Parental control: how to protect your child from the “bad” Internet. Protecting your child: choosing the best porn ban program

Any parent wants to protect their child from bad things in this world. The Internet is no exception. The Internet itself is not bad, it is a mirror that reflects human reality. Are there any good things on the Internet? Eat! But there is also a bad thing... for children.

This article is intended to help parents protect their children from unwanted content on the Internet using filters. And it's free! All you need is desire. Since good defense is a layered defense consisting of several stages, our protection of children will also be multi-stage... the enemy will not get through.

Regardless of your level of computer knowledge, you will have to learn and understand a couple of points.

1) Computers operate with numbers among themselves and website addresses for computers are also numbers, but it is easier and better for a person to operate with meaningful text. DNS is a converter of “text” for people (such as rambler.ru) into “number addresses” (such as 81.19.70.1) and vice versa. The first stage of protecting children from unwanted content will be based on the fact that there are DNS servers that can also filter during “transformation”. In other words, if a child accesses the website yandex.ru in a browser, then this good site in DNS will be converted into his computer-numeric-address (IP address). But if a child, willingly or unwillingly, ends up on sex.com, then such an address will be converted NOT into his computer-numeric-address (IP address), but into an address where there will be a warning about inadmissibility or that such a site is not on the network.

2) This stage will protect the child from unwanted search results. You must use Yandex with Family Filter as your home page in all browsers on all computers available to you.

3) Third-party free software solutions and services from Internet providers.

Protection via DNS.

On the Internet, from free and serious protection for children through DNS filtering, we will take 2 representatives: Yandex.DNS and OpenDNS FamilyShield (OpenDNS Family Shield). Why 2?

1) You never know how many of them will start to become “stupid”, and timeouts during conversion affect the speed of your work on the Internet, regardless of your tariff with the provider.

2) One head is good, but two are better.

3) In many operating systems there are 2 fields for specifying DNS servers.

Before we move on to registering DNS defender servers, we need to decide where it is best to register our defenders. DNS servers can be registered on the terminal device - a computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone, or in your router node (if you have one), which connects your home network to the Internet.

Each method has pros and cons.

1) Register on the router - access point. Your computers receive network settings from your home router using the DHCP protocol. The router will instruct all your devices and the devices of visiting friends to use it as DNS. And it will use higher-level DNS defender servers. In this scheme, friends will be protected too.

2) But the above scheme is bad when your child goes with his smartphone or tablet to a cafe with friends and someone else’s router will not protect him there. Therefore, registering DNS defenders on the end device has its advantages.

It's up to you to protect yourself through your access point and/or through the end device.

Access point.

1. Enter the router's IP address in the browser to access the admin panel.
2. Enter your username and password.
3. In the router management menu, find the DNS server settings.
4. Enter the Yandex.DNS address 77.88.8.7 as the Primary DNS server and save the changes. In the Secondary DNS server field, enter the OpenDNS FamilyShield address 208.67.222.123.

On the computer.

Windows XP
1. Open the Start menu -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Network Connections.
2. Right-click on the desired network connection and select Properties.
3. In the connection properties window, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click the Properties button.

5. Enter the Yandex.DNS address 77.88.8.7 as the Preferred DNS server. In the Alternate DNS server field, enter the OpenDNS FamilyShield address 208.67.222.123. And save the changes with the OK button.

Windows 7.
1. Open the Start menu -> Control Panel -> Network and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center ->
2. Right-click on the desired network connection and select Properties from the menu that appears.
3. In the connection properties window, select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IP) and click the Properties button.
4. In the window that opens, select Use the following DNS server addresses.
5. Enter the Yandex.DNS address 77.88.8.7 as the Preferred DNS server. In the Alternate DNS server field, enter the OpenDNS FamilyShield address 208.67.222.123.

Windows 8.
1. Hover your mouse over the Start menu (bottom left corner of the screen), when the menu appears, right-click on it and select Control Panel.
2. Open Network and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center -> Change adapter settings.
3. Right-click on the desired network connection and select Properties from the menu that appears.
4. In the connection properties window, select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IP) and click the Properties button.
5. In the window that opens, select Use the following DNS server addresses.
6. Enter the Yandex.DNS address 77.88.8.7 as the Preferred DNS server. In the Alternate DNS server field, enter the OpenDNS FamilyShield address 208.67.222.123.

