
Nowadays, the Internet has become an everyday tool in our lives and in our children lives. Parents face a mission of protecting their kids in the cyber world. The Internet has become the playground for many young children. Young children, from age two, use the Internet to play games, learn, socialize, interact with each other and much more.
There are many sites that are suited for kids, even from young age, but surfing the Web is not such an easy task for them. Young children (2- 6 years old) encounter problems when they try to surf the Web since their language skills are limited.
Most browsers are not suited for such young children and they need their parents help in order to use them. Since browsers are the gateway to the Internet, young children find themselves limited in their ability to use the Web. The solution for many parents is to sit down with their young children when they use the Internet and help them in their first steps in this virtual world. It is a great solution—it is not recommended to let young children to surf alone without adult supervision. Parents can use this time to teach the child guidelines for surfing the Internet. The problem with this solution is that some parents don’t have the time to sit with their children when they use the Internet on a regular basis. Also, many parents are not knowledgeable in suitable safe websites for kids.
This problem was recognized by a few companies which are trying to create browsers for kids. In general lines, kids’ browsers provide a gateway to the Internet suited for young children, allowing them to surf to websites that have content that is suitable for their age. These browsers function as enclosed environment protecting the young users from Internet threats. Most of these browsers are offered as a service in return for a license fee or annual fee.
A few examples for kids’ browsers:
KidRocket -
This browser is freeware. KidRocket blocks out the entire internet and only let the browser access limited, child-related Websites. It also has a feature of Email for Kids with Art/eCard attachments and a feature of time lock for limiting a child’s time on the computer.
Its requirements are:
A PC running Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP or Vista and Internet Explorer 5 or a higher version.
KidSurf -
Its requirements are:
Microsoft Windows. For best results we suggest a broadband connection (Cable or DSL).
Kidzui-
It is a very popular kids’ Web browser. Kidzui Web browser allows children to surf only to suitable websites and also offers access to games and videos. Kidzui also is being offered as an add-on to Firefox browser. Kidzui company states that their directory has more than 800,000 sites and suited for kids 3-12. Each child that uses Kidzui can choose an avatar that represents him/her in the browser. Kidzui is offered free, but there is a charge for premium services.
For a free account users can:
- Access suitable content
- Create their own avatar – Zui.
- Be a member in the community and make (parent-approved) friends.
For a free account parents can:
- Add individual websites.
- Get access to parents account.
- Get emailed reports of their kids’ online activity.
For a payment of $7.95 USD/Monthly or $39.95 USD/Semi-annual or $29.95 USD/Annual –
Users can:
- Get over 100 new Zui clothes and accessories.
- Get over 40 new backgrounds.
- Watch as friends come online and share new stuff.
- Say Hi to their friends.
- Set their mood activity to tell their friends how they feel.
- Create their own channel with favorite content.
Parents can:
- Block individual websites.
- Get kids’ online activity graphed for 90 days.
- Get unlimited history of their kids’ activities.
- Add favorites to their kids’ accounts.
- View their kids’ top interests by their online activity.
Kidzui requirements are:
- Intel Pentium III 500MHz or faster processor.
- Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or later) or Windows Vista or Mac OS X.
- Internet Explorer 6.0 or later or Firefox.
- Adobe Flash Player 9.
- 512 MB of RAM or more.
- High Speed Internet Recommended.
KidThing-
Kidthing offers a work environment for children, which has interesting and educational content. It is different from kids’ Web browsers because Kidthing creates its own content. It uses the Internet, but it is not a Web browser. Kids can use this product without being connected to the Internet. After downloading the software the kids have access to limited number of activities. Parents can add content by purchasing additional content such as, books, games and videos available for a fee of 3-10 USD each.
Kidthing requirements:
PCs running Windows XP or Windows Vista.
Kido’z-
Kido’z Web browser is currently free. In the future, the company intends to charge for premium services. It is a Web browser that allows access only to content which is suited for children ages 3-7. This Web browser offers content that was pre-filtered to suit children, games, videos and YouTube for children. Parents can add their own content to the system. They can also decide to share this content and have it reviewed by the company editors. If it is found to be suited, it is added to the product directory for the use of other members in the community.
A few of its features:
- Supports 17 languages.
- Exit Control protected by password so the child will not be able to leave the safe environment.
- Daily Time Limit function.
- Automatic Customization of the content based on the settings of the child’s account such as, gender, age, language, nationality etc.
- Video Search.
- Content Ratings – parents can rate the content and view other parents’ ratings.
Kido’z requirements:
KIDO’Z uses the Adobe AIR runtime and can be installed and used on every system for which AIR is available. These are the recommended requirements by Adobe:
Windows
- Intel® Pentium® III 1GHz or faster processor, 512MB of RAM.
- Recommended: Pentium 4 2GHZ or faster, 1GB RAM.
- Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise including 64 bit editions, Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition SP2 and SP3, Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows 2000 SP4, Windows 2003 Server.
Mac OS X
- Intel Core™ Duo 1.83GHz or faster processor; PowerPC® G4 1GHz or faster processor.
- Mac OS X 10.4.11 or Mac OS X 10.5.4 and 10.5.5.
- 512MB of RAM.
Linux
- Intel® Pentium® III 1GHz or faster processor, 512MB of RAM.
- Recommended: Pentium 4 2GHZ or faster, 1GB RAM.
- Fedora 8, Ubuntu 7.10, openSUSE 10.3.
