Tag Archives: online safety

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Protecting Kids Online with Circle

As a gateway for the internet Circle is tops

When it comes to protecting your kids, monitoring where your kids go online, blocking them from places you don’t want them to go as well as limiting their time online Circle is the way to go. I have been using it at our home for several months now, it is dead simple to use. Circle has the ability to set up user profiles for each member of your home and each device giving you total control over what you block from whom. What I have also found amazing is that kids who come over to play and log on to your wifi are automatically assigned the “house rules” profile with you even lifting a finger.

I love the bed time features that shuts off the internet to devices so kids can really sleep. It also keeps track of how long they have been online and turns them off when they have reached their limit this works for the whole device or just one app. You want your daughter to only be on Instagram for 30 min a day and your son to play clash of clans for only an hour, you just enter the time limit on each profile for each app. So simple.

A couple of important updates they have made is adding the android platform to circle as well as Circle Go for iOS. Circle Go allow you to you can extend Circle’s settings anywhere. All your favorite Circle features are now on 4G and any other network they join. The Circle device is a one time fee of 99.00 online or Best Buy. Circle Go functionality is 9.95 for up to ten devices.

Want to keep your kids safe and limit time online. There really is nothing better than Circle. Head over to their website and check it out for yourself.

 

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Looking to keep kids safe online? Check out Circle

Today is the launch of a brand new product on the market that will have every family rejoice. Circle is managed through a companion iOS app, Circle with Disney is a tool that helps parents stay informed about their kids’ online activities and limit screen time on every device in the home, including smart phones, tablets, computers, and gaming consoles. Circle with Disney pairs with home Wi-Fi and gives parents the ability to filter content, set a bedtime for devices, and even completely pause the Internet. Each user’s profile and settings can be completely customized based on age and parents’ preferences.

If you are a parent with kids under the age of 18 you are struggling with the blessing and the curse of technology. There are many solutions out there the problem is many of them require a double-digit monthly fee. Here is where circle comes in. Not only is Circle feature rich but you pay for the unit set it up and instantly you have control over the internet in your home. You have the ability to set time limits, filter content and block ads. This happens all with a small attractive unit called circle.

To take back the internet in your home click here

Find out more about Circle now!

Key features of Circle with Disney include:

TIME LIMITS: Families can set daily Time Limits on any app or content
category they want. With Time Limits, families can customize how much
time their kids spend on each platform and set a total online time for the
day.

FILTER: Families can set individual filter levels for each family member.
Circle with Disney has four preset age-levels and allows for further
customization by platform, app, website, and content category. Families
can choose a filter that matches each user’s age and interests, filtering out
inappropriate content.

INSIGHTS: Families can stay informed about where their kids spend their
online time―by platform, category and website. Circle with Disney allows
families to see a member’s total time spent online and the sites visited.

PAUSE THE INTERNET: With the press of a button, families can pause
the Internet, disabling access to a specific device, individual, or the entire
home.

BEDTIME™: Families can create a BedTime™ for each family member
and their devices. Simply set a sleep time, when the devices will
disconnect from the Internet, and an awake time, for the morning when the
devices will reconnect.

GUEST DEVICES: Circle with Disney recognizes when a guest joins the
home’s Wi-Fi and can apply a family’s home settings to visitors’ devices.

BLOCK ADS: Circle with Disney can block ads for any user’s devices.

EVERY DEVICE: Circle with Disney knows every single device connected
to a family’s network (smart phones, tablets, computers, gaming consoles)
and gives families the ability to manage each.

Convinced? I am

Get your Circle here!

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Why keeping our kids safe doesn’t work

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My earlier post covered a shocking stat that 9 out of 10 kids ages 8-16 have viewed pornography online.

The things McDowell says we should do are right and good but they must be based on the foundation of the Gospel. McDowell said that if you think you can keep your kids from view porn online you are fooling yourself. He said that if you home-school your kids and think that by doing that you will keep them from being exposed to pornography you are deceived. Your kids will see pornography at some point as a parent and as a leader must protect our kids yes but we also must prepare them or we will lose them.

Brutal right.

