CARRIE-ANN SKINNER demonstrates parental controls with Windows Live Family Safety, free software that helps keep your children safe from the dangers of the
web. The web has transformed the way we communicate and find information. It's an ideal resource whether you're looking for reviews of an item or service you've got your eye on or for schoolchildren to research a homework topic. It's also great for keeping in touch. Teens can chat to their friends on Facebook without tying up the landline or running up hefty mobile phone bills. However, the web also presents a wealth of dangers - ones that kids aren't necessarily clued-up to handle. The prospect of your children being bullied in chat rooms and on social networks or stumbling across inappropriate images are the headline-grabbing threats, but there are other dangers to look out for too. Malware can accidentally be downloaded, and it's all too easy for them to hand over more personal details than they should. The tricky thing is to keep your kids safe without preventing them from using the web altogether. Parental-control software lets you filter and block specific sites and web pages that contain inappropriate material. It also lets you monitor what your kids have been up to on a PC, and restrict which programs they use and how long they spend on the PC. Microsoft offers free parental-control software in the form of Windows Live Family Safety. In Windows 7, the parental controls theme is continued in Windows Media Center. Here, you can restrict TV programmes and films using age ratings, preventing your 11-year-old watching 18-rated movies, for example. We can't stress enough the importance of discussing with children how they can stay safe on the web. Not only will the communication help them understand why certain sites are blocked, it'll help them think twice before taking unnecessary risks online. IT'S good To TAlK Parental controls help keep your children safe online, but it's important that you discuss with them the dangers that lurk on the web and the measures they can take to protect themselves. According to Kim Sanchez, senior audience marketing manager at Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing group, parents should know what their children are doing online, the social networks they frequent, and whether they use their mobile phone to access the web. They can then advise on what kids should and shouldn't be posting online. "Kids need to think about what they're putting out there for everybody to view before they do it," said Sanchez. "They should think before they post a blog or comment on their page or photos. They need to consider that it could be seen by anybody on the internet and that it may be permanent." Personal details such as login credentials, addresses and birthdays should never be shared online. And just like in the real world, children should never befriend strangers, said Sanchez. Parents should stress that it's never acceptable to use abusive or threatening language in online communication, and explain how a child might go about reporting cyberbullying and obtaining help and support. In general terms, offering guidance is more effective than trying to control children's online behaviour, believes Sanchez. "Parents need to negotiate clear guidelines for their kids' internet use. There's really no technological substitute for parental involvement, supervision and guidance," she said. HoW To USE WINdoWS lIvE FAMIlY SAFETY START download Windows live Family Safety (tinyurl.com/5vmv3nd). It's part of the Windows live Essentials package that includes MSN Messenger and Microsoft's webmail client. You'll be given the option to select which programs you want to install. once you've selected the software you want, press Install. 2 open the Start menu and select Windows live Family Safety from the list of programs. To use the service, you'll need a Windows live login. If you don't have one already, you'll be able to register for one for free from the login screen. log into your Windows live account to get started. 3 Set up a 'standard' rather than 'administrator' account for each child, preventing clever kids from uninstalling or making changes to Family Safety. Click 'Create a new standard Windows account', give it a name and press 'Create account'. Ensure the 'Monitor account' option is selected and hit Save. 4 To make changes to the default web-filtering and activity-monitoring settings now active on each account, visit familysafety.live.com. This is also where you need to head to monitor your child's activity. You'll be presented with a list of user accounts; simply click 'Edit settings' next to the account you want to change. 5 Click 'Web filtering' to specify which types of site should be blocked. The strictest setting, 'Allow list only', permits the child to visit only the sites you stipulate; the most lenient option is 'Warn on adult', which won't restrict access to any site but warns you when they view suspected adult content. 6 To add websites to the 'Allow list', select 'Web filtering lists' and enter the site's URl into the 'http://' field at the top of the window. Choose Allow or Block. Sites can be allowed or blocked across all user accounts or for an individual user. When you've finished, click Save. 7 Adding your child's Windows live email address enables you to manage their contacts in Windows live Hotmail, Messenger and Spaces. The 'Time limits' option lets you specify which times of the day the PC can or cannot be used. Program and game restrictions let you block access to specific applications. 8 To monitor activity, sign into familysafety.live.com. Click 'view activity report' next to the desired account. You'll be able to see which sites your child has attempted to access, and where Family Safety has curtailed their efforts. It displays dates, times and the number of times a child has visited each site. 9 Click the 'Computer activity' tab to monitor offline PC usage. Click the arrow below 'Sessions' to see which machine they used, how long they used it for and the date they logged on. Click the arrow below 'Programs' to display a list of the software they used; also see 'File downloads' and 'games' for activity logs. 10 If your child visits a blocked site, Family Safety lets them request your permission for access via email or using Messenger. Email requests are sent to the Request section in Family Safety, where you can use a drop-down menu to either permit access or reaffirm your decision to block the site. SET UP PARENTAl CoNTRolS IN WINdoWS MEdIA CENTER START Parental controls can be used in Windows Media Center to prevent children from viewing unsuitable content. Choose Windows Media Center from the Start menu, then click Settings. Choose 'Parental controls' from the general tab and enter a four-digit PIN. Keep this number to yourself. 2 Next, select 'Tv ratings' and elect to 'Turn on Tv blocking'. Specify a 'Maximum allowed Tv rating', using the plus and minus buttons to increase or decrease the age limit. Since not all Tv programmes are age-rated, you can also choose to 'Block all unrated content'. Click Save to implement your changes. 3 It's also possible to restrict dvd access by selecting the 'Turn on movie blocking' option in 'dvd ratings'. There is the option to block unrated movies, if you decide this will be beneficial. As before, use the plus and minus buttons to specify the 'Maximum allowed movie rating' and press Save. 4 In the event that your children get hold of the PIN you entered in Step 1, this can be changed within the main Parental controls screen. You can also remove the restrictions currently in place by selecting 'Reset parental controls' and confirming your decision. SMARTPHoNE PARENTAl CoNTRolS It's not just PCs that children use to access the web. Many mobile phones have web access, and many come with social-networking apps preinstalled. Charity organisation Child Wise has revealed that seven out of 10 five- to 16-year-olds have their own phone. Furthermore, research conducted for The Carphone Warehouse found that 85 percent of children don't have parental controls activated on their mobile phones. "Online risks to children are as prevalent when they access the internet via their mobile phone as when they access it via their PC," warned Professor Tanya Byron, the government's internet-safety advisor. Professor Byron recommends a 'Talk, Act and Engage' strategy. First, parents need to take an interest in their child's online lives by setting guidelines for using the web and discussing online risks. Next, you should set up parental controls on your child's mobile phone. All the UK's mobile phone networks offer parental-control functions that prevent minors accessing adult websites, but they aren't usually activated by default. Contact the mobile operator to switch on these controls. Note that using Wi-Fi to get online with a smartphone can bypass parental-control restrictions. Security firms including Trend Micro and McAfee offer mobile apps. As well as blocking fraudulent sites based on reputation, they let you filter spam texts and phone calls using user-defined block lists. They also allow password-protected parental controls to be set, complete with monitoring facilities. Help your child adjust their social-networking privacy settings. And if you feel they are too young, don't let them use the site - Facebook's minimum age is 13. Creating your own account may help you understand the dangers better. Finally, respect that older children and teens need privacy; once they've demonstrated that they can be responsible, take a step back and engage with their online behaviour only when necessary. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
