What are Parental Controls?

• Any tool or method to restrict or tailor content
• It is not simply software or hardware to block content but includes non-technological methods (i.e., house rules)
• Tailoring content means allowing children to view content that parents consider “better” for them

Why do we need them?

• Threats
  • Viewing of inappropriate content
  • Overuse of technology
  • Sharing of private information
  • Online predators
  • Cyber bullying
  • Malware: computer virus, spyware, trojan
  • Downloading/sharing of copyrighted materials

Education is key

• Technology in the form of barriers and filters is important but not enough
• Any technological barrier can by defeated given enough effort
• Teaching children to think critically about the content they are consuming or the information is equally important
• Education helps kids make better choices

Layered approach

• Protecting our children involved a layered approach
  • Rules: Where, When, What, How much, Under what conditions
  • Education:  What to look for, beware of, what to share and not share
  • Tools:  Software and/or hardware to filter content

Rules

• Where:
  • Placing the computer/television in an open area of the home
  • Allowing a child to lock themselves in their room with it removes the first layer of defense
• When and How much:
  • Restrict the times a child can be on the computer to allow for adult supervision
  • Restrict the amount of time a child spends on the computer/device
• Under what conditions:
  • Can be used to incentivize your children (i.e., homework must be done prior to use of the computer)
  • An allowance system could be devised to reward children
• What:
  • Limit to age appropriate content
  • Restrict certain types of video games based on ratings or type of game (i.e., shooter games)

Education

• Digital etiquette
  • Shouldn’t be any different than etiquette in normal face to face communications
  • However, appearing anonymous online has lead to behaviors that otherwise would not take place
  • Children need to understand that everything they do online is kept forever and could be available to any future employers, romantic interests, spouses, children, grandchildren, etc.
  • Kids also need to understand that people online aren’t always what they represent themselves to be.
• General etiquette rules:
  • Treat people online the same way you would treat them in person
  • Do not bully or harass anyone
  • Don’t post negative comments about teachers, school officials, parents, friends
  • Do not post inappropriate pictures of yourself or friends (or anyone, for that matter)
  • Do not use lewd or obscene language
  • Be extremely careful communicating with strangers online
  • Do not share any personal information about yourself with unknown parties (this includes such information as what school you go to, sports team you play on, etc.)
  • If you feel you are being bullied or harassed or being asked inappropriate questions, discuss with your parents and teachers immediately

Simple rules

• Keep computer or television used for gaming in an open space
• Setup a separate limited user account for each child
• Restrict the times of day that the computer/gaming system can be used
• Know your child’s usernames and passwords
• Enable/install parental controls software to restrict the type of content and communications that can occur
• Monitor the child’s activity regularly

Tools

• Built-in parental controls on Mac OS X:
  • Done through System Preferences
  • Create a separate user account for child of type “Managed by parental controls”
  • Password must be entered to make changes to Parental Controls even when logged in as the administrator of the computer
  • Allows web filtering
    • Automatically block adult sites
    • Restrict to a limited set of approved sites
  • Mail and Chat can be restricted to a whitelist of approved contacts
  • Time limits:  Limit to x hours per day; restrict access after bedtime
  • Logging:  Websites visited, Websites blocked, applications used and Chat
  • See http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/#parentalcontrols

• Parental controls provided by Microsoft for Windows:
  • Windows Live Essentials includes a Family Safety feature
  • Create separate limited user accounts for each child
  • Parent uses a Windows Live ID to store settings in the cloud
  • Settings are maintained across computers
  • Allows for a sliding scale of web filtering
  • Allows limits on applications that can be run
  • Allows setting blocks of hours during which the child can use the computer
  • Allows restricting games based on rating
  • Maintains activity logging that is stored in the cloud so parent can view from a different computer
  • Allows parent to restrict contacts for email and instant messaging when using Hotmail and Messenger
  • Download at http://download.live.com
  • More information at http://explore.live.com/windows-live-family-safety
• Third party tools
  • NetNanny 6.5 (Windows) or NetNanny 2.0 (Mac OS X)
    • Logs IM conversations
    • Tracks social networking profiles
    • Real time content analysis (can block profanity that appears on a site – Windows version only)
  • OnlineFamily.Norton (Windows and Mac)
    • Free
    • Settings stored in cloud so works across multiple computers
    • Protects personal information
    • Tracks when a child creates a social networking accounts; alerts if child lies about age
  • Safe Eyes 6.0 (Windows and Mac)
    • Can block web email and allows for creating whitelist for standard POP3/SMTP email
    • Sends alert if child posts personal information
    • Blocks inappropriate YouTube videos
    • For comprehensive reviews of these and other parental control software/hardware see http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,2806,1639158,00.asp

