Browsers: KidZui
Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: child, security, safety | Themes: Software
2. Browsers: KidZui
“The Internet for Kids”
According to the KidZui Website, “KidZui is a safe Web browser for kids ages three to 12 with over two million Websites, videos, and games approved by parents and teachers. KidZui protects your children by restricting them from visiting Websites that are not 100% kid friendly.”
Cost: Free for limited permissions; monthly memberships for all access starting at $7.95 a month
Setting up KidZui was simple. We installed the add-on for our browser (Firefox in this case), filled out a few questions for the child’s profile, and activated the account via the parent’s email address. A second activation email is also sent to set up the parent-control account. Once the account is activated, parents can access their dashboard with the ability to control the content accessible to the child.
However, it is important to note that like many kid-safe browsers, giving a child access to a particular Website gives them access to all pages on that Website. Be familiar with how domains and sub-domains may work for Websites that provide content for all age levels. While it may take a parent awhile to add individual Websites to a child’s list of permissions, once completed, kids won’t have to come bugging you for permissions again.
KidZui functioned rather well for both parent and child. The child only has to click on the “Z” logo in the browser bar to launch the portal, which takes up the entire screen to prevent clicking on other programs or desktop folders. A fair amount of time was spent loading the program the first time, because software updates needed to install. After that, however, the program loaded quickly, and responded well to speeds of 56K or more. Kids can access videos, games, and other entertainment (like approved YouTube videos) and also see what their online buddies think of each. (Comments like “lame” or “cool” accompanied each stop in KidZui land.) Parents should note that advertisements for companies like Scholastic and others are present throughout the child’s interface and are clickable, which is something to keep in mind if you are trying to avoid ad-clicking for your children.
The social networking angle of the site was very well thought out. Kids sport trendy-looking avatars and are allowed to interact with those approved by their parents, or conversely, they aren’t allowed to mingle with anyone on the “blocked” list. Kids can send messages, make comments, or post a “status” similar to Facebook or Twitter, although at the time of this review, only 20 or so pre-set options were available to choose from.
One of the more popular all-in-one safe browsing products available, KidZui has enough of a following to keep kids entertained and connected to those in their peer group. One notable annoyance within KidZui, however, is the limited browsing scope that became very evident when not signed up for a paid membership. Kids clicking on popular free sites may become discouraged when they are prompted to have their parents sign up for the paid membership before being allowed access. Also, the reporting function that may attract many parents hoping to get an idea of where their kids are spending the most time online is unavailable with the free version.
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Nicely written-- I like seeing Tom's branch out into a variety of interest areas, even if they arent thrilling.
What i miss in this topic is, how does the Microsoft Parenting control stand out to these programs.
I hope the 12 year olds read this after they get back from school.
What i miss in this topic is, how does the Microsoft Parenting control stand out to these programs.
Thanks for the question mkrijt. Linsey Knerl offers these comments about Windows and other OS parent control tools: "While they had some good features, (like site blocking, permissions requests, time-limits, etc.) it was hard to integrate over several different computers. It also didn't lock down the browser so kids couldn't escape and mess up your desktop folders.
One major complaint to the operating-system based tools that Apple and Microsoft offer, is that they want to tie everything back into your Windows Live or Apple accounts. (So if my 3-year-old wants to have a special collection of websites that he can access on our computer, I'd have to set him up for a Windows account that the computer can access and associate with his preferences.) I'm not a huge fan of having to have my kids set up as "accounts", which is why I like the independently-developed tools. They usually just need me to assign a name and password for my kid, and it isn't stored in my PC.
Another disadvantage to the OS based options is that they aren't practical for multiple environments. Let's say little Johnny has security settings at home all set up, but then wants to go to Grandma's to play games. I'd have to go to Grandma's and find out how her operating system works, and if it isn't the same as what we have, I'd have to reset all the settings on her system. (A lot of work.) With independent browsers, we just download on Grandma's PC, and the web-based settings automatically take effect.
Basically, there's no easy way to use the OS based browsers between machines that are not using the same OS."
Wonderful article. very objective and informative. Thanks for writing it. Good articles like this give me hope for Toms... it's almost funny to me that before I knew who wrote this I assumed it wasn't Marcus Yam because it was actually helpful and intelligent. Linsey Knerl FTW
If children at the age of 3 know those words already then they need more help than what software can do.
But anyways it's not like young kids enjoy watching porn or anything like that. Most kids don't go on very many sites, and site blockers are probably the worst thing ever created. At school we can't even use google images on school projects.
Wouldn't OpenDNS be better for blocking sites? It does so at the "source" rather than having to install a program on everyone's machines. I block all DNS queries and then explicitly allow OpenDNS servers with filtering set to moderate. Works like a charm, no adult content for anyone using anything on my internet connection. And it's FREE for home users!!!
The internet is a place for adults. Do you leave your child in a room with an adult you do not know?
DON'T leave the child alone on the net.
Nice article, it would be a nice thing to do for every OS in the market to adopt the tendency of adding one of these browsers as option for the little ones.
Most parents are not really aware of what internet means, just because they don't care about the non-4child content, or because they doesn't realize about how dangerous for a growing mind that content could be.
Many of us surfers of the web we actually don't pay attention to the stupid propaganda, sex adds and all that crap, because most of us know that those links will probably end up in some weird site asking for personal data, etc.. etc.. etc.. KIDS CAN NOT TELL IF IT'S GOOD OR BAD! THEY JUST CLICK ON IT.