SpywareBlaster 4.6 Released – An Important Building Block In Your Wall Against Malware

If there’s a lesson that an average Internet user needs to be reminded of until it becomes second nature it’s this – “prevention is worth a pound of cure”.

Just as in real life, where the public health practice of systematic inoculation has proven to prevent a wide range of serious diseases (prevention is worth a pound of cure at its best) – giving a computer a “shot” (which SpywareBlaster is designed to do), as part of a layered defense strategy, has proven benefits.

Relying on a malware removal tool, following a serious malware infection, is often a fool’s errant since there is simply no way that an average user can be absolutely sure that the infection has been contained – never mind removed. It’s no accident that a huge number of specialty malware removal tools have been developed to address this very issue. Applications which, unfortunately, are often outside the capabilities of an average user.

So, stopping the bad guys from gaining a foothold has to be a primary objective of that layered defense strategy that I mentioned earlier. And, part of that strategy includes raising barriers at the doorway to the system – the Internet browser.

SpywareBlaster, the granddaddy (in a sense), of Internet browser security applications –  which has just been updated to version 4.6 – is a free application which is well suited to helping raise those barriers.

SpywareBlaster, once installed, doesn’t use any services, or drivers, and does not use memory or processing time. You just open SpywareBlaster, set your protection, close it – you’re protected. SpywareBlaster continues to provide protection without the need for user interaction.

SpywareBlaster doesn’t scan for or clean spyware, since it’s designed to prevent installation only – so, it must be used in combination with your existing antimalware applications.

A quick walkthrough:

First – a little house cleaning. Enable all protection.

SpywareBlaster continues to provide protection without the need for user interaction.

A secondary, but equally important function offered by SpywareBlaster is its ability to block spyware/tracking cookies and restrict the actions of spyware/adware/tracking sites in Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Netscape, Seamonkey, Flock and other browsers.

A bonus feature included with SpywareBlaster is – System Snapshot. You can take a snapshot of your computer in its clean state, and later revert to this state, undoing any changes made by spyware and browser hijackers that have infected your system despite the security in place.

I recommend that you take advantage of this important feature – just in case.

For a more hands on approach – open the Tools menu and fiddle to your hearts content.

Fast facts:

Prevent the installation of ActiveX-based spyware and other potentially unwanted programs.

Block spying / tracking via cookies.

Restrict the actions of potentially unwanted or dangerous web sites.

Unlike other programs, SpywareBlaster does not have to remain running in the background. It works alongside the programs you have to help secure your system.

System requirements: Windows XP, Vista, Win 7 (32 bit and 64 bit).

Browser compatibility:

Internet Explorer

Mozilla Firefox

Netscape

Seamonkey

Pale Moon

K-Meleon

and browsers that use the IE engine, including:

AOL web browser

Avant Browser

Slim Browser

Maxthon (formerly MyIE2)

Crazy Browser

GreenBrowser

Download at: Javacool Software

Need answers? Visit the SpywareBlaster Forum

SpywareBlaster is definitely low maintenance and the only thing you need to remember is – update the database which contains information on known spyware Active-X controls – regularly.

Additional free applications available from Javacool Software:

Doc Scrubber – Microsoft Word files can contain more than just text you see while editing them. Depending on the settings or features you use, they may contain all kinds of additional information that you may not want shared outside your home or company. Doc Scrubber lets you see that information, and scrub it from files before sending them to others.

EULAlyzer – Discover if the software you’re about to install displays pop-up ads, transmits personally identifiable information, uses unique identifiers to track you, or much much more. EULAlyzer can analyze license agreements in seconds, and provide a detailed listing of potentially interesting words and phrases.

Who’s Tracking Your Internet Browsing? – Find Out With Ghostery

Picture this – you’re at your favorite grocery store and you can’t help but notice – no matter which aisle you’re in, you’re actions are being observed surreptitiously by a herd of people.

Each one carries a clipboard, in order to keep track of everything you throw into your grocery cart. On top of that, every grocery product you look at is noted and written down. Sound a little farfetched?

Alright, then try this – you’re cruising on CNET’s (download.com) Windows home page, and your every action is being observed – every action you take, every motion you make,  is noted and written down. Sound a little farfetched?

While the first scenario is just my imagination in overdrive, the second  certainly isn’t.

If you had Ghostery, the Firefox and Chrome add-on (which is designed to protect your privacy, by identifying who’s tracking your browsing) installed, you’d have access to the following information.

Screen shot of the trackers on CNET’s Windows home page.

