The following links and suggestions may help you to safeguard your computer and your family while you are exploring the Internet.
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Search Engine Stuff
Probably the most useful general Search Engine is GOOGLE. www.google.com
There are some good reasons for using this site.
- It is large, fast and it finds a lot of relevant information.
- It has an images section. This allows you to select pictures from a collection of more than 300,000,000 images. These can be copied and pasted directly into another programme for publication - great for doing school projects.
- On the home page of Google - you can select preferences and set your safety level to strict filtering. This will eliminate most of the undesirable sites that you don't want your children to see. The filter, while not infallible (no filter is perfect) is quite strict.
For a comprehensive list of Search Engines - go to: www.allsearchengines.com
This site has a list of general and specialised search engines - excellent if you are interested in genealogy or books. or science, or...
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Got a Virus Checker on your computer?
Don't wait to get bounced by a virus. If you don't have a good virus checker - or your present subscription to Nortons or McAfee has expired, download and install a free virus checker. These are at least as good as the commercial brands - and better still - you get free updates.
One of the best is AVG Virus Checker. It is free to home users. Download it from
You fill in an online form. You then receive an unlock code by e-mail. The whole thing takes only minutes! Ask at the school if you need help.
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Internet Safety
With the rapid rise in the use of the Internet - there are a number of issues that have arisen for parents, teachers and BOT's. The NZ government has created a site to give a comprehensive advice to adults who supervise children on the net.
Point your browser at www.netsafe.org.nz