Category: Online Safety for Kids

Safe Search Kids is a custom search engine enhanced by Google to allow everyone to search the internet more safely.  We use Google’s SafeSearch features with additional filtering added to block potentially harmful material at home and in schools. This search filtering is available on computers, laptops, tablets and phones.

In addition to accessibility on any device, our internet filtering work on any browser and provide a way for parents at home and teachers in school to allow their kids to research the internet with safe boundaries.  No matter what browser you use, strict filtered results are always on.

Table of Contents

1. Google Kids at School
2. Google for Education
3. Internet Safety
4. Safe Search for Fun and Learning
5. Instant Answers Using Safe Search
6. Our Search Tools Explained

Safe Search Kids is not Google. We are not directly endorsed by them. Our affiliation with Google is strictly as a third party participating in their Custom Search Engine program.

The easy way to activate Google for kids with safe search is to bookmark this website for kids to use. Whether it’s just for fun like Doodle for Google games or for some serious research, the internet is a wonderful place to explore and learn.

Google Kids at School

Any search engine has it’s limitations, no matter how safe.  It filters what kids are searching but it doesn’t limit access to the world wide web should a child choose to explore outside safe confines. Therefore, additional security and safety, read about parental control apps.

At school, our search engine allows entire classrooms to surf the web without changing any browser setting or installing any software.  Still, some schools will want to have total control over what students can access online.  For this reason we’re excited to announce that parental controls are available for entire schools to block bad websites and restricting the use of apps.  Learn more!

Google for Education

Google has been committed to providing tools and resources to empower schools.  The suite of apps used by students and teachers, formally known as G-Suite, is now called Google Workspace for Education. Whether kids are learning in the classroom or online at home, Workspace connects everyone involved in the educational process no matter their location or one of multiple devices being used.  The goal is to empower students, teachers and administrators with better communication, improved interaction and a more engaging educational experience both in and out of the classroom.

Internet Safety to Help Protect Kids Online

• Do not allow computers or laptops in the room of kids or teens. Computer should be in an open area of the home.

• Do not allow computer use when supervising adults are not at home. Restrict the use of computers at night after supervising adults have gone to bed.

• Restrict the use of smart phones and tablets to open areas of the home. If an agreement between the child and parent has been made about the use of these devices in their bedrooms, implement strict guidelines about keeping the door open and restrict use after parents have gone to bed.

• Educate yourself on social media and the risks associated with it. This includes basic safety as well as teaching kids on how to handle peer pressure.

• Keep the lines of communication open at all times to discuss the various aspects of internet safety and the use of Google for kids. Be open to learn and work together on agreed upon guidelines.

This site is to be used in conjunction with common sense supervision of kids. The younger the child, the more safe guards you will want to put in place to protect them against harmful material online. The older they get, the more responsibility you will entrust to them within reason.

Regardless of the age, parents and educators providing resources for safe search in schools agree there should always be some form of strict safe guards in place. Internet safety is also about building values for healthy life long behavior online within a secure learning environment.

Together, we can work towards a more safe and secure online environment for our kids using Google safe resources and common sense.

Safe Search for Fun and Learning

Life is better when you have odd friends. I discovered this when I introduced my friends Bobby and China. They’re both interesting, fun and incredibly brilliant kids who do Google searches on absolutely everything. When they met, they pulled out their phones and began looking up ways to top each other.

“So your name is China,” Bobby said with a snort. “That’s a silly name.”

With a haughty sniff, China tipped up her chin and said, “I’ll have you know that according to the dictionary I use, china is a fine, elegant material used in the creation of beautiful artistic creations.”

Bobby jumped around, wriggling from side to side. “Bob means to go up and down like this.”

“And you called ‘China’ silly?” China crossed her arms. “I’ll also have you know that China is a huge country with the most people in the world.”

“Bobby is what British people call their police officers,” Bobby responded. “That’s pretty cool.”

I was about to point out that a bob is also a hair style, but I didn’t want to interrupt the fun as they continued their battle of information. China was busy searching Google again.

“Oh, yeah?” China countered. “The traditional British beverage is tea and what do you think your bobby would drink his tea from? A tea cup made out of china! And where do you think tea comes from? China.”

“Not always,” Bobby said. “What about tea from India? Or tea from Argentina? Kenya sells more tea than China.”

“Kenya? Isn’t he some sort of rapper?”

Bobby started laughing so hard, he snorted out of his nose, making China laugh even harder.

Yes, Bobby and China are very different kids. Both Bobby and China go online to one of their favorite kids’ search engines to see what they can learn. Both Bobby and China enjoy using Google to make their lives and their friendships more interesting. They are odd and that’s what makes them as fun as a roller coaster.

After this exchange, Bobby and China ended up challenging each other to a game of Chinese checkers. I went with them to watch them play, but I couldn’t concentrate.

I was thinking about how challenging each other and doing it with real information and a playful attitude made their friendship stronger while enriching their lives.  Not only can it be done by searching Google safely, but kids can also learn playing online Google games that also teach online safety.

