Parental control software is still a valuable tool for monitoring your child’s online activities and blocking inappropriate content. Although you may not be an adult, this does not mean that you will view any offensive content. The software can be used to block inappropriate content from sites you frequent. The monitoring feature of the software has an inherent security risk. This means sensitive information could be misused. Read more now on usergorilla.com

You must use parental control software responsibly, especially if it is installed on a computer shared with several family members. Trustworthy family members should be informed about the software and need administrator privileges to disable it before they can use the computer. Many parents forget to turn off the software before they go online to shop or bank. This allows the key-logger to record important information like passwords and credit card numbers.

Many Internet monitoring software packages can take screen shots at specific intervals in order to capture the screen contents at a particular time. It can also be dangerous if the monitoring software is not disabled before you log in to a secure area on a website. Screen shots of sensitive information can be taken that is only accessible through a secured login area. All of this information (keystrokes, screen shots, etc.) is stored on your hard disk and can be exploited by spyware or crackers.

Although parental control software is designed to encrypt all information it logs in a secure manner, crackers can often decipher the encryption code quickly. A spyware infection or intruder can cause your parental control software to be unencrypted. If you forget to disable the software, someone else can look at your logs. It is important to remember to disable monitoring software before you start using the computer. Also, remember to turn it back on when you are done.

You can create multiple profiles with parental control software for different family members. For example, you can have a “Child profile” that blocks inappropriate content and monitors the activity of your child on the internet, a profile called “Teen”, which does not block any content but monitors your child’s activities, and a profile called “Parent” that doesn’t monitor your activity nor block any content. If your teenager uses the Internet, the “Teen profile” can be activated. However, you can also activate the “Parent profile if you’re not there. To limit Internet access for your children while you’re not home, the “Child profile” should be used.

Kaspersky Lab has recently integrated a parental control module to their Internet Security suite. It doesn’t log keystrokes nor take screen shots. Instead, it monitors HTTP traffic. You can monitor your child’s Internet usage to see what they are doing. You can easily see what games your child is playing and which software they use by looking at certain areas of your computer, such as the Program Files folder or the Add and Remove Programs section. Even the most clever children will be able to erase this information. However, most programs connect to the Internet these day, so you can see which programs and which websites your child is visiting by simply looking at the HTTP traffic generated.

Kaspersky Internet Security’s parental control module logs every website visited by your children. It also records all remote images they load from e-mails they read. This includes all servers they connect to online gaming or software updates. Your child may be using Winamp to watch movies or music, if the logs include entries from winamp.com. Electronic Arts might be a source of entries in your logs. You can also see what software your children are downloading from other sites. Software monitors HTTP traffic. This means you can monitor all Internet activity, not just the web browser traffic.

Kaspersky Lab’s approach to parental control and monitoring software does not pose a threat to your online safety. There are no security holes in Kaspersky Lab’s software that log keystrokes and capture screen data. Although logs of HTTP traffic might still contain tracking information you don’t want to share with advertising companies (and their spyware program), the beauty of this module, is that it is integrated in an Internet security suite so that you are automatically protected from unauthorised access and malware infections. The traffic through secure servers (HTTPS), is usually encrypted. Therefore, the monitoring software can only view encrypted data during secure online sessions like online banking or shopping. It is still a good idea to disable the parental control module before sending sensitive information via the Internet.

The monitoring portion of parental control software was what I discussed up to now. You can also block inappropriate content using the control section. By blocking inappropriate content, you can reduce the chance of getting malware infections. Many porn sites contain spyware. Therefore, keeping your children from these sites will not only protect them from harmful content but also your computer from potentially dangerous infections. If you do not have spyware protection, your child may be causing a serious spyware infection. It is possible to log in to your online banking account and enter sensitive information without even realizing that spyware is lurking on your computer. Although parental control software does not protect your computer from malware infections, it can help your children avoid potentially dangerous websites.