We all know kids can be curious and mischievous, and when it comes to the Internet this can be a dangerous combination for them. Luckily for parents, there are a number of different tools that can help manage kids’ online activities, two of which are becoming more and more important as the Internet plays a more prominent part in all of our lives.

As parents, we will worry about our children whatever they are doing, and with the Internet, we all know the dangers and inappropriate content that lurks, hiding behind every link.

So how can tools help parents in this situation? As mentioned above, two in particular can help, and they are:

• Computer Monitoring Software
• Parental Control Software

In fact, both of these types of software can work in tandem to create a safe environment for your children to surf in, and help ease your worry as a parent. Let’s take a look at each of them in turn.

Parental Control Software can be installed on your computer and will limit, filter and control which websites can be viewed and which can’t. When your child clicks a link or types on a web address, the software will scan the page before it loads to check for things like profanity, gambling, drugs, porn and a whole range of other adult related content. If none is found the page will be shown, if not the page will be blocked. Most of these programs have customization settings, so that you can control exactly how strict you’d like the software to be.

Whereas Parental Control Software is a strict overseer of Internet content, Computer Monitoring Software can be used to give more freedom while still harboring some control. Computer Monitoring Software can be install on your computer and will monitor everything that happens on that computer. The software will keep track of any website visited, application used, keystrokes typed and more. You’ll be able to log into the software at any time to view what’s been happening in easy to read logs.

As you can probably see, these two types of software are pretty powerful, and when used together are all you really need to protect your children online. A lot of users like to use Parental Control Software for younger children, then as they expect a bit more freedom as they get older, start using Computer Monitoring Software to keep an eye on them. Monitoring Software is also great for teenagers who you are worried are browsing inappropriate content like porn or drugs related stuff.

Both types of software are usually locked and secure, using secret key combinations and passwords to open them, making sure that they aren’t accessible or easy to turn off by kids who are slightly tech savvy!

If you’re interested in downloading free trials of either of these types of software head to http://parents.geckomonitor.com where you’ll find more information about Gecko Monitor & Gecko Filter.