By Rick Broida
(February 9, 2006)

A few months back, a steady procession of predators showed up at a home rigged with Dateline NBC hidden cameras to meet a 12-year-old who indicated she was open to the idea of having sex. The teen was a decoy volunteer from vigilante group Perverted-Justice, but she could just as easily have been a real child.

Law-enforcement officials estimate 50,000 predators are online at any given time, according to the Dateline segment. This doesn't mean you have to rip the Ethernet cable from the wall if you have children who use the Net. These steps, combined with careful vigilance, can help you keep them safe online.

Keep your kids safe online

Before you get started with this project, we recommend that you have the following:

• An Outlook Express spam filter such as OnlyMyEmail, a Web client with spam protection such as Thunderbird, or a Web e-mail client with spam blocking, such as Hotmail or Yahoo Mail.
• A child-friendly Web browser, such as Crayon Crawler, KidRocket KidSafe, or Noah's Web.
• A child-protection Net package such as CyberPatrol or Net Nanny.

Keep your kids safe online

Children can easily find explicit material on the Web--and if they don't, it often finds them. If your daughter happens to type "www.girl.com" instead of "www.gURL.com," the popular site for teenage girls, she'll end up at a porn site. And until it was shut down recently, the porn site www.whitehouse.com displayed inappropriate images to young students who probably meant to type "www.whitehouse.gov."

Sites like these, which count on erroneously entered URLs, are shut down quickly, but as soon as they are, more crop up to replace them. And the most popular Web browsers offer little in the way of blocking tools.

Mozilla Firefox offers no content filtering. Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 has some tools, but they're weak. Blocking in IE is based on a self-rating system devised by the Recreational Software Advisory Council (now the Internet Content Rating Association). The downside: Most Internet sites haven't rated themselves, and if you set Internet Explorer to block all unrated sites, you'll lose access to some useful sites, including Amazon.com, Google, and even Computer Shopper.

To turn on the basic content-filtering utility in IE, follow these steps.

1. Go to Tools > Internet Options > Content, and in the Content Advisor box, select Enable.
2. In the new window, you'll see four categories: Language, Nudity, Sex, and Violence.
3. To enable blocking, move the slider directly below the categories to the lowest level, then click Apply.
   
   

A better alternative is to download a child-friendly content-filtering Web browser, such as Crayon Crawler, KidRocket KidSafe, or Noah's Web. Noah's Web comes with three browsers: one for children ages 4 to 12, one for teens, and one for parents.

To ensure that your child can use only the child-friendly browser you install for Net surfing, create a user account in Windows that prevents installation of new apps.

1. Go to Control Panel > User Accounts and select "Create a new account."
2. In the wizard, enter a name for the new account and select Limited.
3. Next, password-protect any other accounts that aren't Limited.
   
   

This still leaves Internet Explorer, however, because it comes with Windows and can't be uninstalled. To prevent your child from using Internet Explorer, password-protect it. Go to Tools > Internet Options, and select the Content tab. Under Content Advisor, click Enable. On the General tab, locate the Supervisor Password area. Type in a password, then hit Apply.

Mac users seeking robust content controls should check out BumperCar 2 for Mac OS X systems.

Keep your kids safe online

One of the safest online environments for children is America Online. The service lets parents invoke varying levels of control over Web browsing, instant messaging (IM), e-mail, and chat rooms. To access these settings, go to keyword: parental controls. Click your child's screen name, then the button for the area you want to manage. Clicking Edit Web Control, for instance, will bring up choices ranging from Kids Only (which restricts all inappropriate content) to Mature Teen.

When a child tries to view a suspect site, AOL blocks access until permission is received from the parent via either e-mail or IM. AOL also supplies a kid-friendly search engine that avoids potential traps inherent in Google and the like.

With the Parental Controls window open, click the Internet Access Controls button, then click "Turn on Internet controls." This blocks access to inappropriate sites via an external browser.

Keep your kids safe online

If there's one thing teens love more than MTV, it's instant messaging, either in online chat rooms or via IM clients such as ICQ and Yahoo Messenger. Either way, a little parental intervention is essential.

Start by telling your kids not to give out personal information, even when they're in chat rooms with friends. It's also a good idea to review their user profiles, as certain words and information can attract online predators. Try to keep the profile as nondescript as possible. Hobbies and interests are OK, but don't specify age or sex.

While chat rooms are more or less guaranteed to involve strangers, instant messaging should never be anonymous. All the major chat clients let you block messages from unknown users.

To block unknown users in AOL Instant Messenger, follow these steps.

1. Press F7.
2. Click Privacy.
3. Select "Allow only users on my Buddy List."
   
   

To block unknown users in ICQ, follow these directions.

1. Click Main > Security & Privacy Permissions > Spam Control.
2. Enable "Accept messages only from users on my Contact List."
   
   

Here's how to block unknown users in MSN Messenger.

1. Click Tools > Options > Privacy.
2. Enable "Only people on my Allow List can see my status and send me messages."
   
   

To block unknown users in Yahoo Messenger, follow these steps.

1. Click Messenger > Preferences > Ignore List.
2. Enable "Ignore anyone who is not on my Messenger List."

Keep your kids safe online

Spam isn't good for anyone, but for children, it can be particularly harmful. Links in e-mail can lead to pornographic Web sites.

The solution: Install a spam filter. For e-mail clients such as Outlook or Outlook Express, OnlyMyEmail is a good add-on for blocking spam before it reaches your PC. But it's more likely your kids are using free Web-based mail systems such as Hotmail or Yahoo Mail. If the service has a built-in spam filter, set it to the highest level of protection. Just keep in mind nothing can stop your child from perusing the Junk E-mail folder in search of legitimate mail caught by the filter.

If your teenager uses Outlook Express, consider switching to Mozilla's free Thunderbird. It's similar to Outlook Express in appearance and function, but it includes a built-in spam filter.

Keep your kids safe online

To get all these features in one convenient package, consider installing a program designed specifically for the purpose. CyberPatrol and Net Nanny both offer a wealth of protection features, including activity monitoring, site and image blocking, and time management (for limiting Net usage by time).

Try before you buy. You can download fully functional versions of both programs and use them for two weeks. If one doesn't offer the controls you want, try the other.

Keep your kids safe online

Staying aware of online threats goes a long way toward keeping your kids safe online. GetNetWise, ProtectKids.com, and SafeKids.com offer plenty of articles, information, and resources, including links for reporting suspected cybercrimes. You'll also find information on software and Web tools designed specifically for children. Perverted-Justice, mentioned earlier, has a section for parents on how to curb their children's time online and how to spot if their kids are in danger.

Also, try bookmarking a selection of kid-friendly sites so that your children are less tempted to wander the Web aimlessly. KidGrid is a Yahoo-like search engine with categorized links, all of which have been designated safe. Kaboose provides fun stuff for kids and parents alike, from online games to party planning.

It's one thing to safeguard your own PCs, but that doesn't help when your kids are online at their friends' houses. Communicate with other parents. Relay your concerns and share tips with them to make sure your child surfs safely, no matter whose computer he or she uses.