Screen shot of the CBS Interactive individual links.

I’m not focusing on CNET particularly – you can expect to encounter this type of tracking on virtually every Web site you visit. This intrusive behavior is common, and should be expected.

It shouldn’t be common, but with little resistance being offered by the “sheeple”,  and a failure by regulatory authorities to enact appropriate consumer protection laws, we can expect privacy intrusions , like this, to accelerate. How sad is that?

If you object to this type of intrusion into your privacy, then consider installing Ghostery, and give these intrusive jerks the heave-ho. It may not be a perfect solution but, it’s a step in the right direction.

Fast facts:

DETECT – Ghostery sees the “invisible” web, detecting trackers, web bugs, pixels, and beacons placed on web pages by Facebook, Google Analytics, and over 400 other ad networks, behavioral data providers, web publishers – all companies interested in your activity.

LEARN – After showing you who operates behind the scenes, Ghostery also gives you the opportunity to learn more about each company it identifies, including links to their privacy policy and opt-out options.

CONTROL – Ghostery allows you to block scripts from companies that you don’t trust, delete local shared objects, and even block images and iframes.

Download for Firefox at: Mozilla.

Download for Chrome at: – Google.

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Download Free System Protect – Stop Accidental File Deletions

In many cases it’s possible to recover deleted files using file recovery software, but not always. Besides, isn’t an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure?

Last year a friend’s teenage sons deleted all of the family photos to make room on the Hard Drive so that they could download a peer to peer movie. Luckily, I had persuaded him earlier that all important data on his computer needed to be backed up regularly. I should point out, that it took some real arm twisting on my part to convince him that data backup is essential.

Another Solution

Nothing of course, beats a regularly scheduled incremental back up plan, but there is a freeware solution to prevent the accidental deletion of data from your computer in the first place.

System Protect is a free, easy-to-use application that helps keep your operating system stable, and protects important programs, documents and files from deletion caused by viruses, other users on your computer such as your children, or even your own mistakes.

Quick Facts:

File & Folder Protection – Prevents deletion of important files, programs and documents

Protection of Selected Files – Lets you choose files and folders to be protected. This ensures that a virus, other people working with your computer or even you, won’t delete an important document, your favorite photos, music, movies or other files

Increased Operating System Stability – Protects essential system files to keep your operating system stable

Deletion Attempt Notification – Notifies you of any attempt to delete any of the protected files

Protection for All Users – Ensures protection for all computer users; administrator or restricted user

Works without Distracting You – Silently protects your computer without interrupting your work

Deny Mode – Automatically block deletion of any protected file

Since mistakes are inevitable on a computer, this neat little program could be just the thing you need to reduce the chances of having to deal with that unrecoverable error.

Download at: Download.com

Blog Comments That Make No Sense

Some time ago, TechPaul, in his Blog Tech – for Everyone, wrote a great piece on why FireFox users’ would benefit by installing the NoScript add-on. If you’re not familiar with NoScript, the developer describes it this way:

“The NoScript Firefox extension provides extra protection for Firefox, Flock, Seamonkey and other mozilla-based browsers: this free, open source add-on allows JavaScript, Java and Flash and other plugins to be executed only by trusted web sites of your choice (e.g. your online bank), and provides the most powerful Anti-XSS protection available in a browser.”

So I was more than a little surprised, to see a recent reader comment referencing this article, in which the reader (a self described “web developer”), complained:

“Ok, great! Block Javascript, IFrames, Flash and the like. Why not go ahead and block web sites from loading on browsers from now on? At some point you have to get real about web browsing. What you are doing by spreading this so called information is causing panic, and making people scared to browse”.

My immediate response after reading this uninformed reader’s comment was – What planet are you living on? What internet are you surfing?  How could you be totally unaware of the following?

Trojan horse programs

Back door and remote administration programs

Denial of service

Being an intermediary for another attack

Unprotected Window shares

Mobile code (Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX)

Cross-site scripting

Email spoofing

Email-borne viruses

Hidden file extensions

Chat clients

Packet sniffing

Yes, uninformed reader, you must be right – TechPaul and the following informed users, and reviewers, must be wrong.

CNET News: “Giorgio Maone’s NoScript script-blocking plug-in is the one-and-only Firefox add-on I consider mandatory.” (March 9, 2009, Dennis O’Reilly, Get a new PC ready for everyday use)

Forbes: “The real key to defeating malware isn’t antivirus but approaches like Firefox’s NoScript plug-in, which blocks Web pages from running potentially malicious programs” (Dec 11, 2008, Andy Greenberg, Filter The Virus Filters).