Mac OS X.
1. Go to System Settings -> Network.
2. Select the network for which you want to configure DNS (AirPort, Ethernet).
3. Click the Advanced button and go to the DNS tab.
4. Enter the Yandex.DNS address 77.88.8.7 and save the changes.

Ubuntu.
1. Click on the network connection icon, select Edit connections from the list.
2. Select the network for which you want to configure DNS and click Edit.
3. Go to the IPv4 Settings tab, in the Method group, select Automatic (DHCP) addresses only.
4. Enter the Yandex.DNS address 77.88.8.7 in the Addresses field and save the changes.

On a smartphone or tablet.

Android 4.x
1. Go to Settings, select Wi-Fi.
2. Long press (press and hold until a dialog box appears) select the desired Wi-Fi network.
3. In the dialog box that appears, select Configure network.
4. Check the Show advanced settings box at the bottom.
5. In the IP settings item, select Static from the drop-down list.
6. Enter the Yandex.DNS address 77.88.8.7 in the DNS 1 field. In the DNS 2 field, enter the OpenDNS FamilyShield address 208.67.222.123.
7. Click Save.

Apple iOS.
1. Go to Settings -> Wi-Fi, click on the arrow next to the network you are using.
2. Find the DNS item and enter the Yandex.DNS address 77.88.8.7 into it.

Protection of search results.

This stage will protect the child while searching for information. You can use Yandex Family Search, which filters search queries and does not return results that are not intended for the child. The protection is based on the fact that by default, all new open tabs in the browser use the Yandex search engine with Family Filter as their home page.

Most likely, the child will not switch to other search engines, but will use the one already offered with filtering.
Google Chrome.
1. Enter the browser settings: Upper right icon of three horizontal lines -> Settings.
2. Select: Start group -> Next pages.
3. Click Add, in the Add page field enter http://family.yandex.ru

4. Click OK
Mozilla Firefox.
1. Go to your browser settings: Edit -> Settings.
2. In the General tab, select: When Firefox starts, Show home page.

3. In the Home page field, enter: http://family.yandex.ru
Opera.
1. Go to your browser settings: Opera -> Settings -> General settings.
2. In the General tab, select: At startup Start from home page.
3. In the Home field, enter: http://family.yandex.ru

4. Click OK.

Protection using free programs and browser plugins.

This section discusses software products that can freely help a parent protect a child’s psyche from horrors on the Internet and make it white and fluffy.

I hope these free solutions will reliably protect you and your children!

Alexey Drozd

Director of the SearchInform training center, head of the department for work with universities, author of a number of materials on information security for the program for the modernization of higher education in the European Union (TEMPUS).

The desire to protect your child from any danger is natural and understandable. “Don’t talk to strangers”, “don’t open the door to anyone but us”, “walk so that I can see you” - all this was said to us, and now we repeat these phrases to our children.

The development of technology has led to the emergence of new threats: trolling, the desire to earn likes at any cost. Now you need to protect your beloved child not only in reality, but also on the Internet. It turns out that this is not so easy to do. And it's not that there aren't enough tools. Protecting a child on the Internet is an equation with several variables, which not everyone can solve.

Let us immediately make a reservation that control will one way or another violate the boundaries of the child’s personal space and affect the ethical aspect. Nevertheless, these methods will help parents be sure that their children will not come across information that is dangerous for them on the Internet.

Device-level protection

One of the first gadgets in the life of a small user is a telephone and its variations. Worried adults want to know if the child is okay and where he is. The market satisfied this request. A few years ago, children's phones and smart watches occupied their niche.

The principle of their operation is simple: if it is not allowed, then it is prohibited. From such devices, a child can only call numbers from the white list. An incoming call can also only be from approved contacts. The rest will receive a busy signal.

Parents can also receive information about the child’s location. You can remember the desired points (house, park, school) in advance or receive GPS coordinates in real time. Some smartwatch models provide the ability to send SMS if a child decides to take them off. In addition, you can send a command to a hidden call from the device, that is. And here caring parents come close to committing a crime.

Such gadgets, despite their cheerful multi-colored design, are special means for secretly obtaining information. Their production, acquisition or sale is prohibited by Article 138.1 of the Criminal Code. Nevertheless, you can buy the devices: they are officially sold by the Big Three operators. Although in Germany, for example, such gadgets were banned.

Shell-level protection

Children's phones and smart watches cannot access the Internet. Another thing is smartphones and tablets.

