Internet Filters

As my daughter gets older, I think more and more about Internet filters. I am online enough to know that there is a lot of crap out there, and most of it I want to keep from my daughter for as long as possible. A friend of mine recently had a problem with this, and she was amazed at how easily a child can find something they shouldn’t be seeing, even when they aren’t looking for it. Children often have no idea how to find these things, and might not even know what they are seeing at first.

She said that her eight year old son was looking for animal pictures online, and what he found was astounding. Before she knew it, there were naked women doing unmentionable things on her computer screen, and her computer was overrun with nasty popup ads. It was so bad that she had to start her computer. She decided then and there that she needed to get Internet filters for when he was online. She said that she didn’t know what she was going to get yet, but until she could get the Internet filters in place, she would have to be with him while he was on the computer.

Many other parents feel this way, and it’s not just the parents of younger children that want to have Internet filters in place. There are many things that can get your children into trouble and show them things that you don’t want to expose them too. There are other dangers, including websites that may inadvertently allow your child to post too much personal information about themselves, and this can lead to all kinds of problems. Even though Myspace has recently put up new Internet filters of their own for those under 18, they are not perfect. You still need to take care of it yourself.

If you don’t know anything about Internet filters, it might be hard for you to decide which you want to use. Your computer may come with some parental controls, but to be on the safe side, you want to get something more. You can look online for reviews of Internet filters so you can decide which ones work and which ones you might want to skip. They all work to some degree, but some will work better than others. Find one that does what you need it to do without you having to hover over you children while they are online.