PC World: Internet Explorer 7 Still Not Safe Enough because it doesn’t act like “NoScript […] an elegant solution to the problem of malicious scripting”

New York Times: “[…] NoScript, a plug-in utility, can limit the ability of remote programs to run potentially damaging programs on your PC“, (Jan 7, 2007, John Markoff, Tips for Protecting the Home Computer).

The Washington Post security blog compares MSIE “advanced” security features (like so called “Zones”) to Firefox ones and recommends NoScript adoption as the safest and most usable approach.

The final part of this uninformed reader’s self serving comment was as follows:

“ If you have half decent anti everything, the real nasties will be blocked by them and the need for these add-ons won’t be there. This is not great news for web developers!!!”

One of the aims of Bloggers like TechPaul, Sir, is to offer information to readers which allows them to determine, based on real information, what steps they need to take in order to enhance security to a level which is appropriate for their needs.

A self described “web developer”, such as you, would be well advised to keep the needs of his clients, and end users, uppermost in his mind. Otherwise,it seems to me, you may not remain a web developer, ‘”self described”, or otherwise, for very long.

How to Protect Your Child on the Internet

There is little doubt that the Internet neighborhood can provide a rich educational and cultural experience for children of all ages and backgrounds.

But, would you drop your child off in a neighborhood where more than half of the buildings were adult stores, and was potentially full of predators? Well of course you wouldn’t.

If you let your child explore the Internet unsupervised, or without having communicated to your child information about potential on-line dangers, this is close to what you’re doing.

According to the FBI in the United States, the following are some of the most important positive actions, you as a parent can take, to enhance your child’s safety on the Internet.

Communicate, and talk to your child about potential on-line dangers.

Spend time with your children on-line. Have them teach you about their favorite on-line destinations.

Keep the computer in a common room in the house, not in your child’s bedroom.

Utilize parental controls provided by your service provider and/or blocking software.

Since computer-sex offenders are a very real danger on the Internet, the FBI suggests that you instruct your children to:

Never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone they met on- line.

Never upload (post) pictures of themselves onto the Internet or an on-line service to people they do not personally know.

Never give out identifying information such as their name, home address, school name, or telephone number.

Never download pictures from an unknown source; there is a good chance there could be sexually explicit images.

Never respond to messages or bulletin board postings that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent, or harassing.

An important aspect of ensuring that your child is safe while using the Internet, (recommended by the FBI and child safety experts/organizations), is the installation of parental control software. Parental controls will provide you with the advantage of being able to:

Block access to materials (text and pictures) identified as inappropriate for kids.

Permit access only to materials specifically approved as safe for kids.

Specify what types of materials are appropriate for your child.

Monitor your child’s activity on the Internet by storing names of sites and/or snapshots of material seen by your child on the computer for you to view later.

Set different restrictions for each family member.

Limit results of an Internet search to content appropriate for kids.

Enforce time limits set by parents.

A free solution, available as a download from the Internet is Parental Control Bar, a browser toolbar which works on the most popular Internet browsers.

Parental Control Bar is provided free of charge to the public by WRAAC.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free, effective internet control tools.

Parental Control Bar Features:

Child/Parent Mode

This status indicator makes it easy to tell if your computer is in Child-Mode or Parent-Mode. When in Child-Mode, control features are enabled and web sites are blocked based on your parental settings. When in Parent-Mode, control features are disabled and you, the parent, have unrestricted access to the Internet.

Parental Password

A single password makes it easy for you, the parent, to enable or disable Child-Mode. There is a hint to help you remember your password, or if you forget it completely have it sent to a parental email address.

Help Menu

Clicking this button opens the toolbar menu where parents can access tutorials, help menus or change your password.

Change Parental Settings

Clicking this button opens the parental settings menu where you can specify the types of content you wish to block your family from accessing in Child-Mode. You can also manage your personal list of ‘blocked’ and ‘child-safe’ sites from this menu.

Easily Block Adult Sites

The toolbar helps block a significant amount of adult-oriented websites. In addition, you may select specific sites to block by clicking this button. Once you have added a website to the ‘blocked sites’ list it is only accessible in Parent-Mode

Parental Alert

When the toolbar is in Child-Mode, this parental alert blocks your child from accessing adult-oriented websites (based on your parental settings).

