By Sage McHugh on September 2, 2009 in
Knowing the places your child visits online is just as important as knowing where they go in real life. In cyberspace, a child is just one click away from danger. According to the Crimes Against Children Research Center, one in five teenagers have received unwanted sexual advances online, and 25% of children have been unintentionally exposed to pornography.
Teaching your child how to identify and protect against online threats can go a long way. Microsoft provides a helpful list of online safety basics to address with your child. You can refer to the FBI's "A Parent's Guide to Internet Safety" for more safety tips, signs of risk, and information on what to do if think your child has fallen victim to an online predator or scammer.
Most operating systems, including Windows Vista, come with some parental-control tools that help manage your child's time online, and set up approvals for which programs or websites your child can or cannot use. Read more about the options in Vista in our report on parental control software, which also includes a discussion of third-party programs parents can use.