Blogs

Rick Broida, a technology writer for nearly 20 years, has written an article about Mobicip Kids-Safe Browser on CNET blog. Thank you Rick! Here is a link to the original article: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10462803-1.html

Here is the article: 

There are any number of ways to childproof your PC, to rope off the objectionable areas of the Internet. But what about the kids' iPhones and iPod Touches? Safari offers no parental controls to speak of, no filtering or monitoring or search guards.

Enter Mobicip Safe Browser ($4.99), which offers a familiar Web interface, but with a raft of protections designed to keep kids safe.

The app looks and functions almost exactly like Safari, so there's almost no learning curve for kids already accustomed to the built-in browser (which, FYI, you can lock out by venturing into Settings > General > Restrictions). One small gripe: it can't import any existing bookmarks.

Mobicip does, however, offer a convenient, kid-friendly home page with quick links to sites like Britannica, Google, HowStuffWorks, and Wikipedia.

The browser relies on Mobicip's servers to filter inappropriate URLs and search results. Parents can choose from three predefined filtering levels: elementary, middle, and high school.

If you want more granular control, consider signing up for a Premium account, which for $9.99 annually lets you blacklist/whitelist specific sites, block specific categories (chat, shopping, violence, etc.), view activity reports, and manage multiple users and devices.

Even with the free account, Mobicip offers more than enough protection that parents can rest easy. For a mere $5, you can keep your kids from accidentally (or intentionally) wandering into the Web's red-light districts. I'm sold.

As you know, we had been advising parents to turn off the App Store completely to avoid the problem of kids browsing through objectionable apps and screenshots on the App Store, let alone install these apps. Parents and educators can rest easy in this regard going forward.

Apple has, in one sweeping action this weekend, decided to retire thousands of apps that have inappropriate images from the App Store. Read the original Tipb article here, excerpt below:

Following up on last night’s story about the removal of apps with sexual content from the iTunes App Store, TiPb asked Apple for comment and they responded: 

“Whenever we receive customer complaints about objectionable content we review them. If we find these apps contain inappropriate material we remove them and request the developer make any necessary changes in order to be distributed by Apple.”

This is great news for parents concerned about their kids accessing the App Store and running into objectionable apps as a matter of routine.

Thank You Apple, for listening to your biggest fans - parents - and addressing their concerns!

Dynamic Internet Filtering Service Enables a Pioneering School District in Texas to Roll Out iPod Touch Devices to Every High School Student in the District, Putting Parents and Educators at Ease

Mobicip.com, the leading internet safety and parental control service for mobile devices like the iPhone and iPod Touch, partnered with Jim Ned Consolidated Independent School District in Tuscola, TX so they could safely send iPod Touch devices home with every high school student in the district.

Jim Ned CISD launched a 1:1 program where every High School student was given a school-provisioned iPod Touch. The unique program not only allows the students to use the iPod Touch in school, but allows the device to be taken home so that the students can learn anytime anywhere. The school district allows students to explore and experience the Internet, App Store, music, videos and podcasts, with safe school-generated and approved content so teens can learn and use technology they relate to.

Most schools do not allow iPods out of the schools due to fear of teens surfing the web without supervision. Mobicip’s internet safety and parental control service allows educators to embrace new technology while letting teens embrace new-rules learning, on safe, secure terms. "Children today are growing up in an era where they are exposed to technology and content that can transform their learning experience, and it is our responsibility to allow them to do so safely," says Dr. Brant Myers, Superintendent of Jim Ned CISD. “You wouldn’t give a hammer to someone and tell her that you can use it for anything except drive a nail in the wall. We feel the same way about the iPods and learning. Mobicip allows us to unleash the web on these devices, address parental control wishes and let our students learn in and out of school, both on their terms and parent/educator’s terms.”

After a careful review of all available online security options, the school board and administration selected Mobicip's Safe Browser app and web-based monitoring service due to the high quality of the app and Internet filter. Mobicip’s service ensures CIPA-compliance, supports the school’s acceptable use policy, and makes the program eligible for eRate funding.

