The Internet can be a dangerous place, especially for a child. There are endless numbers of web sites and chat rooms you don't want your child to visit. But you can't stand over their shoulder guiding their keystrokes. Or can you? There's new software on the market that allows parents to use a computer to monitor their child's on-line activity. Even better, parents can use instant messaging to communicate with their children as they surf the net. You can be miles away, at work or on a trip and easily observe what your child is doing on the Internet.

The software, called Kid Defender (www.kiddefender.com) is installed on both the parent and child's computers. It allows parents to observe their children's web site visits, instant messaging conversations and chat room sessions in real time. Cutting off dangerous conversations or inappropriate web sites is as easy as clicking the mouse. The offending name or site URL is automatically added to a "blocked" list. The program allows parents to monitor the online activities of two or more children from a single screen, set different rules for each child, save each day's online activities to a log, and easily update the software on line. The program also prevents children from bypassing and changing software settings by using password protection.

Unless you stand over your child while they use the computer you just can't be sure what web sites they are visiting, what conversations they're having or what kind of trouble they're getting into. Kid Defender puts control back into your hands, allowing you to protect your children from objectionable web sites and inappropriate chat room or instant messaging conversations.

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Laura Quarantiello is the author of "Cyber Crime – How to Protect Yourself From Computer Criminals." More information is available at http://www.tiare.com/cyber.htm