Do I really need URL filtering at home if my kids are on the internet?

Absolutely beyond a doubt. Here’ a true story…..

I was stealing a nap one Saturday afternoon after I had written my first book. I was exhausted after what seemed like endless hours of non-stop editing and writing. Only my oldest child was in the house with me. As I was half asleep I heard him ask , “Hey Dad can I get on Foxracing.com.” He is 8 years old and my wife and I decided this is a completely appropriate site for an eight year old. I groggily replied, “sure, no problem”. Seconds later I heard him say, “Hey Dad, I clicked on foxracing, there’s no mountain bikes, but there are a bunch of girls in their PJ’s!!”. OK I’ve seen the screen pop-up of images that you don’t really want to try and explain to a very curious and intelligent eight year old. I flew out of bed, and raced to the computer. Ah, I thought, there must be a God, to my extreme relief it was ACTUALLY girls in PJ’s……..Instead of just typing http://www.foxracing.com/ in the browser, he typed “fox racing” into the Goolge search screen, which is our default home page and thin clicked on the first link. This little lesson did a few things for me. - made me realize how stupid I was by not putting in child surf control software. - Made me research software that could spare other families and friends from this same experience. - Motivated me to start this blog - Motivated me to start my new book aimed at protecting you and your family while on the internet. Below are recommendation from security professionals on software to apply filters to protect your kids when they are on-line.
www.cybersitter.com
www.netnanny.com
www.surfcontrol.com
www.trendmicro.com/en/products/desktop/pc-cillin/evaluate/overview.htm
www.cyberPatrol.com
www.8e6home.com
www.netwitness.com
www.dansguardian.org
www.we-blocker.com