"Mobicip.com is proud to be a part of pioneering educational programs using the iPod Touch and netbooks around the country. Personalized learning and mobility fundamentally transform how children learn and we are proud to play a significant role in the process," says Suren Ramasubbu, Founder and CEO of Mobicip.com. "Mobicip's service is being used by thousands of parents around the world, and the fact that it is being adopted by schools is a testament to its capabilities."

The Safe Browser app is available on the iPhone App Store, and the service is available at www.mobicip.com. The full press release is available at www.mobicip.com/press.

About Mobicip Web Filtering and Dynamic Parental Control Software

Mobicip is the most powerful internet filtering and parental control software designed specifically to work with mobile devices. Parents and Educators use Mobicip’s custom web filtering so kids and teens can use the Internet safely, securely and specific to their age, interests and parent/educator requirements. The Safe Browser iPhone app is the most popular parental control app on the iPhone App store. Learn more about Mobicip at www.mobicip.com.

Mobicip.com
Lorrie Thomas, 805-380-5687
pr@mobicip.com

With the growing rage of children getting addicted and hooked to net for fun these days, setting agitated and complaining parents on the access of inappropriate contents access, you tube has evolved the security standards for children below 18, to set the YouTube's new parental controls and safe search features, leaving the parents tension free. 

Google has taken an initiative in collaboration with YouTube, in discovering a new parental control feature in its video sharing site, YouTube to help filter the unwanted sexual content from the children. The most popular video sharingsite came under the parental scanning and anger, as the site provided open access to inappropriate content, not suggested for children.

You can read the complete article here - http://bit.ly/bE6Mcd

You have seen the hype around Apple's new iSlate, iTablet... nope... iPad! It was finally unveiled today amid much fanfare. While everything about the device is along expected lines, you will still marvel at how well it is done. Good job Apple!

Watch the video here.

Britain is to make online safety lessons for children over 5 compulsory under a new scheme which aims to echo road safety campaigns of the past. The lessons are part of a "Click Clever Click Safe" strategy which will produce guidelines for government, industry and charities on how to protect children using the web.

"The internet provides our children with a world of entertainment, opportunity and knowledge -- a world literally at their fingertips," said Prime Minister Gordon Brown. "But we must ensure that the virtual world is as safe for them as this one. We hope that "zip it, block it, flag it' will become as familiar to this generation as "stop, look, listen' did to the last."

The government says that 99 per cent of British children aged 8 to 17 now have access to the internet. However research has shown that 18 per cent of young people had come across "harmful or inappropriate" content online, and 33 per cent of children said their parents were unaware of their web activities. The new plans, drawn up by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) which is made up of over 140 organizations, including Google, Microsoft, and Bebo, would make online safety lessons compulsory for those over 5 from September 2011.

Brown said the aim was to make advice as well-known as the "green cross code" which was designed in the 1970s to give children information about road safety.

Webwisekids.org launched an online tutorial called "Wired with Wisdom" to educate Colarado parents about potential online dangers, and gives them tools for discussing topics with their kids. This is a free program and the information can be found at their website.

Mike Saccone, Spokesperson of CO Attorney General John Suthers, says it's important for parents to discuss the topics with their children before they become an issue. The program was developed in conjunction with the trade group Entertainment Software Association and Web Wise kids, which have launched similar tutorials in California, New Mexico, Utah and Virginia.

"Parents will be able to go to the site and download a program that will step them through how to confront these various issues ranging from online predators to texting, and how to broach these topics with their kids," he says.

The Federal Trade Commisison (FTC) has published a report that analyzes how easily minors can access explicit content in virtual worlds, and the measures virtual world operators take to prevent minors from viewing it. According to the findings, although little explicit content appeared in child-oriented virtual worlds, a moderate to heavy amount appeared in virtual worlds that are designed for teens and adults.