Add Web Site to Safe List

Clicking this button adds the website you are currently visiting to the ’safe site’ list. Once a website is added to the ’safe site’ list it can be accessed from either Child-Mode or Parent-Mode (regardless of site label).

For parents looking for a cost-effective tool to help give their children controlled freedom on the Internet, Parental Control Bar is a safe way to go.

System requirements:

Windows 98/ME/2000/XP

Internet Explorer 5.5 and above

FireFox 1.5 and above

Safari 10.4 and above

Download at: WRAAC.org

For more information on Internet safety issues for parents and /children/teenagers, I encourage you to visit CNET. This site includes information on the following.

Developing safe and smart Internet citizens

Parents, tech outdo lawmakers on Internet safety

Parental controls that keep tabs on young Web surfers

User-generated videos challenge parental controls

Growing concerns over cyber bullying

Readers address online safety for kids

Free Anonymous Phone Numbers for Online Safety

Privacy is a major issue for most people who use the Internet; particularly those who use web based listing service such as eBay, craigslist, and online dating services. Not surprisingly, to interact with these services, participants need to provide a contact phone number.

Not all participants feel comfortable in providing their home, business, or cell phone numbers to unknown parties that can conceivably place them at risk.

So how can you address this challenge? Well, luckily there are a number of free services that offer solutions to this problem.

The new kid on the block is LetsCall.me. Currently, LetsCall.me connects numbers in the US and Canada only.

From the LetsCall.me web site:

This is a free service that makes it easy and safe for people to call you. Use with online services such as Craigslist, or any other situation you want to talk, but don’t want to reveal your phone number.

Create a web address to give to people that want to call you:

http://letscall.me/

Benefits of LetsCall.me

Accept calls anonymously without revealing your phone number

No caller id blocking – always know who’s calling

Block unwanted callers

Easier to remember than a phone number

Great for Craigslist and other internet sites

Be safe – don’t give out your phone number, use LetsCall.me

How it works

Pick your own URL such as letscall.me/johndoe

Instead of giving out your phone number, share your LetsCall.me page

People who want to call you input their phone number on your LetsCall.me page, and then we will call them and connect them with you.

Your phone will ring with the other person’s Caller ID – since the other person needs to receive the call first, they cannot fake their number

Talk with the other person as often and as long as you want

If you want to block the person from calling you, just tell us their number

Check out this free service at LetsCall.me

Another recent addition to this category of fee service providers is Hookup digits.

Take a look at this from Hookup digits website.

How does it work?

Simply type in your REAL phone number (cell or landline number)…then our system will automatically give you a hookup digit phone number. Share this number with who ever you like. The caller never sees your REAL number. (unless you call them) All incoming calls through this number are anonymous.

In addition, the person calling you also shows up anonymous. (the caller ID will show your hookup digits as an incoming call so you know it isn’t your mom calling) The callers are protected too. No sharing of REAL numbers will happen unless you want them to.

What else do I need to know?

Your hookup digits will be active for 7 days, during which anyone can call you anonymously.

After 7 days, if you don’t want to use the number any more, you don’t have to do anything, it just expires. If you still need the number, just return to the site and renew it.

Calls can last for up to 10 minutes, if you need more time, just have the caller call you back. You can do this as many times as you like!

And best of all, its completely free!

Check out this free service at the Hookup digits website.

Free Internet Child Protection – Parental Control Bar

There is little doubt that the Internet neighborhood can provide a rich educational and cultural experience for children of all ages and backgrounds.

But would you drop your child off in a neighborhood where more than half of the buildings were adult stores, and it was potentially full of predators? Well of course you wouldn’t.

But if you let your child explore the Internet unsupervised, or without having communicated to your child information concerning potential on-line dangers, this is close to what you’re doing.

According to the FBI in the United States, the following are some of the most important positive actions, you as a parent, can take to reduce your child’s possible victimization on the Internet.

• Communicate, and talk to your child about potential on-line dangers.
• Spend time with your children on-line. Have them teach you about their favorite on-line destinations.
• Keep the computer in a common room in the house, not in your child’s bedroom.
• Utilize parental controls provided by your service provider and/or blocking software.

Since computer-sex offenders are a very real danger on the Internet, the FBI suggests that you instruct your children to:

• Never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone they met on- line.
• Never upload (post) pictures of themselves onto the Internet or an on-line service to people they do not personally know.
• Never give out identifying information such as their name, home address, school name, or telephone number.
• Never download pictures from an unknown source; there is a good chance there could be sexually explicit images.
• Never respond to messages or bulletin board postings that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent, or harassing.

