Norton Online Family Review

Norton, a well known company in Internet Safety Products, has a new product geared toward families, Norton Family Online. Norton Family Online is an online system that helps parents monitor, block, connect, set time limits and so much more for their kids on the Internet.

Key Norton Online Family features include:

• Simple, One-Time Set Up: Create an account online and customize each family member's profile based on age and maturity level.
• Easy to Use and Access: Check a child's activity or modify a child's profile, preferences, or time allotment anytime and anywhere using any Internet-connected device.
• Clear Reporting: All activities are reported in chronological order and only show the Web sites a child intended to visit - eliminating all the extra URLs, like ads, from Web sites.
• Helpful Search Insight: Easily view what words and phrases a child uses to search and where those searches lead online.
• Convenient Web Site Control: Control the Web content that flows into the home by prohibiting more than 40 topic categories.
• Secured Personal Information: Track, report and prevent personal information that a child may purposely or accidentally try to send via e-mail, IM or social networking site.
• Access to Social Network Information: Monitor activity on social networks like Facebook and MySpace with the ability to see how kids represent themselves, when they login and how often.
• Real-time Messaging: Built-in messaging allows parents to have real-time discussions with children about activities and better understand their intentions when visiting a Web site.
• True Transparency: Children are able to view the "house rules" they established with parents at any time and are notified when Norton Online Family is active, so there is no "stealth" mode.
• Custom Alerts: Parents can customize e-mail alerts to address urgent events so they know immediately when a child has reached a time limit or visited a blocked site, etc.
• Useful Time Management: An easy-to-use time management feature that - if parents find it necessary - gives each child a "curfew" that will limit computer usage

Now the Princesses are not that active on the Internet yet. Princess G does not even use the computer but Princess A does. She does not surf the web at all, I pull up the pages she is allowed to use (Polly Pocket, Playhouse Disney, PBS Sprout, JumpStart and Shidonni.) A few times she has wandered off those sites so monitoring that would be nice. The feature I like the best is the Time Management. Right now I set a timer when she gets on the computer but a few times I have been helping Princess G and did not hear the timer or I simply forget to set the timer. It would be very nice to have the time Princess A is on the computer recorded. I can easily see that the other features will become more relevant as the girls get older. Also you can customise for each family member so you can block sites for your 9 year old that your 15 year old is allowed to view. They even have a tamper report in case your kids are very savvy and attempt to get around Norton Online Family.