Surfcontrols.com: top tips for family-friendly surfing

•  Parents should take an interest in what their children do with the computer. It's best to keep the computer in a communal area rather than in a child's bedroom.

•  Help educate your children about the dangers as well as the benefits of the internet. For example, tell them that they should never give personal information out.

The following are taken from ChildNet International's at http://www.childnet-int.org/

If you start by telling your child never to do something most children will ask "why not?" and then try to find out! Discussing the potential dangers with your children therefore needs care and sensitivity and involves helping them to see for themselves how they might get into difficulty. Most children will respond more positively if you encourage them to be SMART or "Cool" on the Internet rather than giving them a list of "Dos and don'ts"! The following SMART TIPS have been written especially for children aged 8-14 years.

•  SAFE - Staying safe involves being careful and not giving out your name, address, mobile phone no., school name or password to people online.

•  MEETING someone you have contacted in cyberspace can be dangerous. Only do so with your parent's/carer's permission, and then when they can be present.

•  ACCEPTING e-mails or opening files from people you don't really know or trust can get you into trouble - they may contain viruses or nasty messages.

•  RELIABLE - Someone online maybe lying about who they are, and information you find on the Internet may not be reliable.

•  TELL your parent or carer if someone or something makes you feel uncomfortable or worried.

Here are some top tools to help you:

Mailwasher Pro - spam filter identifies each item of mail and tags the spam for deletion before it's downloaded to your PC. Works on multiple mail accounts so one check screens the whole family.

NetNanny 5.1 - parental internet filter screens prevents children accessing undesirable eg. pornographic websites.

Window Washer 6.0 - protects your privacy and improves PC performance by washing away away your online and offline tracks.

Spy Sweeper - PC Magazine’s Best of the Year 2004, Spy Sweeper now scans for spyware 30% faster and successfully removes vicious programs like CoolWebSearch. Active Shields block spyware installations. The software is backed by expert customer support.

Spector Pro 5.0 - surveillance software that monitors and records every detail of Internet browsing and chat activity.

ZoneAlarm 6.5 - In view of the many threats on the internet, a top internet security suite providing firewall, antispyware and antivirus with minimal overhead and automatic updating is a must.  ZoneAlarm Security Suite 6.5 includes all this as well as parental internet and popup filters.  It’s great value compared with buying individual tools and with main competitors McAfee and Norton.