AOL Makes Parental Controls Available for Free to All Web Users

AOL Parental Controls Include Web Filters, Broadband Access Tools, Online Timer, E-mail/IM Protections, Report Card on Online Activities

WebKnowHow
Thursday, October 5, 2006; 02:07 AM

AOL announced that its award-winning Parental Controls software is now available to all Internet users at no cost. AOL Parental Controls can be downloaded at http://daol.aol.com/safetycenter/parentalcontrols.

AOL said Parental Controls were designed to give parents the tools they need to help protect their children from inappropriate or dangerous online material. Features of the software include standard age-based access controls, as well as specific controls on IM and chat, online timers, and e-mail reports on their children’s online activities. In addition, AOL offers an Internet Access Control feature that prevents children from bypassing protective features on broadband-connected computers.

"Nothing is more important than protecting the safety of our children," said Joel Davidson, AOL Executive Vice President, Access Products and Technology. "Today AOL is proud to become the first major online provider to make parental controls available for free to all online users. Keeping our children safe is one of our most important missions, and this step will eliminate the cost-barrier for millions of families, so they can give their children all of the benefits of the online medium."

A study released last December by AOL and the National Cyber Security Alliance found that most parents with children in the home do not use parental controls software. The survey revealed that only 20% of parents with children under 18 in the home had parental controls software enabled on their computers. More information about the AOL/NCSA Online Safety Study can be found at http://www.staysafeonline.org/news/press_dec07_2005.html.

There is no cost or obligation to download or use AOL Parental Controls. To ensure that the person setting up the Parental Controls is the adult in the household, however, users need to provide a credit card for age verification during registration. AOL Parental Controls works with Windows XP (Home & Professional) and 2000, and requires approximately 128 MB of spare disk space.