Kids and the Internet FAQ

Children are going online at younger and younger ages—in fact, the fastest growing segment of Internet users is now pre-schoolers. Many kids use the Internet at school by the time they are six years old, so they'll probably want to go online at home around this age as well.

Children under ten, however, generally don't have the critical thinking skills to be online alone, so stay involved when kids younger than ten use the Internet. Sit with them when they are online. Make sure they go to sites you have chosen.

Teach them to never share personal information over the Internet.

To learn more about what you can do, read Age-based guidelines for kids' Internet use.

Young children should share a family e-mail address rather than have their own accounts. As they get older and want more independence, you can give them their own address. The mail can still reside in your family inbox, so you can ask about any suspicious-looking messages they may get.

For more information on adding e-mail accounts in Microsoft Outlook, see About e-mail accounts.

Ask your Internet service provider (ISP) what options it provides for family e-mail accounts.

Use e-mail filters to help prevent the delivery of spam, unsolicited messages, and fraudulent e-mails designed to collect your personal information.

Work with your kids to create an online agreement that outlines the rights and obligations of computer use at home. Your children's input is critical to the success of the agreement. Make sure the agreement covers:

Print the rules out and keep them by the family computer to remind everyone of the rules. Review it regularly, and update it as your kids get older.

To learn more about establishing house rules for Internet use, read Using family contracts to help protect your kids online.

Your initial role is to discuss safety and privacy guidelines with your children. You should also encourage them to use good behavior when they use IM. This includes teaching them not to bully others, and how to inform you if they are being bullied.

Here are some suggested rules for using IM:

For more safety and privacy tips, read 10 tips for safer instant messaging.

Kids can use the Internet to do research for homework, learn new skills and explore new cultures, and build relationships with other kids. Kids who are shy in-person may feel more comfortable initially connecting with people over the Internet.

Excessive computer use, however, might further isolate shy kids from their peers. Or it can take away from other activities such as homework, exercise, sleep, or spending time with others.

Parents and teachers are often unaware that a child has an Internet problem until it is serious, because it is easy to hide online activity and because Internet addiction is not yet widely recognized.

To support healthy Internet use in your family, establish rules around home computer use. Balance computer time with physical and social activities.

Make sure your Internet-connected computer is in a public space in the home, not in your child's room.

If you use Windows Vista, you can help enforce these rules using the time limits feature of the Windows Vista Parental Controls.

Finally, look at your own Internet use. Do you spend hours online? If you do, your children are likely to follow your example.

For tips on how to help your kids establish a healthy balance between Internet use and other activities, read Help make sure your kids don't spend too much time online.

A virus is a malicious software program that infects computer files or hard disk drives and then makes copies of itself. Many activities that kids do online can leave computers vulnerable to viruses.

E-mail attachments are a common means of distributing viruses, but viruses can also be downloaded when you share files and open instant message attachments.

Make sure your children understand the following:

You can protect your computer by always running up-to-date firewall software, using Microsoft Update to help ensure your Microsoft programs are current, running antivirus software regularly, and by periodically scanning your computer for spyware or other unwanted software and immediately removing it.

Yes, there are ways you can track where they've been online, but be aware that computer-savvy kids know how to cover their Internet tracks. It's more effective to have clear rules about Internet use and to communicate openly with your kids.

When you surf the Internet, your Web browser collects information about the places you visit and stores it on your computer.

Browsers usually keep a history of recently visited sites. Most versions of Internet Explorer have a History button on the top toolbar.

If you don't see the button, simply press the Ctrl (control) and H keys at the same time, which will bring up your history listings. Double-click any listing to view the site.

Browsers also make temporary copies of Web pages, known as cache files, and store them on your computer.

To view your temporary files in Internet Explorer:

You should see a list of Web pages you or your child has recently visited, as well as images viewed and cookies placed on your computer.

Many kinds of software enable you to monitor your online activities. For example Windows Vista Parental Controls enables you to filter the Internet. These controls send you weekly activity reports that detail where your children went on the Internet, people they chatted with, and more.

This is often referred to as cyberbullying or griefing and is becoming common among teenagers. Encourage your children to talk with you if any conversations occur online that they are uncomfortable with. You can block the person sending the harassing messages using the block options that come in many e-mail and instant messaging programs.

Save any harassing e-mail messages and forward them to your e-mail service provider. Most providers have appropriate use policies that restrict users from harassing others over the Internet.

Kids can also be harassed and cyberbullied while playing online video games. To learn about what you can do to help keep video gaming safe and fun for your kids, read 10 tips for dealing with game cyberbullies and griefers.

If the harassment consists of comments posted on a Web site, contact your Internet service provider (ISP) and ask for help to locate the ISP hosting the site. You can then contact the ISP and bring the offensive comments to their attention.

You should also contact your local police department. Harassment is a crime, both in the real world and on the Internet. It is illegal to communicate repeatedly with someone if your communication causes them to fear for their own safety or the safety of others.

Filtering tools may be helpful with young children, when you use the tools to complement—not replace—parental supervision. Filters and blockers, however, are not foolproof, and they often fail to keep out inappropriate material. They can also block useful content that your kids may need for their school assignments.

While filters may be useful when your kids are young, as they grow older they will need to develop safe and responsible online behavior.

Microsoft offers the Windows Vista Parental Controls and Family Safety from Windows Live OneCare.

Before you allow your teenager to use your credit card online, give them clear guidelines about shopping online and what to look for to help keep their transactions safe and secure.

Teach them what to look for on a Web site that may indicate that it's all right to give credit card information to the site. Before shopping on a Web site, look for:

The items listed above can be forged, so it's important to encourage your children to ask you before they make purchases online so you can be the final judge as to whether a Web site is safe.

For more information on safer shopping, read How to shop online more safely

The Xbox and Xbox 360 game systems come with parental controls, called Family Settings, which are tools you can use to restrict the type of games your children can play based on a game's rating (for example, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) rating in the United States).

For more information, see Xbox 360 Family Settings help create a safer gaming environment and Family Settings - A guide to helping your family enjoy the Xbox experience.

Web site privacy policies outline how the personal information collected on the site is used, shared, and retained. It's important for parents to read a Web site's privacy policy, and show their children what to look for in a privacy policy before giving out any personal information. Sometimes these policies can be lengthy, complex, and vague.

If the Web site doesn't have a privacy policy or statement, use caution when shopping or providing personal information on that Web site.

When you read a privacy policy, you want to know: