Protecting children from harmful material and people on the Internet.
Question
Protecting children from harmful material and people on the Internet.Answer
Some web pages and content on the Internet are not suitable for all audiences. Below is a listing of different steps you can do to help ensure your child is protected from harmful material or web pages you believe are not suitable for your children.Talk
Talk to your children about the dangers of the Internet and what they should not do while on the Internet. Below is a basic listing of what you may consider discussing with your child.
- Personal Information - Never give personal information about yourself in chat rooms, web pages, or online forms. This includes age, area code, e-mail address, home address, home city, Internet Service Provider name, Instant Messenger name or address, other location related information, passwords, personal web page, phone (mobile phone) numbers, pictures of yourself, school name, school grade, school web page, weight, webcam address, workplace, or zip code.
- Never meet someone - Never agree to meet an individual from the Internet without the parents or guardian at the agreed meeting location.
- Internet Purchases - Never enter an area that costs money, requires a credit card, requires personal information, asks for passwords, or requires you hang up and dial another number with your computer without explicit permission from the parents or a parent present.
- Downloads - Never accept a file or download from another or unknown user.
- Web page - Do not visit web pages that are sent to you in chat, or instant messengers without a parent or guardian present.
- Gifts - Never accept any gift from users you meet online.
- Friends - Don't give out your friends information as it could be tied to you.
- Personal pictures - Never send someone a personal picture online or on a cell phone.
- Talking about sex / provocative images - When online don't talk about sex, post provocative images, or tease other people online.
- Talk to you - If your child ever witnesses something that upsets them or makes them feel uncomfortable, make sure they know it's ok to talk with you.
Monitor or browse the Internet with your kids and try to keep the computer in an open area. Don't allow your child to have their own computer in their own room.
Users using Microsoft Internet Explorer can help protect their family from harmful material by enabling Internet Explorer Content Advisor.
