Family Tech Blog

Tag: accountability software

  • How Can Artificial Intelligence Protect My Family?

    How Can Artificial Intelligence Protect My Family?

    How AI Works

    When you think of artificial intelligence it’s natural to imagine Skynet or some similar software that is running things for us some day. While that could be the overall goal someday, right now AI is nowhere near that smart. Currently artificial intelligence isn’t intelligent at all. While it does learn from the input that is fed to it, there is currently no way for AI to decide what it needs to learn on its own. There is a very large gap between software algorithms that can learn and an intelligent software that makes its own decisions.

    At CES in 2018 I watched a robot named Aeolus glide across a room cleaning up. It took it a solid three minutes to move from one side of the makeshift living room, reach down and pick up a wii remote, and roll to the table to set it down. It was nothing like we have been promised by television and movies but I guess it was still cool. What parents should understand is that while the developers of an AI can make promises of their algorithms learning and behaving as if they have intelligence, that is not the same as being actually intelligent. Humans still have to do the thinking.

    While it isn’t foolproof and is definitely not sentient, artificial intelligence is a good tool. There are many ways AI is useful and much of the latest hardware and software use AI  to do some of their most minor functions. Here are some of the interesting ways AI can make your parental control and accountability tools even better.

    Filters

    There was a day when an internet filter depended solely on the web or ip address of the site you were visiting to tell if there would be inappropriate content or not. There was a master list that had to be updated continually with new websites and key words. AI is different than that because the filter is based on images and other content that the AI was “fed” over and over again the algorithm then detects actual images, text, and videos on web pages instead of just the address of the site you are visiting. This can be helpful if a website doesn’t typically contain adult content but a certain article or comment section features material that would cross the line. A traditional filter couldn’t catch that but one that uses an AI can.

    Circle (meetcircle.com) and NetNanny (netnanny.com) are examples of filters that use smart algorithm to block web content.

    Accountability

    Accountability software works very similarly to filters except that when it sees something inappropriate it will not block it but alert whoever is on the list to alert. AI has revolutionized this sort of software because it allows parents to receive only lists of unwanted sites instead of having to sort through everything that has been viewed by the person they are keeping accountable. The software I recommend, Accountable2You (accountable2you.com promo code BecauseFamily,) is updated constantly to allow it’s algorithm to properly and effectively scan for adult content. It works very well. You may get occasional alerts for content that shouldn’t be considered adult, but it’s not too often and it’s worth it for the peace of mind.

    Privacy and Security

    Finally, when we discuss AI and algorithms we must talk about privacy and security. Algorithms may have been the beginning of many of our privacy problems but it may also be providing some solutions. Tools like BitDefender can be used to protect your home network. The AI can tell the difference between forgotten passwords and malicious login attempts. Our home networks are becoming increasingly worthy of being targets of hackers and encrypting your web traffic with AI can protect your from that kind of attack.

    I hear a few different reactions when I talk about artificial intelligence. Most people roll their eyes or glaze over because they aren’t even interested. It’s some tech term that they don’t think they can fully understand so they’d rather not talk about it. The other group is super interested, always wanting to learn more about it and understand it better. These are my nerd friends. I love them. Finally there’s the group that just freaks out. They immediately think of the movies and tv shows and just want to move into the woods and unplug. Which person are you? Are you willing to let AI work to your benefit in your family? Is it all too much for you? Let me know in the comments below.

  • Five Internet Safety Mistakes Parents Make

    Five Internet Safety Mistakes Parents Make

    I spend most days trying to help parents make and implement an internet safety plan. Too often I run into hurdles that I have to jump over in order to help them out. Here are five of the most common mistakes that get in the way of parents’ internet safety strategy.

    1. Secrecy

    Parents of older kids want to give their kids freedom on their devices but keep an eye on them at the same time. I’m often asked how to do that without the kids knowing mom and dad are watching. My answer is usually, “don’t do that.” The goal is building trust and a better understanding of responsible technology use and internet accountability. Sneaking around and spying on your kid, while it may seem like a good way to see what they’re actually in to, is an even better way to ensure they won’t ever come to you when they need to talk to someone about what they’ve seen or experienced online. Obviously, if they know you’re watching and you approach them about something you didn’t approve of then they’ll know it’s coming and will be ready to have that discussion. If you have to talk with them about something you caught them doing while you were sneaking around they’ll see that as a breach of trust and you’ll find yourself with a much harder road to travel from then on. The best thing about transparency is that your kids are more likely to make better decisions when they know they’ll be held accountable for those decisions. Telling them you’re watching them can lead to better responsibility.

