Using The Internet Safely

The Internet is a gold-mine of information on all sorts of topics. It is full of on-line traders selling everything imaginable. It is a great way to to do almost anything. It is also a place full of pitfalls for the unwary. Magazines, newspapers and TV programmes regularly report on unsavoury aspects of the Internet. This section is an introduction to some of the ways you can ensure that the time you spend on the Internet is spent safely.

Children And The Internet

Perhaps one of the biggest worries is how to protect our children from viewing unsuitable content and from risks associated with Chatrooms.

A range of software solutions exist to filter unsuitable web-sites. Most computer retailers stock examples and will give advice. However, your Internet Service Provider (for example AOL) may provide filtering of content. Similarly, web-browsers such as 'Internet Explorer' from Microsoft often provide for user-defined filtering which can be pass-word protected.

Increasingly, web-sites such as Binley Woods On-line submit themselves to rating associations for certification. In the case of Binley Woods On-line, we have registered with two: The Internet Content Rating Association and SafeSurf. Their respective web-sites give further details about how they work. Binley Woods On-line only provides content which is suitable for all users. Links to external sites are carefully chosen to be compatible with this. However, third-party contentis outside our control. For example, health related sites may contain references and images related to drug taking or sex. If you feel that a particular site is unsuitable, we would like to hear from you.

Two further web-sites to look at are the Internet Watch Foundation and Kid Smart. Additionally, Google or any of the other major search engines should yield a number of web-sites offering guidance.
 
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