The internet is an excellent resource and no doubt your children want to use it or are already using it to chat to their friends or do some research for their homework. As parents you want to ensure the safety of your children, so take a look at these simple measures you can take to keep them safe online.

Using parental controls

Windows 7 comes with a selection of settings that allow you to control the sites that your children can visit and when they can visit them. This gives you the scope to block any sites that you feel have inappropriate content for your child to see. You can constantly update this list if you come across anymore. Aside from the content of the sites, it's important to be aware of any that ask for personal details. A child may not think twice about entering their name or address and in most cases the information is not used in a harmful way, but it's always good to be aware of those sites so you can check if you feel they are suitable or not.

If you aren't using Windows 7 you might want to consider investing in a good internet security software package, looking out for the ones with parental controls. They'll do the same as the standard Windows version with the added benefit of protecting your computer from harmful files that you or your children may inadvertently download.

Filter search results

Google now has a facility called Google Safe Search that blocks explicit material from getting through into the search results. This can be turned on whenever you want to give you some peace of mind that your child won't come across anything accidentally. Naturally, with the number of new websites growing daily it's possible for some to slip through, however, if you come across them you can simply add them to the list of blocked sites.

Look at their history

You can see a list of sites that your child has visited and when they visited them over the past day, week or month. If you feel any of them are not suitable you can add them to the blocked list.

Get involved

If you have younger children who are new to or less familiar with computers and the internet, take the time to teach them how to use the internet properly. You can show them the sites they can use and how to use them.

Explain the rules

When you're teaching your children how to use the internet or letting them use it on their own you may want to draw up a set of rules. It's good to explain these rules so that they can understand why you're making them rather than just thinking you're out to ruin their fun. Explain to them why they shouldn't give out their personal information or talk to anyone they don't know if they are using an Instant Messenger service such as MSN or Yahoo, or accept ‘friends' they don't know when using networking sites like Facebook. Encouraging them to talk to you if they come across anything they feel isn't right so you can take action would make your job a lot easier as well.

Keep an eye on them

Placing the family computer in a central room is a simple step. You can see what they are doing and they can also easily catch your attention if they need any help. If you have a family laptop, try to encourage them to use it while you're around rather than locking themselves away in their bedrooms. This is especially important if they're going to use the internet to visit social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace.

Discuss this topic in our Computing forum.