One of the first widely known gadgets in its time was the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Kids tablet. The manufacturer focused on the target audience - children. This was evident in both the design and functionality of the applications.

The device is aimed at creating a “good” Internet. Parents themselves can configure which applications their child can run and how much time they can spend with the tablet in general. For example, no more than 30 minutes a day. The applications themselves are also aimed at the small user. If this is an online cinema, then a child will only be able to find age-appropriate content.

However, more often it happens that a child inherits a regular smartphone or tablet from his parents. Manufacturers have foreseen this situation and created a children's mode. You won't be able to log out without knowing the parent password.

Protection at the software level

What to do if your smartphone does not have a child mode? What if a child accesses the Internet from a computer? And there is enough adult content, propaganda, advertising and other information dangerous for children. It's simple: you just need to figure it out and configure it. There are solutions for every taste, color and budget.

The most popular computer parental control functions are available in popular operating systems. On Windows, for example, Microsoft Family Safety is responsible for this.

All the solutions listed below work for both PC and mobile devices.

• Antiviruses. Many have acquired parental controls. Some manufacturers have gone further and released a separate product specifically to protect children.
• Profiles with limited functionality. For example, when creating a mailbox in Gmail, you can specify how strongly the search engine will filter the results. Something can be done on social networks. For example, limit the visibility of the page for those who are not on your friends list.
• Third party services. With their help, you can configure flexible access to the World Wide Web, allowing or blocking only certain sites. Some Internet providers themselves offer a similar service as an additional option to the main tariff plan.
• Control at the router level. Even budget models have basic parental controls. It allows you to monitor and limit the actions of children on the Internet, limit the time they spend on the Internet, and deny access to certain sites. It is quite possible that this will be enough for someone to be calm about their child when he goes online.

State level protection

Back in 2010, the first publication of the Federal Law “On the Protection of Children from Information Harmful to Their Health and Development” was published. From September 1, 2012, information began to be marked with appropriate age category marks (6+, 12+, 16+, 18+). In practice, it turned out that labeling content does not guarantee that a child will not become familiar with it.

An action plan to ensure children's information security in 2018–2020 was recently developed. It will cover a wide range of issues: communications on the Internet, online payments, data privacy, child suicide. The initiative is useful and long overdue. However, you should not rely only on government projects. Parents are primarily responsible for the upbringing and safety of the child.

For modern children, figuring out how to use the Internet and a smartphone is simple and quick. Fortunately, it’s also not difficult to protect your child from “18+” materials, of which there is by no means a small amount on the Internet. Operators have services for setting up the use of gadgets by children. We will look at their capabilities using the example of the MTS Internet Control service.

Closing access to sites

“He will climb anywhere” is the main fear of a parent whose child uses the network. There is only one way out - content filtering. "" has five safety modes for each age. Options are available from the strictest “Under 7 years”, with access to a very limited list of children’s sites and safe search, to “Adult”, where the list of allowed sites is significantly expanded, but sites of dangerous categories are still blocked. In “Personal” mode, you can independently “close” different categories of sites, enable safe search mode in Yandex, Google and YouTube. If you want to allow the use of a resource blocked by the system, create your own “white” list.

Security Modes

Site groups

Setting a schedule

Setting up an access schedule will help you avoid “just five more minutes, please” and resolve the issue of school breaks without leaving the screen. In the MTS service, you can select days of the week and times when access to the Internet will be completely prohibited. During “X” hours and days, for example, on weekdays, the child will not be able to access the network at all; at other times, for example, on weekend evenings, he will use it in accordance with the configured filtering type.

Access schedule

Let's start a magazine

“Internet Control” allows you to view detailed statistics on your child’s Internet use. According to the selected schedule, reports can be sent to your e-mail with information about when, what sites and how many times the child visited. To do this, you will need to establish an extended link between the number of the child and the parent, which we will discuss in detail below.

Statistics

Date and time of visits

Another option for the service is to disable downloading files to your smartphone or select allowed categories - images, audio files, video files or documents.

How to set this up?

You can secure your child's smartphone in a couple of minutes. To do this, you will need yourself (the device, not the child), your phone and a computer.

1. The easiest option is to dial the command on your phone *111*1116*1# In response, you will receive an SMS about connection to the “Internet Control” service number. Parent". There are two types of connections possible between the numbers of the parent and the child:

• a basic bundle that allows you to manage the settings of your child’s device. To install, you need confirmation via a service SMS message;
• In addition to managing settings, the extended link allows you to view the history of sites viewed and blocked as part of the service. The numbers of the parent and child must be registered to the same personal account or to the same subscriber (verification using the passport data of the number owner). Verification takes up to three days.

