Most parents know to put the computer in a high-traffic area to cut
down on private viewing time and its temptations, but absent a
parent's watchful eye or Spector, try a program that limits access.
America Online's Young Teen setting (
www.aol.com) provides the best protection,
according to
Consumer Reports, but other filtering software, such
as Cyber Patrol ($49.95;
www.cyberpatrol.com), which
employs controls over when your child can go online and blocks
inappropriate sites, works well, too. CYBERsitter 2000 ($39.95;
www.cybersitter.com) and
Norton Internet Security 2001 ($79.95;
www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/nis_fe)
both control access to at least 20 categories of subject matter,
while Net Nanny ($39.95;
www.netnanny.com) keeps a log of your
child's online activity, including attempts to access blocked
sites.
Three good sites to visit for information on how to protect
children online are
www.getnetwise.org,
www.safekids.com, and
www.cyberangels.org.
KIDS TALK BACK
And what do kids think of all this high-tech parenting? Jessica
Rosenfield, a 17-year-old high school senior from Brooklyn Heights,
New York, says it's OK as long as it doesn't cross the line and
turn into spying. "[Privacy is] what we all want, and I think that
the closer we are monitored the more we sneak around," she
says.
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