Parental Control Resources

Back to Top

Password Protection

The articles about Internet Password Management explained how to use a free software product to protect yourself from people wanting to steal your logon and password information and some of the techniques used. But password management software can also be used to protect your children.

Consider the example of one proactive mother of a 14-year old boy. She had never visited an Internet chat room, but decided one day to log in using her son's screen name. Within five minutes "her son" had been propositioned by a "friend" whose messages grew more and more sexually explicit. She immediately called the sheriff's office.

But what if she had not been able to log onto the computer or into the chat room because she did not know her son's user name and password? There is a good software product installed on a USB key.

This key plugs into a USB port on your computer. It securely memorizes all your login and password information and protects all of that information with one password. When you unplug the key from the USB port, you remove the login and password information from the computer's Internet browser.

Here's how you can use the USB Key for password protection. Once you have the key, plug it in any available USB port and install it. A RoboForm bar will appear on your Internet browser. You and your child go to the websites used by the child that require logins and passwords. When you log in, the information is recorded on the USB key.

If your child has used easy-to-remember passwords, change them to something that cannot be remembered and update your USB key. To log back in to any site, select logins from the RoboForm bar and select the site. It will take you to that site and log you in. When you're satisfied everything is in order, destroy any written copies of the passwords, remove the USB key from the USB port and walk away from the computer.

Your child will not be able to log into those site without the USB key. Click here for more information about this very helpful product.

How Does Monitoring Software Work

Monitoring software does exactly what its name implies. It monitors computer and Internet usage. The best monitoring software also includes blocking capabilities that use effective filtering algorithms.

Let's trim down that mouthful. The algorithm is simply the code used by the filter to decide which sites to block. Some blocking software uses a list algorithm. In other words, the software manufacturer has compiled a list of objectionable sites that it prevents you from accessing.

Some filtering software uses keyword algorithms that would block sites that contain certain words like xxx, porn, sex, etc. Teenagers have learned how to defeat many of these programs by typing in French, German or Spanish words for porn, sex, etc. You knew they would discover a way, didn't you?

There is also a dynamic algorithm that is probably the best because it looks at the website each time access is attempted so determine if that content is proper according to your wishes. The software we recommend uses all three of these methods and includes the foreign language equivalent of certain keywords.

More Bang for the Buck

The software we recommend also:

A natural question arises concerning trust. Do you expect your teenager to scream, "You don't trust me"? Here's my answer. Do you tell them to wear a seatbelt in the car? Is your telling them a lack of trust in their ability to do so or guided by your desire to provide the best protection you can?

Do you tell them to put on sunscreen when at the beach? Is it because you don't trust them to do so or your desire to protect them? Did you teach your child gun safety? Was it because you didn't trust them or the fact that you had information they needed in order to protect themselves?

It's Your Responsibility

Parents are responsible, legally, for their children until those children reach the age of majority. Most parents feel a sense of responsibility well beyond that date. Whether you choose to use monitoring software is a personal decision that only you can make.

If you choose to provide that added protection for your child and your computer, we definitely recommend you use the best available protection. Please click here to visit the software manufacturer's site, read more about how their software can benefit you. They even offer a 14-day free trial.