Child Internet Filters Are Beneficial
More children than ever before are ?plugged in? to the internet, and with all the benefits that this offers, there are dangers as well. After all, nearly half of all kinderg?rtners and first-graders use the internet for homework projects, to play games, and to communicate with relatives or friends that live far away. And while you may monitor your child?s internet use, without an effective child internet filter, they can still be exposed to violent, pornographic, or other objectionable content.
For older children, there are even greater risks to using the internet. Older children, particularly middle schoolers and high-schoolers, are more likely to use the internet to chat with friends (or strangers), have online profiles that include photos or personally identifying information, or to engage in imprudent, questionable, or illegal activities. In addition, older children are more likely to downplay or underestimate the risks to their safety, their emotional or mental well-being, and even to their futures, from their online activities.
You are not going to want a filter that won’t allow you to view the appropriate content you are searching for, but you will want the unwanted out of your sight. One of the more popular methods to block sites online is by using a keyword filter. This method filters out sites that possess unapproved keywords that are used to identify the kind of website it is.
Filtering algorithms are the answer to the keyword problem, because it will use many different ways of filtering. A Christian company called Clean Internet offers keyword filtering, URL filtering, dynamic filtering, as well as foreign language filtering.
A valuable factor of Clean Internet is that it works on all internet protocols. You will be given the ability to monitor and even block your child’s online activities such as email, chat rooms, friend to friend file sharing programs, and pop-ups. Children are exposed to inappropriate content mainly through pop-up ads or file sharing websites.
Additionally, email, instant messengers, and chat rooms are the usual mediums that predators use when trying to communicate with children. If this communication is unmonitored, it only increases the risk of children being sexually, emotionally, or otherwise victimized ? both by strangers and people they know in real life.
Of course, nothing is perfect, and internet filters are no exception. However, they are a very helpful tool for parents trying to monitor and protect their children online. One of the best child internet filters is Clean Internet, which was mentioned above, mostly because of the filtering features they offer, but also because it is one of the few systems that will not slow down your computer, and that is compatible with practically any system or internet connection.
You will find that this filter is one of the very rare filters that cannot be uninstalled or bypassed by the end user, which is very valuable to those parent who have very computer smart children. To conclude, a solid choice as a filter, especially for families would be Clean Internet.
