Safety Resources for Parents

Below you'll find high-quality links to a variety of resources about technology safety from a parent's perspective. Keeping young people safe with technology requires many different approaches, using a variety of tools and techniques. There is no one approach or prescription that will work for everyone. There are simply too many variables. People own different devices which operate on a variety of systems. Each child is unique, having different needs and proclivities. Each child's environment is unique, shaping each child in a different way.

It is important to take several approaches when it comes to helping young people learn how to be safe online.  A technology-only approach using parental controls is not sufficient. It's important for parents to talk to their children, develop trust, coach, and provide reasonable oversight. The links below will help parents deal with the many complicated challenges involved in raising kids in a connected world.

If you will be installing safety software on your child's machine(s), it's important that you become the administrator of the machine.  

Admin Help - MAC: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10802  WIN: http://bit.ly/11lL4QQ

Links:

Apple

Mac

Parental Controls for Mac OS X Leopard: http://macmost.com/parental-controls.html

Parental Control with DNS: http://macmost.com/beyond-parental-controls-with-dns.html

Open DNS Service- Web Filters: http://www.opendns.com/home-solutions/

Avast Anti-Virus:  http://www.avast.com/index

Understanding Administrator accounts MAC OS

iOS: Understanding Parental Controls from Apple

Parental Controls in iOS: http://macmost.com/ios-parental-controls.html

iTunes: Parental Controls

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PC

Protect your PC from Microsoft

Keep your Family Safer from Microsoft

Open DNS Service - Web Filters: http://www.opendns.com/home-solutions/

Avast Anti-Virus: http://www.avast.com/index
AVG Anti-Virus: http://free.avg.com/eu-en/free-downloads

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Android

AVG for Android (Antivirus and Tracking)

Mobile Security App

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Web Services

Google: Safety Tools from Google

Facebook:  Family Safety Center from Facebook

Twitter: Safety Tips for Parents from Twitter

YouTube: Safety Center from YouTube

Instagram: Tips for Parents from Instagram

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General

Internet Safety Site: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/

Internet Safety by Common Sense Media (Filter age range at top, left)

Online Safety for Parents Info from US Gov