Technologies

• Email
  • Used by younger children; not as popular among older teens/tweens that have cell phones
  • Software that allows whitelisting is best for younger children
    • Safe Eyes and Windows Live Family Safety (with Hotmail) provide this
    • Consider that a child may try and create an account with a web mail provider (Gmail, Yahoo!, etc.)
• Search Engines
  • Google, Bing and Yahoo! all provide a Safe Search option
  • Generally, the options for Safe Search are Strict, Moderate and None
  • Windows Live Family Safety, Safe Eyes, NetNanny and OnlineFamily.Norton all can set Safe Search to Strict when monitoring a child’s account
• Instant Messaging
  • Parental controls can be used to either monitor or create a whitelist for IM clients.
• YouTube
  • YouTube provides a Safety Mode setting.  Found at the bottom of any YouTube page.
  • To lock the setting to a browser, create an account, turn Safety Mode on and lock it to that browser.  Must be done per browser (once for IE, once for Firefox, etc.).
  • Recommend that parents still monitor YouTube because Safety Mode doesn’t catch all.
  • Safety Mode removes comments from videos
• Social Networking (Facebook, MySpace)
  • Includes online gaming sites: Runescape, Webkinz, etc.
  • Consider using an avatar instead of a real picture.  If they want to use a real picture, consider a group picture with their friends.
  • Don’t let child create user names that reveal personal information.
  • Teach children to not reveal any personal information about themselves that could reveal location.
  • Remind children that anything they post will exist in perpetuity and could affect them later in life.
  • Use privacy settings (if available) so that profile details/photos are only shared with friends.
  • Only accepts requests from known friends.
• Video Games
  • All video games have an ESRB rating attached to them (M for Mature, T for Teen).
  • Xbox 360 and Wii have parental controls to prevent playing of games over a specified rating.
  • PS3 has a similar method of controlling which games are played.
  • Xbox 360 also has a time limit feature.
  • Online chat in multiplayer games can be restricted to friends only or completely blocked.
• iPod/iPhone
  • Parental controls can be enabled on all these devices
  • Can disable Safari, iTunes, YouTube, application installation, in-app purchases, location.  Set limits based on ratings for music and podcasts, movies, TV shows, etc. on iPod/iPhone.

Links

• Parent Control and Online Child Safety:  A Survey of Tools and Methods (http://www.pff.org/parentalcontrols/)
• Parental Control:  How Much is Enough? (http://news.yahoo.com/s/zd/20101007/tc_zd/255392)
• Too Much Screen Time Can Psychologically Harm Kids (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39612834/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/)
• Microsoft’s Online Safety site (http://www.microsoft.com/protect/default.aspx)
• Apple Mac OS X built-in parental controls (http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/#parentalcontrols)
• Windows Live Essentials Family Safety (http://explore.live.com/windows-live-family-safety)
• NetNanny (http://www.netnanny.com/)
• OnlineFamily.Norton (http://onlinefamilyinfo.norton.com/)
• Safe Eyes (http://www.internetsafety.com/safe-eyes-parental-control-software.php)
• PC Magazine’s Parental Control and Monitoring Product Finder (http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,2806,1639158,00.asp)
• Google Safe Search (http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=510)
• Bing Safe Search (http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/ff808441.aspx)
• Yahoo! Safe Search (http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/search/basics/indexing-07.html)
• YouTube Safety Mode (http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2010/02/safety-mode-giving-you-more-control-on.html)
• Social Networking Sites:  A Parent’s Guide (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/tech/tec13.shtm)
• Social Networking Sites:  Safety Tips for Tweens and Teens (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/tech/tec14.shtm)
• Xbox 360 Family Settings (http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/familysettings/console/xbox360/consolefamilysettings.htm)
• Wii parental controls (http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/wii/en_na/settingsParentalControls.jsp)
• Sony PlayStation 3 parental controls (http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/basicoperations/parentallock.html)
• Nintendo DS parental controls (http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/dsi/en_na/settingsParentalControls.jsp)
• Sony PlayStation Portable parental controls (http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/psp/current/settings/parental.html)
• iPod/iPhone Restrictions (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4213)
• iTunes parental controls (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1904)