For Parents: A Fresh Perspective on SafetyWeb’s Internet Monitoring Software

When it comes to products that specialize in protecting children online, there are a few different choices available on the market today. We know that SafetyWeb is the most convenient, affordable, comprehensive online safety solution on the market, but we’re a little biased. So, let’s delve a bit deeper into what makes SafetyWeb such an invaluable tool to help you understand what makes SafetyWeb such a powerful resource.

There is a lot of misleading information out there about the difference between Internet monitoring tools and parentalcontrol software. The terms may appear confusing because they almost sound like they do the same thing, but they are vastly different.

SafetyWeb is an Internet monitoring service. That means we are constantly searching the Internet, scouring hundreds of sites 24/7 for questionable content pertaining to your child. You could spend hours finding the information that we provide for you in minutes, but you're busy so why not get easy access plus instant parental alerts from SafetyWeb.com?

Parents have told us that they are most concerned about content that could endanger their child in one of two ways:

1) Reputation-damaging Content About Your Child: Content posted by or about your child could inadvertently damage your child's online reputation, college prospects, and future job prospects. Content may range from the exchange of inappropriate photographs to cruel messages posted publicly on Facebook, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In this scenario, the child is his or her own 'worst enemy', and the self-inflicted damage they are creating is important for parents to know about so that they can take steps to remove the content before more damage is done. We help parents do 'damage control' at SafetyWeb by assisting in the removal of unwanted content on social networks - simply call 1-888-SAFE-WEB 24/7 as soon as you seen something posted that you need help taking off the public domain.

2) Content or Contact that Endangers Your Child's Safety or Well-being: Content posted to the child by frenemies or cyberbullies can also be damaging, as recent cyberbullying and suicides have brought to light. Cyberstalking behavior or harassment via mobile phone can also pose a threat to a child's self-esteem and well-being, and mobile phone harassment can come in the form of mean or inappropriate text messages (including unwanted sexting), or calling and hanging up when the child answers. We also help parents monitor such inappropriate activity through our cyberbullying content alerts and mobile monitoring alerts, which come standard with every SafetyWeb subscription. We'll help you set up your child's mobile phone so you can know whether someone is texting or calling them excessively, or at inappropriate hours such as in the middle of the night, or during school hours.

SafetyWeb is not software. We’re proud about the fact that our customers don’t have to download or install any software onto their computers or mobile devices. After all, children access the Internet from various places anyway- home, school, cell phones, video games, etc., so having parental  control software on one computer won’t help parents very much if their child has access to the Web from multiple devices, as most teens do these days. SafetyWeb works from any Web browser, and alerts can be set to your email inbox, mobile phone via text message, or simply login to view your child's content and usage reports.

SafetyWeb does not invade a child’s privacy. The digital reports that we deliver to parents contain public information only- content that any college admissions counselor, future employer, or anyone else for that matter can potentially see. We’re not spies either… we don't ask for your child's usernames or passwords, and we connect to their Facebook profile using Facebook Connect, which respects their Facebook privacy settings. We believe wholeheartedly in protecting children first and foremost, and we help to give parents the tools and know-how to handle complicated parenting issues to the best of their abilities.

We know that parents are some of the most hard-working, busiest individuals on the planet, and many are doing their best to juggle careers and family. They don’t have extended periods of time to monitor their child’s Internet activity, but if current events are any indication, we also know that a child’s safety online cannot go ignored.

SafetyWeb makes it easy. We do all the time-consuming Internet hunting for parents and then let you know when activity arises that may need your attention. We even have a mobile app available so we can alert parents immediately about any urgent issues.

Here are just some of the topics that we explore:

• Is your child a victim of cyberbullying?
• Is your child a victim of cyberstalking?
• Is your child friends with strangers online?
• Is your child’s online account at risk for being hacked?
• Is your child’s online reputation or well being in jeopardy?
• Is your child sending or exchanging inappropriate or sexually explicit text messages?
• Is your child oversharing personal information online or via a cell phone application?
• Was a photograph of your child recently published without his/her permission?
• Has your child posted an inappropriate video on sharing sites?

Parents can trust SafetyWeb. Our service was designed by concerned parents and experts who built some of the most popular online social networking sites around.

Now that you have a better understanding of exactly how SafetyWeb works, we would like to officially congratulate you for being a concerned and well-informed parent!

Tune in this Thursday at 5:30pm PST for a Blog Talk Radio show featuring Safety Advisor Hemanshu Nigam and SafetyWeb's Chief Safety Mom entitled "Keeping Your Teens Safe on Social Networks and Mobile".

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