Kids are opened to all kinds of negative influences particularly when they have easy access to the internet through the gadgets their parents supply them. The internet is a complicated place with all kinds of uncensored content published. If parents want their kids to grow up healthy, they should take the necessary actions to keep them away from the bad exposure on the internet.
Fortunately, many applications on your computer incorporate features that will protect kids from bad content on the internet. The following are a few things parents can do to protect their kids while they are surfing the internet.
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1. Enable Family Safety Control in Windows
On Windows, you can activate the Family Safety Control feature. First, you must set up new individual accounts for your kids. The new account should not have administrator authority. In Family Settings, select your kid’s account. After that, go to Web filtering and drag the toggle right to turn on web filtering.
In the allow list only, enter the URL of the websites you want to allow. In Mac, there is also a parental control feature that allows you to turn on website filtering. If you are on a Mac, you must go to System Preferences > Web and select the Try to limit access to adult websites automatically option.
2. Enable Safe Search in Google Search Engine
Google provide safe search filtering to filter out inappropriate content. By default, this setting is set to moderate filtering. You can go to Google search settings and set it to filter both text and images. To activate Google SafeSearch, first search for the intended search on Google.
When the search result display, you must click on the gear wheel button on the right and select Turn on SafeSearch. The page will reload after SafeSearch is turned on. Another option is to adjust the setting through the Search Settings.
In SafeSearch Filters, you can check the Filter Explicit results option and scroll down to the bottom to click on the Save Changes button.
3. Install Adult Add-On
In your web browser, there is a section where you can find add on to block adult content. If you install an add-on, it will scan the page that you visit and determine whether to block it or not. It may also offer a whitelist feature in case there are some sites that you want to unblock. Some add-ons will only display a warning when you land on a site with inappropriate content. The add-on will only work on the browser that you install. If you switch browser, you will have to reinstall the add-on.
4. Install a Third Party Parental Control Application
You can also use a third party parental control application to filter inappropriate content. AdGuard program is a popup blocker but it also has a built-in parental control mode that you can use to filter inappropriate content for your kids.
When the program launch, you must go to the Parental Control tab and enable parental control. In this tab, you will see the stats for the number of web pages that have been checked, and the number of adult resources blocked.
If you go to Settings, you can see two options including enable safe search and block executable files download. In the sensitivity level, you can choose whether to display content suitable for early childhood, young, and teen. The filtering is restricted for the younger age group.
In the parental control settings, you will also find the whitelist and blacklist box for entering URLs you want to allow and disallow. You can also set a prompt for password when a child wants to visit a site. This means he will need to have your permission before visiting the site.
5. Edit Host Files on Your OS
You can also edit the host file in Windows to block sites that contain adult content. First, you must go to the C drive or the drive that you install Windows. In the drive, navigate to Windows > System32 > Drivers > Etc.
In the Etc folder, look for the hosts file and right click on it to select Open with a Notepad. When the hosts file is opened in Notepad, scroll down to the bottom to add 127.0.0.1 followed by the URL of the site you want to block.
When you want to enter another site, you simply press the enter key to go to the next line and do the same. Before you quit, remember to save the notepad file. The procedure is similar on Mac. On Mac, you must visit Terminal and do the same in its host files by running the command sudo nano /etc/hosts
6. Enable Web Filtering in Your Browser
Many web browsers let you add restrictions to certain websites. In Chrome, you must click on the three dots button to go to Settings. In Network, click on the Change proxy settings button to launch the Internet Properties.
After that, go to Security tab and click on Restricted Sites. When the Restricted Sites pop up, you can type in the URL of the site you want to block and click the Add button. The URL will be entered into the Websites box below. If you want to remove a URL, just select it and click the Remove button.
When you are done, you can click on the Close button and restart Chrome. In Internet Explorer, you must click on the Tools in the toolbar and choose Internet Options. In the Content tab, look for Content Advisor and click on the enable button. In the Approved Sites tab, you can enter the URL of the website you want to disallow with an asterisk in front and click on the Never button.
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