An important aspect of ensuring that your child is safe while using the Internet, (recommended by the FBI and child safety experts/organizations) is the installation of parental control software.

Parental controls will provide you with the advantage of being able to:

• Block access to materials (text and pictures) identified as inappropriate for kids.
• Permit access only to materials specifically approved as safe for kids.
• Specify what types of materials are appropriate for your child.
• Monitor your child’s activity on the Internet by storing names of sites and/or snapshots of material seen by your child on the computer for you to view later.
• Set different restrictions for each family member.
• Limit results of an Internet search to content appropriate for kids.
• Enforce time limits set by parents.

ParentalControl Bar, a browser toolbar, is a free solution available as a download on the Internet. ParentalControl Bar is provided free of charge to the public by WRAAC.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free, effective internet control tools.

ParentalControl Bar Features

Child/Parent Mode

This status indicator makes it easy to tell if your computer is in Child-Mode or Parent-Mode. When in Child-Mode, control features are enabled and web sites are blocked based on your parental settings. When in Parent-Mode, control features are disabled and you, the parent, have unrestricted access to the Internet.

Parental Password

A single password makes it easy for you, the parent, to enable or disable Child-Mode. There is a hint to help you remember your password, or if you forget it completely have it sent to a parental email address.

Help Menu

Clicking this button opens the toolbar menu where parents can access tutorials, help menus or change your password.

Change Parental Settings

Clicking this button opens the parental settings menu where you can specify the types of content you wish to block your family from accessing in Child-Mode. You can also manage your personal list of ‘blocked’ and ‘child-safe’ sites from this menu.

Easily Block Adult Sites

The toolbar helps block a significant amount of adult-oriented websites. In addition, you may select specific sites to block by clicking this button. Once you have added a website to the ‘blocked sites’ list it is only accessible in Parent-Mode

Parental Alert

When the toolbar is in Child-Mode, this parental alert blocks your child from accessing adult-oriented websites (based on your parental settings).

Add Web Site to Safe List

Clicking this button adds the website you are currently visiting to the ’safe site’ list. Once a website is added to the ’safe site’ list it can be accessed from either Child-Mode or Parent-Mode (regardless of site label).

For parents looking for a cost-effective tool to help give their children controlled freedom on the Internet, Parental Control Bar is a safe way to go.

System requirements: Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, Internet Explorer 5.5+, FireFox 1.5+, Safari 10.4+

Download at: WRAAC.org

For more information on Internet safety issues for parents and /children/teenagers, visit CNET. This site includes information on the following.

• Developing safe and smart Internet citizens
• Parents, tech outdo lawmakers on Internet safety
• Parental controls that keep tabs on young Web surfers
• User-generated videos challenge parental controls
• Growing concerns over cyber bullying
• Readers address online safety for kids

Free System Protect – Stop Accidental File Deletions

Recently I was talking to a friend whose teenagers had deleted all of the family photos to make room on the Hard Drive so that they could download a peer to peer movie.

While he was upset that the photo files had been erased, this incident wasn’t the disaster it could have been. Fortunately I had persuaded him sometime before, that all important data on the computer needed to be backed up regularly.

So what about you? Do you have a disaster recovery plan in effect should this type of event, where you lose irreplaceable data, occur with your computer?

It’s now easier than ever to backup giving the large choice of relatively inexpensive media, including CDs, DVDs, USB sticks, external Hard Drives, and increasingly gaining popularity, Online Backup Services.

Mozy, a popular Online Backup Services is free and easy to use, and it gives you 2GB of space to backup your data. When needed, the backed up files can be restored over the Internet.

Download the application at Mozy

Alternatively, you can back up to your media locally using a freeware program such as DriveImage XML which runs under Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista. This program will backup, image and restore drives formatted with FAT 12, 16, 32 and NTFS.

Download the application at Runtime.org

Another Solution

Nothing of course, beats a regularly scheduled incremental back up plan, but there is another solution to prevent the accidental deletion of data from your computer.

System Protect is a free, easy-to-use application that helps keep your operating system stable, and protects important programs, documents and files from deletion caused by viruses, other users on your computer such as your kids, or even your own mistakes.