Bobby and China showed me how much fun information can be. I saw how respectfully challenging what you think can make everyone better informed while letting everyone have fun.

But as my odd friends play Chinese checkers, I wonder what will happen when I introduce Tatsu to Dracon. Will someone end up breathing fire?

Google Answers Using Safe Search

Too much to do in the world.  So much to learn.  So many ways to explore our world both online and offline.  Whatever you have in mind to learn today, let’s make sure we all do it in a safe way. Explore ways to get instant answers using safe seach, whether it’s for research, simple learning or entertainment.

What’s in a Web Search?

To us, it’s an entire world of knowledge at your fingertips mixed with less desirable results – even harmful ones. Safe Search Kids has created search tools that help guide you through the maze of the worldwide web.

We implement Google search on our website, enhanced by Google. It has special filtering tools to weed out potentially harmful content to kids and teens alike. Even adults can use our search engine if they wish to only receive streamlined results that are filtered with the utmost in safety in mind.

• Our first tab on the top right of our website is pretty much as we’ve already described. It searches Google and filters the results.

• The second tab provides safe images from the entire web, but they have been filtered to only show images that are from safe sources. These sources include many educational websites.

• The third tab is Wiki for Kids, a wikipedia of information that has been created for children. Generally, the information provided it’s more simple and easier to understand for younger students.

• Finally, we have our Video Search tab, an alternative to YouTube and any other unfiltered video site. All the videos are screened, including YouTube videos, to ensure the utmost in safety and appropriate content.

Happy Searching! We hope you find what you’re looking for.

Safe Search Kids provides safe images filtering from a variety of safe and fun family websites, many of which are educational in nature. You can search these images using our search tool above.

Not only are all images properly filtered using safe search, the nature of the websites associated with image results are also screened. This prevents users from landing on a site that may contain harmful content, even if the image that brought them to the site is innocent.

The image search results on KidzSearch provide safe content designed specifically for kids. What makes these results unique is that they are all filtered using multiple layers of screening.

At the top layer is a keyword checker that makes sure the search term is safe enough to proceed further. We have proprietary algorithms that are able to detect inappropriate search queries based on many factors that include spelling variations and grammar tenses.

KidzSearch is constantly updating our listed of blocked terms and we get daily feedback to improve it from our many users.

Once a search term is approved to proceed, our next layer of filtering relies on a set of editorially selected handpicked websites that we trust to return safe image results.

We are always updating this list to provide the most relevant results. We truly believe our image results are the best you will find that combine safety with quality content.

Safe Images

KidzSearch has partnered with Google to help index the images and to provide additional screening. Advanced machine vision algorithms scan each image and are able to detect unsuitable content.

Once a set of image results pass all our screening tests, we then present it to the user in a format that is specially designed for kids. The thumbnails that appear are all extra large to provide a more kid-friendly display that children enjoy using.

Larger thumbnails also helps them to select it, since children may have dexterity limitations using standard smaller thumbnails.

Our safe kids search engine also has a unique autocomplete feature that helps kids type and find the best search terms based on the most popular topics done by other students. These auto complete results are often very different from what you will find using a standard search engine, since they are grades K-8 focused.

Many people these days only rely on parental control apps and this is a good thing to do. However, one problem with just using website screening software is that they are not able to filter search thumbnail results from sites like Google and Bing, which means these great resources cannot be safely used for image results on their own.

KidzSearch solves this problem by providing screened image search results that integrate safe image content from places like Google via our partnership program with them.

Downloading Filtered Images

There are a few questions you should ask yourself when downloading an image.

For example:

• Who owns the image and what are the limitations of use?
• Am I using it for my own personal enjoyment?
• Will I be publishing in some form? (Such as a blog, a school paper or a poster in my school).

Just as you want to cite references to other people’s work in your writing, you should also give credit to the creator or owner of the image.

Most questions related to the use of images can be answered by reviewing the Copyright Notice or Terms of Conditions on the website where you found the image.

Assuming that most kids are going to use images for their own personal reasons, it is still a good idea to educate yourself on basic copyright rules and regulations.

Safe Image Search and More

Safe Search Kids is a website dedicated to providing Google Safe Search to Schools and users at home. We also offer safe video search with special filtering in place similar to how we screen images.  We feature informational articles on internet safety and security for kids, as well as topics of interest for parents and educators.

Our focus is on helping users to develop safe and healthy habits online, such as social media, whether they be accessing the internet on a computer or mobile smart phone. Search resources are provided free of charge to protect kids of all ages when searching Google.

Learn about how our safe search settings work to filter the web for kids.

Malware is a term to describe viruses, worms, and other malicious software used to gain access to sensitive information or interfere with a computer’s performance. Do you suspect malicious software has infiltrated your child’s computer? You’re not alone.

It’s estimated that thousands of new malware files get released every day, increasing your child’s likelihood of coming across one of these programs. Keep reading to learn how to identify and remove it.

