This term is widely used in cybersecurity, it is the use of multiple security principles and countermeasures to protect information and assets within an organization. I think this same thinking can be used for parents, we can use multi-layered countermeasures to help ensure our children’s safety online. Let’s start at the edge of our home Internet connection, the router that your Internet provider provided us with. One way to keep all devices safe is to use a child-friendly DNS service, such as Open DNS’s parental control offering, we basically configure the OpenDNS servers on our router, and the settings will be effective for every device on our network, such as computers , tablets, Xbox, PlayStation, Wii, etc.
This service will also block adult websites without complicated configuration changes. Let’s go further down the chain. For our computers we definitely want to use a “smarter browser” like Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox and add a key free plugins that will block any inappropriate sites for our children. If your home computer is a Mac or Windows, create a separate account for your children and enable parental controls on that account, this way you can limit the time they spend on the Internet, filter a list of words you don’t want them to use . view, filter the sites your kids can visit, and much more. For personal devices like iPads and Android tablets, turn on device restrictions so you can disable Safari and YouTube, turn off app downloads, and turn off in-app purchases.
And in case you need to install a particular app for your kids, install it through iTunes instead of on the device. On an Android tablet or phone, I usually use a restricted profile (kitkat 4.4) or “Kid’s Shell – Safe Launcher” and create a separate account for my child, this way I can add specific apps I want them to have access to and remove any that is not suitable, such as settings, notifications or any social media application. Another really solid app that I trust is called Mobcip. It is known as a parenting software for all mobile devices as well as our computers. We create user profiles for our children using their online interface and an administration login that we use. We can monitor which apps are used the most, view browsing history, set time limits and custom filters, it’s a really robust piece of software.
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