Windows Security Checklist - Part 24: Kids Safer Search Engines

by Larry Stevenson, aka Prince_Serendip, CastleCops Staff Writer
May 8, 2005

Finding relevant information on the Internet is a task most people would prefer to have done for them. They make easy prey for the purveyors of adwares and spywares, who offer to find what they want, provided that they accept a few programs, taskbars and popups in exchange for the service. If you are like most people, you hate ads because we all get far too many of them. They consume our time and attention, distracting us from the purposes we have determined are important. Many search engines and even ISPs do not even bother to ask nor inform you of the spywares they install. If you use their products then you have spywares installed on your machines whether you want them or not.

For the past few weeks I have intensively researched the Internet services related to children and teens. I have discovered that some of the sites and search engines purporting to be "helping keep kids safe" are themselves providing spywares. Just by visiting some sites for example will give you spyware tracking cookies without your knowledge. If you subscribe to their services, especially those that require software downloads and installations, you are open to their tracking programs and other forms of spywares and adwares.

The sites and search engines listed below are the cream of the crop.

Some of the Best Search Engines and Directories for Kids and Teens

A search engine, such as "Google," is a site on the Internet that searches Web pages based on their titles, key words or full text. Directories, such as "Yahoo!" are similar to catalogues, where sites are reviewed, selected and then categorized by age and interests. These usually provide a range of other services as well. Many search engines and directories focus on kid-friendly information or filter out sites that are inappropriate for kids. Here is a list of some of the best on the Internet.

Canadian Kids Page
http://www.canadiankids.net/ck/default.jsp
Through this directory users can search hundreds of sites - particularly Canadian ones - by age and topic.

Awesome Library
http://www.awesomelibrary.org/
This non-commercial directory included more than 20,000 sites reviewed by educators. It has a translation service that lets visitors browse in several different languages

Educational Software Directory
http://www.educational-software-directory.net/
In this directory, volunteers have reviewed and organized more than 23,000 sites into 12 categories.

Great Web Sites for Kids
http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ALSC/
Great_Web_Sites_for_Kids/Great_Web_Sites_for_Kids.htm
This American Library Association (ALA) directory includes links to online resources for fun and learning, all reviewed and organized by children's librarians.

KidsClick!
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/KidsClick!/
This non commercial directory lists more than 5000 Web sites hand-picked by librarians.

Yahooligans!
http://yahooligans.yahoo.com/
A kids' version of Yahoo!, this commercial directory only links to safe and appropriate kids' sites. Tracking cookies are used here.

Ask Jeeves for Kids
http://www.ajkids.com/
A unique commercial search engine that allows kids to search by using questions as well as key words. Uses tracking cookies.

DibDabDoo
http://www.dibdabdoo.com
A non-commercial, fast search engine that only looks for adult-reviewed sites safe for children and teens. The site currently has about 1 million links in its database.

Kid-friendly search engines and directories are not foolproof and offer no guarantee that inappropriate or offensive content will not come up during a search. They are not responsible for where your may go once you leave their site and start moving through other Web pages.

Search Engines with Parental Filters

Many of the major search engines now offer parental filtering options that help prevent inappropriate sites from appearing in a search.

Some of the best filtered search engines are:

Sympatico - MSN
http://sympatico.msn.ca/
Click on the Advanced Search link. Scroll down until you see the filtering option and click on enable.

Google
http://www.google.com/
Click "Preferences" to the right of the search box, then scroll down and choose a level for "SafeSearch Filtering" - strict or moderate. Uses tracking cookies.

AltaVista
http://www.altavista.com/
Click on "Settings" and then look for the "Family Filter" link.

Alltheweb
http://www.alltheweb.com/
The Alltheweb filter is enabled automatically. To turn off the filtering, see "Customize Preferences."

WiseNut
http://www.wisenut.com/
Click "Set Preferences" under the search box. Turn on "WiseWatch" at the bottom of the page to enable filtering.


Lycos
http://www.lycos.com/
Click on "Advanced Search" below the search box. Scroll down to "Adult Filter" to select your filtering level.

Conducting Searches

Finding the right search engines is only the beginning. Developing effective search techniques greatly improves your chances of accessing quality information. The following tips can help you with your searches.

Use six to eight key words, preferably nouns.

Most users submit only one or two key words per search, which is not enough for an effective query.
Avoid verbs, and use modifiers if they help define your object more precisely, e.g. "chunky peanut butter" rather than just "peanut butter."

Combine key words into phrases by using quotation marks, as in "continental drift." Most search engines will only look for this phrase rather than the individual words, continental and drift.

Spell carefully, and try alternative spellings.

Some search engines use a method known as BOOLEAN to fine-tune a search. The three most common BOOLEAN commands are "and," "or" and "and not."

"and" or "+" between key words means: "I want only documents that contain both or all words"

"or" between key words means: "I want documents that contain either word; I don't care which"

"and not" or "-" means: "I want documents that contain this word, but not if the document also contains another word" (i.e. "teens and not sex"). The term "and not" applies only to the word or phrase immediately following.

Be Cautious Online

Kids are a huge market and money-making potential from a commercial perspective. Notice please that many of the popular search engines providing safe sites for kids are ".com." Most of these are commercial. Commercial sites on the Internet are not the same as the businesses you deal with offline. Offline businesses are regulated by your local governments and justice systems. Online commercial sites have very few regulations nor restrictions, or none at all. If you expect the kind of fair-dealing you get with businesses offline while online, you are in for a big disappointment. This is not to say that there are not honest dealing people and businesses online, just be cautious. Below are some tips to help keep you and your kids surfing safe and secure.


Secure Your Browser

Your first step is to make IE as safe and secure as possible to avoid unwanted softwares. Please refer to the instructions provided by Safer Internet Explorer Settings for SP1 & SP2 A lot of people are still using Internet Explorer, although safer and more secure web browsers do exist. I switched a few years ago to Opera. Mozilla and FireFox are also favorites of my associates at CastleCops.

Keep Adwares and Spywares Off Your PC

Next step is to obtain good basic adware and spyware protection. Please refer to my article PC Pesticides for information and instructions on Ad-Aware SE, Spybot Search & Destroy and more. Both of these are free for personal, non-commercial use. You can get help with Ad-Aware SE at our Lavasoft Ad-Aware Forum. Help for Spybot Search & Destroy is available at the Spybot S&D Forum.

For more help on securing your Windows computer please visit the Windows Security Checklist Archive.

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Best regards and always take care of your family's security.