I don't think I know a parent who isn't concerned with the dangers of the internet when it comes to their children. In our household, we have our virus/spyware software and our computer in a very public place. We limit the time allowed on the computer and where they can surf. BUT, is that enough?
"The Internet is both an amazing resource and a very dangerous place. For many parents, it is a struggle to balance the benefits of the internet with the potential dangers to their children. Action Alert was designed so that your family computer can be kid safe in just seconds."Reading the above quote got me interested in Action Alert and wanting to know if this program would make our online world a little safer for our household.
Action Alert is 8 Internet Safety Tools in one:
Action Alert's Internet Safety Tools
Our experience:We had quite an experience with Action Alert! Initially, there were problems getting the program installed. Fortunately their tech support helped with a few errors and the install went through. Unfortunately, our computer froze up several times. After uninstalling the program, all was well.
.....But, curiosity got the best of me and I tried the program again. Unexplainably, it worked --- without ANY problems. NOW, I could really give Action Alert a proper review.
As in the diagram above, we tried out setting daily times for computer use, chat and email logging and activity video logging. WOW - was that something to see a 'movie' of our internet travels. It was good for the kids to see that we could review everything they were doing!!!
After the kids went to bed, I started testing the site blocking and search filter options. Unfortunately, this had less than stellar results. If you use Internet Explorer, Action Alert is your homepage and gives you their own 'safe' search box. (This is not the case with Google Chrome.) But, you can bypass the 'safe' search box and use whatever search you wish.
Trying out the Action Alert's 'safe' search box I was not happy to see the 'questionable' searches I made come up with 'questionable content'. BUT, I did receive a notice in my email inbox that a 'questionable' search (with the keywords used) had been made.....after the fact.
Then, I went to Google and typed in some of the same keywords I used on the 'safe' search box and got a whole lot of junk! BUT, I did receive a notice in my email inbox that a 'questionable' search had been made....after the fact.
In my opinion, Action Alert has a good start with this product. There's definitely room to build upon it and make it a safer program. I like that the user knows that this is a tool for accountability. I would much rather have a program that did both block questionable websites AND had accountability.
You can check out and install the Free Version or Purchase Maximum Protection for $29.99.
Here's what other crew members are saying!
I received a Maximum Protection download free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
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