The Key To Internet Safety: One Book + One Monitoring Software

Internet safety is no doubt the hot topic for parents and government these days, as far as child safety is concerned. I just finished reading a book entitled "How To Keep Your Child Safe on the Internet," by Wendy Davies, and I gotta tell you, this is one book that every parent needs to read!

Subtitled "A Step-by-Step Guide for Parents," that is exactly what the book is. Though lots of Internet safety tips are written in articles, they often fail to get to the meat of the issue. And while some writings will get too cluttered with Internet jargon, Davies has purposefully kept her book simple.

"How To Keep Your Child Safe on the Internet" is divided into easy-to-read sections that cover all the main activities your kids may use the Internet for. From Internet chat rooms to gambling to social networks to cyberbullying and even plagiarism (a hugely under-noticed pitfall of today's students), the guide covers what every parent needs to know. Within each section, Davies gives a clear summary of the activity, the dangers associated, how to stay safe and the basic key points to remember. It's a very informative and easy read for anyone.

So, don't worry if you have little experience on the Internet - by the time you reach the end of "How To Keep Your Child Safe on the Internet," you will know almost as much about the internet and how to use it as your children do!

Why did Wendy Davies write this book? Because parents need it. Parents need to understand and know that there are simple steps they can take right now to protect their children. And they need an easy place to find it all. The best defense is a good offense. While this is incredibly true, when it comes to the Internet, parents are behind their kids. Many parents do not actually know what their children are doing when they are online. Parents feel left behind by the new technologies and fearful of learning them. So how then can they be on the offense?

It is important to remember that while children may well be cyber-wise, that doesn't mean they are worldly-wise; they may be computer-literate, but they are most certainly not life-literate. That is where parents come in… and that is why parents need to catch up and go on the offense.

Experts agree that the risks to children can be reduced through a combination of technology and good parenting. One of the best solutions for technology to help parents is parental control software, more specifically monitoring software. The name that I champion as the real leader, in terms of overall effectiveness, features and affordability, is PC Pandora.

PC Pandora monitoring software records and monitors all computer activity. It starts by capturing snapshots of everything that happens on screen, but it also produces detailed records of emails, instant messenger chats, websites visited, programs utilized, peer-to-peer activity (think file sharing and downloads) and more. It also comes with features like web filters (yes, you can block MySpace!), program blocks, webcam capture and web search query recording (so you can see what things your child is searching online for). It will also email a parent at work with updates of web and computer activity. In short, it sees all and will help any parent know what their child is doing online. It's the best all-around parental control software available.

So if you read "How To Keep Your Child Safe on the Internet" and then put PC Pandora on your computer to monitor Internet activity, you'll know what to look for in your child's activity. This will help you be a more effective 21st century parent. If your kids are up to no good, you can put a stop to it and rectify the situation. If your child is a victim of cyberbullying, you can initiate a discussion and help them. If you child is spending too much time online, you can talk to them about it. The possibilities and potential for help are endless.

So what can a parent do about Internet safety? I can't stress this enough: get a copy of "How To Keep Your Child Safe on the Internet" by Wendy Davies and read it. It's available as a quick and easy downloadable e-book. Then, check out parental control software like PC Pandora 5.0 monitoring software. The combination of these two is undeniably strong. One fills you in on what you need to know about the Internet, the other shows you everything you need to know about your kids.