The Internet, with its wealth of resources, services, and information on nearly every topic imaginable, is also the home of many dangers. It is Bsafe’s goal to provide you with tools to help you as you seek to keep your children safe online.

Seven Ways to Keep Your Children Safe Online

1. Customize Your Bsafe Filter

Recognizing that the needs, standards, and ideals of each family will differ, Bsafe catalogs sites in 34 different categories. Access to sites can be controlled by blocking or unblocking categories through the Categories section of the Bsafe Control Center (included with all of our products). Bsafe also provides multiple profiles per account so that you can tailor Internet access to the specific needs of different members of your family.

2. Use Online Activity Reports

You can use online activity reports to monitor the sites your children have visited. Since these reports are stored on our server, they cannot be tampered with or changed like a Web browser’s history can be altered. These reports can be a valuable tool to evaluate how your family is using the Internet. You can also use them to provide accountability by having the reports e-mailed weekly to a family member, friend, or co-worker. Online activity reports are accessible through the Activity Report Settings section of the Bsafe Control Center.

3. Limit Your Children’s Access to the Internet

One way to protect your children from dangers online is to limit the time of day they have access to the Internet. You can do this through the Options section of the Bsafe Control Center. If you are using dial-up Internet access, one way to keep an even closer eye on your children’s online activities is to personally type the connection password each time, being careful not to reveal it to your children. This does, of course, require you to be present in order for your children to access the Internet.

4. Guard Your Administrative Login

When you set up an account with Bsafe, you create an administrative login that is used to manage your account information, modify filter criteria, and change your reporting options. Don’t reveal the administrative login to anyone who should not have administrative access to your account.

5. Use the Filtering Features of Search Engines

We recommend turning on the filtering features of search engines to avoid having harmful sites listed in the results. There are several search engines on the Internet that allow you to filter inappropriate sites out of your searches, including:

  • GoogleOffsite Link (under Preferences: enable SafeSearch)
  • Microsoft LiveOffsite Link (under Options and then Change your search settings: enable Strict under the SafeSearch option)
  • AltaVistaOffsite Link (under Settings the Family Filter: can be password protected)
  • YahooOffsite Link (under Search Preferences: enable SafeSearch)

Other options include using directories that are specifically organized for kids, such as:

6. Place the Family Computer in a Prominent Place

Another way to promote maturity in Internet usage is to place the computer in a prominent place, such as the living room, where the entire family can help hold each other accountable for how the Internet is used.

7. Train Your Children to Be Responsible

Get together with your children and discuss the benefits and dangers of using the Internet. Agree together on a series of guidelines regarding safe Internet usage. Encourage your children to not give out identifying information such as their name, phone number, e-mail/postal address, or photo without your permission. If you don’t choose to watch over your children while they use the Internet, have them talk to you about the sites they’ve been visiting, especially if they have seen something that makes them uncomfortable.

The following sites have additional information about keeping your children safe online:

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