The Problem
The iPod Touch- what an iconic piece of technology. Portable, versatile, educational and fun. However, without the proper setup, your child has a tool that can expose them to the unimaginable. You may be stuck with the task of explaining"what is that" and "why does that go there?". Age inappropriate content including photos or video of pornography, gambling, gaming, violence, cyber bullying and/or Internet predators can be easily stumbled upon without much effort nowadays. Wide-open applications, such as YouTube, Safari Browser and iTunes come installed as unrestricted Apps and act as the gateway to get them there.
Predators are getting slick and can mislead by advertising misdirected searches, by using misspelled words or by cleverly using common sites and names that were once known as legitimate sites (a.k.a. porn-napping). Here are a couple of the more memorable examples of websites that have been misleading over the past several years- http://www.whitehouse.com/ (.com instead of .gov) and http://www.beaniebabes.com/ (babes instead of babies).
Um, did you just click on those.... Don't bother trying as they have been shut down or converted to legitimate sites once again. :)
The FactsDid you know....
· 43 percent of children said they do not have rules about Internet use in their homes
· 1 in 5 children ages 10-17 have received a sexual solicitation over the Internet
· 70 percent of all 15-17 year-olds who have ever gone online have accidentally stumbled across pornography online, 23 percent "very" or "somewhat" often.
· 17 percent of parents believe their children are posting online profiles, as compared to 45 percent of children who report doing this.
The Trend
Traditional computers are becoming the road less traveled. Systems have become more portable with the likes of tablets, iPods, iPhones and other Smart devices. This portability of course makes it more difficult to keep track of everything our children are doing. Right, right, I know, I know, my child would never intentionally look at anything inappropriate either, but hey, they now have access to email, text and Internet browsing. I certainly can't police every person they come into contact with that shares their favorite inappropriate game and site. No, we won't be able to control everything, but we still have the obligation to try, don't we?
The Solution
Yes, actually there is. K9 Web Protection by Blue Coat has just the application. K9 will work with any iPhone®, iPad®, or iPod touch® running iOS version 4.0 and higher. Setting up this utiliy along with restricting some of the iPod built-in apps will put you in good shape and the entire setup will take less time than it will have taken you to read through this blog....
There are actually several applications on the market, some are free others will cost, however I am endorsing the K9 product based on these reasons-
1. K9 is well endorsed by many recognized online authorities
2. It is simple to setup and use
3. It is free.
How it works- K9 for the iPod works similarly to any content filtering software you may have installed on your standard home PC, the only difference being that it replaces your Safari web browser with the official K9 Browser which includes a standard subset of configurations. No custom setup is needed for the K9 product however, the instructions walk you through a few changes to the iPod device settings insuring the Safari browser is disabled and you are protected.
How to Install
To download K9 for the iPod simply go to the App Store from your device and search for K9. Install the app and follow the simple step-by-step instructions and begin to worry a little less. You may also go here for specific step-by-step instructions of modifying your Apple devices following the Install of K9 from the App Store.
http://www1.k9webprotection.com/support/set-idevice-restrictions
Of course nothing is absolutely full proof, so please continue to monitor your young ones and don't be afraid to set a precedent that you will be reviewing their phone/text/Internet usage at your discretion when you feel it is necessary.
Other Recommendations
Of course nothing is absolutely full proof, so please continue to monitor your young ones and don't be afraid to set a precedent that you will be reviewing their phone/text/Internet usage at your discretion when you feel it is necessary.
Other Recommendations
K9 Web Browser Protection for your PC.
Other Top-rated Content Filtering solutions-
Net Nanny
McAfee- Safe Eyes
B-Secure
These products generally cost money but may provide additional high end features that may better fit your needs. These enhancements might include advanced reporting, texting and/or email alerts and message forwarding.
Other Internet ready portable devices to condsider protecting-
Other Internet ready portable devices to condsider protecting-
- Nintendo DS Security and Privacy FAQ
- Nintendo Wii Parental Controls
- Sony Playstation 3 Parental Controls
- Sony PSP Parental Controls
Resources:
