P rotecting your children when they are online is probably one of your primary concerns with their computer use. Although the Internet represents a great collection of knowledge and a terrific outlet for making connections with other and expressing creativity, it has also become a difficult place for children to visit unsupervised.

There are pornographers, thieves, con artists and predators that use the Internet to prey upon adults and, unfortunately, many of them target children. Without careful preparation and guidance, your child could be at the mercy of these types of people.

Protected Internet use makes it possible for your children to use the Internet to play games, research for school and connect with other youngsters. And it all starts with setting a few ground rules and educating your children about the possible dangers.

First of all, your child should be aware that their personal information is their own to have. They should never give out their full name, address or phone number to anyone that they encounter online. They should be warned that their password is private information and should never be given out under any circumstance.

A study conducted by the NOP Research Group showed that four million children between the ages of seven and seventeen search the Internet. Over 29% of those children would freely give out their home address and 14% would give out their e-mail address if they were asked.

Warn them about the dangers of meeting someone online. Under no circumstances should they agree to meet with someone unless you as their parents have checked out the circumstances. If it's a matter of meeting another child from the same town, the parents should talk and agree to meet in a public place. Better yet, limit your child to meeting with and playing with children that they go to school with.

Invest in software that will limit your child's use of the Internet. Children do not go online seeking to be exposed to harmful material, but it can happen while they are researching for school or other projects. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 70 percent of teens online have accidentally come across pornography while they are searching online. You can imagine that the results for younger children are even higher due to pornographers using misspellings of popular kids' shows, movies and characters to host their websites.

Most children get their first exposure to pornography unintentionally when they try to access material to help them complete homework. They search for a simple word, and the results that they get back are harmful.

It can be very hard for parents to keep up with what is safe and what is not. But with some research and the help of some computer programs you can help keep your child safe. There are many websites that exist to help parents keep their children safe. Many different software and browser programs can help you monitor your child's use of the Internet. When you combine education with technology, you can keep your child safe from exposure to harmful material.