Introduction

Our children are born in a digital age where they are accustomed to every home having multiple PCs. They would find it hard to imagine a life without digital content. Adults and children rely on the Internet for various things every day and indeed, it’s a very valuable tool in a child’s learning process and personality development. But although the Internet is full of genuinely useful information and content, it’s also full of absolute crap.

The Internet has its share of benefits and dangers. It can be too simple for a kid to accidentally download harmful software or stumble across pornography. You can’t just cut your kid off from the Internet though and let them lag behind the rest of the kids their age. It is parent’s responsibility to teach them about the benefits and drawbacks of the Internet. Plus, the right software installed on a PC can take away some of the dangers.

So first, let’s review the basics of educating a child about using the Internet and then look at twelve free pieces of software that filter to Internet for the younger audience.

Educate Your Child

It is very important to discuss the potential threats of the Internet with children. It is important to set ground rules for what sites they are and are not allowed to visit. Tell them you can monitor what they have visited. Educate them about worms, Trojans and viruses and to not accept any downloads without your permission. Also tell them not to share their personal details with anybody over the Internet.

Children can become victims of child predators and cyber bullies. These cyber predators and bullies are widespread on the net. They take advantage of a child’s innocence and trust. Sometimes they can mentally harass a child and in the worst cases they expose the child to pornography and sexual content, or even set up a meeting with them.

Parental Checklist

• Educate your child about the benefits and dangers of the Internet.
• Activate parental control software and Internet filters on your computer.
• Watch and monitor what they do on the Internet and know who your child is interacting with.
• Set some rules. If they download something without permission, they could be banned from using the computer for one week (for example).
• Inform them not to share their personal details and information with anybody online.
• Warn them not to fix meetings with anyone they meet online.
• Ask them not to respond to any suggestive or obscene messages, or messages from people they don’t know. Enforce a rule that they must inform you of any such messages.
• Check the websites they visit by looking at the History in the web browser.

Filtering and Monitoring Software

Educating a child is extremely important but there are also software tools available that can help to block inappropriate websites and filter content on the Internet.

Here is a list of 12 options which are available free of charge. I have tried to summarize not only the parental control software but also specialized Internet filtering software. This list also includes spy software, porn filters, chat filters, file sharing filters, key loggers and web browsers for kids.