When you need to screen those forbidden sites
By Tania Fernando
The cyberspace age has arrived at lightning speed.Children and young people
are among the most active of this new era and are often the first in their
family to use the Internet. Like everything in life, the Internet, which
is there to make life easier for us all, is also the problem for concerned
parents, who don't want their kids to misuse it.
This problem is similar to the dilemma parents face with late night
'adult' movies on TV. But fret not, for there are solutions at hand. Just
as you could switch to another channel on TV, the Internet allows you to
'block' inappropriate material on the site while continuing to surf the
same.
Today's kids, as we all see, are amazingly tech-savvy and the Internet
plays a major role in their lives. From checking mail, to chatting with
friends on the other side of the globe, to getting information on a health
issue to the latest news, the Internet has brought the world closer to
them. The question, though, is how old should one be before launching into
this exciting new world and how parents can protect their kids from the
dangers that lurk there.
Kids need to be given a certain amount of online independence without
elders appearing to intrude into their world by peering over their shoulders
when they are surfing. Moreover, it is difficult for parents to be around
every minute that their kids decide to get online.
Most applications that we use today to surf the Internet were not really
designed for children. Parents seem to be unaware that there are options
such as net filtering software which enables you to keep a watchful eye
on kids and ensures that they don't access or stumble upon 'forbidden sites'.
Parents for their part, should create an atmosphere where kids can surf
freely at home. They need to have discussions with kids about what they
can and cannot do online, set reasonable expectations and ground rules
and try to understand their needs, interests and natural curiosity.
In addition, there are certain devices that parents can use to safeguard
their children. According to rating standards set by Internet Content Rating
Association (ICRA) or SafeSurf, vendors of Net Filtering software such
as Net Nanny, ZeekSafe, Cyberpatrol and Surfwatch etc, determine what's
appropriate and what's not for youngsters. So web sites that contain objectionable
words or material such as porn sites, violence, and information on harmful
drugs get filtered out of the browsers. Parents can thus, block or unblock
sites their children have access to, at their discretion.
The software can be downloaded from the Internet. These provide multiple
user options with different security levels for kids belonging to different
age groups. Cyberpatrol, for instance, prevents children from divulging
personal information on-line. This software also provides keyword filtering
and blocking descriptive search engine results. Say, if the child keys
in the word 'sex' and then 'search', if the word has been blocked, all
sites with that word would not be shown.
Norton Fire Wall is another filter that can be downloaded or bought
in a CD form. This can be installed and acts like a gate. All these filters
run secretly in the background and can be configured to be completely invisible
to the user and still accessible by the parent.
So do parents keep tabs on their children while they surf? Mr. Amarasinghe,
a father of two children aged 17 and 13, said that he has given his children
freedom to use the Internet. However while not trying to be too intrusive,
he tries to keep a close watch on them. 'After they have finished using
it, I always go back to the history icon, where the last sites visited
are indicated so that I know which sites they have logged onto,' he said.
However, the fact remains that no matter how easy it is for parents
to filter or restrict access, there are tech-savvy kids who resent this
and can hack their way through or for that matter, even surf through a
cybercafe!
17-year-old Ishani said that she most often uses Hotmail and MSN chat
or looks up the latest on soap operas. "I send cards and even check stuff
for school," she said, adding that she uses the Internet at least twice
a week as she does not have much time on her hands.
However, 16-year-old Rukshan said that he goes on the Net almost every
day. Not wanting to describe the sites he logs on to, he said that the
computer is in his room, therefore, there is no one watching over him.
"I chat most often with friends and sometimes people I don't know, but
whom I have come to know on the Internet." He also said that he uses it
for educational purposes and does not feel that he is doing anything wrong
by surfing the net.
Although there are net filters that can be downloaded, the Internet
Providers themselves do not offer any protection for anyone who requests
filtering.
According to Jameel Jabbar of Lanka Internet Services Ltd., maintaining
a system with filtering capabilities is a costly affair and this cannot
be implemented for all customers, as an ISP's (Internet Service Provider)
prime task is to bring the whole Internet to the customers hand.
He also said that though most parents are worried about their kids logging
onto the porn sites, there are other sites, which promote cults, fetishes,
sex toys and hate too, which parents should monitor.
Mrs. Weerasinghe whose 15-year old son is hooked onto the Internet said
that she hardly understands what is happening or what he is doing. "He
was so keen to get an Internet connection and in order for him to improve
his knowledge we bought him a computer," she said. According to her, it
is their son who is the sole user of the computer and none of the others
in the family actually bother with it.
While the Internet is definitely going to be something that we cannot
live with, it's not up to the filtering software or the service provider
to protect the children, but to parents themselves. We can't all be Internet
experts but, it's always wise to have a look around and learn for ourselves
what the Internet is all about.
Check out these sites that provide net filtering. Most of them offer
a 30-day free trial:
http://www.cyberpatrol.com
http://www/solidoak.com
http://www.netnanny.com
http://www.surfwatch.com
http://www.SentryCam.com/home.asp
http://www.pearlsw.com/
http://www.safekid.com
When your kids are online:
*Learn everything you can about the Internet. It's better to be safe
than ignorant.
*There are online guides for parents such as GetNetWise.org
*Avoid letting them surf unattended.
*The computer should be placed in a family room rather than the children's
room, where you can supervise and keep an eye on their surfing activity.
*Set your filtering software to limit online access
*Never allow a child to arrange a face-to-face meeting with another
computer user (even another child).
*If a meeting is arranged, be sure to accompany your child.
*Keep in mind that people online might not be who they claim to be.
*Encourage them to come to you if they encounter a problem online. |
