As I have said countless times, a layered approach is the best way to protect children from harmful internet content. The base layer should be controlling DNS, something that is fairly simple to do for the devices that use your home router. This post about Whole Home Protection goes into much more detail, but DNS uses the internet “phone book” […] Read more
Filed in : Android, Apple, Products
On May 8th Net Nanny® rebranded their Zift mobile protection application to Net Nanny® 10. That was probably a good branding decision since Net Nanny® has been a leader in this space for years and the name “Zift” lacked product explanation. Tom’s Guide, which named Net Nanny® 10 the best parental control application for iOS, has updated their detailed review […] Read more
Filed in : Parental Controls, Parenting in the Digital World, Router Filtering
Protecting children from online threats isn’t easy, but parents often make it more difficult that it needs to be. Implementing safe technology in your home starts with making safe technology the number one priority for all technology related purchases. Since the majority of what we do with technology involves the internet, that is where we have to start. EVERY SINGLE […] Read more
Filed in : Parental Controls, Router Filtering
CleanBrowsing was started by parents in the technology industry who appreciated what OpenDNS was doing for families but saw the need for some additional features. This quote from their website perfectly describes the problems with so many of the filtering solutions offered: “This project was started by a group of engineers and security professionals, that were also concerned parents unable to […] Read more
Filed in : Apple, Filtering, Parental Controls, Pornography Concerns, Router Filtering
What about the kids who use their products? Apple iOS offers basic and lackluster options for filtering access to undesirable websites so they are only really useful for very young children. A report last year from Research Methodology highlights a plethora of programs that Apple has implemented for Social Responsibility. The list adds up to multiple billions of dollars for […] Read more
Filed in : Apple, Parental Controls
Considering that we are on the 12th iOS, I think it is fair to say that Apple was late to the parental control party. While they have had “Restrictions” available in Settings for a while, the controls were hardly robust. Now, with release of iOS 12, it appears that they are finally STARTING to take parental control features seriously. If […] Read more
Filed in : Parental Controls, Parenting in the Digital World
When one of my sons was 5 years old he was diagnosed with a neurological issue that was causing issues with his spine. God was gracious to us, and after two successful surgeries the problem was corrected. It’s been about fifteen years since we received that diagnosis. It was called a Chiari Malformation. We were clueless about and had not […] Read more
Filed in : Android, Apple, Device Monitoring, Filtering, Products, TV
YouTube has been one of the most challenging areas for parents who are concerned with the content their kids see online. On one hand, there are thousands of worthwhile, funny and educational videos on YouTube. On the other hand, giving a child access to YouTube is like letting them play in a video minefield because of the pitiful filtering options available […] Read more
Filed in : Apple, Parental Controls, Parenting in the Digital World
It may be due to shareholder open letters, consumer demand or both but Apple appears to be making family friendly efforts and hinting that they will be providing more robust features in their parental control options. Hopefully we will see actual iOS improvements in future releases, but for now the new Families page on the Apple website will have to do. iOS […] Read more
Filed in : Device Monitoring, Gaming, Parental Controls
The Parental Controls app for the Nintendo Switch gives parents the ability to oversee their kids gaming activity on the device. But sometimes the global age restriction setting that you are comfortable using for your child may disallow a game that you are comfortable with them playing. The app gives you the ability to whitelist games that are allowed even […] Read more