One of the most dangerous things I consider a parent can say with their children hearing is "My kids know more about the computer than I do." - An indeliberate announcement, a dead give-away to their young that they maybe capable of exploration without their parents' knowledge. As I mentioned in my first blog (Technology: Discovered Not Invented) I think of a computer as if it were a home. At least for me as a parent, that's how I treat it and therefore just as is, rules apply and rules are in place for the very reason to safeguard and protect from the unwelcomed influences of the outside world. A parent does not have to be a "techy" to enforce tools that are already there for the using starting from the time of its purchase, it is our hands that must first touch a computer.
Understanding that not all of us are computer savvy, I'd like to point out only two for now but very important tools that are already there:
User Accounts
This is very important and designates who has full control as far as what is allowed and not. Just like our home, we don't let our children just open the door to let anyone in, right? It is our decision as the adults of the household. The defaulted user account will always be the "owner" who controls user authorization including downloads and any system tool utilization. From the "Start" goto "Control Panel" then click on "User Account." Initially it will only show the owner account. Assign a password to this account. Then from the choices in the User Account Window, create a new account with "limited control" and assign this to your children/minors. You can create multiple accounts with limited control as well. They may grumble as soon as they find out that they just can't download anything or perform any system tool but this is also a safety precaution as the majority of viruses and malware comes from infected file downloads.
Monitoring Site Activities
Although clearing a browsers website history is not uncommon, not everyone knows about this browser list function. If you would like to check the sites that have been previewed and visited, just open the browser and press "Ctrl+H" This will open the history list of websites visited and viewed.
Ctrl+H
Now, if you happen to do this and the history list does not populate, this means that someone has been clearing them so that their web activity cannot be monitored by other users within the household. If it comes to that, there are free monitoring softwares available for download. Click this link to Download.com - a reliable resource center not only for monitoring softwares but also other very useful downloads. Since Download.com not only houses the newest versions, this site also offers many software downloads for free.
Combining these two together makes security stronger. Having a good site monitoring tool with the limited user account, even if a child figures out how to clear a browser's history, their limited user account cannot manipulate utility tools, download or add/delete applications and softwares. But, remember not to assign their user accounts as administrators and/or give them the password to yours.
It really is very easy to use these tools; we just have to sought them out just like anything that we pursue. Remember that our computer is the physical portal to the internet and though it may be just a virtual world, its danger is very real. Let's all guard these doorways just as we would guard our home, keeping both entry and exit safe for our children.
Till next....
The Geek Mom - (,^_^,)
