{"id":127,"date":"2015-07-28T08:42:28","date_gmt":"2015-07-28T15:42:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.media-aware.net\/news\/?p=127"},"modified":"2015-07-28T08:42:28","modified_gmt":"2015-07-28T15:42:28","slug":"protecting-your-family-online-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.media-aware.net\/news\/?p=127","title":{"rendered":"Protecting your family online (3)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

In our last post we mentioned the first essential tool, internet filtering, members are asked to use to help ‘protect their family online’.\u00a0\u00a0 In this article we want to discuss two other tools:<\/p>\n

Tool 2: Accountability Reporting Software<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Relying on internet filters alone is not enough.\u00a0 Internet use must also be monitored with accountability reporting software, which often is part of the filter you install (something we’ll come back to later).\u00a0 Accountability software, when set up properly, keeps a list of all the sites you or another user have visited (or tried to visit) and when you did so, and emails this list to someone on a regular basis.\u00a0 When these activity logs are reviewed one can tell what each user was trying to access and if the filter is working properly or needs to be reconfigured.\u00a0 This type of software is much more reliable than your web browser history logs, as the latter can easily be cleared and may be difficult to access if the devices are mobile or inside another user account.<\/p>\n

Accountability software should be set up so the reports it generates are sent to an accountability partner–your spouse or another trusted adult.\u00a0 This is an excellent way for the computer administrator to remain honest especially if the accountability software is robust enough that it cannot be disabled without the partner\u2019s password.\u00a0 If this step seems somewhat over-the-top, bear in mind that internet misuse is fostered most by the ease and secrecy with which illicit material can be accessed.\u00a0 Knowing someone may review our online activities is a strong deterrent from doing something inappropriate.\u00a0\u00a0 Mikko Hypponen, an internet pioneer and cybersecurity expert, recently remarked that many trust Google with secrets they withhold from their spouse.<\/p>\n

NetNanny, iGateWeb, and OpenDNS all provide different levels of accountability reporting.\u00a0 However, if the filter is disabled or circumvented the accountability report obviously is inaccurate, which is one reason an accountability reporting solution that avoids this should be used.\u00a0 Some examples of such solutions include: Qustodio http:\/\/www.qustodio.com<\/a>, Covenant Eyes http:\/\/www.covenanteyes.com<\/a> (where the accountability reporting is separate from their filter), and eBlaster Software www.eblaster.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It is important you research these (and other) options and choose one.\u00a0 Many programs offer a trial period allowing you to experiment and see if the software works for you.\u00a0 Once you have committed to a program, install it on every device in your home (all the devices you listed in the first article). \u00a0Like the filter, the accountability report must be configured for each user account to give you an idea of what each user is doing.<\/p>\n

Tool 3: Parental Controls<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Limiting digital technology use for your children using parental controls and different user accounts is important for more than their moral wellbeing.\u00a0 Too much screen time has been linked to obesity, sleep and eating disorders, behavioral problems, impaired academic performance, aggression, and insufficient time for active\/creative play.\u00a0 The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages screen time for children under two and recommends limiting daily screen time to one to two hours for older children.\u00a0 Parental controls are useful tools that allow parents to set specific time limits on the digital devices their children use.\u00a0 Equally important, this software also allows parents to prevent their children from using specific programs and apps. \u00a0Parental controls can be set up using either features built into the operating system or other software programs.<\/p>\n

There are too many different operating systems and parental control programs to allow a discussion of all the ways to set them up.\u00a0 That does not mean setting up parental controls is difficult.\u00a0 Usually the parental controls (called \u201cRestrictions\u201d on iPhones) can be found in the control panel or in the settings menu.\u00a0 It is best if you google \u201cWindows parental controls\u201d or \u201cAndroid restricted profiles\u201d to access one of the many guides detailing how to install parental controls.\u00a0 Since each user will require different restrictions, a separate user account (or profile) should be created for each user.\u00a0 For children these accounts should be \u2018limited\u2019 or \u2018restricted\u2019 to prevent them for installing unwanted software and from having administrator privileges on the device.<\/p>\n

Controls on smartphones.<\/i>\u00a0 Correctly configuring the parental controls on your child\u2019s smartphone (or tablet, etc.) is very important.\u00a0 Aside from phone calls and texting, these devices are used to watch movies and access social media (and many other things), so that they often become your child’s main portal to the digital world.\u00a0 Without having the parental controls or restrictions properly configured, you, as parent, have little or no control over the actual use of the device.\u00a0 You may have iGateWeb or OpenDNS installed on your home network, but if your child\u2019s device has a data package, or access to an open WiFi connection (available at many locations), they have easy access to open internet.<\/p>\n

Apps and default browsers.<\/i>\u00a0 When configuring parental controls on smartphones and tablets, it is important to restrict what apps users can access and install, as internet filters are usually unable to filter the content accessed with them.\u00a0 Another thing to remember when configuring these devices is to block the default browser, because the web filtering usually only works on their provided browser.\u00a0 Other things you will (or should) want to prevent your child from accessing are sites such as iTunes\/App store\/Google Play, and from making in-app purchases.\u00a0 The latter is important to prevent your child from incurring large, unexpected costs on your account.\u00a0 For iOS devices, the restrictions password should be different from the login password so that children cannot turn off the restrictions. Again, using accountability reporting together with parental controls allows you to see what apps are being accessed.<\/p>\n

Some parental control features and app restrictions are also found in software programs such as NetNanny and Qustodio, allowing you to use these programs for several different purposes.\u00a0 However, we strongly suggest you look into other parental control software options as well, as often one program provides features that are not included in another.\u00a0 The parental controls built into the operating system are free and we recommend using those along with features provided with programs like NetNanny and Qustodio.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Questions and comments<\/b><\/p>\n

Why can\u2019t you just recommend a simple solution \u2013 one tool that does everything?\u00a0 <\/i>Our common workplace and jobsite tools all have their own specific purpose for which they are best suited; we don\u2019t have a single tool that does it all.\u00a0 Digital \u2018tools\u2019 are similar: each has a purpose for which it is best suited, and although tool functionality often overlaps (e.g. a filter that also allows some parental controls), you are best off with a well-stocked (digital) toolbox.\u00a0 There are situations where you need more than one tool.\u00a0 For example, if you need to temporarily turn off your filter to access a site or run a program, your accountability software can be left on if these are separate programs.\u00a0 The best suggestion we currently have for a single program that filters, does accountability reporting, and allows you to set up parental controls is Qustodio.\u00a0 This is a good program, but it does not filter as well as NetNanny.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In our last post we mentioned the first essential tool, internet filtering, members are asked to use to help ‘protect their family online’.\u00a0\u00a0 In this article we want to discuss two other tools: Tool 2: Accountability Reporting Software Relying on internet filters alone is not enough.\u00a0 Internet use must also be monitored with accountability reporting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-media","category-resource"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.media-aware.net\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.media-aware.net\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.media-aware.net\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.media-aware.net\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.media-aware.net\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=127"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.media-aware.net\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129,"href":"https:\/\/www.media-aware.net\/news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127\/revisions\/129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.media-aware.net\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.media-aware.net\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.media-aware.net\/news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}