India Internet News
Parents Can Now Monitor Child's Internet Usage
12 July 2011
In a research study named 'How safe are Indian kids online?' taken by McAfee recently over 10 renowned schools in 10 cities along with Chennai, it was observed that 77 percent of parents in the city were reportedly unaware of the security software that can monitor their children's activities on the Internet. By the way, the study reveals that the number of children having e-mail accounts in Chennai appear after Delhi, which tops the list. Since 68 percent of those children confirmed that they shared personal information online, only about 6 percent of these children were allegedly aware of cyber stalking and cyber bullying threats.
The Internet security market is now crowded with programs that claim to facilitate parental control and the suggestive Internet usage, but parents are not yet ready for them, says experts.
An information security consultant, Martin Selvaraj, told that although most anti-virus packages have parental control applications. Srinivas Maharaj of PC Chimp, distributor of net nanny, said that, "Most of them only send alerts to parents who can mingle. The professional dedicated they have categories such as gambling, alcohol abuse, among many others that can be chosen to be blocked. Such programs not only help in making the Internet safe for children, but also help check malware threats and stop the irrelevant pop-ups."
S. Raghavan, a software engineer and a parent, said that, “Most search engines filter only websites, not images. Often, users are directed to unwanted content under Disney and Hannah Montana labels. Family protection applications work, but you can take care of that only in your house hold. It is care and caution, not control that we need to exert.” But it becomes important not to deliver a message of mistrust or suspicion to the children.
Mr Martin added, “These filters are controlled through the administrative account, so parents must operate it while the child can be another user's. In a household with a common account for all users, the controls can be easily manipulated.”
However, it becomes essential to be careful, it is also imperative that children become familiar with the efficient use of the Internet, and are not overburdened with anxiety, says M. Sivasubramanian, President, Internet Society, Chennai.
Vidya Reddy of Tulir - Centre for Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse, claim that the liability of the parents do not end with just installing the filters, since they need to provide "a non-judgmental space for children to come and talk to them." "What we need here is more of a safety culture that involves schools encouraging safe internet activity. Also, what parents need to do is to orient children to the potential risks online, without curbing their freedom to grow and explore."