2. Now go to your MTS Personal Account to send a request to connect the service to your child. Select the “Service Management” section, “Internet” and follow the “ ” link. The window for adding a child’s number is hard to miss. If it is registered to you, select “Advanced Communication” and get the opportunity not only to set rules for using the Internet, but also to view statistics of visits and downloads.

Select a service

Selecting a bundle type

An SMS message will be sent to your son or daughter’s number asking you to confirm your consent to the combination of numbers. After sending a response with the text “Yes”, you can proceed to setting up the rules.

Hello, dear guests and readers of my blog. Protecting children online is one of the most important responsibilities of parents. Children nowadays understand the Internet better than their parents and roam freely on the World Wide Web. They meet new people, visit sites with various content, among which, of course, there are sites that can harm the child’s psychology. However, this is not a reason to prohibit a child from accessing the Internet; there are solutions to this problem in other ways, which we will talk about.

Probably, each of us has found ourselves in such cases when, in search of ordinary information, without wanting it, suddenly, instantly and unexpectedly, THIS appears! Horrible footage from sites of pedophiles, xenophobes, neo-Nazis and porn sites For an adult, this causes disgust and shock, but imagine what is going on in a child’s head? Therefore, we must try to limit our children from this and take care of protecting children on the Internet.

Honestly speaking, in our time it is very difficult to do this, but not doing anything at all to protect your child is what is truly unforgivable for parents.

Every day the Internet comes more and more into our lives, and becomes an integral part of our lives and the lives of our children. And therefore, when we want to protect our children from the trash pit of the Internet, the words “Be careful - this site is for adults only :)” simply won’t do it.

What unwanted resources can lie in wait for your child on the Internet?

Many parents mistakenly believe that the Internet cannot harm a child; the Internet is full of information that can cause irreparable harm to a child’s psychology.

1. There are many programs that can limit access to unwanted resources. However, I think that in fact the problem cannot be solved by simply restricting access to unwanted sites.
2. I myself am of the opinion that the main thing in protecting children will always be their upbringing. To protect the child, he just needs to devote more time. Show him interest and passion for something worthy in this life. Explain to him that there is a lot of bad things on the Internet, but it is easy to do this. Find a common language with your child, help him find useful resources and guide him to something interesting and useful.
3. Do not agree to install a computer in your child’s room; the computer should be in a publicly accessible place.
4. Explain to your child that you cannot post personal information online, such as last name, first name, patronymic, age, school, address, etc.
5. Discuss in advance how much time your child can spend on the computer.
6. Some free services offer you help in protecting children, such as Microsft Windows live - parental control.
7. Configure search engines for safe search.
8. I also recommend using the Internet Censor program, which is described below.

Setting up search engines for safe search

If you use search engines like Yandex and Google, I recommend setting them up so that sites with dangerous topics are not displayed in the search results of these search engines.

How to set up the Yandex search engine?

To do this, you need to go to: yandex.ru/cgi-bin/customize.pl

Go down a little and find the section "Page Filtering", then set the value "Family Search"

Save the settings.

In order to configure the Google search engine, you need to go to: google.ru/preferences?hl=ru

Place a check mark in the line “Do not produce obscene results” and save the settings.

However, these settings will only be applied to search, but will not block sites with dangerous topics themselves. That is, they will not appear in search engine results, but by entering the address of a resource with a dangerous topic in the browser line, you can easily open this resource. Therefore, I advise you to install the program, which is discussed below.

Protecting children online with “ Internet Censor"

Currently, there are many programs and filters that help control the use of Internet information and time spent on the Internet. But we will look at the program that is most famous for its effectiveness and ease of use, it is free"Internet Censor".

The parental control program will not only be able to block access to dirt and trash on the Internet, but will also be able to limit the time you use the Internet. This means you will have complete control over Internet access.

The operation of this program is based on working with the so-called white list and black list, which guarantees 100% protection from all dangerous and unwanted information on the Internet. The whitelist includes more than a million sites that have been manually checked, and their list is constantly being updated.

Installing the Internet Censor program is very easy. When installing, it is advisable to write a real email address, because messages will be sent to it if someone enters the wrong password to disable the filter.