Quick Facts:

File & Folder Protection – Prevents deletion of important files, programs and documents

Protection of Selected Files – Lets you choose files and folders to be protected. This ensures that a virus, other people working with your computer or even you, won’t delete an important document, your favorite photos, music, movies or other files

Increased Operating System Stability – Protects essential system files to keep your operating system stable

Deletion Attempt Notification – Notifies you of any attempt to delete any of the protected files

Protection for All Users – Ensures protection for all computer users; administrator or restricted user

Works without Distracting You – Silently protects your computer without interrupting your work

Deny Mode – Automatically block deletion of any protected file

Since mistakes are inevitable on a computer, this neat little program could be just the thing you need to reduce the chances of having to deal with that unrecoverable error.

Download at: Download.com

Free Parental Control Bar – Protect Your Child on the Internet

There is little doubt that the Internet neighborhood can provide a rich educational and cultural experience for children of all ages and backgrounds. But would you drop your child off in a neighborhood where more than half of the buildings were adult stores, and it was potentially full of predators? Well of course you wouldn’t.

But if you let your child explore the Internet unsupervised, or without having communicated to your child information about potential on-line dangers, this is close to what you’re doing.

According to the FBI in the United States, the following are some of the most important positive actions, you as a parent, can take to reduce your child’s possible victimization on the Internet.

• Communicate, and talk to your child about potential on-line dangers.
• Spend time with your children on-line. Have them teach you about their favorite on-line destinations.
• Keep the computer in a common room in the house, not in your child’s bedroom.
• Utilize parental controls provided by your service provider and/or blocking software.

Since computer-sex offenders are a very real danger on the Internet, the FBI suggests that you instruct your children to:

• Never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone they met on- line.
• Never upload (post) pictures of themselves onto the Internet or an on-line service to people they do not personally know.
• Never give out identifying information such as their name, home address, school name, or telephone number.
• Never download pictures from an unknown source; there is a good chance there could be sexually explicit images.
• Never respond to messages or bulletin board postings that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent, or harassing.

An important aspect of ensuring that your child is safe while using the Internet, (recommended by the FBI and child safety experts/organizations) is the installation of parental control software.Parental controls will provide you with the advantage of being able to:

• Block access to materials (text and pictures) identified as inappropriate for kids.
• Permit access only to materials specifically approved as safe for kids.
• Specify what types of materials are appropriate for your child.
• Monitor your child’s activity on the Internet by storing names of sites and/or snapshots of material seen by your child on the computer for you to view later.
• Set different restrictions for each family member.
• Limit results of an Internet search to content appropriate for kids.
• Enforce time limits set by parents.

A free solution, available as a download on the Internet is ParentalControl Bar, a browser toolbar which works on Internet Explorer only, despite the website claim that it works on other browsers.ParentalControl Bar is provided free of charge to the public by WRAAC.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing free, effective internet control tools.

ParentalControl Bar Features

Child/Parent Mode

This status indicator makes it easy to tell if your computer is in Child-Mode or Parent-Mode. When in Child-Mode, control features are enabled and web sites are blocked based on your parental settings. When in Parent-Mode, control features are disabled and you, the parent, have unrestricted access to the Internet.

Parental Password

A single password makes it easy for you, the parent, to enable or disable Child-Mode. There is a hint to help you remember your password, or if you forget it completely have it sent to a parental email address.Help Menu

Clicking this button opens the toolbar menu where parents can access tutorials, help menus or change your password.

Change Parental Settings

Clicking this button opens the parental settings menu where you can specify the types of content you wish to block your family from accessing in Child-Mode. You can also manage your personal list of ‘blocked’ and ‘child-safe’ sites from this menu.

Easily Block Adult Sites

The toolbar helps block a significant amount of adult-oriented websites. In addition, you may select specific sites to block by clicking this button. Once you have added a website to the ‘blocked sites’ list it is only accessible in Parent-Mode

Parental Alert

When the toolbar is in Child-Mode, this parental alert blocks your child from accessing adult-oriented websites (based on your parental settings).

Add Web Site to Safe List

Clicking this button adds the website you are currently visiting to the ’safe site’ list. Once a website is added to the ’safe site’ list it can be accessed from either Child-Mode or Parent-Mode (regardless of site label).

For parents looking for a cost-effective tool to help give their children controlled freedom on the Internet, Parental Control Bar is a safe way to go.

Download at: WRAAC.org

For more information on Internet safety issues for parents and /children/teenagers, visit CNET. This site includes information on the following.

• Developing safe and smart Internet citizens
• Parents, tech outdo lawmakers on Internet safety
• Parental controls that keep tabs on young Web surfers
• User-generated videos challenge parental controls
• Growing concerns over cyber bullying
• Readers address online safety for kids