Home Network Supervision is Key, Says Recent YouGov Survey
From “Kids and the Internet—what’s a parent to do?”
You’re home network allows everyone to share the Internet connection and be online at the same time. If you also have young children, you may be wondering how you can keep them safe through home network controls and software. You want to trust your kids and let them make their own decisions, but when they’re on the home network, it’s more important than ever to watch over your kids and remember that they can get into trouble without even leaving the house.
In a YouGov survey taken in April 2009, only 7% of respondents indicated that they did not have concerns about their child’s online safety, however 92% of all online US adults who completed the survey do not use parental controls on their home network to protect their children from inappropriate Web sites and content. Clearly, parents want to protect their children while they’re online, but many haven’t taken the necessary steps to do so. Compare this to the fact that 74% of all respondents use anti-virus software to protect their computers and data.
So how do protect your children when they’re online and you’re not there to watch over them? You can start by using parental control tools that monitor and control what types of content and Web sites your child can access. These tools often include Internet access controls, where you can specify the times of day that your child can access the Internet. For example, you can block all Internet access every day after 8:00 p.m. There are also tools that block specific Web sites. You can block sites based on content, such as pornography or gambling, or block a specific Web site address.
When you combine parental controls with basic network management tools, you have an even better solution. Network management tools can help keep your network up and running, and make it easy to add new computers and devices. Cisco Network Magic provides all the tools you need in one easy-to-use application.
Take the time now to put in place measures that protect your child from inappropriate Web content and potential dangers of surfing to the wrong place. Pick the tools that offer the features you need and want, and use them. When it comes to your child’s safety, it’s better to prevent a bad situation than to try to clean up after it.
If you have best practices for keeping kids safe online, please share in the comment section below, Facebook or Twitter.
Posted by Johanna Fry at 03:04PM PST
Johanna Fry
Cisco Around the Web