Child Internet Safety Software

As a parent, I now how difficult it can be trying to practice good internet safety for kids in the home, especially with more than one child and multiple computers in the house. This is where child internet safety software can be a very wise investment for not only providing  the internet safety for children we are looking for, but as well as for our own piece of mind.

Unlike  the computer internet security software that we looked at earlier in this web site, there are not numerous choices available when looking for child internet safety software.  One possible reason is that more and more brands of computer internet security software are including "parental controls" as part of their protection package.  Generally these do not provide the same level of internet safety for kids that is provided by the higher quality kinds of child internet safety software. These vendors are specializing in this niche of online safety for kids and do not consider this as just another buying feature to entice consumers to buy their internet security products.

When shopping around for child internet safety software you need to keep in mind what exactly you wish the software to do.  Certain kinds of programs will specialize in only specific areas such as monitoring instant messaging and other types of chat programs online. Other brands of child internet safety software will focus more on monitoring the types of web sites visited and block the child from accessing certain web sites according to the parental settings in the program.

For our purposes, I looked at child internet safety software that is more generalized, meaning that the software will monitor and address a variety of common concerns we have when looking at internet safety for kids.

The following child internet safety software comes highly recommended from my personal research, but as always I encourage you to still carefully read the factual literature when visiting any linked vendor sites, and consider the promotional hype "with a grain of salt". 

The following product, CyberPatrol, appears to be one of the better child internet security software products on the market at this time to help protect children from online threats. Features include:

• blocks access to inappropriate web sites
• filters instant messaging and chat programs
• monitors and can block peer to peer file sharing
• blocks inappropriate words and phrases
• prevents the release of personal information (address, phone number)
• set restrictions on internet use
• manage computer gaming time
• detailed reports on computer activity, sites visited, etc.
• allows customized settings for unlimited numbers of users
• easy to setup and customize settings

"CyberPatrol's flexible, easy-to-use Parental Controls and Internet Filtering products for homes, schools and businesses help block offensive content, limit program use, and monitor Internet activity." (Product Info Page)

Another impressive child internet safety software product worth looking at is, Safe Eyes, which is receiving very high review scores. Features include:

• coverage on multiple computers, rather than just one computer, as user profile information is stored online and may be access from different computers not in the same home (ie. dad/mom can check from work)
• very good choice for school or business with multiple computers
• constant updates to ensure filters are current
• multiple user settings for customization
• block inappropriate websites and alerts when someone tries to visit one
• monitor computer time and set computer use
• track and record instant messaging conversations
• blocks inappropriate words and phrases
• able to block inappropriate foreign words and phrases
• since program components reside on external servers, not the home user's hard drive, web site safety scanning may cause slow internet response times