Spotted an Error?
+ There are two recognized parental control programs. +
+ Hold children by the hand while surfing. +
+ No filter software protects when chatting. +
Everyday life has become an integral part of the Internet. It is all the more important that children deal with it with the Learn the net. Because there are dangers lurking here. Theoretically, filter software for child safety should hide it, but it does not replace committed parents.
Siegfried Schneider, Chairman of the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM), agrees: "The best youth protection program is useless if families do not use it." He is convinced that the commitment of parents is worthwhile. He tells them: "After all, our children should benefit from the many opportunities on the Internet – and should be confronted with the risks as little as possible."
Surf safely
Current PC operating systems have already integrated parental controls. Parents can use it to limit the use of computers, set age limits for games and block programs on the computer. Apple has also already integrated content filters in its browser, detailed instructions for activating parental controls on Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6 are provided by the Klicksafe.de initiative. Alternatives can be used for other programs free Download. According to the Klicksafe.de initiative, this does not offer adequate protection. If you are looking for more extensive content filtering, you need to install additional programs.
Surf Tip:
Fake online friends, bullying, viruses: there are many dangers for children on the Internet. You should know a few details to protect them. All information for children online on NetMoms.
Recognized parental controls on the Internet
In Europe, the KJM is responsible for the recognition of youth protection programs for the PC. In 2012, it recognized two software solutions for the first time: the software from the JusProg association and the child protection program from Deutsche Telekom. This was the first time that there were offers that were officially recommended and are still up to date. So far, however, they only run on Windows computers.
In the meantime, the child safety device JusProg in cooperation with Vodafone is now also available for smartphones with the Android operating system.
A prerequisite for recognition was a reliability of at least 80 percent. Nevertheless, these programs still need to be developed further.
Aside from these two offerings, there are many traditional parental controls for computers. Here, their manufacturers usually decide which content is filtered out. The problem: “There is a lot of content on the net. No filter manufacturer can see them all, ”says Schneider.
How do white and blacklists work?
Every filter software for child safety usually works with so-called white and blacklists. For children up to twelve, the manufacturers search the Internet and put it on white List of content that is particularly suitable for children. Offers that are harmful to young people are getting black. Programs for children from the age of twelve work in the same way. The process is largely automated.
However, this sometimes leads to harmless pages being blocked incorrectly, but problematic ones sliding through the filters. Parents only have the option to release such offers by hand – and to block others.
The KJM recommends installing the parental control programs on the computer as an administrator and setting up a separate user account for the children. This makes it easy to switch between the different settings – and parents can surf without a filter.
No filter software replaces the parents
The project manager at the Internet-ABC association in Düsseldorf, Michael Schnell, points out that filters can only be a supplement to media education anyway. In the beginning, children should explore the Internet with their parents. Tanja zu Waldeck, founder of Netmoms, also recommends making agreements as a basis of trust: "On sites such as surfing without risk, parents can create their own Internet rules with their children."
According to Schnell, it is important that parents talk to their offspring about risks such as paid subscriptions, starting in chats and cyberbullying – without demonizing the Internet. You should explain to the children how they recognize advertisements so that they do not fall into cost traps.
In addition, parents should sensitize them to protect their data. Because when emailing or chatting, all child safety filters are ineffective.
If the child encounters confusing pages, it must be able to tell the parents about it without fear that it will no longer be allowed to be online.
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