Evidence of Malware

Your child’s computer may have a virus if you notice any of the following malware warning signs:

• The computer is running slower than normal
• The computer crashes often
• Your child sees an increase in pop-up messages
• The hard drive storage is suddenly full
• The browser has a different homepage or new toolbars
• The computer has new software programs, or programs start on their own
• You can hear the device’s hard drive fan working constantly

If kids are playing games online or just browsing the web, it’s worth noting that PCs are more susceptible to malware.  Still, Mac computers can get viruses as well so be on the lookout no matter which type of device your kids use.

How to Remove Malware

Step 1: Disconnect from the Internet and Activate Safe Mode

If you suspect your child’s computer is infected with malware, the first thing you should do is disconnect from the internet. This will prevent your data from being sent to the malware server or the malware from spreading.

Next, safe boot the computer. For PCs with Windows 10, open the power menu and hold the Shift key while clicking “Restart.” From there, select “Troubleshoot,” then “Advanced options,” and then “Startup settings,” which will give you the option to restart and select Safe Mode.

For Macs, restart the computer, press the Shift key after you hear the startup noise, and hold it until the login page loads.

Step 2: Delete Temporary Files

While in Safe Mode, delete any temporary files using the Disk Cleanup tool on PC, or by emptying the ~/Library/Cache folder on Mac. By deleting these files, the computer will be able to scan for a virus more quickly (and you’ll potentially get rid of any files that may have been harboring malware).

Step 3: Use a Malware Scanner

Ideally you would have a real-time malware scanner running constantly to catch malware before it takes hold, but if something got through, you can do a deeper on-demand scan. Restart the computer to exit Safe Mode, or else the scanning program won’t be able to run.

If you don’t have a usable anti-malware program, reboot to exit Safe Mode so you can download one. After installing the program, perform a scan of your child’s computer—this should flag and remove any malicious programs.

Note: If the malware prevents you from running a scan, you may need to restore to an old system backup, from before the malware was on the device.

Step 4: Undo Any Damage

Malware may try to alter the current web browser’s homepage, so check your domain and connection settings.

It’s also possible that you’ll need to recover or reinstall files and software that were lost. It’s important to regularly back up files in case a malicious software tries to attack your child’s computer.

Step 5: Improve Device Security

It’s easier to prevent malware than to remove it, so set your anti-malware software to run regular scans. Make sure any software is up to date, too, and reset any passwords that could’ve been compromised by the malicious program. In addition to malware removal, consider ransomware protection as well, which is a another type of malware that locks your files and holds them for ransom.

Step 6: Educate Your Child

Proactively teach your children the common signs of malware listed above. Set up guidelines for your children when they’re using the computer, and encourage them to ask an adult before visiting new sites or downloading anything.

While you may not always be able to avoid malware from infecting your child’s computer, you can work with them to better prevent it. Prepare your kids to use technology safely, and you’ll set them up for good online habits for the rest of their lives.

In the last few years the way we communicate with our loved ones has changed, also how we spend our leisure time. Social networks such as Facebook or Instagram and platforms like YouTube are the big influencers in this new world in which we live in.

Today, many of us spend so many hours in front of screens, whether the reason is watching kitten videos or chatting with our colleagues at work or in class.

These changes in our way of living have not only occurred in adults, but also in many children.  Kids are now spending hours in front of their smartphones or tablets.

However, this sudden change in our society has created a security breach that affects all of us, and children are not excluded. That’s why parents and guardians must rethink how they are protected, adapting to an ever-evolving technological society.

Therefore, in this article we offer some advice on how to protect kids in the internet era.

Ways You Can Protect Kids Online

1. Set time limits they are allowed to use their devices.

2. Check what your children are using their devices for and block unwanted and unsafe websites.

3. Educate them to use technology in a responsible way and respecting other users on the internet. As it happens in real life, respect for others is key on the internet and for their education.

4. Make them understand that they should not add or talk to strangers or people they don’t know in real life.

5. Keep an eye on what they post or share on their social networks. Being aware of what they write or talk about on social media is essential to knowing more about them and avoiding future problems

6. Instruct them not to share any personal information with anyone online. Protecting your privacy is key to all of us, including kids. It is vital teach them that everything they share on the internet will be always there.

7. Use safe search websites that block unsuitable content. Safe boundaries allow kids to thrive as they explore the wealth of information on the internet without the usual dangers.

8. Control the app installations in their devices. There are different app markets which contain huge amounts of apps from different categories. Avoid the download of inappropriate apps based on their content.

9. Set a daily schedule in which they can use their devices and block their use during the night or in school. The use of devices in class can affect and reduce their school performance, so it’s advisable to block or limit use during school hours.

10. Use the services of a good parental control program which offers all the features you may need for the protection of your kids.

11. And last but the most important of all, let them know that they can always count on you for help and support when they might feel in danger.

The security and protection needs for our kids are always changing.  It’s difficult for parents to keep up with new trends in technology, but has never been more important for safety and development.

Teaching, Not Precluding, the Web