One of the things that makes me very nervous about my daughter getting older (there are a lot of things, btw!) is the fact that she uses the Internet more and more often. There are the school related reasons, such as reports, research, help with certain topics, etc., but there is also an increase in her "socializing" on the Internet with friends through email and social sites.
Constantly I am hearing things like, "but Mom....( a friend's name here) gets to go on Facebook! But Mom, everyone is playing this game (some latest virtual game...ugh.), and so on.
And all of this scares me. I admit it. There are so many news stories about kids being preyed on by Internet creeps, not to mention the 50 million viruses that seem to pop up everyday. And somehow we have had our share of "weird," shall we say, sites popping up from time to time. So whenever my daughter wants to get on the computer... I worry.
So I happily (very happily, ) agreed to try the McAfee Family Protection when I was given the opportunity. I downloaded the program in minutes and was ready to start implementing Internet protection measures that hopefully will give me some peace of mind when my daughter is online.
You can block certain types of sites (and we all know which ones those would be!) that contain topics you do not want your child near. You can even block via Key Word blocking even, so sites will be blocked when certain terms are entered on searches. I immediately did this -- and as I blocked sites, I felt so much better already! Then there is the option to monitor social networking sites...I can limit the sites my daughter can visit, if any. I can filter YouTube Videos my daughter can watch, or completely block them all, as well as other media players. Also, I can set up alerts that will tell me if any personal information has been posted from our computer to any social sites.
There are many other protection features, like usage reporting where I can monitor activities such as websites visited, programs used online and instant messenger conversations. Clicking on an icon will let me read reports on these activities. There are options to schedule Internet usage time, as well as an option for setting time limits. Family Protection can prevent programs on your computer from communicating with the Internet as well.
I am so thankful right now to have the McAfee Family Protection installed. I do try and monitor when my daughter is on the computer, but with my two munchkin boys, it is not always easy to keep on eye on her as well. Not to mention the fact that my daughter gets instantly offended if I am "loitering" around while she is online. So having these protection measures in place will absolutely make my life easier and make me feel so much better. I know it may sound intrusive to some, but I am so relieved to know I can monitor her online activities, and read reports and be alerted to any emails that contain worrisome text. In this day and age, unfortunately, I do not think we can protect our kids too much.
You can learn more about the benefits and options of the McAfee Family Protection software at their website, www.mcafee.com/familyprotection.
And I am pleased to share that McAfee is also offering readers of Happy Healthy Families a discount through August 31, 2009 to save $5 off the McAfee Family Protection. The promo code is: 5familyprotection. And if you have any questions regarding McAfee Family Protection, you can feel free to contact an expert: McAfee’s Chief Cyber Security Mom, Tracy Mooney! Tracy is available at cybermom@mcafee.com or at www.mcafee.com/cybermom.
I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of McAfee and received a sample to facilitate my candid review. In addition, McAfee sent me a blanket and care package to thank me for taking the time to participate.