    2. Giving Up

    Setting digital boundaries is not easy. There will be arguments, sneaky kids, tutorial videos, and lots and lots of research. The key is to never give up. Things change fast and it truly is difficult to keep up. You have to find the resources that you trust that can help you stay informed. You should find the people you know can help you set your boundaries up to fit your needs. You have to keep reading up on what’s going on in the digital world your kids live in. If you give up you will get left behind and that means you’re not keeping your children safe.

    3. Sharing Passwords

    As obvious as this may seem, I have to say it. You must resist the temptation to reveal passwords to your kids. What happens is that kids (especially the younger ones) get tired of what they’re doing very quickly. When they are playing a game and you have it set with guided access or something like it that won’t allow them to back out of the app you will have to be the one who has to switch apps for them. Unless you just tell them the password. More convenient? Maybe. Safe? Absolutely not! There is honestly no reason at all to have any kind of boundaries set up if you are easily urged to hand over the passwords to the tools you use to establish those boundaries. Passwords are meant to keep the parental controls within the controls of the parents. Again, seems obvious, but you would be shocked at how many people have to be reminded of this truth.

    4. Not Starting

    The hardest step to take in protected your family online is the first one. Creating your internet safety plan begins with assessing the current situation in your home. That can be overwhelming at best, and extremely discouraging at worst. Some families don’t even know how many devices are in their home or who they all belong to. I worked with a family once that was shocked when their kids kept bringing phones down out of their rooms over and over again. Come to find out, their friends would give them their old phones and they’d use them on wifi when they were grounded from their own. Yes, it is discouraging but it is absolutely necessary. You need to have a plan and you must have conversations with your kids about that plan. You can’t do anything, though, if you never start. Begin today! Email me if you’d like. I will help you get started.

    5. Never Updating Software

    I covered this in a recent post but I have to reiterate because its one of the most common mistakes I see parents make. If your accountability software, filter, or devices are not updated regularly then they aren’t as secure as you’re needing them to be. If you pay monthly for these apps and software then you aren’t getting what you’re paying for, you’re only getting part of it. Updating the software when you see the notification is critical for keeping your internet safety tools in full working order. Filters use updates to load the latest information that lets the filter know what sites should be blocked and what shouldn’t, other apps like accountability software use the updates to keep their “red-flagged sites” lists up to par with what’s out there. If you aren’t updating you are eliminating an entire piece of your digital boundaries puzzle.

    Don’t let yourself fall victim to any of these blunders of internet safety planning. Read all you can on this site and subscribe to our mailing list so you see the latest news. Keep track of internet safety news with other blogs and websites as well. Keep your software updated, talk to your kids about your plan, and for the love of facepalm emojis, get started as soon as you can.

  • Post Father’s Day Challenge for All of You Dads

    Post Father’s Day Challenge for All of You Dads

    I had some deep thoughts during Father’s Day yesterday. As always they concerned my work with families and internet safety and so I posted the following status on Facebook. I want to make it available to our blog readers here too. Moms, please share this with the fathers of your children; dads, please be challenged and let me know what steps you’ve taken to protect your kids online.  

    From Facebook on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 18, 2017.

    It’s Father’s Day and I’m thinking about some of the greatest opposition I face in our work to help parents protect their children online. You would think that kids would hate me. I’m the guy that comes in and sets up restrictions on their phones and computers. They’re not the ones giving me the stank eye, though, it’s the dads.

    Too often, the worst critic of my attempt to block pornography from the family computer or phones is the father. “Well, is this going to block dumb stuff?” “Is YouTube going to be useless now?” I am constantly hearing concern that in my attempt to protect their children from cyber bullying, adult content, porn, or sexting I’ll inconvenience dad in some way.

    Please understand that there have been many dads who were totally onboard and even some who have admitted to wanting better accountability for themselves but those dads aren’t the norm. I hear moms who are exasperated, sometimes to tears, because they want to keep their kids safe while dad is calling it “no big deal.” Again, the father too often seems to be more concerned about facing limitations of his own than the digital health and boundaries he’s setting for his family.

    Step up dads. If your kids need accountability then so do you. You should have it installed on your devices first. You should set the filters more strict than necessary and tell your kids that it’s annoying sometimes but it’s worth it because the alternative is something you don’t want to face. I wish I got more emails or calls from dads (I’ve had some) that are desperate to set boundaries for their kids’ internet use. I pray that it will change. Dads, we MUST be the example of the change we want to see. Call me. Let’s get your family a gift this father’s day. The gift of your commitment to higher standards while online.

    If you need help. Let me know EMAIL ME or contact me on Facebook or Instagram. I’d love to give you a hand.