Protecting Your Family Online Goes Beyond Configuring Parental Controls On Your High Speed Internet

What can you do to protect your family? Here are some simple ideas:

1. Purchase filter software to block websites and filter objectionable content. These programs don't cost a lot of money, are easy to install, and run efficiently. Every software program is a little different - some require that you input specific web addresses and keywords into a block list, while others let you choose categories of content to be restricted. Filter software is a great addition to the filters employed by high speed Internet providers.

2. Supervise your kids when they're online. Prepare a schedule and stick to it, so that your kids know when they can use the computer and when they have to be doing other tasks, such as homework. Limiting computer and Internet time is an invaluable tool for exercising self control.

3. Monitor the websites that your kids have been visiting by checking the Internet browser's web history. Because your computer keeps a record of the websites that have been visited, you can go back to see where your kids have been online. Just make sure they don't know how to erase the Internet history on their own.

4. Purchase a software program that captures the computer activities of your kids while they surf and use the computer. These ingenious programs have been designed to make it easier for busy parents to keep track of their kids' Internet usage and habits.

5. Know what the latest happenings are online. For instance, what's the latest social networking craze, and are your kids signing up along with their friends? Popular sites such as MySpace and Friendster are quite common, but they require that users create profiles and upload photos of themselves, broadcasting their personal information to the world. Facebook is the latest social networking craze.

6. Monitor your kids' online activities outside the home. What are they doing when they visit their friends - are they allowed full access to the Internet? Do your kids go online at school or at the library? Ask your children's teachers what the policy is for Internet usage, and whether or not precautions are in place to monitor and filter inappropriate websites. Does a teacher or librarian supervise children when they use the computers?

Set a good example and stay away from questionable material yourself. Keep all adult content off the family computer so that none of your kids come across anything accidentally. High speed internet offers the tools to protect your family - but only you can take the appropriate precautions and put the right security measures in place. Research Internet safety and parental controls to find out everything you can do to make surfing the Internet a fun and safe experience for everyone.

Chat rooms are common in the life of many of our teens as a fun social outlet. Because they often enter chat rooms based on specific subjects, whether they be sport-related, focused on a specific television show or celebrity figure, or simply segregated by age-group, these social meccas are magnetic to our young adults-in-training. Unfortunately, they are also riddled with predators posing as peers. No one wants their teenager interacting with an adult skilled at exploiting our kids for personal information or worse.

One tactic that people use for extracting personal information from our kids is to persuade them to telephone them. Our children have been taught not to give out their telephone number or address, but they may not think far enough ahead that caller id has just handed the predator some key personal information on a silver platter.

Look for specific warning signs that your teen might be exploited by an unscrupulous adult. If your child

- Becomes evasive
- Withdraws from family life they once enjoyed
- Takes phone calls from people you do not know
- Receives gifts mailed to your home
- Spends hours online late at night.
- Turns off the computer abruptly when you enter a room

Taking an active role in protecting your teen is key to keeping them safe as they grow and explore their world. Make sure you take advantage of the specific tools that high speed internet providers offer in their services.