Parental Monitoring Software

It’s getting to be that time for back to school shopping!

Just as your kids are getting ready for school and undoubtedly excited about it, now is a great time to discuss with your children the dos and don’ts of computer usage at schools.

Also, school homework that requires computers at home is coming. Be sure to set the ground rules for internet usage and be sure to keep a close eye on what they are doing. Take a moment to sit down with them on the family computer and put together an excellent list of bookmarks for them to use for internet research and activities.

All it takes is one letter to be missed, one small typo, and your kids will be presented with adult related content you do not want them to see. If you setup bookmarks in advance, this will reduce the serious risk!

Until next time, stay safe!

I watched a pretty cool video on YouTube recently. It was posted by a down to earth guy going by the name of DigitilSoul.

Anyways, every parent who has a teenage daughter should watch this and warn their teenager about the risks of video chat.

Click here to view the video.

Be careful out there!

Hope you had an excellent July 4th!

Today I would like to show you an excellent video I found.

Teaching Kids to be Safe Online

This is an excellent video for those who love visuals! Enjoy!

All,

I want everyone in the US to really enjoy this day with their family. Happy Independence Day. Enjoy the fireworks!

Remember, take advantage of every opportunity you have with your kids! When you drive out somewhere to enjoy the fireworks display, if you happen to have some dead time where everyone is bored, start talking as a family about online safety. It could be one of the most rewarding times at night and bring your family closer and more connected.

General Overview

IMVU is an innovative chat program that also contains “MySpace”-like social networking elements. Although all users can visit the site’s Web pages and see the previews, only PC users can actually download the software to participate in the virtual worlds.

New users create an avatar (a visual representation of themselves) that convey what they’re like or how they’d like to be. In avatar land, everyone looks twentysomething. (Users can buy some “age” from the catalog, but more about that in a minute.) Users can choose to be male or female and can select features, hair color, and simple clothing, among other things.

The Alarm Bells Are Ringing In!

IMVU is part of a revenue stream for the owners. They entire our young ones to purchase addons such as a virtual tiara, belly piercing, angel wings, elf ears, animal noses, pets for your avatar, and more. Beginners have only three scenes in which they can chat: a beautifully drawn coffee shop, a Ferris wheel, and the roof of a building. Other scenes can be purchased from the catalog. There are many other extremely odd things are for sale in the catalog as well, such as handcuffs, syringes, revolvers, and even crucifixion nails (left and right, plus a crown of thorns, available separately).

The “Chat Now” button selects a random stranger, and the two of you suddenly appear in the chosen scene. As you type, a dialog bubble appears over your avatar’s head. Because you can see the screen name of your companions, you can access their home page to find out more about them.

While there are plenty of additional clothes on sale, the “Sexy Schoolgirl bundle” is one example that lets users know there’s more going on here than meets the eye. Although use of IMVU is free, certain special features can only be unlocked with a “guest pass.” To see it all, $19.95 buys you the ability to see and use naked avatars. But every user can see plenty of these encounters in the user home page galleries.

Our Thoughts

IMVU is a fascinating model, however, as enticing as it is for kids, it simply is not meant for them.

Parents need to know that this site is a 3-D IM site that makes it very easy for strangers to engage with each other. Avatars pop up and talk to the “avatar” that you’ve created. The gorgeous graphics with emotions encourage conversation. The anime feel will encourage younger kids to use this, but it really isn’t for any kids. Users find other people to talk to by searching on age, sex, and location (country or state). The client software runs only on a PC, although Mac users can access user home pages from the main IMVU page.

Here’s a common question I see asked all of the time online:

Help! My daughter, 15 years old, spends a lot of time on myspace. I have told her to make sure i always have her password and of course she will tell me and then change it. I want to know what is going on. Will you please help me before some creep gets her? I am a single mom and it would just kill me if anything happened to her.

This really is an excellent question.

The answer? Join MySpace and be a part of the social networking craze!

By joining MySpace, you can add your daughter to your friends list and be able to see their public profile anytime you wish. This also solves a couple of problems. Problem one, you want to see their private profile to make sure their is no unsafe information on it and two, your child wants some sort of privacy right? Well, if you make them agree to allowing you in as a friend, you won’t need their password and therefore, their contacts via MySpace can remain private.

Of course, if they still abuse their MySpace account and still don’t obey your rules, you will need to consider more strict measures to ensure the safety of your child.

Talk with your Teens About What They Can and Cannot Do Online

Be reasonable and set reasonable expectations. Try to understand their needs, interests, and curiosity. Remember what it was like when you were their age.

Be Open with Your Teens and Encourage Them to Come to You if They Encounter a Problem Online
If they tell you about someone or something they encountered, your first response should not be to blame them or take away their Internet privileges. Work with them to help avoid problems in the future, and remember – you respond will determine whether they confide you the next time they encounter a problem and they learn to deal with problems on their own.

Learn Everything You Can About the Internet
Ask your teens to show you what’s cool. Have them show you great places for teens and fill you in on areas that you might benefit from as well. Make “surfing the net” a family experience. Use it to plan a vacation, pick out a movie, or check out other family activities. Make this one area where you get to be the student and your child gets to be the teacher.

Check Out Blocking, Filtering and Ratings Applications
As you may know, there are now services that rate web sites for content as well as filtering programs and browsers that empower parents to block the types of sites they consider to be inappropriate. These programs work in different ways. Some block sites known to contain objectionable material. Some prevent users from entering certain types of information such as their name and address. Other programs keep your children away from chatrooms or restrict their ability to send or read E-mail. Generally these programs can be configured by the parent to only block the types of sites that the parent considers to be objectionable.

Whether or not it is appropriate to use one of these programs is a personal decision. If you do use such a program, you’ll probably need to explain to your teen why you feel it is necessary. You should also be careful to choose a program with criteria that reflects your family’s values. Be sure to configure it so that it doesn’t block sites that you want your teen to be able to visit.

It is important to realize that filtering programs cannot protect your child from all dangers in cyberspace. To begin with, no program can possibly block out every inappropriate site. What’s more, it’s possible, in some cases, for the programs to block sites that are appropriate. If you use a filtering program, you should re-evaluate it periodically to make sure it’s working for your family.

The Internet provides access to a wealth of information and entertainment but can also harbor predators and scam artists. Here are tips to help keep children safe online.

1. Keep the computer in a public area, such as the living room
2. Set and enforce rules for Internet access
3. Don’t let your child share personal information without permission
4. Explain what information is considered personal
5. Learn about the capabilities and limitations of parental control tools
6. Learn about other computers your child may use, such as ones at school or a friend’s house
7. Have your child show you what he does online
8. Visit your child’s favorite sites, and randomly check her e-mail
9. Report suspected stalking or child sexual exploitation to local police

Continuing on with our acronym education, we just finished our first document that you can download, print, and share with others.

This is a small 13 page list of the more common acronyms used on the internet today. To download, click here: Instant Messaging Acronyms. You may need to right click -> Save As if you have the Adobe Reader plugin.
Enjoy!

Want to share this with others? Please link to this post directly. Thank you!

Hi all,

My name is Scott. I am the parent adviser.

Over the next few weeks, I will be updating this new informational site with tips, tools, and other information that will help you, the parent, get all of the information you need to better track, monitor, and provide a safer experience for your children.

Until then, I’ve got to figure out how Wordpress works, install some plugins, themes, and figure out how to take full advantage of this excellent blogging software.

Please add us to your RSS feed reader, bookmark us, and come back. I’d appreciate it! If you have any information you’d like to have posted here, send the news, articles, and other content to support -at- parental monitoring software .com.

Thanks for visiting!