How to Safeguard Your Kids Online

Now that summer is here and kids have more free time, how do you keep them away from adult content when they’re surfing the Internet? Here are a few settings and devices that can help you safeguard your kids’ computer screens.

Apple Devices

Did you know you can set up restrictions on your child’s personal phone/table/iPod? On both Apple and Droid devices, Restrictions allow you to limit web content (on iPod/iPad/iPhone), app installs, purchases, ratings for movie, apps, explicit language, and much more.

On an Apple device go to Settings > General > Restrictions and click Enable Restrictions. You will be prompted to create a four digit code separate from your child’s screen lock. Once the code is created, scroll through the different settings and adjust rating and content settings as needed. Don’t share the code; select a code your child won’t guess.

Open DNS

You can also set up a home WiFi filter, such as OpenDNS, for any personal devices (laptops, desktops, phones, tablets) with Internet connections. It allows parents to filter websites based on content.  Go to www.opendns.com and click on Open DNS Basic to set up a free account.

Curbi

Curbi is a great product to filter children’s phones. It costs $7/month for up to five devices.

Google

Go to www.google.com/preferences (https://myaccount.google.com/) to turn this on as well as lock it with a password for the web browser on each of your child’s devices.

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