Protect Your Family with Computer Monitoring Software

If you think most teens eschew pornography on the internet, think again. The number of porn search results on Google that brought up TopTenREVIEWS' internet filter software site, increased 44 times with the end of school and the start of summer break, according to researchers at TopTenREVIEWS. That figure alone is reason to install monitoring software on the computers in your home.

TopTenREVIEWS impressions on Google for the term "porn" surged in the U.S. from 75,000 in the four weeks preceding summer break to 1 million searches in nine days after the traditional school year ended. An impression on Google is the number of times that pages from a website appear in search results. In this case, TopTenREVIEWS' product site for internet filter software appeared 75,000 times in the month preceding summer break and 1 million in the nine days following the start of summer break, when Google users searched for "porn."

While the data does not specifically link teens to the surge, researchers say that the increase coincides with the start of summer break for millions of school-age kids. That potentially gives them more free time at home to surf the web, and that may have caused the increase in Google searches for porn. "That's the assumption we came up with," said Brent Ropelato, SEO specialist at Ogden, Utah-headquartered Tech Media Network, owner of TopTenREVIEWS.

Other studies lend support to the implementation of computer monitoring software to safeguard children and keep your home free from the questionable influences of online pornography, sexual solicitation, cyber bullying, hate sites, excessive gaming and over shopping.

According to research at internetbehavior.com, 70 percent of children say they have accidentally stumbled on pornography online, and one in five reported unwanted sexual solicitation. Moreover, 25 percent of those solicited say they were significantly distressed by the solicitation. Three percent reported aggressive solicitation.

The installation of monitoring software, in either stealth or visible mode, can help computer users refrain from engaging in online activities that may be deemed unhealthy or dangerous. By simply setting keywords that can block access to undesirable online materials or by blocking websites, you can safeguard the sanctity of your home and the emotional and physical states of your children.

The danger of pornography, writes author Marnia Robinson in an article posted on psychologytoday.com, is that it leads to compulsion and addiction through the release of the chemical dopamine in the brain's reward circuitry. The reward circuitry is vulnerable because it values "novelty-on-demand," or immediate gratification such as that provided by online porn, Robinson says.

"The brain easily rewires itself to focus more and more attention on such 'valuable' experiences," Robinson writes. "This rewiring process can swiftly reorder the user's priorities."

It can lead individuals to objectify others. They become desensitized to human intimacy and may develop distorted views of sexuality, according to protectkids.com. Men exposed to six weeks of hard-core pornography developed an appetite for deviant, bizarre or violent types of pornography, the website states. They also developed callousness toward women, it states.

In addition to blocking pornography, monitoring software offers protection from cyber bullying. Forty-two percent of kids have been bullied online, according to internetbehavior.com. Monitoring software can detect such threats and help parents protect their children through intervention or other means.

The best monitoring software lets parents view and record chats, emails and documents. This goes a long way toward protecting kids from predators and friends who may be bad influences. The right product, with a full complement of monitoring and blocking features, can safeguard any home and help keep your family happy and whole.