Internet Safety: Apps to Protect Your Children

by Kate Warner on April 5th, 2013 | No Comments »

Internet safety is now more important than ever. Most social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter, have age restrictions in place to prevent children from creating a user profile. This policy keeps children from coming across adult-themed content and also protects them from predators. However the restrictions on these sites can be easily circumvented if the user gives a false age or says that they are over 17 years old.

Patti Fowler, the Internet Safety Coordinator for South Carolina's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, told WMBFNews.com that parents are probably not aware that most social media sites are restricted for children who are younger than 13. Fowler recently visited the St. James elementary school to talk about Internet safety with the students. In her presentation she explained to the students the dangers of posting personal information online. She also warned that many sexual predators use social media sites to target underage users. Mary Beth Heath, the principal of St. James Elementary School, said students can not get access to social media sites on school computers, but many of the students have access to those sites at home.

Parents would be wise to monitor what their children are doing online, and there are safeguards available to help. NetNanny and AppCertain are examples of tools designed to help parents be more aware of what their children are viewing and downloading online. These tools allow parents to monitor and block material that is viewed as inappropriate for underage viewing, and even allow different levels of restrictions for multiple kids.

A Nanny for Your Child's Internet Safety

Net Nanny is an award-winning parental control solution. It has five different products that help parents to monitor and block their child's online content. Right now, Net Nanny is teaming up with LifeLock, an online protection solution, to offer families a full package of protection against identity theft, cyber bullying, and online predators. Parents who sign up for a one-year LifeLock membership can also receive a year subscription to Net Nanny for about $100. This two-for-one opportunity will let parents block pornography from their child's computer, mask profanity, monitor social media interaction, control access, monitor instant message, and control video game usage.

Be Certain of Your Child's Internet Use

Designed for parents whose children use iOS-based mobile devices like the iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad, AppCertain is a new monitoring application that sends email alerts to parents to let them know when their child has downloaded an app, what the app does, and whether the app is appropriate for their child to view. TechCrunch.com's Sarah Perez says that while this tool will be good for monitoring children's online activity, it can also let users know if an application is virus free before it is downloaded.

Parents who are interested in downloading a beta version of this app can access it through Tech Crunch's site.