All of these are words that make most parents wonder:

“Do I really know what my kid is up to on the computer?”

Most of us know who to check the Internet Explorer history for visited websites but let’s face it.  So do the kids!

Some of us are savvy enough to set up “kids” accounts on the computer to restrict their access to websites, streaming video, etc. On the other hand you may choose not to restrict or limit your child’s computer and internet access at all.

Whatever your decision is you should at least know what you options are to monitor your child activity on the computer.

And it is an ongoing challenge that constantly needs to be fine tuned and updated.

For example: Pace School employs a Barracuda Networks Web Filter solution.  A sophisticated hardware application that provides web content filtering, malware protection, etc.  Yet, our students constantly find ways to bypass the filter mainly by using tunnel sites.  A tunnel is a website from which you “tunnel” (bypass) any web filter.  Tunnel sites are being developed daily and keeping up with them can be very difficult.

So what can you do to safeguard your child from the internet without restricting them too much?

Throughout the school year, once or twice a month, I will try to “feature” some possible solutions to monitor and possibly limit your child’s activity on the computer.

Please use the comment section to let us know if there is a particular area you like covered.

Series written by:

Kai S. Hoke

Information Management Specialist/HIPAA Security Deputy

Pace School