?

Are you ready to hear what you never wanted to know?

Raising my teenagers sometimes reminds me of this exchange from the movie A Few Good Men:

_______________________________________________
Kaffee: I Want The Truth!
Col. Jessup: [Shouting] You Can’t Handle The Truth!
_______________________________________________

Us, “getting real” with our kids means being open to them being real with us.

Real is the four-letter word we want in our relationships with our kids.

Fast forward to April 2008 … Kay did apply and was accepted into UW-Madison and actually several other colleges too. She is going to UW-Madison!

Now I have a whole new set of worries and concerns, but we can talk about that another time.