Symantec has launched a new online safety option for families called OnlineFamily.Norton. This service is free of charge until 2010.
Symantec’s OnlineFamily.Norton is a hybrid of a website and software installed on children’s computers that can be used to set rules, monitor activities live and deliver e-mail alerts of violations, including circumvention attempts.
In an article from the The Globe and Mail
Rowan Trollope, senior vice-president of consumer products at Symantec Corp said –
Why is it that existing parental control software doesn’t work? It isn’t just that they don’t support the new paradigms but it’s also that they have, fundamentally, the wrong approach.
It is a well known fact the Internet parental control software is not so effective in managing children Internet use. There are always new ways that children come up with to overcome the software. This is why it is so important that parents’ efforts should focus on the educational aspect. Parents should help their children to become responsible citizens and it applies also to the cyber world. Internet parental control software can assist the educational efforts, but surely can not replace them.
Symantec claims that their Internet parental control solution presents a new approach to Internet parental control. They emphasize communication rather than control. It is a great refreshing approach, but there are many Internet parental control products that already doing exactly the same. The difference between them and Symantec is in the way Symantec presents the solution. Symantec focus on communication in the family is great and her Internet parental control software is free of charge until 2010, which makes it very appealing, but parents should remember that there is no magic solution and there is no technology in the world that can replace parental guidance.