Virtual worlds are popular with children and adults because they blend 3-D environments with online social networking, allowing users to interact in and shape their own online content. Some virtual worlds designed for teens and adults allow – or even encourage – younger children to get around the worlds’ minimum age requirements.The FTC surveyed 27 online virtual worlds – including those specifically intended for young children, worlds that appealed to teens, and worlds intended only for adults. The FTC found at least one instance of either sexually or violently explicit content in 19 of the 27 worlds. The FTC observed a heavy amount of explicit content in five of the virtual worlds studied, a moderate amount in four worlds, and only a low amount in the remaining 10 worlds in which explicit content was found. The Commission makes five recommendations to virtual world operators to reduce the risk of youth exposure to explicit content:

• Use more effective age-screening mechanisms to prevent children from registering in adult virtual worlds;
• Use or enhance age-segregation techniques to make sure that people interact only with others in their age group;
• Re-examine language filters to ensure that they detect and eliminate messages that violate rules of behavior in virtual worlds;
• Provide more guidance to community enforcers in virtual worlds so they are better able to review and rate virtual world content, report potential underage users, and report any users who appear to be violating rules of behavior; and
• Employ a staff of specially trained moderators who are equipped to take swift action against rule violations

Meanwhile, parents can protect their kids and teens by using filtering tools like Mobicip Premium which allows them to block or unblock a virtual world based on their wise judgement on the age-appropriateness of the content in a virtual world.

Great story today on how the iPod Touch is being used in the classroom, and how it is loved by the students. Original article here, excerpts below.

At Somerset and other schools in the West St. Paul-Mendota Heights-Eagan district, for instance, the iPod Touch has taken classrooms by storm.

For kids there, math and spelling activities that used to seem, well, boooring have a sudden allure on an iPod. This was clear on a recent morning in a room filled with students raptly tapping, scrolling and swiping.

Rivera's teacher, Jean Stai, had to impose little discipline as her kids lost themselves in Word Salad, a vocabulary program, TanZen, a geometry app, and States and Capitols, among others.

Her biggest challenge appeared to be prying the kids from one app so they'd switch to another. The students were handed sheets with short, personalized lists of apps each had to try.

"They're so engaged," Stai said. "Suddenly, it's not so horrifying to study your facts tables. It is like a game. What would be tedious with paper and pencil is no longer so with bright colors and things moving

The iPhone Mom is a real Mom who reviews and recommends apps for Moms, kids, families et. al. Here is her latest "Great Apps For Kids" recommendation for the holidays. Excerpts below, original article here.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is one of my favorite holiday tales. The other is The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, in case you were wondering. The Grinch e-book is completely true to the original story and they haven’t messed with the illustrations, they look exactly like they do in the book.  Classic Dr. Seuss.

This is a fantastic version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. We are loving all the Grinchiness on my iPhone right now. Thank you Oceanhouse Media…I’m hoping this is the beginning of much more Seuss to come for my iPhone!

Once again, a new update of Mobicip's Safe Browser is now available on the App Store. So what is new in this version? This is an incremental update with a mix of bug-fixes and some new features listed below:

Login Problem Fixed

About a dozen users had run into a rather innocuous bug that was forcing parents to login again. 

It was, strangely enough, tied to the orientation of the device at the moment you close a tab or window inside the Mobicip Safe Browser. It was causing associated data like bookmarks and login information to be erased. We are relieved that the issue is now fixed.

Forward Links by Email

You can now touch the Bookmarks icon and send the current website as a link via email. This is a Safari Mobile feature that has been added to Mobicip's Safe Browser.

Better Handling of Web Forms

A handful of users had reported that certain school and bank websites were not being handled correctly. This has now been fixed, bringing Mobicip's browser closer to Safari in functionality compared to most other browsers on the App Store.

Other Bug Fixes

A few other bug fixes for crashes in corner cases have been included in this update. 

Download

As usual the update is free for anyone who has downloaded Mobicip before from the App Store. Simply use the same iTunes account that you used to download the app before, and you will not be charged for the repurchase.