After this, the program will ask you to enter a password, enter and remember it, it will be useful in the future to gain access to the filters.

While the program is running, an icon in the form of a blue ball will be displayed in the lower right corner of the screen (in the system tray). If you need to disable it, click on this icon and a window will appear to enter a password to gain access to the settings.

Enter the password and select the time for how long you want to disable the filters.

This program also allows you to create your own list of black and white sites. To do this, just go to the “My Rules” tab and enter the site address in one of the columns.

After installing this program, do not relax, because on the Internet very often, under a decent word there is indecent content. And do not be negligent in protecting your child.

Good luck to you!.

In addition, there is a video tutorial on installing the program: Internet Censor.

Today you can find literally everything on the Internet. Among online resources there are a lot of sites and pages created specifically for children. But the nature of the Internet is such that it is not so easy to isolate yourself from non-children’s content. However, there are ways that can help parents protect their child from accidentally visiting adult sites or preventing dubious information from being downloaded to a mobile device.

Naturally, parents should understand that none of the methods listed below can provide a 100% guarantee. Moreover, ideal protection options do not exist in nature. Therefore, in addition to our recommendations, you must remember that the future of your children is in your hands.

Let's start with applications for mobile platforms. For Android, we would recommend Kids Place, a kind of “virtual sandbox”: by installing the application on a smartphone, the owner of the device does not have to worry about the safety of his data - Kids Place creates a separate desktop for the young user, and parents can choose the games and applications that will be available to kid. Getting out of the “sandbox” is not easy: in the settings you can block the “Home”, “Back” and “Search” keys - the child simply will not be able to exit the application. If your child restarts the device, Kids Place will be activated automatically when the smartphone starts. Using the application, you can disable the telephone module, Wi-Fi, and also set a ban on downloading Google Play content. In addition, for the convenience of the child, it is possible to change the size of the icons, as well as their names and font size.

Another application, Care4Teen, works a little differently: the application is installed directly on the child’s smartphone, and the set of functions here is different - with an emphasis on the safety of the young user. There is also an option to restrict the launch of any applications. In addition, adults can prohibit visiting unwanted online resources - the application has its own blacklist, but you can add sites manually. Parents can also see a list of Internet resources visited by the child, a list of calls and SMS. Plus, Care4Teen can take on the duties of a GPS tracker, however, it is better not to abuse this - the smartphone will discharge much faster. All these functions are available through your personal account on care4teen.com. The application itself works in the background and does not make itself felt, so the child is unlikely to accidentally turn it off. The only significant drawback of Care4Teen is that it only has an English interface.

iOS has a parental control system built right out of the box. In the settings, the user can quite flexibly change various restrictions - from camera operation to purchasing content in the App Store. However, there is no filter for unwanted sites in iOS - you can only disable the browser, thereby completely blocking access to the Internet. Therefore, only a third-party secure browser will help here.

One of these solutions, Kaspersky Safe Browser, is designed to block access to adult sites, as well as online resources containing information about drugs, violence, etc. The application uses the Kaspersky Security Network cloud system, which divides Internet resources into categories. Unfortunately, it is still not possible to block all unwanted content - the protection can be bypassed, although the likelihood that a child will succeed is extremely low. There is also an application from Kaspersky for Android (called “Parental Control”).

If parents feel that software solutions to protect their child will not be enough, they can use the services of mobile operators. For example, MegaFon provides the Children's Internet service, thanks to which a child will be able to visit only those sites that are on the white list. The monthly fee for using the service will be 300 rubles.

MTS provides a Parental Control service with similar capabilities. In addition to blocking resources with inappropriate content, the operator analyzes content data (for example, adult pictures) and blocks them if necessary, and also provides a safe Internet search mode. Activating the service is free, and the daily fee is 1.5 rubles.

Beeline also has Parental Control, but at the time of publication the service was implemented only for home Internet users (free test mode).

And the last way to help protect your child is to buy a special children's tablet. There are several options for such devices available on the market now. For example, Turbokids or iKids tablets. These devices are initially equipped with a parental control function: adults themselves will be able to choose the programs they need for their child, as well as ban those they don’t like. It is also possible to set the time that a child can spend using the tablet, after which the device turns off. By the way, both devices are developmental. They are equipped with exciting, educational games and applications designed for children of preschool and primary school age. Devices with such functionality can be purchased for 5–7 thousand rubles.