While it is imperative that we as parents take necessary steps to protect our kids, we must never let ourselves fall into the false belief that the measures taken by us would prove sufficient to shield them from pornography. Using tools like Parental Control Apps to police their technology use and online activities sure does help, but it is far from being an absolute antidote to the problem. We must avoid this thinking that focuses us on what we do and how we can control the outcomes and trajectories of our kids lives.

We as parents need to take steps to protect our kids but we must never fall into this false belief that our steps to protect our kids are enough. We must avoid this thinking that focuses us on what we do and how we can control the outcomes and trajectories of our kids lives.

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Parents want to know what apps your kids are downloading?

appcertain

Like it or not the digital age is here to stay. As parents we are immigrants to this digital world that our kids are natives of. Despite its many benefits all the digital devices our kids are connected to require more from us as parents. So any time a tool comes along that makes monitoring what are kids are doing digitally I am for it. With the rise of Android, iPod, iPhones and tablet devices knowing what apps our kids are downloading would be nice.

Enter Appcertain

At AppCertain, they are passionate about computer security and motivated to discovering what behavior apps show. They are dedicated to helping us as parents understand and trust our family’s mobile devices by providing a window into the behavior of mobile apps. Recent advances in the business world have given companies greater insight into their employees’ mobile devices, and they believe we parents deserve a similar insight with respect to our families.

 

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10 proven ways to keep kids safe online.

One of the posts I like to do from time to time is a post on keeping kids safe online. The internet is an incredible tool but it can and has done incredible damage. One of the most dangerous and most helpful characteristics of parents is they always believe the best in their kids. It’s dangerous because we overlook obvious warning signs because “our kids would never do that”. Our hearts tell us our kids would never see stuff or be pulled into stuff on-line but statistics tell us different.

Here are a few statistics about online safety and kids from enough.org

 

  • K-1st grade students access the Internet using various devices for a variety of purposes, including playing online games and communicating with other people. Online gaming is increasingly popular among younger students. (Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008)
  • 48 percent of students K-1st grade level interact with people on Web sites, while 50 percent show that their parents watch them when they use a computer, leaving the other half of those youngsters more prone to being exposed to predation behaviors or other threats posed by online strangers or even persons they know or regard as friends. (Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008)
  • 48 percent of K-1st reported viewing online content that made them feel uncomfortable, of which 72 percent reported the experience to a grownup, meaning that one in four children did not. (Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008)
  • 32 percent of teens clear the browser history to hide what they do online from their parents. (Harris Interactive-McAfee 10/2008)
  • 16 percent have created private e-mail addresses or social networking profiles to hide what they do online from their parents. (Harris Interactive-McAfee 10/2008)
  • 63 percent of teens said they know how to hide what they do online from their parents. (Harris Interactive-McAfee 10/2008)
  • 43 percent have closed or minimized the browser at the sound of a parental step. (Harris Interactive-McAfee 10/2008)
  • 11 percent have unlocked/disabled/ parental/filtering controls. (Harris Interactive-McAfee 10/2008)
  • 52 percent of teens have given out personal information online to someone they don’t know offline including personal photos and/or physical descriptions of themselves (24 percent). Double the number of teen girls have shared photos or physical descriptions of themselves online as boys. (34 percent girls vs. 15 percent boys) (Harris Interactive-McAfee 10/2008)

You ask yourself what can I do about it? Here are 10 proven way you can keep your kids safe online.

The 10 Commandments of online safety for kids.

1. Thou shalt put the computer in a very public place
2. Remember thy password and keep it holy
3. Know thy children’s friends, buddies
4. Remember thy monitoring software and keep it active
5. Thou Shalt not allow thy children to post any graven images (photos) without thy permission
6. Thou shalt not allow any contact information to ever be given out
7. Thou shalt forbid any meeting in person with online buddies
8. Remember to check thy child’s history
9. Though shalt create a separate log in for each child (on a mac, on those other computers)
10. Thou shalt not close your eyes and hope for the best http://www.safetyweb.com/

Resources to help you keep your kids safe online

http://togetherville.com/

http://www.websafety.com/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123238632055894993.html

http://enough.org/inside.php?id=2UXKJWRY8