The internet can be an invaluable tool for research and education. It can also provide your kids with enriching social networking and communication as well as entertainment. However, there are risks with being online and if you have children or teenagers surfing the net there may be some elements that you do not want your children exposed to or you do not wish to happen upon yourself. A single click on an innocuous link can start a barrage of pornographic pop ups that are quite graphic and can actually attach to your computer so that you get porn pop ups regularly. This can lead to your having to remove difficult and sticky programs from your computer. In short, it is just a big mess, but with broadband internet access filters you can greatly reduce your risk of exposure to this.

One of the easiest methods of protecting your children on the internet is to set your Internet Explorer filter to block inappropriate sites.

• Open Internet Explorer
• From the Tools menu, select Internet Options
• Choose the tab labeled Content
• Click Enable
• You will get a dialogue box. From there you can choose a rating standard for each area, sex, nudity, language and violence. Select the level of access for each area. You can set the filter to be completely open to any type of content or where it will only get Disney.com or anything in between.
• Once you have selected all the levels, click on the advanced tab.
• Create a password that your kids can not guess (but that you won't forget). Write it down, but don't leave it where your kids can find it. The best password is a combination of letters and numbers.
• Click OK and close all of the windows.
• Now, run a test. Go to a sex website and the Content Advisor should block it by requesting a password.

This is a very good method for securing your children's internet access. Best of all, it is free!