Keep Your Kids Safe on the Internet (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Johnson cofounded one of Australia's first IT companies and is an expert on Internet security. When he became a father in 2002, he realized his young daughter would soon be tooling around online and would inevitably encounter inappropriate spam messages, among other hazards. He promptly founded an information Web site for parents to keep their kids safe online, which then begot this comprehensive guide. The Web is still a "wild, undiscovered, and unregulated frontier," Johnson says, a tool pedophiles use to look for victims. Nearly 90% of kids encounter pornography online while doing their homework, he warns. The good news is parents can take steps to protect their children so they may safely and effectively use the Internet, which Johnson presents—in spite of the dangers—as essential for contemporary learning. Most importantly, Johnson asserts, parents should educate their children (e.g., tell them not to give out personal information online), monitor computer use (place the computer in a shared place, not in a child's bedroom) and buy computer software to filter and protect. He suggests five programs that parents should install and walks readers through individual products, explaining the pros and cons and making recommendations. Rather than offering a diatribe on the dangers of the Web, Johnson offers a practical, well-researched guide to help parents minimize the Web's potential drawbacks.
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Review

A useful overview of the options available for improving the online safety of children. -- Australian Personal Computer Magazine, September 2004

Covers all the most common aspects… essential guide for parents whose kids know more about PCs than they do. -- PC Utilities Magazine (UK), September 2004

For parents of computer-savvy kids, this book is a must read. -- Miami Herald, September 18, 2004

Gives parents a guide to what kids are finding on the Internet and how to protect them from bad sites. -- NEA (National Education Association) Today, October 2004

Handy is the word that sums up this book. -- Computer Times (Singapore), July 2004

Very much up-to-date …provides lots of information about the real threats to children, and what you can do about them. -- City Parent, September 1, 2004

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Osborne Media; 1 edition (August 26, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072257415
• ISBN-13: 978-0072257410
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,512,665 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book for parents and other adults too!, December 10, 2004

By	Teknion Tracker (California) - See all my reviews

Simon Johnson has done a very good job at giving an overall view of the danger that children (and adults too) face using the Internet. Thankfully he does not only show the dangers, but he gives a lot of ideas on what as a parent you should do to protect children. Simon reviews a lot of software, shows the flaws and benefits of the many items out there that we may want to use and or avoid.

Simon keeps the writing simple and basic. It's not so high tech that he talks over your head, and he still gets his point across.

I certainly would say this is a good book for getting ideas on protecting your children on the net.

With this book, Simon has continued the good work he has done on his own web site at http://keepyourkidssafe.com/. I recognize his name as one of the good influences of the Internet.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great resource for parents, December 9, 2004

By	P. M. Worthy (Canberra Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Simon Johnson picked an opportune time to launch his book. The arrests of the paedophiles and Current Affairs Programs segments on chat rooms predators underline the dangers that can exist on the Internet. The book or rather guide certainly covers the risks to our Kids and pulls no punches. It is an excellent resource for any parent concerned with their child's assess to the Internet. It has all the helpful hints on protecting children from the risks.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Resource for Parents, May 30, 2006

By	Rebecca Johnson "SeasonedwithLove.com" (Washington State) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

"I didn't write this book to scare you. Nor did I write it to persuade you not to let your child use the Internet. The Internet benefits your child too much to warrant it being banned. I wrote this book to arm you with the knowledge and tools you can use to ensure, as much as possible, that your child has a positive Internet experience..." ~Simon Johnson

Keep Your Kids Safe on the Internet is a book dedicated to keeping your family safe from a variety of predatory elements lurking online. Everything from viruses to cyber-bullies. As an adult you have no doubt met many of these issues when you were first online and through experience you have been able to work through the chaos to get to the helpful sites and information.

Children don't have the time to deal with these issues (childhood is already stressful enough) and so parents have to protect them by putting in protective computer elements like firewalls and filtering software. Issues addressed:

What is the Internet?
How is the Internet Regulated?
What are the threats and how serious are they?
How to Avoid and Reduce the Risks...
Content-Filtering Software
Using Filtering Software to Keep Out the Junk Mail
Internet Firewall Software
Antivirus Software
Malicious Software Detection
Putting Your Defense into Place
Spyware and Adware

Lists of common acronyms and emoticons are interesting; parents can learn about blogs, viruses attached to your child's e-mail and search engine filtering. Comparisons of programs like Net Nanny and McAfee are helpful for everyone. Simon Johnson has written a very helpful book to protect your entire family against threats lurking online.

~The Rebecca Review