Websites for Tweens and Teens:
Tweens (=kids ages 10-14) and teens have developed language abilities and they usually surf freely without the need of adults help. Differently from young children, they are not limited in their abilities to surf the Web. Sometimes they are more Internet savvy than their parents.
On the other hand, they still need to be protected when they use the Internet. Studies have shown that Internet parental control software has limited success in these age groups so it can not be a sole solution. Parents strive to protect tweens and teens when they use the Internet, educate them about Web ethics and warn them of Internet threats. In order to do that parents should be involved in their kids’ online activities.
A great way for parents to get involved is to offer their kids suitable, interesting and safe websites. The problem is that parents are usually not familiar with websites that are relevant for these age groups. There are sites that offer listings of safe websites for kids. Parents can use these sites in order to get familiar with interesting safe websites and direct their kids to them.
An example of such directory is SafeWeb Directory. SafeWeb directory is a free resource for parents who are looking for kid-friendly internet sites. The directory is human-edited and spam free. Searchable by subject and age group.
For more Information on Internet parental control you can see- Internet”>http://www.in3go.com/pages/cs_tools.php”>Internet Parental Control.
Watch the video related to firefox browser
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Help answer the question about firefox browser
How do I make Yahoo email default when I use Mozilla Firefox browser?I am using the Mozilla Firefox browser and every time I click on an email link it brings up gmail. I want it to bring up Yahoo because that's the email carrier I use. I changed the default email to Yahoo within Yahoo, but that didn't help. What else should I do?
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For more information on how to protect kids in the cyber world you can see – In3Go Safe Web for Families
June 10th, 2009 on 3:32 am
Even after setting Firefox to be your default browser, Yahoo! messenger still uses IE (at least this was happening to me when using Vista and a fresh install of Yahoo! Messenger).
I found this website http://www.lifespy.com/2007/windows-tip-how-to-make-yahoo-messenger-use-firefox-as-default-browser-in-vista/
"Click the Start menu
Click Default Programs (It's the same for XP except Default Programs is "Set Program Access and Defaults)
Click “Set program access and computer deaults”
Select Custom then click on the drop arrow
Look for “Choose a default web browser” and select Mozilla Firefox
Click OK"
.
June 10th, 2009 on 3:42 am
Out of my experience: FlashGot, as well as – not surprisingly – all the extensions which, by their nature, require connecting to some server (weather forecasts and the like).
But since there's thousands of add-ons, and thus chances are that I don't use the same ones as you do: the best thing you can do is just to disable them one by one (go to Tools / Add-ons), then measure how long it takes for Firefox to boot up each time. This will allow you to single out the worst "offenders".
Also clear up the cache and browser history, perhaps try decreasing the cache size, use some tool for optimizing Firefox databases (Speedyfox for example), there's many ways to speed Firefox up.
Good news is that the upcoming versions of Firefox are supposed to be improved in the areas of speed and responsiveness (the raising popularity of fast and snappy Google Chrome forced them to focus on it)
June 10th, 2009 on 4:50 am
Was reading through about this. Try the following instructions
Setting default browser manually
In Windows XP, go to "Start -> Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs -> Set Program Access and Defaults (on the left) -> Custom". After expanding the "Custom" category, you will see Internet Explorer and other installed browsers listed under "Choose a default Web browser". Select Mozilla or Mozilla Firefox.
If that doesn't work,
In Windows Control Panel and if Windows XP is using the Control Panel "Classic View":
Click on "Folder Options -> File Types".
In Windows XP using the Control Panel "Category View":
Click on "Performance and Maintenance". Then, click on "File Types" in the left column under the heading "See Also".
Assign the following filetypes to the browser you wish to set as default:
URL:HyperText Transfer Protocol
URL:HyperText Transfer Protocol with Privacy
URL:File Transfer Protocol
HTML File
HTM File (optional)
Note that you may find the URL file types above under extension "N/A" or "(none)".
Cheers & Bottoms Up
June 10th, 2009 on 2:34 pm
Yeah,, need to use a different rendering engine, check this out, IE tab for FF.. https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1419
@
June 11th, 2009 on 11:47 pm
To setup yahoo email as your default mail using Firefox 3 (Yahoo now recommend you use this browser) and it will work with Vista.
* Download and install firefox 3 http://downloads.yahoo.com/?p=win
* After installation and when you have Firefox 3 up and running, click "tools", then "options".
* In the options window that pops up, click the applications tab.
* Scroll down to “mailto” and change to “use yahoo mail”
* Finally click “OK”.
June 12th, 2009 on 5:18 am
Password Exporter is a Firefox add-on that allows you to export and import your saved usernames and passwords between Computers or keep as a backup copy. Your passwords will be exported to an XML or CSV file and can be encrypted.
Or, you can do it the manual way:
First, navigate yourself to your profiles folder and then you want to copy three files, they are named:
signons.txt
signons2.txt
key3.db
Copy and past them into the place you want to back them up to, and you are done. You can also move these three files to a new Firefox profile (say on a new computer, for example) if you wanted to have the same password information on your laptop.
June 12th, 2009 on 1:34 pm
Offcourse you can,Go to prefrences and Change POP-up to block state
Watch this one!
with some additional how to change it
i think this is more than enough if you need hand let me know
Ta
June 13th, 2009 on 5:42 am
Check out the FEBE extension which can help you backup/restore not only bookmarks but also extensions, preferences, passwords, cookies or even your entire profile.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2109
June 13th, 2009 on 6:30 am
You cannot use Firefox to download from the Microsoft Update site. Turn on Automatic Updates instead – then you get the best of both worlds
wdw