In summary, this is a minor update in terms of new features, but a major update in terms of bug fixes and improved reliability. Download the update now, try it and let us know what you think.

I have been actively following the K12 Online Conference 2009 the past few days. It is a unique concept and has a huge fan following among K12 educators. Learn more about it on the conference website, and follow the tweets and mentions here.

Today, I was excited to follow a presentation on "iPod Touch in the Classroom" by Kern Kelly. Several K12 applications including Stanza, Dictionary and Storykit were discussed. It was more like a tutorial session on how to download applications and use them in a classroom environment.

According to Mr.Kelly, there are several tasks that are performed in classrooms today using iPod Touches in his school district. These include but are not limited to technology surveys, self grading quiz, scores, attendance, administrative observation walkthroughs, disciplinary action forms, etc. They use Google docs for most of these activities. You can see the full presentation here - http://www.tinyurl.com/itouchineducation

Most of us understand the value of providing an iPod Touch to the students' hands as an educational device. It can more or less replace an expensive laptop or the netbook.However, do these applications and browser keep the students safe inside/outside the classroom? The default browser in iPod Touch allows unfiltered internet including content inappropriate for the students. 

Mobicip understands this problem very well and provides a safe browser with CIPA compliance for iPod Touch. Mobicip, the best selling parental control filter for iPod Touch/iPhone, has played a key decision maker to adopt iPod Touch as an educational device in several schools. If your school is considering to buy iPod Touches for your classrooms, remember to install Mobicip before handing them over to your students. Your students can be safe inside and outside school, anytime anywhere!

For more information on the valuable service offered by Mobicip for schools, visit www.mobicip.com.

Facebook has issued a press release on creating its online safety board.

Below is the article published in ABC News:

Social networking site Facebook on Monday said it is creating a global safety advisory board to protect its users against online predators such as sex offenders.

The board will comprise representatives from five Internet safety groups: Common Sense Media, ConnectSafely, WiredSafety, Childnet International and The Family Online Safety Institute.

Facebook said the formation of the board formalizes relationships it has had with the groups. It also may expand the board to include more international representatives.

In early 2008, Facebook signed an agreement with attorneys general in 49 states to help protect children against online predators.

Last week, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said more than 3,500 offenders registered in New York have been kicked off Facebook and MySpace in recent months.

Over the last two years, 25 states have passed new laws requiring sex crime convicts to register their e-mail addresses and their dwellings.

Wow! This was a Thanksgiving surprise for Mobicip!

It is certainly an honor to be recognized, especially when it is unexpected. Thank you iPhone Apps Plus team. See the original article and review here. 

To the thousands of Mobicip parents and users out there, thank you very much for choosing Mobicip and telling your friends about it, not to mention your continued support and feedback.

Mobicip crew

A recent survey publshed by C.S.Mott's Children's Hospital on Children's health reveals that parents are very concerned about internet safety for their kids. 62% of Parents monitor their kids’ internet and 48% use filtering services or tools to protect their kids from inappropriate material and online threat. Among parents with kids on the Internet, nearly 1 in 3 are “very concerned” about online sexual predators, and 1 in 5 are “very concerned” about the loss of privacy and with their children viewing pornographic material.

Parents were asked if they take specific actions to protect or monitor their children’s use of the Internet. Overall, parents report the following actions:

• 65% disable pop-ups

• 62% monitor social networking sites

• 61% check history of websites

• 49% block websites they don’t want kids to use

• 32% use child-safe software

68% of parents report taking 1 to 4 of the above actions, while 19% take all 5 the of the actions listed. However, 13% of parents whose children access the Internet report not taking any of these actions to protect or monitor that use. Although most parents are taking some actions to protect their kids online by using filtering services like Mobicip or similar, some are taking no action and many others may not be certain how effective different strategies are.

There are many resources available for parents to educate themselves about internet safety. Here are a few: www.fbi.gov/publications/pguide/pguidee.htm

www.wiredsafety.org

www.filteringfacts.org

www.netfamilynews.org