Keeping your kids safe online

1. It's never too early to foster open and positive communication with children. It's a good idea to talk with them about computers and to stay open to their questions and curiosity.
2. Always sit with your kids at this age when they're online.
3. Set clear rules for Internet use.
4. Insist that your children not share personal information such as their real name, address, phone number, or passwords with people they meet online.
5. If a site encourages kids to submit their names to personalize the Web content, help your kids create online nicknames that give away no personal information.
6. Investigate Web filtering tools (such as Windows Vista Parental Controls or Windows Live Family Safety for Windows XP SP, Windows 7 ) to help you engage with your kids and aid in parental supervision
7. If you use family safety tools, create appropriate profiles for each family member based on their age. For more information, see Windows Live Family Safety or Windows Vista/ 7 Parental Controls.
8. Help protect your children from offensive pop-up windows by using the pop-up blocker that's built in to Internet Explorer. You can also help block pop-up windows that appear when you're not surfing the Internet with Windows Defender. Windows Defender comes with Windows Vista. If you use Windows XP SP3, you can download Windows Defender for no charge.
9. All family members should act as role models for young children who are just starting to use the Internet.

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