At Microsoft®, we are committed to helping you keep your kids safe online. We want children to use the Internet for all of its valuable resources and rich educational encounters, without fear of the dangers you might have heard about on the evening news.

Are you concerned about the safety of your young Web surfers? If so, follow our five simple guidelines to help protect them online.

Check out the five rules you should follow to surf more safely.

At Microsoft®, we cooperate with law enforcement worldwide to help combat the distribution of illegal content using our online services. We do not knowingly tolerate anyone using Microsoft services to endanger children in any way.

To help you learn more about children's safety online, we've created a list of resources and organisations concerned with these issues.

There is no foolproof way to protect your children online – or anywhere else for that matter! As in the real world, there are precautions that families can take in the online world to reduce the chances of children encountering dangerous or unsuitable material.

The guidelines below will help you deal with some of the most common areas of concern, as well as suggest ways of helping to protect your young Web surfers.

• Help your child choose a screen name or e-mail address that does not reveal anything personal about the child -- age, sex, hobbies, what school they go to, where they live and like to play, etc. And of course, avoid suggestive names such as "happygirl" which could attract predators.
• Keep any computers connected to the Internet out of kids' rooms and put them in a central location, such as the family room.
• Talk with your child often about what they do online and who they talk to. Better yet, join your children as they surf the Internet. Taking an interest in what your child or teen does online doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of trust: just as you’re interested in their “real world” friends, you might want to show an interest in their "net friends".
• Get help from technology. As every family is different, no one software or technology solution is going to suit everyone. Here are a few suggestions for how you might use technology to help protect your kids as they navigate the Internet:
  • Make sure to install antivirus software on your computer and keep it up to date. We can help you take this step to protect your computer.
  • Use parental control software to check into your kids' Internet usage. This may give you a better idea of the kinds of choices they're making online.
• Review the guidelines in the next section with your kids.

MSN® Premium Internet Software offers MSN Parental Controls to help you protect your child from inappropriate content and communications. With Parental Controls, you can manage your child's Internet use, as well as find out where your child is going on the Internet and who is trying to contact him or her. Find out more about MSN® Premium Internet Software.

There's lots of fun to be had on the Web. Chatting. Listening to music. Meeting new friends from around the world. Use these five rules to keep it fun.

• Rule 1: Keep your personal information to yourself.
• Rule 2: People may not be who they say they are.
• Rule 3: Don't open attachments from strangers.
• Rule 4: Tell an adult you trust if something online makes you feel uncomfortable.
• Rule 5: Meeting online strangers alone is dangerous.

There are some people out there who devote their lives to collecting little pieces of personal information about you. And that could be dangerous.

• Don't use your own name as your online name. Get creative, make one up! (Your parents can help.)
• Never, ever give out information about your family or yourself. Never tell anyone online your name, phone number, address, where you go to school or like to play, passwords and other private stuff.
• Don’t share photos of yourself or your family with online strangers.
• If you keep a log on the Web (or blog), keep it anonymous. And don't link your blog to any of your other online stuff.

There are two broad types of people online worth avoiding. The easiest way to get rid of people like this is to tell them that you are saving the conversation on your computer and will be reporting them.

• The random abuser: This person could be male or female. He or she will crawl around chat rooms being abusive, sexually suggestive and generally a bit of a creep, making people feel rotten. Don't worry; these people are mostly dull, unimaginative and pointless, so just ignore them. If they won't go away, report them.
• The pervert: This is the person your parents fear most. He or she will want to understand everything about you and pretend to be your friend. He or she will save any information about you that you give. The pervert wants your telephone number, your address, your photograph and above all, wants to meet you. He or she may be wanted by the police, so report them right away.

If you open files, links or e-mail attachments from strangers, you could be opening a virus or downloading bad software, a disturbing image or something else that your day would be a whole lot better without. Even if it's from someone you know, check with them to be doubly sure before you open it.

Always tell a parent, teacher or other adult you trust if you feel scared or threatened online. If someone you talk to online makes you feel uneasy or upset, never respond to them. If you feel threatened, then you or your parents should definitely call the police. And remember, if you see something online that makes you feel uncomfortable, you can always just switch off the computer.

People you haven't met in the real world are strangers. They could be terrific. They could be boring. They could be funny or even mad, bad and dangerous to know. It may not be a good idea to meet someone in person whom you've met online.

However, if you really want to meet an online friend in person:

• Always keep in mind that someone you meet online may not be who they seem to be or who they tell you they are. Be aware that someone you met in a chat room may not be a kid at all, but could really be an older adult.
• One of your parents or an adult relative must go along with you and stay with you the entire time.
• Meet in a busy public place and stay there. Do not go somewhere alone with this stranger.
• Don't let the stranger talk you into doing anything that makes you even the least bit uncomfortable. And…
• Don't change your mind on any of the above.

Microsoft® cooperates with law enforcement authorities around the world to help combat the distribution of illegal content using our online services. We do not knowingly tolerate anyone using our services to endanger children in any way. It's important to report offensive or potentially illegal material that you or your child may find on the Internet.

If you see any content on ninemsn that you think may be illegal, please report this by sending an e-mail message, with a link to the content, a copy of the e-mail or other documentation. We take these reports very seriously and will carefully investigate each report and take appropriate action.

• Report abuse and breeches in the MSN code of conduct to abuse@msn.com
• Report offensive or illegal content in MSN Groups
• Report an offensive or illegal profile in the MSN Member Directory
• Report abusive e-mail to abuse@msn.com

In addition to contacting Microsoft® by any of the methods above, it is critical that you alert your local Hotline operator, www.aba.gov.au to any illegal content or activities you encounter online. It can then be investigated and the offenders brought to justice.

We hope you'll find useful these resources and organisations concerned with children's online safety.

• MSN Parent's Guide to Online Safety: This guide expands on the information and tips provided here to help you keep your children's Internet use as safe as possible.

The best way to make sure everyone in your family knows what they should and shouldn't be doing on the Internet is to sit down together and draw up a Family Code of Conduct. This should be signed by every family member who uses a computer and revised when necessary.

There's no one ideal formula, so take a look at a few examples and use them as the basis for your family discussion.

• Contract for kids
• Contract for adults
• Make an Internet Use Agreement with your child (from GetNetWise)